Shepherd rounds up flock

HSCC Historic Road Sports Championship

One of the most hotly contested of the HSCC’s portfolio of championships was the Historic Road Sports series, which managed to rack up six different race winners in the 10-round season.

The most prolific winner was Laurence Bailey, who won three of the four races he contested in his TVR Griffith. That tally would have been four from four had the long sweeps of Thruxton not inflicted serious harm on the car’s engine when he was well clear and a lap from home.

Mike Eagles won twice in his Australian-built Milano GT but missed a couple of rounds, and so it was another two-time winner in Andy Shepherd who took the overall title in his Lotus 7. Invariably running around the heels of the more powerful cars like a persistent terrier, the Lotus won overall at Cadwell Park and Castle Combe to put Shepherd on course for the crown.

Other race winners included an elated Chris Burbury, who wrestled his well-used Triumph TR5 to victory at Croft, and the exuberant James O’Mahony, who thrilled everyone at Thruxton in his Chevy Camaro and moved up when Bailey’s TVR went sick.

Leading the chase of Shepherd in the points was defending champion Robert Barrie (Porsche 911) and Tim Burrett in his venerable Lancia Aurelia.