This years sole VSCC meeting there was as good as ever with the exciting racing that this tight circuit produces.
Star of the day had to be Mac Hulbert who had a very successful day with three wins to his credit. Mac has had plenty of mechanical pitfalls in R4D so he thoroughly deserves to reap the rewards too. 
Practice was marred by a rather horrifying incident when Colin Poynter rolled his Hyper Leaf. Thankfully, although he was taken off to hospital, he was not too seriously hurt.  The car was a more battered looking but no doubt it will keep the Poynters out of mischief this winter putting it right.

The first race was definitely Stuart Harpers in the Morgan, he is always very fast in this hairy little car (The three wheeled Aero model). He deservedly romped home ahead of the field. Race two was eventful, Pete Candy had gone off like a rocket in his Riley Falcon only to be stopped in his tracks by the red flag, caused by Alex Pilkington losing a front wheel off the Alfa 1750 along the pit straight.  A hair raising experience this for anyone but the intrepid Alex coped with typical good sense and brought the car to a safe halt.  Later inspection showed the hub to be cleanly broken in two.  The race was restarted and Pete Candy showed that his earlier lead was no fluke by once again taking an emphatic lead. The next race, a 6 lap handicap,  Grant Cowley took the honours here in his Wolseley Hornet.

The John Taylor Memorial Race for Formula Junior cars was next on the programme.  A mixed field of the cars reflected the popularity of this formula in the 50s and 60s on the British scene.  Simon Armer’s beautifully prepared Cooper T59 had dominated practice and he similarly took charge of the race too. A deserved win for a good race.

The Edwardian race is an annual event here and one of the awards is in memory of Dick Baddiley, a staunch Edwardian car racer who’s memory is perpetuated in this event.  There was a very varied entry this year.  If there had been an award for the furthest traveled, it would have gone to 1906 Darraq of Anne Thomson from New Zealand, she drives this fearsome ex-Malcolm Campbell car with great panache and more than held her own on this circuit of which she had no previous experience.   Julian Majzub stamped his authority on the race, slicing through the field and taking the lead in the closing stages, he is a very competitive driver and of course the Indianapolis Sunbeam is a very fast machine, a modification of the twin cam Grand Prix Sunbeam specifically to compete at Indianapolis in 1916.  It is a most impressive machine and of course very advanced for its time.

The 12 lap race for Vintage Racing cars provided maybe too much excitement for Chris Williams in the mighty Napier Bentley a mechanical mishap resulted in Jonathon Cobb’s Frazer Nash dropping a quantity of oil at Dunlop just prior to Williams galloping up behind.  The Napier spun three times, the second one taking the car within a few feet of the edge of the pond on the infield.  It was a brilliant display of William’s skill that he kept the car on the circuit.  His remarks later were understandably quite unquotable.  Exciting stuff this vintage racing.  Stuart Harper went on to take his second laurels of the day in the Morgan.                                                                                                                                                                     
A time leap of approximately 40 years saw a different era on the Grid.  The Bob Gerard Memorial Race was for 1950s front engined racing cars and drew in a fairly small field.  This is mainly due to the every increasing number of historic events being staged throughout Europe these days.  Most race dates are double and triple booked and few events can draw the full entry of eligible cars.  It was an exciting race with Mac Hulbert again pushing R4D to it’s full potential and opening up a good lead from Duncan Ricketts in the E Type ERA.That was the order of finishing. Graham Burrows  and David White both in Cooper Bristols (Good friends who live locally) battled it out wheel to wheel for   3rd and  4th places
 
Terry McGrath in his 1100cc Amilcar CGSs won the last handicap race in good style. The race was a little difficult for spectators to follow and no one seemed very sure of the results until the official placings were published.
 
The last race of the day was for the Austin 7 Handicap Burghley Trophy.
Matthew Shepherd went into an early lead and held it for a couple of laps until Nick Haywood-Cooke sneaked up upon Shepherd and Birley scrapping, taking them both by surprise and neatly. Experienced competitor Frank Hernandez came in second. and he just about made it on his out lap.
 
Race 11, the last of the day was a six lap scratch race with a large mixed field competing.  Again, Mac Hulbert shot into an early and decisive lead.   Duncan Wood pushed his Aero Morgan into a most creditable second place with Robert Carr finishing third in the AC/GN.     This was an excellent days racing, the spectator facilities are excellent at this small circuit, with good overall viewing from the main public areas and better paddock viewing than most of the larger circuits.  Incidentally, the larger circuits could learn a thing or two from the catering facilities in the paddock, the food is excellent very reasonably priced, the service good and given with a smile. Thank you Mallory Park we look forward to next year.