The Classic Touring Car Racing Club won plenty of plaudits on its first appearance at Thruxton Retro.
Headline honours went to Ian Thompson who won the inaugural Fred Francis Award – in recognition of the founder of Scalextric – in Pre-’66 Touring Cars. There was also success for circuit owner Alex Thistlethwayte in the second race.
Other highlights included a maiden victory in Pre-’83 Touring Cars for Tim Clarke aboard a Rover SD1.
But eclipsing them all was one-time Classic Thunder champion Nick Vaughan who stormed to an emotional double on his return to the category.
Classic Thunder & Historic Thunder
On his first appearance for nearly two years, 2023 champion Nick Vaughan bagged a brace of wins just six weeks after losing his father. Having dominated the opener, Vaughan enjoyed a battle for the ages with Joe Collier in Sunday’s rematch before triumphing again.
Vaughan’s 600+bhp Audi A3 Turbo was fastest in qualifying by an incredible 3.6s with a 106.95mph lap. Otherwise, it was a BMW lockout at the top of the order, with Giuseppe Callari (M3 E46) joining Vaughan on the front row. Dave Farrow (1 Series V8) and reigning champion Ian Bower (M3 E36) would start on row two.
Behind the leading BOSS runner, Piers Grange, Joe Collier was next in his E46. The Derbyshire racer only managed one flying lap after his BMW’s front aero was pulled off by the strong headwind up Woodham Hill.
Best of the Historic Thunder runners was Colin Voyce in his Mountune turbo-motivated Ford Escort Mk1. Simon Collier (Honda turbo-powered E46) pipped James Janicki (Nissan Skyline GTR R32) to a place on row four of the combined grid by just 0.017s.
A pair of local entries added further interest to the Historic classes. Alex Thistlethwayte, owner of the venue, brought his storied Chevrolet Camaro out for a play, while Nigel Mustill tracked his glorious Group 5 Zakspeed Ford Capri recreation. Sadly the Capri’s high-revving 1.7-litre turbo motor only lasted a few laps in qualifying, curtailing the experienced Salisbury racer’s weekend.
As Vaughan led away at the start of the first race, Farrow challenged Callari for second entering the Complex. But the brutish 1 Series clobbered the kerb and almost sent him into a spin, which allowed Joe Collier to pounce for third.
With Collier then demoting Callari, Farrow also managed to pass the West Londoner at the start of the second lap to take third. But the heavy V8-powered car’s wide track and narrow wheelbase were not a good combination to cope with Thruxton’s fearsome fast, sweeping bends and Farrow found the EDF Motorsport-run could not live with the pace of those out front.
In turn, with some 200bhp less to play with, Collier was unable to keep touch with Vaughan as the Hampshire local charged to his first win since May 2024.
“That was unreal,” said an emotional Vaughan. “That means everything. My dad passed away six weeks ago. It was his birthday next week and we were going to try and win it, get a pot for him… And we’ve done it!”
On his Thruxton debut, Collier was 5s down in second, but vowed: “We’ll put some different tyres on it and give him a proper race tomorrow when we’re starting right behind him.”
Farrow was half a minute off the leader in a Class A-winning third overall, comfortably clear of fourth-placed Callari, who had to battle without power-steering.
In the battle of the Escorts, Piers Grange’s BOSS-registered Mk2 just got the better of Voyce’s Mk1, which took the Historic Thunder honours. Janicki’s two-wheel-drive Skyline shadowed the pair, sixth in Thunder and second in Class A.
Thistlethwayte’s Camaro enjoyed a race-long scrap with BOSS runner Cliff Pellin as he finished second to Voyce in Historic Thunder.
True to his word, Collier gave Vaughan a much harder workout in Sunday’s race. Collier immediately grabbed the lead, only for Vaughan’s Audi to power back ahead up Woodham Hill towards the end of the lap.
Collier then shadowed the leader for the next few laps as the pair pulled out a big margin over the rest of the field. Into the second half of the race, Collier got a run exiting the Complex as they negotiated traffic to grab the advantage. But once again, Vaughan used the Team Prawn Racing car’s extra grunt to reclaim the lead on Woodham Hill.
