2024 Season Review

All championships raced at 6 meetings except Minis who raced at 7 meetings. Guests were allowed to race at 2 Knockhill events and any away rounds, but they did not score points. Their cars had to comply with our regulations. Only club members could register for championships and score points. Away round once again were varied. With all championships going to Anglesey in August as the Club ran a full meeting there, backed up by visitors from Ireland and DDMC. Away rounds were also held at Kirkistown in March (Minis), Croft in May (C1s, Classics, Fiestas) and Croft in September (Minis).

 

Scottish C1 Cup

Murray Scott, C1 Champion car no. 51 and Runner up  Dan Martin car no. 99

These one litre hatchbacks provide close racing and an ideal starter championships for newcomers to try motorsport. They also have a good following from regulars who enjoy the budget racing and a close fought championship. Sam Corson the 2023 champion had moved on, so a new champion would be crowned.

The Championship for the C1 hatchback was run over 13 rounds. There were three away races at Anglesey and two at Croft in 2024, plus eight races at Knockhill. The Championship was a close fight all season between two drivers, Murray Scott and Dan Martin, while 3^rd and 4^thwas also close as Ayden Wilson battled with James Hitchin. Within the top 8 drivers in 2024 , 5 drivers scored in every round while 3 drivers scored in 12 of the 13 rounds, showing how reliable the C1s can be.

Murray Scott led all the way having started with two wins, he was never headed in the points table, but it got really close a few times. After 9 rounds he was just 10 points ahead of Dan Martin, then 2 rounds later Dan Martin had closed the gap to 8 points. They then went to the final meeting and Murray Scott scored a win and a third to finish 12 points clear. Overall Murray Scott took six wins, 3 seconds and 2 thirds, 1 fourth and 1 fifth in his 13 round scores. He also took the Newcomers Cup, after a very impressive 2^ndseason in C1s. While the experienced racer Dan Martin was on the podium 10 times, he’d been runner up in 2023 and 2021, but showed he still was on top form. He had six wins,1 second, 3 thirds and 1 fourth plus 2 fifths in his 13 scores.

The battle for 3^rd was settled in Ayden Wilson’s favour, but only by 9 points. Ayden was joint 2^ndafter 2 rounds, then only 3 points behind Dan Martin after 4 rounds, while another experienced front running racer, James Hitchen, was 12 points behind him in 4^th after 4 rounds.  Ayden who was top newcomer last season drove well, and pulled 28 points clear of James by Round 9, but was only 13 points behind Dan Martin who held 2^nd. Then Ayden had a no score in Round 11. The gap to James shrank to just 1 point by Round 11, while Dan moved 40 points clear of Ayden as he held 2^nd overall. At the final Knockhill, Ayden outscored James to take 3^rd. Ayden Wilson had one win, 5 seconds and 2 thirds, plus 4 fourths in his 12 scores. James Hitchin had 3 seconds, 4 thirds,5 fourths and a sixth in his 13 scores.

In 5^th came Andrew Davidson, who raced well and scored consistently all year his top scores were 1 third, 1 fourth and 5 fifths. He was only 7 points ahead of 6^thplaced Marc Nisbet,  after Nisbet closed the points gap at the final meeting scoring 34 to Davidson’s 19.  Marc Nisbet’s top scores saw 1 second, 1 fourth and 3 fifths. In 7^th was James McCracken. He scored in 12 rounds with top scores being 1 fifth and 3 sixths. He finished 26 points ahead of 8^thplaced Kenneth Dock, another regular points scorer who scored in 12 rounds, and 7^th was his highest finish.

Completing the top 10 were 9^th placed Dale Edwards, who missed the last 2 meetings, and 10^th overall for Brayley Shore who also missed two meetings. But both drivers were consistent. Dale took a 6^th place at Anglesey, and Brayley had a 7^th at the final Knockhill meeting, marking their best scores.

13 drivers registered for the championship and scored points. In 11^th Gregor McPhaden  scored 5 times with a fifth his top score. In 12^thwas Ian Cochrane and 13^th Matthew Baldie.

