750 Motor Club National Championships
Snetterton 27th and 28th September 2008

Text and photos by Paul Sutton

Andy Hiley in his Taydec Mk2 leads Andrew Sterling in the Dax Rush

Summer finally arrived and the sun shone on an exciting day’s racing as the 750 Motor Club met for the penultimate round of its national championships. With a wide array of formulae there was racing for every enthusiast, from the Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ specials in the 750 Trophy to the Van Diemen’s of the Formula 4 Championship. The racing was extremely close with the ‘Saxmax’ (Citroen Saxos), for drivers aged 14 to 17, especially exciting; despite some intense battling throughout and some graceful 360°s there were, thankfully, remarkably few comings together… Similarly hard fought were the Yokohama Hot Hatch races:

Hot Hatches in action: Maurice Hayden’s Citroen C2 VTS going forwards; Rory Cooper’s Fiesta XR2i going backwards

The Toyota MR2s also provided great entertainment with the championship fought fiercely from first to last lap.

Oil on the track meant an early finish to the Toyota MR2 Championship

The Kit Car Championship provided some excellent racing too, with Andrew Sterling winning both races in his Dax Rush, followed closely, again in the two races, by Andy Hiley in his Taydec Mark 2.

Andrew Sterling takes a short cut…

Gary Goodyear, fifth and third respectively, was impressive in his Raw Fulcrum. 

Gary Goodyear’s Raw Fulcrum entering the pits at the end of race 1

The plan to attend the meeting in John Sutton’s 1930 Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ was thwarted by dynamo problems and a flat battery; it was therefore all the more gratifying to see a number of ‘Ulsters’, of various vintages and provenances on the circuit and in the paddock. Notable amongst these was the modified 1930 car of Darell Woods, being driven by John Skeavington and Stewart Arklay’s long wheelbase special.

Darrell Woods’ modified 1930 Austin 7 ‘Ulster’

DarrJohn Skeavington (left) and Geoff Roe with Darrell Woods’ modified 1930 Austin 7 ‘Ulster’

Stewart Arklay’s Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ Special

Stewart Arklay with his Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ Special

A … of Austin 7 ‘Ulsters’ – what is the collective noun?

 What makes race meetings such as these so special for the spectator is the closeness to the action, the cars and the people. Wandering around the paddock one is able to view the cars properly and to talk with their owners or drivers. There is no doubt that even at this level of motor racing things have changed from when I last spectated – the number of sophisticated motor homes and trailers demonstrated the varying budgets across the formulae; however to be able to spend a day viewing competitive motor racing at close quarters is an experience to be cherished and I look forward to the 2009 season with relish.