Castle Combe

Simon Hadfield dominates Combe Aston Martin Jon Goss trophy

Race 3 of the Autumn Classic meeting at Castle Combe was for historic Aston Martin’s, with a short 20 minute race for the Jon Goss Memorial trophy. On pole was rapid historic racing proponent Simon Hadfield in Wolfgang Freiderichs Aston Martin DB3S, with Simon Brooks alongside him on the front row in is DB3S. Row 2 consisted of David Reed in his DB2 with Chris Jolly completing the row in his similar DB2.

From the lights Hadfield rocketed away into an early lead as the rest jostled for position behind him. After the first lap it was clear Hadfield was on a mission as he seamlessly built an opening lap lead of around 5 seconds over the rest. Behind him too, 2nd and 3rd placed drivers David Reed and Chris Jolly were beginning to distance themselves from the rest also. By lap 3 it was clear barring mechanical problems that Hadfield would dominate this race as he was stretch his lead by 5 seconds a lap at the front.

With the lead now at 16 seconds by the end of lap 3, Hadfield kept stretching the lead as the rest of the top six were now evenly spaced also. On the fringes of the top six things almost changed as Steve Brooks almost fell out the top six after spinning on lap 9 at the Esses, although he re-joined still in 6th. It was clearly a tough race for Brooks as the spin showed he was struggling, especially as he had quickly fallen down the order from the 2nd spot on the grid.

In the later stages the race came alive somewhat, as Paul De Havilland, in his invitational Jaguar XK150, passed Chris Jolly for 3rd on the penultimate lap. A lap later, on lap 15 Simon Hadfield completed the final lap to take the chequered flag a staggering 56.482 seconds ahead of David Reed in 2nd after only 20 minutes of racing. Paul De Havilland completed the podium with Chris Jolly coming home 4th. Gordon McCulloch and Steve Brooks completed the top six with 5th and 6th respectively. Whilst this race didn’t have many battle it still provided excitement and intrigue at the skill of Simon Hadfield’s driving, a true display in how to hustle a historic racing car.

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David Smithies takes first leg of Combe Austin Healey invitational

After the opening HSCC Historic Formula Junior next up on track was the opening race of two to make up the Austin Healey invitational challenge race. After running it as a single 45 minute race last year, the Castle Combe organisers decided to switch it for this year and instead run two 20 minute races to make up an overall aggregate victor. This gave two car entries a chance to have an equal time behind the wheel and a huge grid reflected the popularity of this series. This is especially true with Austin Healey as legendary Healey driver John Chatham was a regular at the circuit and abroad in the 1960’s and was a locally based man.

Back to the day’s racing and as the grid lined up it was the soloist Bruce Montgomery who was on pole with fellow soloist David Smithies alongside him on the front row. David Grace lined up 3rd before the first of the two driver entries lined up 4th in the hands of the latest generation of Chatham racers Jack and Oliver.

From the start it was both front row men who made the best getaway’s as David Smithies edged into the lead from 2nd on the grid. In contrast to the opening Formula Junior race the first 5 were all fighting for the lead in the early portion of this 20 minute affair. The first real significant move came on lap 6 as David Grace went down the inside of pole man Bruce Montgomery for 2nd. Things very quickly got worse for Montgomery as Jaap Sinke deposed him of 3rd going up Avon Rise on the very next lap.

On lap 8 Montgomery was able to re-take 3rd from Sinke who appeared to miss a gear exiting Bobbies and lost momentum, and from here sadly the top 4 seemed to space out as Smithies opened a 1.5 second over the rest. A few laps later and Grace was able to close on Smithies for the lead, although this appeared to be largely because of traffic rather than a sudden burst of speed from him. Things were close between the top 3 over the final few laps although David Smithies always looked just about comfortable as he claimed victory in the opening leg of the Austin Healey challenge after 15 laps. Smithies winning margin was only 0.222 of a second from David Grace in 2nd and 0.4 of a second from Bruce Montgomery who completed the podium.