Next time around, Collier attacked on the outside line into the Complex. Having lost his clutch, Vaughan ran wide under braking, which took both out wide. But the Midlander managed to cut back and move ahead. This time, Vaughan retook the position into the fearsome Church corner. A lap later, the pair played out an almost identical exchange in what was developing into a superb race.
Eventually, on lap 10 of 12, Collier ran wide exiting the Complex and suddenly slowed with a misfire. After losing a lot of ground, it did clear, but Vaughan was gone and Callari had swept past into second.
Vaughan eased off on the last lap but his margin of victory was still 7.5s. He knew he’d been pushed to the limit through, his fastest lap just two tenths shy of the lap record.
“That was a different story, wasn’t it?” he puffed. “I knew I was in for a fight but that boy can drive! The engine, built by Badger 5, got us through that – all the power down to Church and up Woodham Hill.”
Once back up to speed, Collier passed Callari to reclaim second. It might have ended with the same result as a day earlier, but Collier had played his part in a superb contest. “We made Prawny work for it,” he smiled. “Perfect example of power versus handling. On the straights every time he was gone, and then I had to do all the work again on the tight, twisty sections.”
More competitive with his power-steering fixed, Callari was third ahead of Farrow who still won Class A, albeit outside the overall top three.
Collier’s father Simon looked set for a very strong fifth overall as he continues development on his Honda K24-powered E46. But the motor cut out on the final lap and he dropped to ninth. The four drivers who benefited enjoyed a battle with each other that ebbed and flowed throughout the race. It was eventually Voyce who came out on top, winning Historic Thunder again in the process.
Janicki was sixth ahead of Bower, who won Class C from the back of the grid. The reigning champion had missed Saturday’s race after his differential failed in the Pre-’93 contest.
Kevin Denwood’s E46 Compact lost touch in the closing stages and was classified eighth.
He might have had to settle for two second places, but with Bower’s problems – and only scoring half points in the race he did contest due to a lack of class opposition – Collier Jr has strengthened his overall championship lead ahead of the next rounds at Brands Hatch.
Blue Oval Saloon Series
Three-time BOSS champion Piers Grange bounced back from an uncharacteristic crash at Oulton Park to take his first two wins of the season in the all-Ford category.
In truth, Grange was in a class of his own all weekend, and was focused more on fighting among the top six Classic Thunder runners than his BOSS opposition. The Cheshire racer put his Smith & Jones-powered bewinged Mk2 Escort fifth quickest overall among the combined grid in qualifying.
Martin Reynolds, the 2021 champion, was next of the BOSS cars. His Group 2-style Escort was some 3s down on Grange, but still well clear of Cliff Pellin’s Mk7 Fiesta, which topped Class C.
Among the closely matched trio of Fiestas in Class D, Will Hunt’s Mk6 set the pace ahead of Michael Rudge’s Mk2 XR2.
Grange was well clear of the rest of the BOSS field in Saturday’s race. Having challenged Thunder runner Giuseppe Callari for fourth overall, he settled into fifth, just holding off Colin Voyce’s Historic Thunder Mk1 Escort.
Reynolds was a distant second. Pellin’s pace put him well clear in Class C, but he enjoyed fantastic tussle for the entire race with Alex Thistlethwayte’s Historic Thunder Chevrolet Camaro. The two very different cars were well matched for pace around the 2.34-mile circuit but Thistlethwayte used his local knowledge to prevail by just six tenths.
Hunt won Class D from Todd Hawkins’ similar car, the pair separated by Class C man Michael Kenneally in his unique Mk8 Fiesta.
It was largely a similar story in Sunday’s race. In terms of BOSS, Grange was untouchable and he spent much of the race tussling among the Classic Thunder mid-pack. But not all was well aboard the PRG Trailers Escort, which Grange reported to be down on power.
He lost ground over the race, but was still well clear of the battle for second in BOSS. That was between Reynolds and Class C runner Pellin. Reynolds held the position initially but Pellin got ahead on lap four of 12. The 1600 turbo Fiesta held off the 2.5-litre Escort to the tune of a couple of seconds as they took the chequered flag.