C1 Cup Points (All 13 rounds counted):

1. Murray Scott 268 2. Dan Martin 256 3. Ayden Wilson 213  4. James Hitchen 204

 

C1 Newcomers Cup

There were 5 newcomers registered, but this competition was dominated by Murray Scott. He won the class an impressive 13 times out of 13, to record a 100% class win rate, in his second season in C1s.

Dale Edwards provided the closest competition for Murray, as he finished 2^nd just 10 points ahead of Brayley Shore. Dale scored well in 8 rounds, having 6 seconds, 1 third and 1 fourth in class finish, but he missed the final two meetings.  Brayley Shore took 3^rd in class with 9 good finishes, these included 1 second, 6 thirds, and 2 fifths in class.  In 4^th was Gregor McPhaden, only 5 finishes, but 3 seconds and 2 thirds shows pace is there. Matthew Baldie was 5^th with just 4 finishes, though had a second, 2 thirds and a fourth.

C1 Newcomer Points

1. Murray Scott 315 2. Dale Edwards 150 3. Brayley Shore 140  4. Gregor McPhaden 92

 

Scottish Fiesta ST Cup supported by Toyo Tyres

Gerry Hendry,ST Champion car no.147

This was a 12 round Championship, with all scores counting towards the Championship. The 2.0 litre Fiestas had competitive grids all year. There were 2 classes, the ST and the STC or Challenge car which is built to a slightly lower spec. Liam McGill double Champion from 2022 and 2023 did not defend his title. So we had a new Champion Gerry Hendry who dominated the Cup, stepping up from finishing 3^rd overall in 2023 when he won 3 races. The cars went to two away rounds. Croft in May and Anglesey in August, and received 10 bonus points for being there.

Gerry Hendry led the title chase all year. He won the first two rounds and was never headed. By Round 4 he was 28 points clear of Kieren Preedy who held 2^nd. This gap stretched to 49 points after Round 6. The gap was static after 8 then 10 rounds as the top 2 had identical scores.  They went into the final meeting with Gerry needing just 2 points to take the title. He won both races taking a maximum 50 points, and Kieren only scored 6 points. We had a new Champion. Gerry Hendry took 9 wins and 3 seconds, after a really impressive season. He scored in every round, a feat that only 3 drivers managed in 2024. The other two being James Dickie and Andrew Mackie.

In second overall was Kieren Preedy. He drove well all year and improved his consistency, having finished 10^th overall in 2023. Kieren took two wins, 4 seconds, 2 thirds, 1 fourth,1 sixth and a seventh, scoring in 11 of the 12 rounds. He was 51 points clear of 3^rd place, held by top newcomer James Dickie, who took 4 thirds, 2 fourths, 1 fifth and 2 sixths as his best scores of the 12 rounds, as he finished all Championship races. In 4^th 14 points back came Andrew Mackie. He had a good season long tussle with James Dickie. In fact Andrew held 3^rd from the first meeting, and by Round 6 was still 3^rd and now 10 points ahead of James. The cars went to Anglesey and the gap closed, with Andrew now only 4 points ahead of James after the 2 races there. Back at Knockhill Rounds 9 & 10 went well for James who had 2 fourths, but Andrew had lower scores, and as they went to the final 2 Rounds James was now 11 points ahead, and in 3^rd for the first time in the season. He held onto 3^rd overall, scoring 22 points to Andrew’s 19 points over the last 2 rounds.

In 5^thoverall was newcomer Sophie Kinghorn, scoring in 11 of the 12 rounds. She finished the season with her best on track results, of two excellent second places at the October Knockhill meeting. In the season Sophie got 2 seconds, 1 fourth, 1 fifth, and 3 sixths as her top scores. She was just 12 points behind Andrew Mackie, and crucially 2 points ahead of 6^thoverall Lorn Murray. These two had another season long battle over 5^th. Sophie led Lorn after 2 rounds then they were tied after 4 rounds. Sophie got one point ahead after 6 Rounds, then fell 7 points back after the trip to Anglesey. But the September Knockhill saw both drivers only score in one race, with Lorn now 8 points ahead. But in October Sophie scored heavily, and despite Lorn taking a fine third and fourth on the road, Sophie’s 2 seconds trumped him and she finished two points ahead in the table.  Both drivers had scored in 11 rounds and for Lorn it’s an improvement on 2023 when he was 8^th overall.