4th was Jaap Sinke whilst the Chris Clarkson/Ted Williams entry was 5th and the two Chatham brothers completed the top 6. The opening race provided plenty of battles and excitement from the large Austin Healey grid with the spectators eagerly anticipating the second installment of this Austin Healey invitational challenge later on in the afternoon.

Jon Milicevic dominates Historic Formula Junior affair

After the Championship Finals meeting the previous day, Castle Combe finished it’s season off with a nostalgic feel as the circuit transported itself back to the early years of the track in the 1950’s and 1960’s with the third annual Autumn classic meeting. After the previous two Classics were runaway successes the circuit made sure the third running this year the event was the biggest and best yet.

With copious demonstrations from various local car clubs at different portions of the circuit and bright sunshine above the opening HSCC Millers Oils Historic Formula Junior grid took shape on the circuit before the start. On pole was previous Historic Formula Ford champion Westie Mitchell in his De Tomaso with Jon Milicevic alongside him in his older Cooper T59. Row 2 was shared by Carlin GP3 mechanic Jack Woodhouse and Steve Jones in 4th.

Once the lights went out in this 20 minute race it was Jon Milicevic who made the best start from the outside of the front row to snatch the early lead from Jack Woodhouse in 2nd. From here the opening lap was relatively sedate as the first six were evenly spaced at the front. Things were soon changing however as Woodhouse immediately began closing the gap to leader Milicevic on lap 2. From here it seemed Milicevic was able to respond as he re-built his lead over the next few laps as Westie Mitchell in 3rd began closing on Woodhouse.

Sadly for the spectators the gaps stayed largely the same over the next portion of the race, with the only changes being the increasing of the gaps between the top 3 in traffic late on. This also was helped as Mitchell seemed to have an intermittent problem which slowed him momentarily on the pit straight on lap 15. A lap later and Jon Milicevic cruised to victory from Jack Woodhouse in 2nd and Westie Mitchell who completed the podium. 4th went to Richard Smeeton as Steve Jones was 5th and Laine Martin completed the top 6.

Whilst the race was not the most exciting way to begin the Castle Combe Autumn classic meeting it did give the large crowd a chance to watch a high speed demonstration of these classic Formula Junior racers and the considerable talent of winner Jon Milicevic, it’s just a shame he didn’t have to work harder for his victory.
For more information on this series please visit the websites below.
http://www.formulajunior.com/
http://www.hscc.org.uk/championships

Nissan GT Academy winner Gaetan Paletou takes overall win

The final race of the contemporary Castle Combe 2014 season was an Open Sports Vs Saloons race at the end of the day, with the sunlight drawing in the grid lined up for their shortened 12 minute race. 2014 European Nissan GT Academy winner Gaetan Paletou was on pole in his works prepared Nissan Team RJN Nissan 370Z GT4 spec racer. Alongside was supposed to be the impressive flame spitting Mazda RX-7 Turbo of Steve Putt, however a problem in the earlier Sports @ GT race left Paletou alone on the front row. Team mate to Paletou Paul Brown was behind him in 3rd whilst Dylan Popovic completed the top 4 in his unique Marlin racer.

At the lights it was Dylan Popovic and the ungainly looking Rage buggy of Craig Moore who made the best starts whilst Paul Brown who had a nightmare and stalled, leaving old circuit favourite Russell Humphrey behind him to inadvertently give him a push start. Craig Moore held the lead in the under powered Rage until Quarry before he overcooked things and went off at the Esses, dropping himself from the lead to the back all on lap 1.

This left the Nissan of Paletou to open a huge lead over earlier Castle Combe Saloons winner Tony Hutchings, who valiantly tried to stay with the GT4 Nissan despite the obvious power and handling disadvantages for Hutchings. Hutchings had earlier stole on 2nd on lap 3 from Adam Prebble in his Rover 220 Turbo, and things soon got worse for Prebble on lap 6 as he was forced to give up a comfortable 3rd as he slowed going up Avon Rise and pulled off into retirement.

