Inside line --Julius Thurgood
Top Hat Racing founder
What are Top Hat Racing’s principles?
Top Hat Racing was founded eight years ago to give better value for competitors. We run it as a commercial entity, we don’t flog dead horses and we don’t turn up with eight-car grids. It is funded purely on race-entry fees and it now holds its head above water.
Will this be your best season so far?
I think in all-round terms, in being able to offer competitors variety, 2005 will be our best year yet. But we’re not giving up club meetings. I’m adamant about keeping events like Castle Combe and Mallory Park. The competitor is a client and we treat them accordingly. A lot of people miss out on that. We’ve now got 2000 active competitor on the database and about 1000 of them will race with us this year.
How’s Donington Festival Looking?
It should be a fantastic meeting. We’re delivering the most brilliant race weekend and competitors do like to see people in the stands.
Why did you move to Appendix K cars only for Top Hat races?
Historic saloons were getting out of control again. The move to Appendix K has shaken the basket a bit. But more cars have been converted to Appendix K than we have lost. We had 35 entries for Castle Combe and they were all proper FIA-spec cars. We look for the good of the majority.
What else is on the horizon?
There is a very strong possibility of a 24-hour race in 2006 for teams of pre-65 sports and GT cars…