David Hart (AC Cobra), who won the race in 2014, took the lead from pole, Cobras in the first four places. But Hart hit the chicane, earning a five-second penalty which he later described as “stupid” and “a little greedy”. However he kept the lead, his son Olivier taking over and soaring to victory, setting the fastest lap on the final circulation.
Behind them, Martin Stretton was setting quick times in Karsten Le Blanc’s Cobra, pitting late to try and build a big gap, but to no avail. Rob Huff (Jaguar E-type) got mixed up with the Cobras, but ‘CUT 7’ retired at the pitstop after accident damage.
Speaking of the pitstops, Oliver Bryant took over from Andrew Smith in Grahame Bryant’s Cobra in second place, Jon Minshaw’s now Keen-driven semi-lightweight E-type chasing and nursing a partially stuck open throttle, but the Cobra sadly retired, Andre Lotterer (AC Cobra) now hounding Mike Jordan (TVR Griffith 400) for the final podium spot.
After an intense 45 minutes, it was three different marques in the top three, a jubilant win for the father and son team of Hart/Hart in the Cobra, from the Minshaw/Keen E-type and the Mike Whitaker/Jordan TVR.
The Glover Trophy, a battle between rear-engined Grand Prix cars from 1961-’65, saw Joe Colasacco (Ferrari 1512) come from sixth place on the third row of the grid to take the chequered flag after 15 laps, 1.3 secs from poleman Andy Middlehurst (Lotus-Climax 25) who had dominated qualifying.