By lap 7 Paletou has used his obvious skills and car advantage to open a 16 second lead over Hutchings who was equally comfortable in 2nd, and that gap was further extended when the 3rd man Paul Brown was forced to retire at the end of the lap after receiving mechanical warning flags for noise nuisance. This therefore ended a remarkable recovery drive after the earlier stall on the line. From here until the end of the 12 minute race things were comfortable for the top 6 as Gaetan Paletou romped home for probably his first ever overall race victory, and he will be hard pressed to find a more comfortable one.

Tony Hutchings was also comfortable in 2nd to cap a brilliant end of the season for him after his earlier win, as old circuit favourite Russell Humphrey returned to Combe to complete the podium. Rob Ballard was 4th after his heroics earlier in the Combe Saloons, whilst Nigel Richards was 5th in his powerful BMW E36 M3 and Craig Moore hustled his Rage buggy back into the top 6 after his opening lap off at the Esses.

This race brought the contemporary 2014 Castle Combe season to a close, and once again it was a classic year for the circuit with plenty of action and thrilling races across all the meetings, providing plenty of entertainment for the spectators. The circuit has some promising plans for 2015 including plans for a solar farm in the circuit infield to provide the circuit’s power and some, I for one simply cannot wait for the 2015 season to begin already.

Roger Orgee dominates end of season Formula Ford Carnival

Next up on track for the penultimate race of the Championship Finals Raceday was the Castle Combe Formula Ford Carnival, a regular end of season one-off race for victory which has been going since 1996. This year’s entry was abit smaller than previous years although most of the championship regulars wheeled out their cars for one final race in the season. Nathan Ward was once again on pole in his Spectrum with the talented returnee Luke Cooper alongside him in his older Swift SC92 model. Michael Moyers was 3rd with Roger Orgee completing row 2.

At the start it was the two Higgins brothers who made the best getaway’s as Richard rose quickly from 6th on the grid whilst recently crowned Combe Formula Ford champ Adam shot from 8th, after he only completed 1 qualifying lap for this to save his car for the earlier final round of the Formula Ford championship. Nathan Ward managed to retain the lead however, until lap 2 when a determined Roger Orgee passed him on the inside going into Tower.

From here it seemed both Orgee and Ward had the edge on the others for pace as they opened a small gap back to Combe debutant Michael Moyers in 3rd by lap 3. Later on in this shortened 12 lap affair Orgee showed he was aiming to avenge his earlier title loss as he opened a lead of just over a second, whilst behind him Ward was now fighting Moyers, Adam Higgins and Luke Cooper for 2nd place. Unfortunately this battle was split apart on the next lap as contact between Moyers and Higgins at the Esses delayed the rest, and left Moyers with sidepod damage that was enough to force him into retirement at the end of the lap.

Now Nathan Ward was free of those behind him he once again set about challenging Orgee for the lead in the last few laps, although it seemed he was unlikely to find a way through. Behind them, a great battle for 3rd was now developing between Adam Higgins, Luke Cooper, Jonathan Hoad, Ed Moore and Richard Higgins. The final few laps were set to be frantic and unfortunately things once again ended in tears, as Richard Higgins was dumped off the track after a last lap collision.

Back at the front and Roger Orgee salvaged a Carnival win from his earlier title loss whilst Nathan Ward came home a close 2nd. Completing the podium was 2013 and 2014 Castle Combe Formula Ford champion Adam Higgins. Luke Cooper was 4th in his return to the circuit, with Jonathan Hoad bringing home his iconic Duckhams Van Diemen RF90 racer 5th whilst ex-champion and serial winner Ed Moore completed the top 6.

Whilst this year’s Carnival failed to live up to the glory days of the race in the mid-2000’s this year’s race was yet again a classic with a great battle between Orgee and Ward for the lead and even further down every podium place was hotly contested. The Carnival brought the curtain down on an amazing 2014 Castle Combe Formula Ford season, my only hope is that the action and level of entries can be sustained into 2015, with maybe even a few more faces to challenge at the front although that may simply be wishful thinking.

