Hawthorn Time

The highlight of the VSCC’s Hawthorn Memorial Trophy Meeting at Silverstone was the race-long battle for the Boulogne Trophy between Tim Llewellyn’s tyre-smoking 3/8-litre Bentley (now running with an unpainted aluminium body) and Mark Walker’s Cirrus Hermes-engined Parker-GN. Once Peter Morley’s Napier Bentley had been ousted from the lead halfway round the first lap, Llewellyn led home, but was shadowed all the way by Walker whose tenacious drive brought him to within 0.7 seconds at the flag.

Bob Burrell’s 8-litre Bentley-Royce blitzed the opposition in the opening Scratch race, although a close battle ensued for second between Stephen Bulling (3.6 s/c Bentley), French visitor Marc Hevia (Alvis ‘Brutus’) and runner-up Barry Cannell (Alvis). The Bill Phillips Trophy for first standard-bodied car went to Terry Cohn (Alfa Monza) in sixth.

Gary Pearson (Lister Jaguar) took the early lead in the 50’s Sports Cars from a jet-lagged Steve Griswold (Lister Chevrolet) and Frank Sytner (Jaguar ‘D’), but by lap three Sytner was ahead with Barrie Williams (Tojeiro Jaguar) following in fourth. Pearson pitted with a crankcase breather problem on lap four and on the next lap Sytner spun away the lead to Griswold, who thus took the Hawthorn International Trophy.

Tony Smith made a demon start in the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy with his Tasman Aston DBR4 to lead from Amschel Rothschild’s BRM P25 and Phil Walker’s Lotus 16, as Rick Hall (Connaught ‘C’) spun out of contention. The BRM took the lead at Brooklands and proceeded to pull away, with Robin Lodge (Ferrari 246 Dino) inheriting second following Walker’s retirement and a last-lap spin by Smith which dropped him to third.

Martin Stretton made no mistake in taking the Hawthorn Spanish Trophy after a cautious start with Simon Bull’s Maserati 4CM, which allowed Donald Day (ERA R14B) to take the early lead from John Ure (ERA AJM1), whose race was short lived. Having taken the lead on lap two, Stretton was unchallenged and was followed at a distance by Duncan Ricketts (ERA R1B) and Day.

Phil Walker took his trusty MG to victory in the first 5-lap Scratch race after the demise of Tony Seber’s Wolseley, from Barry Cannell. Handicap victories fell to Alan Mills (Austin 7) and Kip Waistell (MG). Sadly, the meeting was overshadowed by a frightening accident which curtailed the final handicap when a charging Donald Day clipped the rear of another car on the approach to the finish line, the ERA launching into a roll and briefly catching fire before being promptly extinguished by the marshals. The unfortunate driver sustained serious injuries.

Earlier in the day, Julian Ghosh had organised a Racing Car display on behalf of the club spanning the years from 1902, with the Napier, to the 1965 BRM and including the 1908 GP Austin, 1920 Ballot, a trio of 1922 GN 200 Mile Race team cars, 1924 Sunbeam ‘The Cub’, ‘Mrs Jojo’ and ‘Rubber Duck’ Austin and the 159 Alfetta.