In 7^th was Kenneth Lees, who scored in all 12 rounds. He had 2 fifths, 1 seventh and 2 eighthsas his top scores. A newcomer learning STs he was also in a Challenge car, as was Lorn Murray and Sophie Kinghorn, but they also had a separately scored competition for that class. 8^th overall went to Arran Ward who scored in 7 rounds. He raced well to score 2 thirds, 3 fourths and 2 fifths as his top scores. Just 3 points back in 9^thwas the rapid Broddy Orr who scored in 6 rounds. He had 2 seconds, 1 third and an eighth as his top scores, the third being in the final race of the season. In 2023 he had been 4^th overall. The top 10 was rounded out by Stewart Scott who scored in 10 rounds, with a sixth and 2 sevenths and 2 ninths as his top scores.  Other former Champions who raced included Dave Colville who did 5 Rounds , and placed 11^th overall, he had 1 second, 1 third and 1 fourth as his top scores. Steven Gray a former Champion and runner up in 2023 did two races, and took a win and a third mid-season. Overall he was just behind veteran Peter Cruickshank who was 14^th overall and who scored in 5 races. Peter had 2 sevenths and a ninth as his top scores. There were 21 drivers registered and scoring points, including Paul Curtis who prepares many of the cars, he did 4 Rounds with 1 sixth, 1 seventh and 1 eighth as his top scores.

ST Cup Points

1. Gerry Hendry 305 2. Kieren Preedy 214 3. James Dickie  163  4. Andrew Mackie 149

 

Fiesta ST Challenge Cup

Lorn Murray car no. 5

This was a close battle for the slightly lower spec Challenge cars. Lorn Murray and Sophie Kinghorn yoyoed for the lead, at the head of this class. Sophie led after 2 rounds by 10 points. Then Lorn Murray scored well at Croft and led Sophie by 5 points after 4 rounds. In 3^rd by Round 4 was Duncan Steele, he kept the place for 2 more rounds, then stopped. This let in Kenneth Lees who had been 4^th. He was a strong 3^rd by Round 8 and carried on to 3^rd overall. Meanwhile Lorn headed Sophie, and by Round 10 was 19 points ahead. Though Sophie won the class in both final rounds, she finished 9 points behind class champion Lorn, who also won the Challenge class title in 2023.  Lorn Murray took 4 wins and 7 seconds. Sophie Kinghorn took 5 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds and 1 fourth.  Stuart Murray came 4^th scoring in 7 rounds, he took a class win at Croft, 1 second and 1 third plus 4 fourths. Duncan Steele was 5^th and took 1 second, 2 thirds and fourths and 1 fifth.

Challenge Points

1. Lorn Murray 260 2. Sophie Kinghorn  251   3. Kenneth Lees 218    4. Stuart Murray 127

 

Fiesta ST Newcomers

James Dickie, ST newcomers winner, car no. 99

For the first time in STs we had a Newcomers competition. There used to be one in Fiesta XR2s back in the 80’s and 90’s, when XR2s had full grids and even qualifying races when grids were over-subscribed. We had 7 drivers register for this competition, but James Dickie eased away in front from mid-season, though Sophie Kinghorn scored well all year as  runner up, and these two were close for quite a while. They started level after 2 rounds, then were level again after 6 rounds. By Round 8 James was 10 points ahead. By Round 10 he was 44 points clear, winning the class in Rounds 9 & 10,after Sophie had only one score in September. Though she won the class in both races in October James took 2 seconds and was 34 points clear. He scored 12 times, took 8 wins, 3 seconds and 1 sixth. Sophie took 4 class wins, 6 seconds, 1 third and scored in 11 rounds. In 3^rd was Kenneth Lees, with 3 seconds, 6 thirds and3 fourths being his scores. He was competitive and by Round 10 had closed in on Sophie, to be 18 points back in 3^rd. But the top two out-scored him at the final meeting. Kenneth scored in 12 rounds and was 38 points behind Sophie. In 4^th overall was Michael Gordon who consistently scored in 11 rounds, and had 3 thirds in class, 6 fourths, 1 fifth and 1 sixth.

