Masters Gentleman Drivers

A wet qualifying session in the morning would mean that the Jaguar E-Type of Julian Thomas and co-driver Calum Lockie would start 6th and the Austin Healey SMO 746 of Martyn Corfield and co-driver Jeremy Welch would start 22nd in a field of 38.

The race was the last for the day by which time the weather had improved and a dry race ensued. Those who stayed for the whole day were rewarded with some fine racing and a great variety of cars on offer. 

Thomas methodically fought his way up to the tail of the leader by the end of his stint. Julian said “That was brilliant, I loved that”. However a troublesome starter motor cost time during the pit stop when he swapped places with Calum Lockie and the car slipped to fourth before Lockie rejoined the race, fighting his way up to finish in third place. 

The Healey would have no such dramas and was catching the eventual C2 class winners when the safety car was deployed and the race subsequently red flagged. The car finished 13th and 2nd in class.

RAC Woodcote Trophy

The Austin Healey 100S of Karsten Le Blanc competed in the second round of the 2017 RAC Woodcote Trophy. The Saturday qualifying session saw him qualify in 13th place.

Despite some threatening clouds the track remained dry until the chequered flag dropped. The race provided some close and well-mannered action as always and Karsten would finish 8th overall and 3rd in class. 

Masters Historic Touring Cars

Competing in his first Masters Pre 1966 Touring Car race, Julian Thomas and co-driver Calum Lockie set the fastest time by a Ford Falcon to qualify 5th. 

The 60 minute race saw a number of battles between the big American V8 powered cars and the less powerful but nimbler Lotus Cortinas and Minis.

A number of racing incidents saw several safety car periods and plenty of non finishers, but the pair sucessfuly avoided them to finish 4th overall and 2nd in class.

Photos: John Retter Photography and Peter Baker - Retro-Speed