Whales glide to victory in Equipe Silverstone Super Sprint event
by Maciej Hamera · AutosportFord Escort pair prove unstoppable during the series of short bouts, while the Mini contests produce entertaining action
Equipe Classic Racing’s popular Super Sprint event again provided short, sharp bursts of historic racing at Silverstone last weekend but there was a common theme among several of the contests as the Ford Escort of Nick and Harry Whale was regularly at the front.
The day consisted of a series of sprint races, with entrants progressing so that drivers and cars of comparable speed were competing against each other. The competition concluded with three finals, each with trophies up for grabs.
With the red final featuring the fastest competitors, there was hope that Rob Cull’s red Escort would challenge the assertive father and son Whale duo who had won all their earlier rounds. However, with Harry at the wheel, the Group 2 Zakspeed replica drove off into the distance as Cull smoked his way into retirement early on, a failed oil seal dumping fluid on his exhaust.
While the Whale car cruised to a commanding victory, the real fight was for second as Peter Hamilton’s petite Lenham P69/70 duelled with Martin Reynolds’ Escort. Reynolds managed to find a way past on multiple occasions, but the Lenham would always slip back through before the lap was over. Eventually Hamilton managed to pull a minuscule gap and kept the position to the finish.
“It’s amazing that it’s still going!” a delighted Hamilton said of his steed. “Normally we do Guards Trophy races and are all over the car between stints, but we don’t have time here. We basically have 10 minutes to turn it around. Even the battery I was worried about!”
Laurie Tucker surprised onlookers with his win in the green final in his 1965 vintage Shelby Mustang. Tucker hadn’t been a standout runner earlier in the day but came alive in the final, the Mustang steadily working its way up from fourth on the grid. In the yellow final, it was all clear sailing for Conrad Bos, leading the field off the line in his little MGA. Bos was never threatened and chalked up a comfortable victory.
Alongside the Super Sprint, there were also two entertaining Swiftune Mini Series bouts with Phil Bullen-Brown managing to take the top spot in the opener. Even before the race began, there was drama when British Touring Car Championship driver Adam Morgan couldn’t take the start from pole due to a failed fuel pump. Sole front-row starter Nathan Heathcote therefore led away, but a definitive move on lap six of 17 into Copse gave Bullen-Brown a lead he didn’t surrender to the flag.
The second Mini encounter provided even better action as Chris Morgan scythed his way up the field to come home first. Bullen-Brown was the early leader, but Morgan stormed forward from 23rd on the grid until he was second by lap seven. The move for the lead was swift as, on the next tour, he headed the pack and stayed there to the finish. Adam Morgan also had a brilliant recovery drive, finishing third after starting 26th.
When asked about the key to his win, Chris Morgan said: “It was the start mainly and the first two laps had to be good to get through the traffic. I knew as soon as I caught the frontrunners it was going to be a lot more difficult to get by, but I managed to sneak through in a place or two.”
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