Newcomers Points

1. James Dickie 290 2. Sophie Kinghorn 256 3. Kenneth Lees 218  4. Michael Gordon 164

 

Scottish Mini Cooper Cup supported by Project 21 and Yokohama Tyres

Oliver Mortimer Champion car no. 70  & Robbie Dalgleish car no. 91

The Scottish Mini Cooper Cup has always been competitive, and 2024 was no different. It delivered good close racing and lots of action. The cars did 3 races at each Knockhill meeting, the first two with the more powerful Cooper S cars, but their third race of the day was only for Cooper cars. This also featured a reversed grid for the top 5 to 8 finishers in the previous race. The number of cars in this format was decided after the second race at each event, and drawn at random. This varied between the top 5 and top 8 cars classified as finishing race two. If 5was drawn then the winner starts 5^th and the 5^th placed finisher starts from pole, and so on. There were three away meetings where the cars also completed three rounds. These circuits were Kirkistown in March, Anglesey in August, and Croft in September.

Oliver Mortimer was the defending Champion, having returned to Minis in 2023 and won the title, after a couple of years in Classics. He’d also won titles with Minis in previous seasons, for both the Cooper Cup and Cooper S R53 Cup. But this year he had a close fight early in the season, and unlike 2023 did not lead the points table all year. In 2024 Oly Mortimer eventually triumphed and retained his title, thanks to a really strong performance in the second half of the season.

But in the early part of the season, the Cup was led by Jason Ballantyne. The season started in Northern Ireland at Kirkistown. After the opening three rounds Jason led by 7 points, from Oly and Daniel Patterson. After the first Knockhill and 6 rounds, the positions had really changed. Jason was tied in the lead with Ian Munro, both on 86 points. Then came Daniel just a point back, followed by Jack Irvine another point back, then Oly in 5^th but only a point behind Jack. So it was tight at the top.  After 9 rounds and another Knockhill in June, Jason has 142 points and led by 12 points from Jack Irvine, with Robbie Dalgleish 3^rd just 3 points back (a fine effort as he’d not scored in the opening 3 rounds, but then won Rounds 5, 7 and 8). Then Oly Mortimer in 4^th a further 5 points behind. Ian Munro had dropped to 5^th but just a point back on Oly.

Then Oly Mortimer took over at the top of the points table after Round 12, held at the July Knockhill meeting. He won all 3 races that day, and now led the points with 197. He was 21 points clear of Ian Munro who had moved up.  Robbie was 5 points further back in 3^rd. Daniel and Jason were tied in 4^th with 158 points. After another 3 rounds run at Anglesey, Round 15 saw Oly lead by 55 points on 265 points,  thanks to another 2 wins. In 2^nd was now Daniel with 210 points. Robbie Dalgleish was 3^rdjust 5 points behind, and in 4^th only a point back came Jason Ballantyne.  Chad Little was now 5^th but only 4 points behind Jason.  Ian Munro did not score at Anglesey, and dropped to 7^th behind Jack Irvine.

The final 6 rounds were all at Knockhill. The September meeting saw Rounds 16 to 18. Oly Mortimer won two of them. He now had 326 points and led Robbie by 78 points, in 3^rd came Daniel Patterson just 3 points back. Jason Ballantyne was only a point back in 4^th with Chad Little another 4 points behind in 5^th. Jack Irvine was 20 points behind and held 6^th with 220 points. The final meeting in October saw Oly take his second clean sweep of the season, as he again won all 3 races. He finished with 401 points, then dropped scores saw him finish up with 388, as he retained his title by 98 points. A terrific performance from a very successful club driver, who said he was now retiring from regular competition, and still only in his early 40’s. The runner up was Robbie Dalgleish, who finished 11 points clear of a very tight scrap over 3^rd. This went to Daniel Paterson with 279 points, from Chad Little with 278 and then in 5^th Jason Ballantyne, who had scored 279, but his dropped scores were 13 points taking him down to 265. The drivers above him had some zero scores to drop. In 6^th was Ian Munro with 227 after being tied for the lead after 6 rounds. In 7^th was Jack Irvine who didn’t score at the final meeting. Martin Wijetunga who was top newcomer came in 8^th and got his best result of the season, with a 2^nd in the final race.

