I think it was Pat Fairfield who once referred to Crystal Palace as a “very saucy little circuit”. What he’d have made of Thoresby would have been entertaining ! If not “saucy”, it could certainly be described as “intricate”; entirely suitable for our cars, but how the drivers of the bigger cars managed is difficult to imagine.

The course itself is in the grounds of the rather grand Thoresby Hall. Shortly after the start, the road swings sharp right through a near hairpin at Kiosk Corner. There is a straight leading into the wooded area and a right turn at Five Ways - aptly named as a selection of exits presents itself. The subsequent straight section is interrupted by two tight chicanes, the first to the left, and the other to the right. The apices of the corners are guarded by oil drums, in the bung holes of which are balanced tennis balls; disturb one of them and you are penalised. The rest of the course is a brief dash to Century Corner - a fierce left-hand hairpin - and thence to the finish.

Five of us entered and practised, but Tony Hodson had a complicated moment with his Cooper Mk II which began when his primary chain snapped and wrapped itself firmly round the clutch, thus locking the back axle. He left his mark in the form of a long black stripe on the tarmac, curving gently in the direction of a fence. However, we were unable to admire his handiwork since we were otherwise engaged braking heavily into Century Corner as we passed it.

Humphrey's JLR receives some attention.

The class was won by Jan Nycz with a time of 60.59 seconds. John Jones got the Cousy round in 63.10, having held practice up by spinning at Century, while James Gray in the Comet, wrongly geared, did a 67.32 secs, and I brought up the rear with 67.84 secs, having had troubles at Five Ways finding my way during practice - prompting Darrell Woods to suggest I needed to recruit a navigator.
This is a cracking little course and a friendly meeting which deserves our vigorous support.

Classified Results 500cc

Comet, Cousy and Staride relax in the sunshine.