THRUXTON
CSCC
18 MAY
Competing in the BMW races at Saturday’s Classic Sports Car Club Thruxton Thriller event hung in the balance for Graham Crowhurst on Tuesday, with the engine out of his M3 E46. A huge team effort got him there, with little expectation of success, but pole position and two charging victories exceeded his wildest dreams.
In a heady ‘stripes and stars’ tussle, Crowhurst beat Nathan Wells – whose 1m17.688s (109.17mph) fastest lap in his stunning E46 GTR was the day’s best – and Niall Bradley (E46) in the restarted opener. Swamped in an awful second start from fourth, Matty Evans snarled his 1M Coupe V8 back from almost last to third, which became second when Wells spun at the chicane and couldn’t restart.
Top Jaguar qualifier Colin Philpott won both races in his four-litre XJS, chased by Tom Lenthall’s similar machine and James Ramm’s V12 version respectively. Lenthall retired from race two after a spin at Club, as Ramm unlocked his mount’s potential. Switching to the big engine was blighted by gearbox dramas until Guy Connew lent him a spare, but Ramm – fourth in race one – also credited Philpott’s Powerbell technicians for set-up suggestions that bore fruit. The shrieking supercharged cars of Andrew Harper (S-type R) and Chris Boon (XK8) netted a third apiece.
Run concurrently, the MG Trophy attracted seven ZRs, of which six raced, but provided fantastic entertainment. Poleman – and second overall! – Fergus Campbell led race one before James Cole and reigning champ Tylor Ballard bustled past. Two shredded tyres forced Campbell’s retirement and a broken cam wheel put Ballard out, as Cole won from Matthew Harvey and James Blake.
Qualifying casualty Andrew Rogerson, Ballard’s dad Simon and Andy Cushion changed cylinder heads to get Tylor out in race two, in which Campbell resisted everything he, Cole and Jack Woodcock threw at him. Diving past the fifth and sixth-placed Jaguars of Michael Seabourne (XJS) and Mark Bennett (X300) into the complex on the final lap – the overtaking manoeuvre of the afternoon – enabled Campbell to blunt Woodcock’s and Cole’s aspirations. Ballard set fastest MG lap in 1m30.796s, but all six’s were within 0.328s!
The Chevrolet-powered BMW M4 of Sam Allpass and now yellow Volvo S60 of Nigel Mustill did not finish the attritious Slicks Series race. Aidan Hills took the chequer in Mich