We had 19 drivers registered for the Championship. No one scored points in all 21 rounds, but Oly Mortimer scored in 20 rounds, which was the highest in the Cup. Oly Mortimer had 11 wins, 1 second, 3  thirds, 1 fourth, 2 fifths, and 1 sixth as his top scores. Runner up Robbie Dalgleish had 3 wins, 1 second, 5 thirds and 5 fourths as his top scores, while 3^rd placed Daniel Patterson had 2 wins, 3 seconds, 3 thirds and 4 fourths as his top scores. In 4^th overall Chad Little took 3 wins, 4 seconds, 5 thirds and 1 fourth as his top scores. Jason Ballantyne had 1 win, 4 seconds, 2 thirds and 4 fourths as top scores as he finished 5^th overall, while Ian Munro in 6^thscored in 17 rounds and took 3 seconds, 2 thirds, 2 fourths and 7 fifths as his top scores. Jack Irvine who scored in 16 rounds was 7^th  overall and scored 1 win, 4 seconds, 1 third, and 2 fifths as top scores. Martin Wijetunga finished eighth overall and scored in 18 rounds with 1 second, 1 fifth and 2 sixths as his top scores. In 9^th overall came Jacob Heap with 1 fourth, 1 fifth and 1 sixth as his top scores, and he scored in 17 rounds. While rounding out the top 10 was Barry Holmes with 1 fifth and 2 sixths as his top scores, though he also scored in 18 rounds.

So 6 drivers took race wins in 2024, compared with 5 winners in 2023. Michael Weddell who won the title in 2021 and 2022 and was 8^th in 2023, did not race in Minis in 2024. In 2023 Oly had won from Jack Irvine and Chad Little, with Robbie Dalgleish 4^th and Ian Munro 5^th. So the experienced drivers once again filled the top slots.

Mini Cooper Cup Points (21 rounds with the best 18 counting)

1. Oliver Mortimer 3882. Robbie Dalgleish 290 3. Daniel Patterson 279 4. Chad Little 279

 

Mini Cooper Newcomers Cup

Winner Martin Wijetunga car no. 27

This season there were 9 novices registered for the Newcomers, well up on the 3 registered last season. Two of last season’s newcomers were back, (Martin Wijetunga and Ross Foster) as allowed in the rules, to compete for a 2^nd year, as only the winner from 2023 Jack Barnett, is not able to re-enter. This Cup ended as the closest title battle of all those run by SMRC this year. Dropped scores playing their part in seeing a points tie for first place, so the title was decided on class wins and went to last year’s runner up Martin Wijetunga. Encouragingly 7 of the 9 drivers took at least one class win during the season.

Martin Wijetunga led by 6 points after the opening 3 rounds in Kirkistown, from Ross Foster and Ralph Sturrock was 18 points behind. In 3^rd was Michael Williams and Curtis Paterson just a further 1 point behind in equal 4^th. Following the first Knockhill meeting in April, Martin extended his lead to 14 points, over Ross, with Michael now 3^rd but 28 points behind Ross.  After the next Knockhill, Martin’s lead was down to 23points, as Ross scored well, but into 3^rd came Jacob Heap. He had scored well and was catching up after missing the opening 3 rounds. Martin opened up his lead after the 3^rd Knockhill in July. He was 50 points clear of Ross Foster, with Jacob now just 4 points back in 3^rd. Michael Williams was 4^th 32 points behind. But these three rounds saw two wins and a 2^nd from Stuart McPhaden, but he was now in 6^th having missed the opening 6 rounds.

The cars went to Anglesey in August, and Martin’s lead was cut to 13 points, he now had 246 points. But Jacob scored really well, taking 3 wins and the only clean sweep of wins all season. He now had 233 points. In 3^rd Ross had 204 points and was 29 points back. The next 2 rounds were also away at Croft. Martin held onto his lead but now by 12 points, with 299 points to 2^nd place Jacob’s 287 points.  Ross dropped to 4^th after only one points score, and was now 1 point behind new 3^rd place driver Michael Williams, who scored well to be on 221 points. The final 3 rounds were at Knockhill.  Martin scored two class wins and ended with 349 points. Jacob finished on 323 points. But with dropped scores, Martin and Jacob were equal on points, leaving Martin to win the title when class wins were counted. Into 3^rdcame Ross Foster. He was 55 points back, but held off Michael Williams by 19 points. In 5^th Stuart McPhaden had scored well over the final two meetings, including two class wins, while Jonathan Wild took 6^th after a consistent year.

