Boxing Day Brands Hatch (December 26th)

The opening event of the day for G.T. cars gave another victory to Graham Warner’s Lotus Elite from Chris Lawrence’s more accelerative Morgan Plus 4 which held the lead for a couple of laps. Cohn Hextall moved up into third place in his Thunderbolt while Pat Moss in her first real motor race (although some rallies appear to be thinly disguised races) kept the Sprinzel-Sprite in eighth place.

The principal event of the day, the 15-lap Formule Libre Silver City Trophy saw a motley collection of cars on the grid from which Tony Marsh detached his 1960 F.2 Lotus (now modified to F.1) and went on to an untroubled win from John Campbell-Jones (Cooper) and Dizzy Addicott in his fast Lotus Eleven, with George Wicken fourth in his Cooper from Henry Taylor’s Formula Junior Cooper which had failed to start in the John Davy Trophy race. In this race Surtees and Taylor were due to drive Tyrell’s two Coopers but Surtees damaged his car in an off-course excursion and as Taylor had blown-up his engine a hasty swop was made, to no avail as it happened, as the engine would not start in the race. He was then moved to the Formule Libre race.

The Formula Junior race which was to decide the John Davy Trophy was split into two races, one for the works boys and quicker private owners and the other left to the people for whom Formula Junior was really designed. Jim Clark in his last F.J. race clinched the John Davy Trophy for 1960 and walked away from the rest of the field. Arundell finished second in front of Parkes and Ashdown, both driving rear engined Geminis. Ashdown made fastest lap at 59.8 sec. In the ” Division II ” race Hugh Dibley rushed into the lead in his Lola and held it for two laps until Warr passed him in his Lotus and then dropped to third when Mallock in his angular U2 (no connection with spying in Russia) took over second spot.

In the other two races Sir Gawainne Baillie won the saloon car event in his 3.8 Jaguar from the similar car of Farness but John Young’s giant-killing Ford Anglia which had held off Farness for some time finished in their place, losing nothing on acceleration to the Jaguars! The sports car race went to young Jock Russell’s Lotus Fifteen, after the Lolas of Kerrison and Rees had refused to start. Addicott chased him valiantly, followed by Lee’s Lister-Jaguar, in which order they finished.