Equipe Historic Championship

Donington Park hosted round five of the Equipe Historic Championship on July 4th and it was one of our most dramatic races yet with changing fortunes for many of the front runners over the hour-long race. Championship leader Mike Thorne won outright and extended his lead in the point table, Pim Remijm and Chris Ryan also recording maximum scores with class wins.

John Caudwell made the best start in his AC Cobra to take the lead in the one-hour race, championship leader Mike Thorne also away well to slot his Austin Healey 3000 into second, though the field was greeted by the safety car at the end of lap one. At the end of lap three the field was set racing again, Caudwell heading them away with Thorne second, the fast-starting TVR Grantura of Ryan third and John Tordoff’s Lotus Elan 26R next up.

Caudwell began to slow on lap five, falling down the order before pitting and retiring which put Thorne at the front, while a lap later Tordoff was past Ryan and started to close in on the lead Healey. Thorne held off the Elan for lap after lap, Tordoff finally going past at Redgate as they started lap 15, Thorne the first of the lead group to make their compulsory stop on lap 20, Ryan in two laps later having dropped to fourth behind the Elan of Remijn.

Tordoff and Remijn both pitted at the end of lap 23, Tordoff with a gap once everyone had pitted, Thorne second but with the Healey of Jack and Joe Willmott closing in and set to challenge for class honours and championship points. It all changed on lap 30 when Tordoff spun on his own oil at Coppice, Joe Willmott also spinning on the fluid, Tordoff retiring to the pits putting Thorne back out front.

Thorne duly reeled off the remaining laps to take his first overall in in the championship but more importantly maximum class points to extend his advantage at the top of the table. Willmott recovered to take second from Remijn on lap 36, Remijn taking third at the end and a class win, while Ryan finished fourth and also claimed his class for another maximum points haul.

“I had no idea I had won,” said Thorne. “It was a great race, there was some oil down that made things tricky but it was really clean racing and great fun. I was worried about Joe Willmott who was getting closer, but my pitboard was brilliant and let me know what was going on but I was very close to running out of fuel!”

“I was doing everything to try to catch Mike, “said Joe Willmott. “I was closing then just dropped it on the oil and had to settle for second place.”

“A good race,” said Remijn, “I was going well and had a good battle with the Willmotts but it was very slippery at the end and I’m pleased to finish on the podium.”