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International “Britax” Touring Car Race - British Grand Prix support race

Silverstone, Great-Britain

Date: 10/7/1965
Track length: 4.710 m
Attendance:
Entries accepted: 37
Starters:
Finishers: 17

Pole position: Salmon
Fastest lap: Baillie and Salmon in 1.50,0

Distance: 20 laps
Average speed: 151,92 kmh
Weather: Dry
Ruleset: Group 2
Car info: 1965 Cars

 

Both the saloon practice sessions were without any real drama. Most surprising time recorded was a lap in 1.54,8 credited to John Lewis's Alexander-prepared Mini Cooper S. The Mustangs weren't trying that hard, being more or less assured of the front row. Both Mike Salmon and Sir Gawaine Baillie were running replacement engines - Salmon having blown his in private practice while Gawaine's had gone during the first session. The works lotus Cortinas of Sears and Whitmore had the 1600 cc section all their own way, getting down to 1.51,8 and 1.52 respectively. Whitmore's car obviously wasn't quite as fast, for when Sears and Jimmy Clark tried it they couldn't do better than 1.52,6.
Apart from Lewis, the other Minis seemed fairly matched, Warwick Banks, Tony Lanfranchi, Harry Ratcliffe and Steve Neal all doing around 1.56. The Anglias of Chris Craft and mike Young weren't fast enough, Mike young's fastest lap being 1.58.

Alan Hutcheson had wretched luck when a chafed tyre blew at a critical moment and he put the big Galaxie into the bank at Copse. Unfortunately it was too badly damaged to be repaired in time for the race.

The start of the 20-lap Britax Trophy race was enlivened by Roy Pierpoint flicking out the tail of the Alan Brown Mustang, just touching Sir John Whitmore's Lotus Cortina, which was coming through fast from the second row. At Copse the three Mustangs arrived simultaneously, Michael Salmon emerging ahead in Dawnay's dark blue car. Behind, Pierpoint was ahead of Sir Gawaine Baillie, the latter being passed by the works Cortinas of Jack Sears and John Whitmore before they passed the pits at the end of the first lap.

This was to be a race of mechanical failures, the first of which befell Roy Pierpoint who headed straight for the pit road after a single lap - the Mustang boiling merrily as the fan belt had gone missing. With Pierpoint's demise from the scene, Salmon forged ahead, Sir Gawaine Baillie getting the better of the works Lotus two laps later and moving up into second place some 5 seconds behind. The works Cortinas were secure in third and fourth overall placings circulating only feet apart in hair-raising slides, ahead of Fletcher's similar Cortina. A little further back Andre Baldet was getting away from John Lewis's Alexander-prepared 1300 Mini-Cooper which was easily leading its class.

Baillie was now really getting to grips with his Mustang, going great guns, and steadily closing on Salmon. Just after half distance Gawaine put in a couple of quick laps in the region of 1.50 and went past Salmon into the lead. Farther back, Sears and Whitmore were really giving the crowd their money's worth, swapping places at the most unlikely angles. Tom Fletcher was doing very well in the Coundley-entered Cortina, keeping the works cars in sight. Baldet had now shaken off Lewis, the latter still easily leading the now somewhat depleted Mini class. John Fitzpatrick had blown up in a big way just past the pits, Warwick Banks had retired the works car with a very rough sounding engine and Steve Neal had his engine seize when he lost his fan belt. Tony Lanfranchi, who together with Banks and Fitzpatrick so often provides the excitement, was well back, his engine suffering from shot piston rings. Christian Nellemann added to the Mini retirements by putting his car into the wall at Stowe, fortunately without personal injury. Mike Campbell-Cole was yet another to lose a fan belt, and retired with overheating, not surprisingly!

Gawaine maintained his advantage till the finish, although Salmon succeeded in equalling his new class record in his endeavours to close the gap. Sears and Whitmore crossed the line in a perfect dead heat. in order to perform this last manoeuvre Whitmore had to take to the grass as Sears was monopolising the rest of the road. Fletcher took a well deserved third place in this class ahead of André Baldet, both having faultless runs.

John Lewis won the Mini class by some 16 seconds, although Rauno Aaltonen put in a couple of quick laps just before the finish and closed up considerably in Don Moore's 1300.