Reynolds’ fellow West Norfolk racer Colin Claxton brought his own Mk1 Escort home fourth in BOSS, repeating his result from the previous day.
In Class D, Hawkins took the honours from Rudge who limped home a couple of laps down. Hunt had led the way until he suffered a puncture. On a circuit notorious for being hard on tyres, the same fate befell Class C man Pat Kenneally, who was enjoying his front-wheel-drive debut aboard son Michael’s car.
Pre-’66 Touring Cars
The Pre-’66 Touring Cars had a very special new trophy to contest on their first race. The Fred Francis Award was won in dramatic fashion by Ian Thompson’s Lotus Cortina. The bigger-engined cars struck back on Sunday, as Alex Thistlethwayte took the honours in his Ford Mustang.
Thistlethwayte’s V8 power set the pace in qualifying, 1.3s faster than Class A rival Piers Grange’s Ford Falcon. Among the twin cam Cortinas, Thompson edged Simon Gusterson’s similar car to third overall by four tenths.
Having had to miss the previous round at Oulton Park, Gary Prebble was back with a rebuilt engine in his Hillman Imp. On his home circuit, the multiple Pre-’03 champion was flying in the diminutive machine, going fifth fastest overall.
Class C pacesetter in sixth overall was Mike Davies in the family’s long-serving Mini, just ahead of class rival Jake Swann (Ford Anglia). Brendan Rooney (Imp), Ed Gibbs (Anglia) and seasonal debutant Ant Astley (Mustang) completed the top 10.
Gibbs’s pace had come at a cost, however, with a blown gearbox forcing him out for the rest of the weekend. With Billy Kenneally (on holiday) and Pat Keneally (mechanical) also not in action, it meant that none of the Sheppey-based Pre-’66 stalwarts would start the races.
Thistlethwayte made a reasonable start from pole position, but while outside front-row man Grange bogged down, Thompson took advantage to propel himself into the lead.
Grange’s poor start would in fact prove even more costly than it first appeared as he also copped a 10s penalty for moving before the lights went out. As the cars waited on the grid, Grange had gently eased up the clutch to feel whether his Falcon was in first or third gear but, as he did so, the lights extinguished, forcing him to commit to going. As it turned out, the Falcon had been in third gear which was why it bogged down, leaving Grange swamped. His error was compounded by then accidentally switching off the fuel pump rather than the fan.
Thompson’s lead lasted less than a lap as Thistlethwayte used his extra power to charge past up Woodham Hill. The Mustang began to pull clear, leaving Thompson to focus on keeping Gusterson behind while trying not to take too much life from his tyres on the abrasive surface.
Meantime, Grange was on a charging recovery drive. The big Falcon was up to fourth by the end of the third lap, then picked off the Cortinas with relative ease. Thistlethwayte may, however, have been out of reach – until his pace dropped. The Mustang was stuck in gear.
Grange charged past and cleared off into the distance, crossing the line more than 3s clear. But, despite a stirring drive that he had thoroughly enjoyed, it wasn’t enough to keep the victory. The jump-start penalty dropped him back to fourth, second in class.
But it wouldn’t be Thistlethwayte who inherited victory. The two Cortinas were reeling in the local man and, in a dramatic finish, Thompson swept past as they exited the Club chicane for the final time. So close was Thistlethwayte to hanging on that Gusterson, running in Thompson’s wake, didn’t quite make it past, the top three covered by less than half a second.
Thompson – who didn’t even realise he’d won – was presented with the very smart new trophy by Francis’s daughter Julia. “I had no idea!” he admitted. “I thought I was second.”
Behind the lead quartet, Prebble drove a fine race in the one-litre Imp to finish fifth overall and win Class E at a canter. The local man was thrilled to have father Brian, a notable former Imp racer himself, on hand to witness his efforts.
