The Vintage Sport Car Club - Cadwell Park

Report by David Gowshall of DEEGEE Motorsport Photography

Sunday 18^th June 2023

Warm and bright sunshine greeted a very large crowd arriving for the Vintage Sports Car Club’s annual visit to Cadwell Park at the weekend.

The timeless charm of Cadwell ensures the event is always popular, and as usual, it provided lots of entertainment and close racing, with a large variety of machinery on display both on-track, and in a very busy paddock.

Most of the cars in action were from the 1920’s and 30’s, with the fastest circulating the mini-Nurburgring in less than two minutes, which is quite remarkable considering the cars are around 100 years old.

By far the most popular cars on show on the day were Fraser Nash/GN cars, with two races, having full grids for both (one for “faster” cars and one for “slower” examples), some of which struggled to negotiate the steep gradient of the Mountain.

Fraser Nash/GN dominated sports car racing in the UK from 1920 through to the Second World War. They were driven successfully by, amongst others, the late Sir Stirling Moss, who won a number of events for the manufacturer on the Isle of Man.

The Fraser Nash/GN company were also heavily involved in the introduction of BMW cars into the UK following the war, but gradually their cars ceased to be competitive during the period after the war as new marques, including Lotus and Cooper, began to dominate car racing. 

Other cars on show at the weekend were numerous Rileys, Bugattis and the Austin Sevens, which despite their tiny 750cc engines produced some of the fastest times of the day around the undulating circuit.

Particular favourites of mine on the day were a bright red 1937 Aston Martin 15/98 Speed Model, featuring a 2 litre engine, and the beautifully turned out black Morgan Super Aero.

The racing is only part of the programme, with all the cars competing “on show” in the Paddock throughout the day, and displays of other famous manufacturers’ non-racing vehicles available for enthusiasts to drool over. 

On track, the racing was close with the Handicap races in particular, creating a lot of interest (and confusion) amongst the spectators and commentators alike. 

During the morning qualifying session the organising team took the times recorded during morning practice and reverse seeded all the runners with the aim of having all the cars theoretically crossing the finishing line together. The staggered start can in some instances mean some of the fastest cars have to complete an additional lap to ensure a blanket finish.

On the whole the “handicappers” did a good job, with the excitement building as the race progressed, and with the faster cars negotiating and overtaking their slower rivals right up to the very last bend on the last lap, in search of the top spot on the podium, as was the case in the “Fast” cars race.

The Riley Brooklands of James Potter (#100) making a crucial overtake manoeuvre on the exit to Barn Corner as the chequered flag was being readied.

The Williams Trophy Race for pre-1935 Grand Prix cars featured a significant number of very impressive Bugatti cars. After a thrilling race-long battle, the first three cars were separated by less than two seconds at the flag, with Timothy Dutton in his Bugatti Type 51 (#51) leading home Christopher Mann (#80) in his Alfa Romeo and Edward Williams (#147) in a Fraser Nash TT Replica. 

The Seaman and Flockhart Trophy race for Pre-War and Pre-1966 Racing Cars featured an equally close duel between Tom Waterfield (#53) and Charlie Martin (#6), both driving Coopers, but Waterfield spun out at the bottom of the Mountain as the race neared its climax, leaving Mark Gillies (#1) to thankfully accept second place, and Ben Maeers (#611) to take the final spot of the podium.

The most impressive drive of the day was that of Christian Pederson, who won the Spero and Voiturette Trophy Race for smaller capacity cars in his brightly coloured yellow and green Austin Seven Special (#201) by a remarkable 1 minute and 43 seconds, built up over just 8 laps.

The race programme, begun earlier than advertised to reduce the likelihood of the heavy rain forecast later in the day spoiling proceedings, ran faultlessly and to time, and more importantly ensured everyone remained dry, although the cloud did build up during the latter part of the day.

I’d like to take the opportunity to extend my appreciation to the dedicated volunteers and marshals who worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth and safe running of the event.

A lovely day’s racing in the Lincolnshire Wolds, enjoyed by many, both on and off track. 

:DEEGEE: Motorsports Photography’s next outing will feature more vintage action at an event I always look forward to, when I will be fulfilling the role of official photographer at the Vintage Speed Trials to be held on July 1^st at the magnificent Grimsthorpe Castle near Bourne, the former home of BRM racing cars, the catalyst that led to Britain’s domination of Formula 1 today. 

You can see more of :DEEGEE: Motorsport Photography here.