Mallory Park (April 15th)

Despite running a Brands Hatch Meeting on the same day, the B.R. & S.C.C.’s National British Mallory Park race meeting produced a good entry with the exception of the Formula Junior race, which had only eight contestants. The main attraction of the nine-race programme was the 20-lap Formule Libre race, won by Tony Marsh’s 2 1/2-litre B.R.M. from John Taylor’s 1 1/2-litre Cooper-Ford and Brian Griffin’s Lotus-Ford, Marsh completely dominating the race and winning at an average of 90.93 m.p.h. for the 1.35-mile circuit.

Although there was a lot of varied machinery circulating at differing speeds, Malcolm Nunn’s slimline, S.U.-carburetted 4-cylinder Cooper-Climax was the only casualty, spinning off and retiring with a rather badly damaged rear suspension. In the over-1,000-c.c. saloon-car event, Rodney Embley’s 1,132-c.c. Downton-modified Mini-Cooper beat John Young’s 1,650-c.c. Ford Anglia, the latter leading initially until overtaken by Embley and the lurid A40 of Pat Middlehurst. The Guards Trophy Race for sports/racing cars produced a very close race between Tony Lanfranchi’s primer-finished Mk. VII Elva-Ford (1,588 c.c.), Brian Hart’s Lotus 23 and Roy Pierpoint’s front-engined Attila-Climax, the decision going to Lanfranchi.

Wing-Commander K. W. Mackenzie’s 1,650-c.c. managed to hold off Ken Baker’s Weber-carburetted E-type Jaguar for two laps of the 10-lap G.T. race until succumbing to the sheer power of the gold and black Jaguar.

Winners of other races were as follows: Saloon cars up to 1,000 c.c.: W. Borrowman (Austin-Cooper); G.T. Handicap: D. Alderson (Lotus Elite); Saloon-car Handicap (unlimited capacity): P. Macnally (Mini-Cooper); Formula Junior: B. H. Griffin (Lotus-Ford).