Archived Race Reports 2020

Donington Park July 12th

Twenty three keen Cockshoot Cup drivers signed on to race at Donington Park for the first two rounds of the season. New drivers included Sam Kirkpatrick driving a ZR190, Mark Wright in an MGF and Phil Rigby in a similar car. Ian Hodkinson also arrived with his MGB, his first outing for three years. Sam dominated qualifying taking pole for both races. Alongside on the front row was Ray Collier in his rebuilt MG ZR 190. Karl Green and Pete Bramble were on row two, Karl making his debut in Paul Clacketts championship winning car and getting used to V6 power and slick tyres. Pete’s MGB was looking yellower than ever! Class B front runner Ian Whitt had brake problems in his Midget and would start both races from the back of the grid. Quickest Class B was, therefore, Paul Clackett back in his MG ZS . Mark Bellamy and Mike Peters in MG ZR170 and MG Midget were next fastest. In Class F, Chris Greenbank was quickest but Mark Wright and Brian Butler were close behind. Class A pole went to Paul Wignall’s MG ZR160 from Ian Wright and Carl Chadwick driving MG Midgets.

Race one started under sunny skies with Keith Egar making a stunning start in his K series engined Midget to take the lead. By the end of the first lap, the two ZR 190s had swept past with Sam Kirkpatrick pulling out a big lead over Ray Collier who finished second. Karl Green looked to be on course for third but slowed at the line which enabled Keith to grab third spot from Pete Bramble. In Class B, Ian Whitt rocketed through the field to pass Paul Clackett and take the class lead, but a broken alternator bracket brought an early retirement. Paul then came under pressure from Mike Peters, but the 1500cc engine in his Midget self destructed near the end of the race. Mark Bellamy and Nick Ashman in another MG ZR170 made up the class podium. In Class F, Chris Greenbank got a great start and was able to hold off Mark Wright and Brian Butler with some great racing going on, Chris setting a new class lap record. Helen Waddington passed Phil Rigby to finish fourth. Class A was dominated by Paul Wignall, another fast starter with Ian Wright and Carl Chadwick finishing second and third. Chris Greenbank was the “Driver of the Race”.

Race Two was the final race of the day. Mike Peters was unable to start and joined David Coulthard on the sidelines, the MGF Cup Car having a clutch problem. So twenty cars were on the grid when the red lights went out. This time Pete Bramble got a superb start and the yellow MGB was at the head of the field for a glorious half lap. The two ZR190s were soon ahead with Sam again winning by a large margin over Ray with Sam setting a new lap record for class C. This time Karl Green had no problems and completed the podium. Into fourth place and Class B winner came Ian Whitt with his Midget now running reliably. Paul Clackett was second in class with Mark Bellamy making the class podium again in third. The Class F drivers were once again very close with Chris Greenbank winning again and setting another lap record. Brian Butler tried to take second from Mark Wright but at the flag the results in the class were the same as race one. Carl Chadwick didn’t start the race and with Paul Wignall retiring early, Ian Wright was the only class A finisher. Ian Whitt won “Driver of the Race”

The Tim Forward Trophies for best aggregate performances were won by Sam Kirkpatrick, Paul Clackett, Ian Wright and Chris Greenbank.

Snetterton September 6th

The Cockshoot Cup raced for the first time at Snetterton on the 300 Circuit on September 6th. Fourteen drivers took to the track to qualify under sunny skies at 9 am. Peter Bramble in his MGB hit mechanical trouble very soon after the session started and pitted. The rest of the drivers spent twenty minutes learning the challenging circuit. On the final lap Keith Egar grabbed pole position in his K series engined MG Midget. Alongside, and quickest in Class F was Brian Butler. Row two was filled by Chris Greenbank’s MGF and Mark Bellamy the quickest from Class B. Paul Wignall ended on row three being the fastest Class A driver. Karl Green was learning the circuit and slick tyres on his MG ZS and was down in tenth place but promised a faster speed in the race.

All fourteen cars took the start, but mechanical woes arose for Pete Bramble again with retirement from the day. Keith Egar made the most of his pole to grab the lead which he held for the whole race. Brian Butler kept his F in second place for a while, but was passed by Mike Peters and Karl Green. Karl finished second in the race and in Class C. Mark Bellamy retired his MG ZR170 with a broken clutch and sadly Ian Whitt hit the barrier after his brakes failed. This meant that James Johnson finished second in Class B from Steve Atkinson driving his rare MGC. Brian Butler held off Chris Greenbank and Mark Wright to win Class F. In Class A Paul Wignall’s MG ZR 160 beat Ian Wright’s MG Midget.

Race two had twelve starters lacking Pete and Ian. Keith got away first, but a grassy moment allowed Brian Butler to sweep through and lead the race. Keith fought back retaking the prime place and holding it to the finish. This time Karl Green’s ZS had an off-key engine and he slipped to the back of the field. Mike Peters selected the wrong gear at the start and had to make a series of overtakes, finally passing Mark Bellamy to take a second Class B victory from Mark and the consistent James Johnson. Brian finished second in the race and again won Class F from Chris Greenbank and Mark Wright with Phil Rigby fourth in class after two good races. Paul Wignall again triumphed in Class A from Ian Wright.

New lap records were set by Karl Green, Mike Peters, Paul Wignall and Chris Greenbank

Keith Egar won the Malimson Trophy, Mike Peters the Genesis, Paul Wignall the Entune and Brian Butler the F Trophy.

Oulton Park October 3rd

When a Met Office severe rain warning was issued then the Cockshoot Cup drivers knew that they were in for severe weather conditions. Nineteen drivers headed out onto the streaming track for their qualifying session. Ray Collier put his tyre testing skills on show by taking pole position and heading Class C. Next up was Karl Green learning his V6 powered MG ZS in these conditions. Mark Bellamy was the quickest Class B runner on row two with leading Class F pilot Brian Butler alongside. Keith Egar fresh was his Snetterton wins ended up on row three, third in Class C, with Mark Wright in his MG MGF alongside. On the fourth row were the two open cars, Ian Hodkinsons MGB and David Coulthard in his MG MGF Cup car. Pleasingly all the drivers performed to a high standard with all completing the session.

The first of the two planned races started behind the safety car rather than from a grid. After one lap the green flag was shown and the race was on. Splashing through the puddles, Ray Collier put on a master class in wet weather driving to take a dominant victory. Karl Green could not keep up with Ray, but secured a solid second place from Brian Butler who passed Mark Bellamy to take third on the road. Brian winning Class F and Mark Class B. Mark Wright finished next and second in Class F with Nick Ashman storming through the field to take second in Class B and winning “driver of the Race”. David Coulthard secured third in Class C soaked to the skin by the end of the race. Paul Wignall won Class A after class rival Ian Wright retired his Midget with a damaged engine. The final podium position in Class B was secured by Jimmy Johnson in his MG ZR and third place in Class F was secured by Phil Rigby performing brilliantly in his first ever car race at the circuit.

Sadly, the weather conditions deteriorated in the late afternoon and the second race had to be cancelled for the safety of the marshals and drivers.

The Vicky Peters Trophies were awarded to Ray Collier, Mark Bellamy, Brian Butler and Paul Wignall for winning their classes.