Swann got the better of Davies early on and held off the Mini to the chequered flag to win Class C in sixth overall. Rooney drove a very lonely race to eighth, second in Class E, taking it easy on the car during the closing stages until he noticed a rapidly closing Mustang in his mirrors. That belonged to Astley, ninth ahead of Bob Bullen’s Anglia.
Keith Wright was the sole registered points scorer in Class D aboard his Morris Minor. He duly took the class laurels although he was beaten by the Class D-spec Austin A35 of guest Steven Dunne.
Thompson made another good getaway to lead Sunday’s rematch. Grange charged around the outside line of Allard to take second from Thistlethwayte, with Gusterson also following through. Thistlethwayte briefly dropped further when Prebble nipped past into the Complex, before the Mustang powered back ahead through the fast, sweeping curves that followed.
The two V8s then made up more ground on Woodham Hill, each mugging the Cortina immediately ahead as Grange hit the front. Thistlethwayte then dispatched Thompson through Allard at the start of the second lap before charging past Grange into the lead at Church just a few corners later.
With a fully functional gearbox, Thistlethwayte was unstoppable and he motored to victory by almost 3s, although Grange snatched fastest lap in the closing stages.
Behind the big Yank tanks, Thompson was again under pressure from Gusterson who knew he could extract a bit more pace from himself than he had managed the day before. Prebble, too, was managing to keep in touch with the two Cortinas.
Gusterson squeezed his Alan Henderson Racing-prepared car past Thompson’s Jordan Racing Team-built version as they crossed the line at the end of the second tour. As Thompson’s tyres wilted in the heat, Prebble followed past. Rooney, Swann and Adrian Oliver (Imp) threatened to further demote the 2024 champion but he held his ground.
While Gusterson had nothing for the V8s in front, he eked out a small margin to those behind to take a class-winning third overall. As the other Imps and Anglias dropped back, Prebble just held off Thompson – by less than a tenth – to take a superb fourth overall despite his little car’s relative lack of power. No doubt a little disappointed, Thompson then made a quick escape in his classic VW T2 as he dashed to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Swann got the better of Rooney and was only a couple of seconds further back in sixth overall, first in Class C. Having wisely chosen to play his joker, a huge 56-point haul from the weekend has leapfrogged the East Anglian into the overall championship lead. He now holds a 13-point advantage over Thompson, with Rooney – who finished eighth overall – just three points further adrift.
Rooney was beaten across the line by Tony Davies in the family Mini. Having taken the car over from his elder brother, Davies was obliged to start from the back but had worked his way forward commendably to finish second in class, seventh overall. He passed both Rooney and Oliver in one move approaching the Club chicane on the last lap.
It was a landmark day for the Davies brothers as, for the first time, all three raced the Mini on the same day – John stepped in to share the car inherited from their father Jack in another race later on.
Bullen’s Anglia completed the top 10. Behind him, Astley got the better of Michael Loveland and Steve Platts, whose Imps had been buzzing around the big Mustang in an entertaining scrap.
With Wright a non-starter, Dunne’s A35 was the only Class D-spec car to complete the distance.
Pre-’93 Touring Cars
Kevin Willis bounced back from a bruising first half of the season to secure his first Pre-’93 Touring Car win for nearly three years. The local man was close to a double as he pushed reigning champion Ian Bower all the way in Sunday’s sequel.
A thin entry was hit further by multiple race winner Will Davison’s withdrawal following practice, due to a torn back muscle. Bower topped the times in qualifying, his BMW M3 E36 half a second quicker than Willis’s similar example. Willis had worked wonders to complete a second major rebuild of the season after sustaining heavy damage at Oulton Park in May, and had the yellow M3 going better than ever.
Behind some of the leading Pre-’03 cars that were sharing the track, Steve Walden’s M3 was third quickest on his first Pre-’93 appearance of the season. Walden was less than three tenths faster than the similar car of Graham Myers. Veteran Myers was marking 53 years since making his racing debut at the same circuit, which remains unchanged more than half a century later.
Bower’s aggression while warming his tyres prior to the first race would prove costly, as the power of his CiBiEmme lookalike machine ripped its differential from the subframe. It was still driveable but became something of a handful.
