The Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s 2025 season kicked off with a fine weekend’s racing at Donington Park.
Among the highlights were Super Tourers success for Jim Pocklington’s oldest example of the genre and two terrific Pre-’66 Touring Car bouts contested by a packed field of cars.
Super Tourers
Super Touring Power each summer remains the focus of the season for the 1990s crowd favourites, but a handful of cars enjoyed a warm-up outing at Donington where Jim Pocklington’s old warhorse took its first wins in the category.
AJ Owen’s Duratec-powered Ford Mondeo was fastest in qualifying, 0.7 seconds quicker than the BTC-T Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch of Roger Stanford. Rick Kerry was third quickest, despite various teething issues and a misfire on the debut of his ex-Tim Harvey Peugeot 406 Coupe, another BTC-T car. Pocklington’s 1990 Vauxhall Cavalier GSi, whose laps were limited by a broken throttle cable, would start alongside the Pug.
Sadly, Jason Hughes’s MG ZS blew a valve in qualifying and was unable to start the races. The Cavalier of Matty Evans didn’t even get that far, sidelined by clutch release bearing failure.
Owen looked to be motoring to victory in the first race before suddenly grinding to a halt after five of the 11 laps. A broken timing chain was the culprit, ending his weekend.
Stanford briefly inherited the lead but Pocklington pounced on a mistake to move ahead. Stanford kept up the pressure for the remainder of the race but was unable to find a way past. So it was Pocklington who surprised himself by taking the victory in his venerable Cavalier, recently the subject of a four-page feature in Autosport magazine. Hampered by his misfire and stuck in gear after the linkage broke, Kerry completed the top three.
Stanford jumped into the lead at the start of Sunday’s race when Pocklington’s Cavalier twitched through the first corner, but the club veteran was finding his Astra very tricky to handle on the damp surface.
Pocklington got ahead on lap three of 12 and eased to a comfortable win over the more modern Vauxhall. With his misfire unresolved, Kerry called it a day after a couple of laps.
Pre-’66 Touring Cars
A fantastic entry of 32 Pre-’66 Touring Cars entertained throughout the weekend, with their Sunday race a particular highlight. Irish visitor Michael Cullen took both wins in his Lotus Cortina but he had to work for them.
Experienced racer Cullen qualified his Jordan Racing Team-run Cortina on pole position by 0.9s. He was joined on the front row of the grid by 16-year-old debutant Oliver Law in his father Justin’s similar example, which had topped the times mid-session.
Piers Grange’s big Ford Mustang was third quickest, ahead of the much smaller Morris Mini Cooper S of Barry Sime. The Cortinas of Garry Townsend and reigning champion Ian Thompson completed the top six, Thompson at the wheel of a new JRT car while his title-winning example undergoes a rebuild.
It was Grange who powered into the lead off the line, while Townsend also made a quick getaway before being re-passed by Cullen, who’d missed a gear, and Law. Grange held sway under pressure from Cullen until mid-race when the 2023 Autosport national rankings winner found a way through among backmarking traffic.
In his first time in the car for 18 months, Cullen eased to a comfortable victory as Grange’s tyres began to wilt. The Cheshire racer was passed by Law and then suffered a spin, eventually limping home sixth as the Mustang’s clutch melted and fused to the flywheel.
Law broke free of a trio of battling Cortinas behind to come home second and complete a dream debut. Peter Smith, a winner here last year, just held off Simon Gusterson and Garry Townsend for third as Cortinas filled the top five places.
Among the classes, Sime edged a good scrap with Jake Swann’s Ford Anglia for Class C honours, while James Ibbotson headed a terrific eight-car field of Hillman Imps in Class E, as he would the following day. Brendan Rooney had looked set to top the Imps before tangling with another car. Stuart Radford (Triumph Vitesse) was the sole Class B runner, while there were no finishers in Class D after debutant Charles Norris’s Austin A35 ground to a halt.
While the opener had run on a dry track, Sunday morning’s rematch brought much greasier conditions, with a mist in the East Midlands air.
Justin Law took over from his son for the second race, which meant he had to start at the back of the grid, promoting Smith to the front row alongside Cullen. But the Yorkshireman made a tardy getaway so couldn’t capitalise.