For any further information on the series please visit their website below.
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/formula-ford-1600/

Hutchings survives red flag to claim victory

Whilst the Castle Combe Saloon Car title had already been decided in favour of the amazingly fast and consistent Class D driver David Rose in his VW Lupo, there was plenty still up for grabs at the final race of the season, with bragging rights over the off-season especially. After qualifying it was long term front runner Mark Wyatt who was on pole in his Class B Vauxhall Astra, with Tony Hutchings sharing the front row in his Audi TT. Rob Ballard was 3rd in his Seat Leon Cupra whilst the giant killing Carl Loader completed row 2 in his Class C Citroen Saxo VTS.

One of the fastest drivers of the year Charles Hyde-Andrews-Bird ended his year on a bum note as he was forced to retire at the end of the formation lap. At the start it was Tony Hutchings and Carl Loader made the best starts to take the early lead, before the race was unexpectedly halted after a monumental accident for pole man Mark Wyatt. The experienced racer spun on the exit of the Esses and once he came to a stop in the middle of the circuit, he was nailed by Arthur Marks in his Suzuki Swift leaving both cars in a sorry state and debris covering the track. Once the race was red flagged the clean up began with both drivers receiving medical attention.

Mark Wyatt momentarily collapsed in the aftermath of the incident, and was soon transferred to the circuit medical center. Arthur Marks also received medical attention and was soon transferred to the nearby Bath hospital, before being discharged two days later. Back on track and the recovery took roughly 20-30 minutes to complete whilst the rest of the grid sat and waited on the pit straight. Once the race was getting underway again it was announced to save time that the race would be cut from 15 to 10 laps.

From the re-start Tony Hutchings once again jumped into an early lead and opened a lead of 1-2 seconds over the fast starting Julian Ellison in his Vauxhall Astra. Things would soon go sour for Ellison however as he went off at the Esses on lap 2, dropping from 2nd to 13th. After this the top three of Hutchings, Rob Ballard and David Challenger were now evenly spaced at the front.

Hutchings kept on extending his lead throughout the race as he cruised home to yet another victory this year, with Rob Ballard capping his return in style with 2nd whilst David Challenger was thrilled with his first ever Castle Combe podium in 3rd. John Barnard was 4th whilst Carl Loader came home 5th in his little Saxo as Tony Dolley recovered from a poor qualifying session to come home 6th. This year has once again been a classic one for the Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship, with high quality racing from consistently packed grids. For more information on the series please visit the link below.
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/saloons/

Simon Tilling survives late scare to scrape Sports Racing Car win

After the action of the previous Pre-1982 Classic Formula Ford race, a contrast was provided next as the new for 2014 Castle Combe Sports Racing Car series took to the grid. Solely for the Sports prototypes which previously dominated the Sports @ GT series before complaints about the speed differentials and the amount of entries meant a split was announced for this year. Whilst the series has suffered growing pains in it’s first year with small grid the final race of the year provided plenty of optimism for next year as the series had it’s biggest and most competitive grid of the year.

After the morning’s wet qualifying session it was Tim Gray who took pole in his very impressive Spire GT-3 entry. Gray is a distinguished RGB and Bikesports racer and his Spire handled like it was on rails in the wet qualifying session and looked by far the fastest car on track to claim pole. Another newcomer to the series lined up 2nd, although the don’t lack experience with the circuit as the entry was from renowned Castle Combe Formula Ford racers Nick Jones and Kevin Mills racing. Mike Jenvey was yet another newer entry from an outside series in his self built Jenvey/Gunn TS6 and lined up 3rd with old circuit dominator Simon Tilling lining up 4th in his impressive Ligier JS49T.

