Bank holiday racing at Mallory Park

Temperamental weather prevailed at the Nottingham SCC Race Meeting at Mallory Park, near Leicester, on August 6th. Big event of the day was the 20-lap Formula Libre event, which was won by Brian Naylor in his Lotus-Maserati after a hard battle with Tony Marsh in the Cooper-Climax. DJ Strange struggled on valiantly to win the 500 cc 15-lap final in driving rain, which poured down incessantly during this event. J Coombes also had a successful day in the Lotus, taking first place in two of the sports-car races.-IG.

Event 1. 7-Lap heat for 500 cc Racing Cars.

DJ Strange won this event in his Cooper-Norton. Burnard and Truman had a good ding-dong battle for many laps ; one of the unfortunates was CG Summers, whose Norton engine decided to put a con-rod through its crankcase.

Event 2. 10-Lap Race for Sports Cars up to 1,200 cc.

LI Bramley (Lotus-Climax) was hard-pressed by Tony Marsh in the Cooper-Climax for five laps when his Lotus was forced to retire to the paddock, leaving an open victory for Marsh.

Event 3. 7-Lap heat for 500 cc Racing Cars.

JL Rowbotham shot into the lead in the JLR-JAP at the start of this event, but Parker’s Cooper-JAP soon caught up, took the lead on the bottom straight and gained first place, with Rowbotham and Phillips following in his wake.

Event 4. 10-Lap Race for Sports Cars, 1,201-1,500 cc.

Nine laps of this race saw Brian Naylor’s Lotus-Maserati leading, but on the last lap Coombes steamed past him to take first place. Taking part in this event was an old friend, namely the ex-Nurse Lotus SAR 5 with a smart finless body, driven by RF Bloxam. 

Event 5. 10-Lap Race for Sports Cars, 1,501-,2700 cc.

Star turns here were N Campbell-Blair in a Cooper-Bristol and Austin Nurse, looking quite fit after his accident at Silverstone on July 14th, driving the latest Lister-Bristol fitted with his old engine. J McKechnie spun his Morgan off on the third lap opposite the paddock entrance, but restarted with outside assistance. Bailey’s Austin-Healey retired on lap two after dynamo trouble incurred in the previous race.

Event 6. 15-Lap Consolation Final for 500 cc Racing Cars.

Many retirements depleted the field in this event. Amongst the bent cars in the paddock later were Bennett’s and Barak’s Coopers, with Robson and Plummer being towed in after the finish. Hett’s Cooper-Norton led the field well and made the fastest lap at 77.63 mph, as well as taking first place.

Event 7. 10-Lap Race for Sports Cars over 2,700 cc.

A Campbell-Blair, Marsh, Coombes contest. Campbell-Blair held the lead throughout but was hotly pursued by Marsh, Coombes and later Naylor, who succeeded in reaching only second place in front of Marsh. Coombes retired on his 9th lap.

Event 8. 20-Lap Formula Libre.

Naylor and Coombes were running neck-and-neck for the first nine laps, Naylor leading, but Tony Marsh crept up on the scene, and held first place for a number of laps when Naylor dropped back temporarily, Marsh later dropping to second place as the Lotus-Maserati regained the lead. There were many retirements throughout this race as mechanical trouble dogged the cars and the rain which came on halfway through hampered the drivers.

Event 9. 15-Lap Final for 500 cc Racing Cars.

DJ Strange brought off a well-deserved victory in view of the heavy rain. WA Towse, in a similar car, was second.

Event 10. 15-Lap Race for Sports/Racing Cars up to 1,500 cc.

The rain stopped in time for this concluding event in which Coombes staved off a determined attack for first place from Naylor and Marsh. The only mishap to occur was when MGF Dickens got into difficulties outside the paddock entrance, hit a barrier and bounced across the track, the driver scrambled out unhurt but the Tojeiro MG had a somewhat second-hand appearance after this contretemps.