While Gusterson and Townsend initially slotted into second and third behind Cullen, Sime and Swann were the men on the move, getting a run through the Craners before the Scot snatched second at Schwantz Curve.
Behind them though, Edward Crossley was in trouble. His Mini snapped sideways under braking for McLeans, veered into the gravel where it dug in and tipped onto its roof. Crossley was quickly out and the car didn’t look too badly damaged but a safety car was required to retrieve it.
Grange had charged into third down the back straight before the caution was called and began battling with Sime when the race resumed on lap five of nine. As Gusterson spun and Townsend also slipped down the order, Swann latched onto the lead three. He was pursued by a charging Grant Williams whose storied Jaguar Mk2 was on song despite having to run its spare, slightly smaller engine.
The five drivers, in five completely different cars with different strengths and weaknesses, continued to put on a show until the chequered flag.
Cullen held on under immense pressure to take his second win of the weekend. Grange and Sime each won their classes in second and third, the latter just holding off Williams. Barely 2s behind the winner, Swann capitalised on his winter fettling to finish fifth overall. Law managed sixth from the back of the grid, ruing the laps lost behind safety car that prevented him making further progress.
Admitting the conditions were “very tricky”, Cullen spoke for all when he added with a smile: “A Cortina, a Mustang, a Mini and a Jag all mixing it up… It’s my first time racing with the club and it’s been a great weekend.”
Classic Thunder & Historic Thunder
A typically eclectic combined grid of Classic and Historic Thunder machinery didn’t have the best of luck weather-wise. By his own admission that played a part in Ian Bower’s success on Saturday before Historic champion Colin Voyce hit back a day later.
Qualifying belonged to three-time title winner Andy Robinson who returned to form in his Shell-liveried Ford Falcon which has been the lesser seen of his pair of Aussie V8s in recent years. Robinson was fastest by a full second from Voyce’s incredible Mountune turbo-engined Ford Escort Mk1. Bower impressed with the third quickest time overall in his BMW M3 E36, just ahead of Mike Manning’s glorious Historic Ford Sierra RS500.
There was then a gap back to David Jefferson’s E92 BMW, while Ross Craig’s giant-killing Honda Civic Type R completed the top six. Martin Reynolds was the third fastest Historic runner in one of a pair of Mk2 Escorts he was running for the weekend, just ahead of Ian Craig’s BMW and the fourth Historic car of sponsor Rikki Cann (Aston Martin Vantage V8).
Rain was threatening for much of the afternoon but it held off until shortly before the race start – too late for those on slicks to change to more appropriate rubber. Conditions initially weren’t too bad, although Robinson’s Falcon quickly slipped back to fourth.
Voyce was in scintillating form and built a lead of more than seven seconds in just three laps. It was Manning who initially led the chase but Mike Cutt (E36) charged through from row seven to third, then closed on Manning as the conditions worsened.
As the rain intensified, Robinson was among those to spin, while Manning’s RS500 was becoming an increasing handful. Bower, however, was revelling in the wet on his treaded rubber. He leapfrogged both Manning and Cutt to take second place.
By lap nine of 11, Voyce decided that discretion was the better part of valour. “I didn’t want to end up off the track and on its roof,” he admitted, “so I just backed off.”
Bower swept past on the penultimate lap to take his second career win in Thunder. “I was doing my rain dance at the start,” he smiled.
Voyce still held onto second overall, first in Historic Thunder, more than 10s clear of Cutt and Manning. Nearly another half-minute back, Ian Craig was fifth and Reynolds sixth (second Historic).
Sunday’s race was held in much more pleasant conditions. Voyce immediately hit the front and built a lead of up to 3.5s over Cutt before the Yourkshireman started to peg him back.
Further back, cars starting from the back of the field were making rapid progress. Adrian Bradley’s E46 M3 had been unable to take part in Saturday’s action after its windscreen cracked in transit. Oliver Owen (E36) was also competing only on Sunday, while Mike Seabourne had taken over Jonathan Gill’s stunning spaceframe Peugeot 205 for the second race.
Owen’s charge was halted when he hit the back of the returning Neil Wade’s Honda-powered Mini, but Bradley and Seabourne continued to make progress. Amazingly, Bradley passed Bower for third just after half-distance and then set about reeling in the lead pair.
