Historic Sports Car Club's Wolds' Trophy

Cadwell Park

19 - 20 September 2020

Last weekend the PistonClick team went along to photograph the Historic Sports Car Club's Wolds' Trophy at the mini Nürburgring Ring, Cadwell Park. This event is one that we have attended for the last three years for a good reason, the excellent racing.

The HSCC is all about racing cars from a bygone era that haven't been modified with the latest technology. This philosophy is one that I fully support as a spectator photographer and racing fan.

The great racers of the past didn’t have traction and launch control, just a big dollop of driver's skill and balls of steel to take these open cockpit race cars to the limit, and beyond.

These skillsets are still evident today; the skinny tyres and bouncy suspension can be challenging on a twisty undulating circuit like Cadwell but this doesn’t hold back the Formula Ford racers of today.

One of the stand-out drivers of the weekend was Pierre Livingston, competing In the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship in the #76 blue Merlyn Mk20A.

Livingston took a double win in the Championship during the meeting and collected a hat trick with a win in a non-championship race as well.

He was pushed by Linton Stutley in the green striped Royale RP3, and Cam Jackson in a March 709 who were to take the other podium places.

Cam Jackson was also competing in the Classic Formula Ford Championship in a Van Diemen RF80. Cadwell is Jackson's home track and it looks like he had some local knowledge.

I noticed he had restricted the air flow with some tape in the distinctive Van Diemen nose cone. It was a warm day at Cadwell but I didn’t think it was that warm. Jackson knew what he was doing as he went on to win the first two races.

Jackson didn’t start the last race which was won by Jorden Harrison #149 in the Royale RP21, seen here being chased by #2 Mike Gardner in the Crissle 32F who came 2nd in race two.

In the FF2000 #61 Callum Grant was the other stand-out driver. He was competing in his Delta T78 in this packed class. As there were so many cars competing the racing had to be broken down into heats to determine the starting grids for the finals.

Benn Simms in the bright yellow Reynard SF77 stuck to Jackson's gearbox for most of the weekend's racing, ending up 0.209 of a second behind Jackson as they crossed the line in race 9.

One aspect of the racing I liked about the HSCC weekend was the rolling start that had been implemented. We all enjoy the drama of the sprint away from the line but this can cause delays to the racing with incidents and cars having issues as they wait on the grid, causing delays.

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A green flag warm up lap behind the safety car straight from the holding area then rolling straight into the start meant that the racing came thick and fast.

With there being so many cars at this meeting, there were 20 races in all, the rolling start kept the action coming thick and fast so as a spectator photographer I wasn’t short of subject matter.

There were a few red flags during the day that stopped the racing but that is standard of just about every race meeting I've ever attended. There were a few cars that gave up under the relentless pounding of the circuit.

The mountain can be unforgiving on the 1960 designed suspension of these historic cars.

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Alisdair Graham had other problems with his Delta T78. It didn’t like the oil he was using so decided to redecorate the rear of his car with a fetching hint of hydrocarbons.

I bet that was a pain to clean off later!

The Classic Formula 3 grid had fewer cars out racing than the Formula Fords but still look great. The class structure for these genuine Formula 3 racing cars is they must have been built and raced between 1971 and 1984, and have either a 2000cc or 1600cc engine.

Benn Tilley seen here on his way to taking the honours in both races got his March 743 round the track in a fastest lap of 1:29.626 at an average speed of 87.84 mph.

It wasn’t just open cockpit cars competing over the weekend, the HSCC 70's Road Sports Championship was also being held with a great selection of cars from the demure Lotus Elans to the majestic E-type Jaguars and Morgans.

It was to be Jeremy Clark in the Lotus Elan S4 weekend, with two wins from two starts.

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For me, the best action was at the back of the field between a closely matched pair of Alfa Romeo 2000 GTVs driven by Simon Holmesmith in car 77 and David Erwin in car 76.

These cars did bring back some memories of taking part in 12-car rallying up in Scotland in one of these, which was excellent fun until we hit a deer at speed in the middle of the night during one of the stages.

That was an expensive evening's entertainment.

Two other historic sports car championship races were being competed for - the HSCC Historic Road Sports Championship and the HSCC Historic Touring Cars & 1980s Production Car Challenge.

In the Road Sports it was another close battle between William Plant in the Morgan Plus 8 and the Lotus Elan S1 of Paul Tooms. Plant would take the first race and Tooms the second.

The stand out car was Kevin Kivlochan's AC Cobra. Check out the eyes in the air scoop. It did have problems with a sticking throttle so didn’t perform as it should, but still looked and sounded great when it did go past us.

I remember getting some cracking shots of this car last year as Kivlochan bounced the Cobra off the kerbs around Hall bends.

I won't be getting any pictures like that for some time, as that part of the track and the area round the café are still out of bounds to spectators to meet the CV19 rules Cadwell has to adhere to.

The race teams can still access this area from the paddock, which is also out of bounds to the paying public. The march of the safety fence has also limited our shooting opportunities in what was my favourite viewing spot at Cadwell.

As soon as we are given access to this area again I will update the Cadwell photographic guide so you can see what effect the fencing has had from a photographic view point.