With the dry and sunny conditions the complete opposite to qualifying a great race was predicted as those out of place after qualifying battled to improve their positions in the 20 minute race. The grid remained in largely the same order after the initial rolling start, although by the end of the lap the order changed at the front. Simon Tilling used the larger Honda engine in his Ligier and extensive circuit knowledge to blast into the lead and open a 2 second lead by the end of the lap.

Early on Tilling and Tim Gray were the pace setters with the rest falling away behind, although Mike Jenvey soon attempted to rectify this as he passed local man Darcy Smith in his Radical SR4 for 3rd on the inside at Camp on lap 2. The top 5 appeared to be strung out for this portion of the race, although the symmetry was broken on lap 6 as unfortunately Mike Jenvey pulled into the pits and was forced to retire his impressive Jenvey/Gunn hybrid. A lap later and Tim Gray began to get the wrath of the officials as he was shown the mechanical warning flag for the biblical noise coming from his Spire racer.

With the circuit now forced to heavily police it’s noise after being serviced with a noise nuisance order Gray was black flagged and forced to retire at the end of lap 8. With Gray and Jenvey out Tilling now had a huge lead over the new battle for 2nd between Darcy Smith and Nick Jones, although over the next few laps Smith was able to eke out a small gap to Jones. Behind their battle 4th place man Stephen Bracegirdle was slowing with a mechanical problem and was passed from 4th and 5th over several laps by firstly Chris Child and then a recovering Chris Vinall who spun to the back of the field on lap 1.

Simon Tilling was now beyond comfortable in his impressive Ligier VdeV racer, although he was at the center of the race’s late drama as he began slowing size-ably with only a few minutes left on the clock. His lead stood at 38 seconds but with Smith and Jones now catching him at the rate of 12-15 seconds per lap it seemed they might well be able to catch him. Going into the final half lap it looked like they might do it at the final corner, although Tilling just held them off enough to claim the victory by a whisker from Darcy Smith in 2nd with Nick Jones right behind him in 3rd.

Chris Child was 4th in his Nemisis with long time Combe racer Norman Lackford 5th before Stephen Bracegirdle limped home to complete the top 6. What had threatened to be a dominant victory provided late drama in arguably the best race of the season for this new Castle Combe Sports Racing Car Series. Hopefully many of the impressive newcomers from this race will return for more in 2015, and held give the series some much needed momentum after a difficult debut 2014 season. For more information on this promising new series please visit their website below.
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/sports-racing-series/

Chris Stuart survives carnage to take Pre-82 Classic FFord race

Carrying on the Formula Ford theme of the day’s Castle Combe Championship finals race day, the Pre-1982 Classic Formula Ford Championship grid took to the track for their 20 minute race. The sizeable grid was headed by Andrew Smith on pole with long time series front runner Stuart Kestenbaum alongside him on the front row. Simon Davey lined up 3rd with Ted Pearson completing row 2.

From the start it was Stuart Kestenbaum who made the best getaway to steal the early lead with the rest following on behind. It took until lap 3 before pole man Andrew Smith was able to claim the lead from Kestenbaum at Quarry. Things soon got worse for Kestenbaum on the exit of the corner as he was demoted to 3rd by an opportunistic Simon Davey. The major talking point of the race occurred a lap later at Quarry as the top 3 were all eliminated in one incident, with the rest scrambling to find a way through the carnage in front of them. It appeared leader Andrew Smith spun with Simon Davey and Stuart Kestenbaum also collecting him and leaving all three strewn on the grass run off on the outside of Quarry.