Cutt had caught Voyce as the leader’s rubber wilted but, with his BMW stronger in different areas, could not find a way past the Voycetune machine. All the while, Bradley was closing in and the trio were separated by just 0.8s at the chequered flag. “One more lap was all I needed,” sighed the Surrey man.
Voyce was understandably delighted to record his second overall win in a Historic car. “I was just so determined after yesterday to get that number one spot,” he reported.
Cutt too had enjoyed the contest. “What a race!” he smiled. “We could really have a good ding dong.”
Bower was fourth overall, winning Class C, ahead of Robinson’s mighty Falcon, the Class A winner. Ian Craig was sixth overall, with Seabourne rising to seventh – all but matching Voyce’s best lap time in the process – despite having to back out of some moves as he buzzed through the traffic.
Beyond Voyce in the Historic section, Cann was second and Reynolds third after losing ground with a misfire.
Blue Oval Saloon Series
With a 15-car entry one of its largest in recent years, the Blue Oval Saloon Series was afforded its own grid. As with their Thunder counterparts, the Fords had to contend with treacherous conditions in their first race. But nothing could stop Andy Robinson roaring to a double success in his thunderous Falcon.
Robinson set the pace in qualifying and was joined on the front row of the grid by Piers Grange’s Smith & Jones-powered Escort Mk2. The second row was made up of two more drivers doubling up from Thunder, Mike Manning and Martin Reynolds, although in the latter’s case he was using a second Escort.
Olly Allen’s Duratec-engined Fiesta Mk6 was fifth quickest and would start alongside Sam Daffin’s rear-wheel-drive Mk5 complete with EcoBoost power. Craig Owen (Sierra Cosworth) and reigning champion Tim Mizen (Zetec-powered Fiesta Mk3.5) completed the top eight.
Pouring rain meant that Saturday afternoon’s race was a question of survival. Grange and Reynolds both spun on the first lap while a number of others were finding visibility difficult.
The pace did increase in the closing stages. Manning, happier in the conditions with his rallycross background, looked set to challenge Robinson for victory only for a mistake on the penultimate lap to give Robinson the buffer he needed.
“I was slowing up a little bit because I was giving my windscreen a little clean,” laughed the jovial Robinson.
Allen ran third for most of the race but was forced out by a broken driveshaft. That allowed Grange to complete the podium, over a minute behind the front pair. Owen and Class C winner Daffin were the only two others who remained on the lead lap after Mizen, who was putting pressure on Daffin, decided to call it a day with an almost completely misted windscreen. That allowed Michael Rudge (Fiesta XR2) to take the honours in Class D.
A slightly depleted field took part in Sunday’s dry race, with Manning among the absentees after hitting gearbox and alternator woe. Grange was forced to retire with his own gear selection issues, which left Robinson clear to take victory by half a minute despite a lack of grip from hard-compound tyres.
Allen came through from the back of the grid to take second ahead of Daffin and Mizen, all four winning their classes.
Pre-’93 Touring Cars
Pre-’93 Touring Cars shared the track with their Pre-’83 and Pre-’03 counterparts, along with the slick-shod Super Tourers who were given a head start to avoid dramas as their tyres got up to temperature. With reigning champion Stuart Waite not contesting a full season in 2025, the way was clear for Ian Bower to take a double win.
Bower’s BMW M3 E36 was fastest in qualifying by more than a second, despite a gravelly excursion. The similar car of Will Davison was second, with Jasver Sapra a similar margin further back.
Fourth quickest was welcome guest Michael Cullen, debuting his sublime E30 M3 as an invitational entry on slick tyres. Kevin Willis and Shaun Morris made it five E36s in the top six.
An early safety car for Daniel Gandesha’s stranded E36 helped the Pre-’93 cars onto the tail of the Super Tourers and they soon began to pick them off. Bower was initially under pressure from Davison but the two-time champion dispatched the Super Tourers more easily to open a gap.
Meanwhile, Cullen recovered from a slow start to work his way forward. While Davison was caught behind one of the Super Tourers, he closed in and took the position on lap seven of 11. With 7s to make up, a challenge for victory looked unlikely, but Cullen almost caught Bower unawares and was less than 0.7s behind at the chequered flag.
“It’s my first race in that car and I missed a gear a few times at the start,” explained Cullen. “The car is fantastic and capable of winning.”
