AMOC St John Horsfall Meeting 22 - 6 - 2008 

Race day was fine and warm almost perfect for racing at Silverstone, the wind was to prove a problem all day, it was a very strong crosswind and played havoc with the Juniors on the Club straight.

Qualifying: The early pacesetter on the road was Andrew Hibberd in his Lotus 22 until a spin dropped him back into the pack. Most drivers seemed sensibly to be holding back a little to make allowance for the blustery conditions. On lap eight Mike Hibberd popped in a quicker lap in his Lotus 27 at 1.06.843, and one lap later James Murray in the Lola Mk5A went round in 1.06.507 to secure pole position. Andrew Hibberd was third on 1.07 after a couple of minor spins and Sam Wilson also recorded a 1.07 in his Cooper T59 for fourth spot. James Claridge  Lola Mk5A also managed a 1.07 for fifth.
Chris Drake Brabham BT6 was sixth with a 1.08.
John Chisholm Gemini Mk3A was top Class D runner  with 1.09.
John Milicevic was pace setter for class C with his Lotus 18.
Derek Walker Terrier MK1V was best in class B with a time of 1.11.
One runner only in class A this was the ear splitting Dagrada of James Steerman,(such a lot of noise from a tiny Lancia engine) who was the final qualifier.
Peter Jackson in his T56 Cooper just back from Monza was a late substitute on the grid for Mike Waller who was unwell.
The session seemed fairly uneventful with all cars fit to start in the afternoon race.

Race six formed up and was promptly underway; when the cars completed the first lap Mike Hibberd in his Lotus 27 was leading, an early charge by Chris Drake in his Brabham BT6 having ended with a spin which dropped him back several places. Also on the first lap David Stevenson in the U2 stopped on the Club straight  with suspension damage as did Derek Walker with wishbone problems, no contact in either case. This meant that the yellow flags were out on most of the Club straight for several laps. Andrew Hibberd had his Lotus in second place running quite strongly; this changed on lap seven when the warring pack  of Wilson, Claridge and Murray behind suddenly and much to his surprise overwhelmed his Lotus. He joined in the melee but had lost his momentum.
Peter Jackson had a fine view of all this - from his cockpit - and reported
“Great to watch Michael come past, the 27 was on its toes like a cat, fluid motion ~~ absolutely fabulous. Andrew’s bunch went past me before the braking zone for Becketts and I had a grandstand view of this very fierce battle as they were all over each other round the bend, swapping places all the while and then drew away down the straight. Nobody had a better view than me of historic racing by a bunch of superb drivers“
This seems like a good description of the spectacle at the front of the race.
The leader kept his Lotus 27 clear of the typical Junior battle for second place, this seeing Claridge’s Lola in close combat with Wilson’s Cooper T59; at the end Wilson had clawed his way past into second spot, Claridge held on for third while James Murray was fourth ahead of a puzzled Andrew Hibberd now back to fifth place. The first five all covered by a time gap of 5.4 seconds. Sixth but some 35 seconds behind was the Brabham BT6 of Chris Drake.
As seems to be the norm these days at Silverstone the leader had to race on for an extra lap, the chequered flag coming out when he was nearly into Copse corner!
John Chisholm was class D winner and seventh overall in his Gemini Mk3A.
John Delane Lotus 18 took class C honours in eighth place, with the John Molicevic similar car only completing two laps.
Crispian Besley Elva 100 was best front engine runner and winner of class B.
Good to see Sue Spence finish in the beautifully turned out Elva 200.

A tough race with the strong wind making close racing very difficult, not that it deterred the pack at the front.

Results

Winner and first in class E                        Mike Hibberd          Lotus 27
Second and second in class E                   Sam Wilson           Cooper T59
Third and third in class E                          James Claridge      Lola Mk5A
Seventh overall and first in class D           John Chisholm       Gemini Mk3A
Eighth overall and first in class C              John Delane           Lotus 18
Eleventh overall and first in class B          Crispian Besle        Elva 100

Fastest lap   Mike Hibberd  Lotus 27  1.07.138 (87.88mph)

Stan Hibberd 25th June 2008