Willis took full advantage to grab the lead on the opening lap and continued to hold sway after an early safety car. Bower initially clung on but Willis upped his pace, setting a new lap record at 100.79mph. It coincided with a mistake from Bower where he clipped the kerb at Goodwood and almost spun.
That gave Willis the margin he needed to ease back and record his first Pre-’93 victory since winning at Snetterton in September 2023 when Bower was driving a borrowed car.
“To be honest, I never thought I’d beat Ian,” he admitted with a smile. “But I could see he was a bit loose in places.”
Walden had the legs on Myers as he completed the Pre-’93 top three.
The Davison team went back to their Salisbury base to fetch Bower a new differential for Sunday’s race, and Bower rewarded their efforts with victory. Bower jumped Willis off the line and led all 11 laps, reclaiming his lap record with a new 101mph benchmark in the process.
But he didn’t have it easy. Willis kept the gap at around a second for the opening two thirds of the race. Then, with their tyres past their best and Bower starting to encounter fuel surge issues, he ramped up the pressure.
Willis seemed quicker through the faster corners and gave Bower a particularly hard time on the penultimate lap. But, with oil on the circuit from a Pre-’03 car, each had a sideways moment through Allard on the final lap. When Willis had another at the Complex, it settled the outcome in Bower’s favour.
It was the Southampton-based racer’s fifth Pre-’93 win of the season and extended his already healthy points lead over Myers.
Myers himself finished third after a blinding start took him past most of the Pre-’03 field off the line. He then enjoyed a tussle with the newer cars, comfortably third in Pre-’93. Fourth-placed Walden closed in as the laps wore down but remained more than a second adrift at the chequered flag.
Pre-’03 Touring Cars
On the same grid, the Pre-’03 field was swelled by some guest entries. One of those was 2022 champion Cavan Grainger, making a first appearance of the season in his BMW 330ci E46. The experienced racer duly took the honours in both contests.
Grainger was only fourth fastest in Pre-’03 qualifying, where the pace was set by another guest. With his Pre-’93 BMW M3 E36 still sidelined, Oliver Owen stepped into his father’s 328i version (which is not eligible for the earlier split). He was immediately on the pace, despite the car not running throttle bodies and therefore a little down-on-power compared with some of the opposition.
Owen edged reigning champion Dave Cave’s similar car by just 0.08s to top the times. Kam Tunio’s Class C Honda Civic was third fastest, another half second back but a tenth clear of Grainger.
Tim Tomblin (328i) and Chris Bassett (Peugeot 306 GTi) completed the top six, ahead of John Hillyer (BMW E36 Touring) and the guest entry of Ian Knight (Civic). Sadly, both Knight and Tunio would be non-starters in the races, a major blow to the latter’s championship hopes.
A good start from Grainger catapulted him into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. Owen and Cave enjoyed a battle for second, with Cave making the decisive move mid-race.
Hillyer and Bassett both got ahead of Tomblin before tangling with each at the left-hander approaching the Complex and losing a lot of time. Both got going again but Tomblin was a clear fourth, with Bassett recovering to fifth and Hillyer touring around at the rear of the field.
Debutant Andrew Idoine (Civic) completed the top six, second to Bassett in Class C, after getting caught up among the leading Pre-’83 machinery.
Sunday’s race brought another comfortable win for Grainger, some 6s clear of his Pre-’93 pursuers.
The quartet of Cave, Owen, Tomblin and Bassett had a fantastic race for second, running as two pairs of side-by-side cars on numerous occasions. Cave eventually prevailed but was hit with a 10s penalty for an out-of-position start, which dropped him back to third behind Owen.
It mattered little to Cave, who had enjoyed the contest and was still first of the registered points scorers. Tunio’s unfortunate non-score means that Cave now holds a commanding lead in the defence of his championship title.
Tomblin lost ground from mid-race but was still fourth in Pre-’03, earning points for second in Class A. Bassett meanwhile had to limp home with a broken gearbox that cost him more than a minute over the last couple of laps. He dropped to sixth in Pre-’03, behind Hillyer.