Revelling in the improved handling of his E36 after some winter suspension developments, Bower admitted that “the safety car helped me with catching up the Super Tourers, then I just got in a rhythm”.
Behind Davison, the top six was completed by Willis, Sapra and Morris.
Sunday’s rematch was on a damp track with an almost dry racing line, although Cullen took the cautious approach of opting for wet tyres. Sapra was missing from the action after suffering power-steering failure, but Oliver Owen’s E36 was an addition after missing the first race.
As Bower escaped to tackle the Super Tourers, Willis rounded Cullen for second in Pre-’93. Willis’s challenge didn’t get much further though, as he ran wide at Coppice and then spun back across the circuit, given Cullen a fright as he slammed his anchors on.
Davison was putting the pressure on Cullen and got ahead mid-race, with the Irishman’s 2.5-litre M3 also losing out to the three-litre E36s of Oliver Owen – from the back of the grid – and Morris before the flag.
Jonathan Gill took Class A honours in Mike Seabourne’s Jaguar XJS just as its owner had done a day earlier.
Pre-’83 Group 1 Touring Cars
There is set to be a new Pre-’83 Group 1 title winner crowned this year with 12-time champion Stephen Primett giving his venerable Ford Escort Mk1 a rest. In Primett’s absence, Jonathan Corker staked his claim for the crown by winning the opening race before young gun Harry Hickton took the second.
Corker’s pretty Datsun 510 headed the 15-car field in qualifying. Mini Challenge Trophy champion Hickton, aboard his father Dave’s stunning Opel Kadett GT/E, was just a tenth of a second slower in second. The Mk1 Escorts of Tom Harvey, Graham Smith and Mark Fowler were next, ahead of Carl Shreeve’s Triumph Dolomite.
Behind those six two-litre cars, the bigger machinery was headed by club chairman Stuart Caie (Ford Capri), just ahead of Jake Margulies in his dad’s Alfa Romeo GTV6. Third quickest in class was the brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo of Neil Philpotts, another terrific addition to the grid.
Hickton was the early leader of race one, and Harvey also briefly headed Corker before the Datsun driver hit back. Corker managed to retake the lead on the third of 11 laps, and withstood the Opel’s pressure for the remainder of the race to take his first Pre-’83 win at the circuit.
Unusually, the rest of the top six also finished in their qualifying positions as Harvey completed the podium.
Caie took the honours in Class B as Philpotts got ahead of Margulies for second, with regular pacesetter Nick Williamson’s Rover SD1 severely hampered by a problem with his new injectors over-fuelling and forcing him to run at low revs.
Two-time BOSS champion James Dunkley was the Class D victor – a feat he would repeat the following day – on the debut of his smart new Ford Fiesta Mk1.
Sunday’s race featured more changes of position. While Corker led the field away, a cautious start on the wetter line by Hickton helped Harvey snatch second, with Smith also managing to jump the Opel when it had a moment on some gravel left on the circuit at McLeans.
Harvey’s ShellSport Escort latched on to Corker’s Datsun and exerted pressure as he hunted for his first win in the car. The Kent man’s all-action style attested to the effort he was putting in but a moment at the Old Hairpin on lap nine of 12 cost him ground. The Escort skated through the gravel but Harvey clung on to rejoin in fourth.
Smith’s fine run also started to unravel shortly afterwards when his Escort began to misfire. A grateful Hickton seized the opportunity to snatch second. The youngster then pounced on Corker and got a run through the chicane to take the lead and secure his – and the car’s – first victory in the category.
Smith’s misfire helped Harvey reclaim third, but the second Escort held on to fourth overall, ahead of Shreeve, with Fowler a non-starter.
In Class B, Caie’s late retirement promoted Margulies to class honours ahead of Philpotts.
Pre-’03 Touring Cars
There was a very disappointing entry of just two Pre-’03 cars at the season opener, with more expected to return at the coming rounds.
Joe Dorrington’s Honda Civic EG led the way throughout. The Southampton driver took two comfortable wins, although not without drama as an engine bay full of fuel after the second race showed.
Simon Mann’s Class A BMW E46 was the only other runner, duly taking class honours in the opener but retiring from Sunday’s race.
Full results are available via the TSL website.
All images courtesy of CTCRC official photographer Steve Jackman/Eat My Pixels