In the aftermath of the leaders collision it was Ted Pearson who now led, however he had lost his nosecone in the melee and it was clear from his heavily blocked radiator that he’d been grass cutting in avoidance of further contact at Quarry. Despite the large amount of grass in the radiator Pearson was able to continue for another lap in the lead, before a gear linkage failure forced him to slow at Hammerdown and coast round into retirement. Chris Stuart was the new leader after making rapid progress from 6th on the grid whilst also benefiting from others mistakes. Stuart opened a small lead over Kevin Howell and Kevin Mansell in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Kevin Mansell sensed a chance at the victory and dived inside Kevin Howell for 2nd at Tower on lap 7. It seemed Howell might of had a potential problem as he then lost 3rd on the next lap Philip Michael Wrigley. Any hopes Mansell had of claiming victory were ruined with a spin at Bobbies on lap 9, as he dropped from 2nd to 7th. Going into the final laps a scintillating battle for the lead was developing between Stuart, Michael Wrigley and Roger Newman. Newman was the man on the move as he stole 2nd from Michael Wrigley at Quarry on the penultimate lap, although he was unable to wrest the lead from Stuart. So after a dramatic Pre-82 Classic Formula Ford race it was Chris Stuart who outlasted the rest to claim the victory, with Roger Newman and Philip Michael Wrigley completing the podium.

Kevin Howell recovered from his late race spin to claim 4th with Leandro Guedes taking the iconic Jesus Saves Van Diemen RF79 to 5th whilst the Wrigley family could be happy with Matthew claiming 6th to join Philip Michael in 3rd. All in all, it was a very interesting race with plenty of action, in other words a proper Formula Ford race. For more information on the series please visit the link below.
http://www.classicformulaford.com/

Simon Norris survives last lap collision to claim Sports @GT win

Unlike the Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship, the Sports @ GT title had already been decided in the favour of dominant driver Gary Prebble. Since the Castle Combe Racing Club decided to split the series for this year, creating a new Sports Racing Car Series for the Sports Prototypes this year Garry Prebble has dominated the year in his all powerful Mitsubishi Evo 9RS. After a wet morning qualifying session it was no surprise to see the horde of 4 wheel drive Mitsubishi Evo’s at the front of the grid.

Gary Prebble was unsurprisingly on pole from on-off entrant Simon Norris in his beastly looking Evo 9. Ex-rallycross racer Barry Squibb was 3rd in his Evo with the 2014 European Nissan GT Academy winner Gaetan Paletou lining up 4th in his Team RJN Nissan 370Z GT4 spec. Off line now it was the two front row men Prebble and Norris who rocketed off the line to take the early advantage. After the opening lap Prebble and Norris had opened a lead of 2-3 seconds over the battle for 3rd between Squibb and Paletou.

By lap 3 Prebble was beginning to ease away slightly from Norris in 2nd as he looked to round out his year in style with a win, as behind them a fast rising Perry Waddams in his brutish TV Tuscan with monstrous Chevrolet LS3 engine overtook Paletou for 3rd on lap 4 at Camp, with Paletou re-taking it on the pit straight. On the next lap at Quarry Barry Squibb pulled off into retirement from 5th, bringing to an end a troubled season in his unreliable Evo.

Lap 7 saw a huge development at the front as it looked as if Prebble made an uncharacteristic mistake on the pit straight as Norris raced through into the lead. The battle for 3rd was finally settled as Waddams finally made a move stick on Paletou a lap later, as Norris was settled in the lead as Prebble trailed 3.4 seconds behind. It now seemed Prebble’s car was struggling with a car problem by lap 10 as Waddams passed Prebble at Bobbies for 2nd. At Quarry a lap later Paletou also mugged Prebble for the final podium place.

Prebble slowed to a crawl again going up Avon Rise on lap 12 and finally pulled off from 4th into a rare retirement for the 2014 champion. An exciting battle for the lead was now developing in the final laps as Perry Waddams first took the lead on the outside at Quarry on lap 13, before Norris used his superior acceleration to re-take the lead going into the Esses. After the same happened on lap 14 the final lap was set to be a cracker as the Sports @ GT season came to an end.

After plenty of ducking and diving Waddams saw his last chance to grab the lead as he got a better exit from Westway as he looked to the inside on Dean Straight to give him the lead going into the final corner. After Norris moved to the edge of the track to cover Waddams the two made significant side-on contact, with Waddams TVR being momentarily launched into the air as the heavy landing broke his front suspension. Unable to steer Waddams desperately tried to slow the car as he went across the grass before going straight on at Camp and stopping the car on the exit of the corner just before the wall.