Martin Wijetunga had 7 class wins, 3 seconds and 2 thirds as his top scores, while Jacob Heap had 4 class wins, 6 seconds and 1 third as his top scores. Ross Foster took 1 win, 4 seconds and 3 thirds as his best scores, with Michael Williams 2 class wins, 2 seconds and 4 thirds as his top scores. Of the other drivers, Stuart McPhaden took 4 class wins and 5 seconds in his 9 points finishes and was 5^th overall. While others top scorers were, Jonathan Wild in 6th overall with one third, 2 fourths and 7 fifths. Blair Dryburgh was 7^th and had one class win, one second and three 3 thirds. In 8th Curtis Paterson had 4 fourths, and 9^th Ralph Sturrock took 2 class wins and 1 third.

Newcomers Points (21 rounds with the best 18 counting)

1. Martin Wijetunga 323 2. Jacob Heap 323 3. Ross Foster 268  4. Michael Williams 249

 

Scottish Mini Cooper Cup – Knockhill Cup (Only races at Knockhill and all count, 12 rounds)

This cup was in its second year, after starting in 2023, when Oly Mortimer won. This competition was held over 12 races held at Knockhill. These were in April, June, July and October. Jack Irvine and Robbie Dalgleish were 2^nd and 3^rdin 2023. In 2024 there were 2 more drivers scoring points, so we had 19 who scored points in this cup.

After 3 rounds Robbie Dalgleish had 60 points, and led by 11 points from Jack Irvine, with Ian Munro 3^rd on 44 points. Oly Mortimer was down in 6^th with 29 points.  After Rounds 4 to 6, so mid way, Robbie Dalgleish was well ahead on 127 points. Jack Irvine was 2^nd on 95 points with Jason Ballantyne now 3^rd on 81 points. Oly was 5^th with 68 points. Following the July meeting, Robbie still led with 171 points, but now second was Oly Mortimer on 143 points. Oly had a clean sweep were he took 3 wins at the event, so it was now a 28 points gap to Robbie. In 3^rd was Ian Munro who was on 133 points, while Daniel Patterson held 4^th with 113, and just one point ahead of Jack Irvine. The final meeting was in October. Oly Mortimer aced it again with three wins and finished on 220 points. He was 7 ahead of season long leader Robbie Dalgleish, who had 213 points.  October had been Robbie’s lowest scoring session. The scrap for 3^rd was even closer. Ian Munro got home 3^rd with 149 points, as Daniel Patterson outscored him at the final meeting, but finished on 147 points. Jason Ballantyne took 5^th some 15 points back on 132 points, and in 6^th came Chad Little with 124 points.

Oly Mortimer took 7 wins, 1 third, 1 fourth and a fourteenth scoring in 11 rounds. Robbie Dalgleish had 3 wins, 1 second, 4 thirds, 3 fourths and 1 sixth in his 12 scores. Ian Munro took 3 seconds 1 fourth and 5 fifths in his 11 scores and Daniel Patterson had 1 win, 2 seconds, 1 third and 3 fourths as his top scores in 9 rounds. Others who scored well were Jason Ballantyne in 5^th overall, with two seconds and one third. In 6^th Chad Little had 2 seconds and 4 thirds, while 7^thoverall was Jack Irvine who scored in 9 rounds, and took 1 win, 1 second and 1 third as his top scores to finish the season on 112 points. Martin Wijetunga scored 88 points to finish 8^th.

Points

1. Oliver Mortimer 220 2. Robbie Dalgleish 213  3. Ian Munro 149   4. Daniel Patterson 147

 

R53 Mini Cooper S Cup

Jamie Blake no. 97, winner R53 Cooper S Cup

Mini Cooper S cars are the most powerful cars in Scottish one make racing. They also run on slick racing tyres, have 1.6 litre supercharged engines and adjustable suspension.  They had 12 rounds all of which counted towards the Cup. Two drivers registered and contested most of the rounds. They started ahead of the Cooper cars twice at each meeting, and eased away from that class in the races. There may not have been many cars but they competed keenly.

