It was a late start as signing on wasn’t until 11.00 am and practice was at 12.25 am. No engines were allowed to start and until midday so you could tell who owned 500s by those wandering around looking anxiously at their watches.

Practice
After having been told that there would thunderstorms on and off all day, it is fair to say that we were very lucky getting a dry practice and a dry race. Practice was red flagged after the Cousy decided to get rid of a rear wheel and so JB Jones went home. We were re-started from the pit lane once the car had been removed from the side of the track. This left a depleted field of only ten cars. Richard Bishop Miller’s con rod broke in the Revis so he changed his engine. John Turner (Cooper JAP Mk IX) spun and twisted the fly wheel and so son Andrew rebuilt the engine, changing the barrel, the head and piston and Darrel Woods (Cooper Norton Mk VIII) changed his gear box for a more suitable range to suit the circuit. Nigel Ashman (Cooper Norton Mk XI), Nigel Challis (Cooper Norton Mk VIII), Mark Riley (Creamer Special J.A.P.), Vernon Williamson (JP Prototype) Roy Hunt (Martin Norton) and Pat Barford (Arnott) all went well.
Grid – Pole, Nigel Ashman, Richard B-M, Roy Hunt, John Turner, Darrel Woods, Nigel Challis, Mark Riley, Pat Barford, Vernon Williamson and Shirley Monro.

Vernon in the JP-Vincent

John demonstrates roll stiffness

Race
A crawling rolling start was organised for us and it worked well with Mark Riley flying and Nigel Challis in hot pursuit. Nigel Ashman took the lead with Roy Hunt right up there with him and the two pulled away from the rest of the field. Behind a really close battle was going on between Nigel Challis, Mark Riley and Darrel Woods. Nigel Ashman then spun off which put him back into 6th place. The engine stalled, but the marshals push started him and got him back onto the circuit. (At first he thought it was brake failure but the car spun at exactly the same place again but at the half the speed (strange?) and on checking after race, the brake fluid reservoirs were full.) But Vernon Williams’ oil pipe broke and it could be that that was what Nigel spun on. So no Roy Hunt was leading. Pat Barford’s chain broke, Shirley’s carburettor fell off and Richard Bishop-Miller’s oil tank parted company after spinning half way through the race on the first corner but he finished. John Turner spun and finished in 5th place. The results were Roy Hunt, Nigel Challis, Mark Riley, Darrel Woods, John Turner, Nigel Ashman and Richard Bishop-Miller.
The DNFs were Shirley Monro, (lost carb.), Pat Barford (broken chain) and Vernon Williamson.

Classified Finishers

Pat Barford - Arnott Norton

Mr Bishop Miller - Revis