This left Simon Norris free to take a sizeable victory from rising star Gaetan Paletou in one of his first races in the GT4 spec Nissan 370Z. Team mate to Paletou Paul Brown completed the podium, as Keith Dunn finished 4th in his Caterham C400. The Ariel Atom of Lee Cunningham was 5th as Dylan Popovic completed the top 6 in his unique Marlin Avatar. Unsurprisingly both drivers had differing views on the incident with Norris feeling in the post race podium that Waddams was trying some risky moves and was not fully alongside Norris when the two made contact.

Despite the contentious end to the season this year has been a promising one for the new Castle Combe Sports @ GT championship, with Gary Prebble a very deserving champion with the series also showing signs of potential growth for the 2015 season. Simply put, I cannot wait. For more info on the series please visit the link below.
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/gt/

Adam Higgins claims second Combe Formula Ford title in final race of season

The Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship has been hotly contested all season, with the three consistently stand out drivers of 2014 all in contention for the title going into last weekend’s final race. After the dropped scores had been applied it was reigning champion Adam Higgins who went into the race with a 1 point lead over Roger Orgee, with young star Ash Crossey an outside contender 14 points behind.

Lining up on pole was the perennially unlucky Nathan Ward, who has been in a position to win a lot of races this year but for a multitude of reasons has been prevented from doing so. Roger Orgee was the first of the title contenders in 2nd, with Ash Crossey lining up 3rd from title rival Adam Higgins in 4th. From the start it was pole man Nathan Ward and Adam Higgins who made the best starts off the line, with the top 3 of Ward, Higgins and Orgee making an early break on lap 1 from the pursuing train of Crossey, Michael Moyers and Richard Higgins.

By the next lap Ward had opened his advantage to roughly 2-3 seconds whilst it appeared Adam Higgins was now holding up those behind him including Roger Orgee directly behind him. From here Higgins and Orgee eased away slightly from those behind him, being led by Crossey, over the next few laps to solidify themselves in their own private battle for the title.

By lap 6 Ward has built his lead to a massive 4.4 seconds over Higgins behind, who was still only just holding off Orgee behind him. A few laps later and the pressure finally told on Orgee in 3rd as he suffered a small off and was passed by Ash Crossey, which also let Higgins off the hook now in 2nd. After this an almighty battle developed for 3rd between Crossey, Orgee, Moyers and R Higgins by lap 11. A lap later and Orgee’s title hopes were finally dealt a hammer blow as he went off for the second time, this time dropping to 7th as Crossey was now well ahead of the rest in 3rd.

Back at the front and now Adam Higgins was well clear in 2nd and Orgee was struggling he seemed to set loose in the final 5 laps as he set a string of fastest laps to reel in Ward in the lead. Going into the final lap of the season Higgins was right with Ward for the lead, and his finally completed his fairy tale afternoon as he slid inside Ward at the Esses to take the lead at the death as he motored home to his third victory of the year and his second consecutive title, which leaves him only one short of distinguished father Bob Higgins accolade of three consecutive titles between 1981 and 1983.

Higgins was clearly overjoyed with his second title as he jumped up and down in the car throughout the slowing down lap, with Ward gracious in defeat with 2nd whilst rising star Ash Crossey completed the podium. Combe debutante Michael Moyers was an impressive 4th with the hugely impressive dominator of Class C David Cobbold came home 5th with Adam Higgins brother Richard completing the top 6. Orgee came home a very frustrated 7th but was magnanimous in defeat.

Adam Higgins proved in this race alone why he deserves to be the 2014 champion, and as it seems the Higgins family will be back in 2015, you would have to be a brave man to bet against Adam Higgins claiming a third consecutive title, although he will face stiff competition from the likes of Roger Orgee and Nathan Ward especially.

For anyone interested in supporting or even competing in the series next year please visit the link to the series
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/formula-ford-1600/