Pre-’83 Group 1 Touring Cars
After a busy spell which included a slot on the British Touring Car Championship undercard, the Pre-’83 entry was missing a few potential frontrunners. Wins were split between reigning champion Jonathan Corker’s Datsun 510 and a maiden success for Rover SD1-mounted Tim Clarke.
Fastest in qualifying was Jerry Bailey (Rover SD1), who continued his strong form from Oulton Park to head Corker by half a second. Bailey’s regular Class B sparring partner Nick Williamson was an unfortunate absentee after his SD1 hit trouble the day before. But Bailey did at least have stablemate Clarke to play with.
Clarke was fifth fastest, behind the Ford Escort Mk1s of championship leader Nic Grindrod and Tom Harvey – which were separated by just 0.008s!
Chris Snowden brought his genuine BTCC Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT out for another run and was sixth quickest, just ahead of local driver Don Hughes’s Class D pacesetting Volkswagen Golf.
Bailey’s challenge ended as soon as the lights went out to start race one, as the big V8 seized. He managed to coast to the side of the track but a safety car was inevitable.
Grindrod had jumped Corker and led the queue, with Harvey, Clarke, Hughes and Snowdon following.
Unfortunately, the caution period negated the effect of the Pre-’83 machinery having a delayed start from a secondary grid, and brought them onto the tail of the more modern cars ahead.
The cars’ differing strengths were plain to see, and Pre-’03 man Andrew Idoine found himself caught in the middle of the Pre-’83 lead scrap. Corker took advantage of the situation to dive past both Idoine and Grindrod in one audacious move to take the lead.
The Datsun driver then made hay while his Escort-mounted rivals were caught behind the front-wheel-drive Civic.
Untroubled by losing half of his rear windscreen, Corker took his first win since the Donington season opener by 3s. Grindrod held off Harvey for second, content to keep his points total ticking over as he defends an enormous lead in the standings.
Clarke, who had got himself ahead of Harvey at one stage, lost ground with fuel surge issues in the closing stages. That allowed Snowdon’s Alfa to come through for Class B honours in fourth, while Class D winner Hughes managed an impressive fifth overall in his 1600cc Golf.
Clarke dropped to sixth, ahead of James Dunkley (Ford Fiesta Mk1) and Jared Knight (Ford Escort Mk2).
Without a safety car to contend with, the secondary grid should have made for a purer lead fight in Sunday’s race. But while Grindrod jumped ahead at the start, Corker’s challenge immediately hit trouble. The unique Datsun’s Achilles Heel tends to be its gearbox and so it proved again as Corker found himself stuck in gear.
A grateful Harvey surged past into second, while a strong first lap from Clarke lifted him to third, with Snowdon’s Alfa in tow.
The extra grunt of the Class B cars soon took both Clarke and Snowdon past Harvey, with Grindrod’s Escort their next target. Clarke made his move just before half-distance and went on to win by 3s. An overnight relocation of the Rover’s fuel pump had prevented any recurrence of the fuel surge issue.
The Warwick driver was delighted to take a maiden victory in only the second appearance for the former Belfast Technology College chassis. Entered by Rover V8 engine specialist JE Developments and run by Tim’s father Ken, the former Tom Walkinshaw Racing man, the left-hand-drive car looks set to be an increasingly potent force.
“I’m lost for words,” admitted Clarke Jr. “Had to be very brave through Church – at least you can see the apex [with LHD]! Without my dad, Ken Clarke, and John Eales who built the engine, I wouldn’t be here now.”
Snowdon managed to snatch second from Grindrod with a couple of laps remaining. Grindrod still won Class C, despite pressure from Harvey, in third overall.
Hughes took Class D laurels in fifth overall, his opposition from Dunkley evaporating with low oil pressure. Knight was sixth and Corker limped home seventh, fourth in class.
Mike Broadway manhandled his big Jaguar XJ6 to a pair of Class A successes over the weekend.
Full results are available via the TSL website.
Images courtesy of CTCRC official photographer Steve Jackman/Eat My Pixels (SJ) and Jamie Peters-Ennis (JPE)