One of the best dices of the race was between the Trustram Anglias of Mike Young and Chris Craft and the yet unsorted BMW 1800 TISA entered by Alan Foster and very ably conducted by Keith Greene. These three had a splendid carve up, with the BMW pulling out a 2 seconds advantage in the last couple of laps.

Source: Autosport


Class B-D
Pos Pos in class # Team / Entrant
Car- Engine
Drivers, Nationality Engine
vol. (cc)
Engine
Type
Group Distance,
time
Qualifying position Qualifying time Fastest lap Reason out,
remarks
1 1 42  
Ford Mustang
Gawaine Baillie, GB
4728 V8 D 20 laps, 37.12,4 3   1.50,0  
2 2 41 Daynay Racing Organisation
Ford Mustang
Mike Salmon, GB
4728 V8 D 20 laps, 37.20,4 1   1.50,0  
3 ex-aequo 1= 36 Team Lotus
Ford Lotus Cortina
Jack Sears, GB
1594 L4 C 20 laps, 37.51,8 4 1.51,8 1.51,4  
3 ex-aequo 1= 37 Team Lotus
Ford Lotus Cortina
John Whitmore, GB
1594 L4 C 20 laps, 37.51,8 5 1.52,0    
5 3 30 John Coundley Racing Partnership
Ford Lotus Cortina
Tom Fletcher, GB
1594 L4 C 20 laps, 38.08,4 6      
6 4 33 Moto Baldet Racing Team
Ford Lotus Cortina
Andre Baldet, GB
1594 L4 C 20 laps, 38.51,8 10      
7 1 21  
Austin Mini Cooper S
John D. Lewis, GB
1293 L4 B 20 laps, 38.57,4 9 1.54,8 1.55,4  
8 2 7 Don Moore
Austin Mini Cooper S
Rauno Aaltonen, SF
1293 L4 B 20 laps, 39.13,4     1.55,4  
9 3 16 Vitafoam Developments
Morris Mini Cooper S
Harry Ratcliffe, GB
1293 L4 B 19 12      
10 5 38 Alan Foster
BMW 1800 TISA
Keith Greene, GB
1773 L4 C 19        
11 4 2 R. Trustram
Ford Anglia Super
John Young, GB
1198 L4 B 19   1.58,0    
12 5 3 R. Trustram
Ford Anglia Super
Chris Craft, GB
1198 L4 B 19        
13 6 17 Alexander Engineering Co.
Morris Mini Cooper S
Tony Lanfranchi, GB
1293 L4 B 19 13      
14 7 18 Gordon Spice
Morris Mini Cooper S
Gordon Spice, GB
1293 L4 B 19        
15 8 22 Grosvenor Racing
Morris Mini Cooper S
Tony Rutt, GB
1293 L4 B 19        
16 9 5 Newtune Ltd
Austin Mini Cooper S
David Wansborough, GB
1293 L4 B 19        
17 10 11 Hartshill Automobile Racing Team
Austin Mini Cooper S
Anita Taylor, GB
1293 L4 B 18        
18 11 10 Cripspeed
Morris Mini Cooper S
Ken Costello, GB
1293 L4 B 15        
19 12 9 Boormans Perfomance Equipment
Austin Mini Cooper S
Peter Pilsworth, GB
1293 L4 B 14        
20 13 24 Cooper Car Co.
Morris Mini Cooper S
Warwick Banks, GB
1293 L4 B 13 14      
DNF   32 Farnborough Racing Enterprises
Ford Lotus Cortina
John Nicholson, GB
1594 L4 C 8        
DNF   43 Alan Brown Racing Ltd
Ford Mustang
Roy Pierpoint, GB
4728 V8 D   2     Fan belt
DNF   15 Team Broadspeed
Morris Mini Cooper S
John Fitzpatrick, GB
1293 L4 B 4 11     Engine
DNF   14 Equipe Arden
Austin Mini Cooper S
Steve Neal, GB
1293 L4 B 4       Fan belt
DNF   6 Don Moore
Austin Mini Cooper S
Mike Campbell-Cole, GB
1293 L4 B 8       Fan belt
DNF   19  
Morris Mini Cooper S
Christian Nelleman, DK
1293 L4 B 12       Accident
DNS   45 R.A. Buchanan-Michaelson
Ford Galaxie
Alan Hutcheson, GB
6997 V8 D   7     Accident in practice
DNS   31 Shaw-Johnson Racing
Ford Lotus Cortina
? Bill Shaw, GB
1594 L4 C   8