Jamie Blake took the title again, scoring in 9 rounds, he had 8 wins and 1 second. Runner up was Rich Flett who scored in 10 rounds, taking 2 wins and 8 seconds.  Jamie led the Cup all season and won it by 12 points as he retained his title.

In October we had 4 Cooper S cars out racing at Knockhill, as 2 guest cars joined in. Ashleigh Morris made a return to the track as a guest in the Cooper S class, just as she had done in 2023. She drove well and won the race on the road in Round 11 by 0.7 seconds from guest Ross Wilkinson, with Rich Flett a close 3^rd, Jamie Blake was a dns.  But in Round 12 Jamie Blake raced and won from Ashleigh by 1.3 seconds. Rich Flett was a close 3^rd on the road ahead of Ross Wilkinson. It was good to see more cars out and dicing with each other.

These cars are quick, and give drivers really a good experience of handling more power, maybe more will race regularly in 2025.

Points: (all 12 rounds counted)

1. Jamie Blake 176 2. Rich Flett 164

 

Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons Championship

Classics new champion Iain Mitchell (Nova) car no. 11 & Andrew Graham (TR8) car no. 78

There are several classes for cars to enter in. This championship has Saloons and Sportscars racing against each other. Cars that were manufactured before 31^st December 1989 are eligible, and must remain predominantly in period specification. Class A up to 1500cc engines. Class B 1501cc to 2500cc engines. Class C Period cars not complying fully with these technical regulations and race by invitation of the Organisers. Class D 2501cc to 3600cc engines. Class E Sports and Saloon Cars over 3601cc engines, and any period homologated race car. Class G Limited Production Cars, sports or saloons, specials, kit cars and recreation cars, 2 wheel drive only, maximum 2 valves per cylinder engines.

Competitors are racing against each other on track, but only scoring against drivers in their own class. Their scores are then put into the overall points table, to find the Champion. There were 19 registered competitors. Drivers needed 3 drivers to start in their class per race in order to score full points. If 2 or fewer started a race in that class, then points were reduced. There were 12 rounds, with away rounds at Croft in May and Anglesey in August.

The new Champion and overall winner for the first time is Iain Mitchell. He raced a class A car, his rapid Vauxhall Nova hatchback, with which he dominated the class. Iain led the points table from round 2 and was never headed. Iain scored a perfect 12 class wins from 12 starts, and importantly his class always had at least 3 starters, so maximum points were available for every round. He was chased hard all year by Andrew Graham , in his class E Triumph TR8 sportscar. Like Iain he scored in every round,  but despite winning the class 10 out of 12 rounds, he didn’t always score 25 points for a win, as his class occasionally had less than three starters. But it was close, as after 6 rounds Iain led by just 9 points. After 10 rounds Iain led by 23 points and finally finished 37 points clear after 12 rounds. Andrew did however win 6 of the 8 Knockhill races on the road as well. He was beaten at two of the late season Knockhill’s by 2023 champion Alastair Baptie, in his class EMGB GT V8. Andrew also won the Championship races on the road at 3 of the 4 away rounds, but in each case the Classics shared the grid with local modified cars, and a few of these were ahead of Andrew in each race. The one away round he didn’t head the Classics was taken by guest driver Kieron Baillie, in a Lotus 7 at Anglesey. Andrew Graham took ten class E wins, and two seconds, to be runner up for the second year in a row. Only the top two drivers scored in every round.

In 3^rd overall was Craig Houston, with his class B Lotus Excel sportscar. He scored in 10 rounds, but with his class also not providing maximum points regularly, due to lower entries, he finished 74 points behind Andrew Graham. Craig had nine class wins and one second.  He was beaten by Alasdair Coates’ Escort RS2000 in April’s first round, then won the class in every race he entered, leaving only the two races at Croft to be unclaimed, as no class B cars went. In 4^th was Michael Longstaffe, in his class A Midget sportscar. He scored in 10 rounds, with 2seconds, 7thirds and a class fourth and was only 23 points behind Craig Houston at the season end. However Michael was ahead of Craig, holding 3^rd in the points table until Round 10, but he didn’t score in Rounds 11 & 12, so Craig moved up to 3^rd overall. In 5^th was Classic’s stalwart Jimmy Crow, who had a good year in the rapid class G 3-litre Scimitar GT Coupe. Jimmy also had a class that didn’t get maximum scores, but he had 6 class wins and 2seconds from 8 finishes. He also scored additional points for class lap records set at Croft. Jimmy had been 3^rd overall after 4 rounds, but didn’t score in the July Knockhill, and both Craig Houston and Michael Longstaffe then passed his points score. In 6^th was class A driver Paul Bowers, with his Fiat 128 Coupe. He scored in 7 rounds, but took 6 seconds and 1 third, so took good points as class A was well supported all year. He was only 2 points behind Jimmy Crow in the final table. Richard Cooper was 7^th with his Ginetta G15. This is a class A car and he scored in 8 rounds, taking 3 thirds, 4 fourths and 1 fifth in class.

In 8^th overall was 2023 Champion Alastair Baptie, bringing his fast MGB GT V8 out to score in 5 rounds. This class E car won two races out right at Knockhill, and finished 2^nd on the road 3 times. He had two wins and 3 seconds in class. In 9^th was John Kinmond in his class A Mini Cooper. He scored in 5 rounds with the class A car. He had 4 seconds and 1 third in class and got close on the road to Champion Iain Mitchell in the final round. In 10^th overall was Niki Dickson with his Mk1 Lotus Cortina who scored in 6 rounds in class B. He took 2 fourths and 4 seconds in class. Others of note included Colin Calder in 11^th with a Ginetta G4 in class G, scoring in 5 rounds and finishing just 1 point behind Niki Dickson. He scored 3 wins and 2 seconds in class. Barry Eastaugh was in 12^th and he raced a class E MGB GT V8 to 2 seconds on the road in April, his class scores being 2 seconds and 2 thirds. Last season he was 4^th overall but scored in more rounds then.  John Kinmond also finished 13^th overall, with his 2021 championship winning Rover SD1 V8 engined saloon. This class E car scored in 3 rounds, and took 3 seconds in class.

There were some quick non scoring guests racing occasionally in Classics. Kieron Baillie in a Lotus 7 did the away rounds , winning the classics section in one race at Anglesey, getting two classics 3rds overall at Croft, and a 3^rd at Anglesey as well. Previous regular racer Adam Kinmond brought his big Rover SD1 saloon out at the April Knockhill and was 3^rd on the road in round 2, and repeated the feat in July in both races. Plus, he got a fourth at the 2nd away round at Croft. Former regular Scottish racer Mario Ferrari appeared at the final Knockhill in October, and took 2 third places on the road, with his Ferrari 308GTB.

Points (all 12 rounds counted)

1. Iain Mitchell 300 2. Andrew Graham 263  3. Craig Houston 189  4. Michael  Longstaffe 166

 

Scottish XR2 Championship

Paul Green  XR2 Car no. 65

These hot hatches race with the Classics, but have separate regulations. Back in the 80’s and 90’s we had full grids of XR2’s, and in some years had to run qualifying races. This season 3 cars were again registered and we had a new Champion. After Duncan O’Neill had won the Championship for the last couple of years, it was 2023 runner up Paul Green who triumphed.

Paul took eight class wins from eight scores. He missed the last two Knockhill meetings.  But was far enough ahead to win by 74 points. Runner up was Sonny Gray who scored in six rounds, with 6 seconds. He was 12 points ahead of previous champion Duncan O’Neill who had 6 scores, and took 3 seconds and 3 thirds. In the points race Paul Green led all season but it was Duncan who held 2^nd until Round 6 when he stopped scoring. This let in Sonny, who started in Round 4 and did both away meetings. He also got one score in July and then with a late score in October at Knockhill, took the runner up spot. All three drivers scored more than the 2023 champion, so maybe more XR2’s will appear next season.

XR2 Points

1. Paul Green 186 2. Sonny Gray 112 3. Duncan O’Neill 100

 

Kevin Pick