This may increasingly seem outrageous to some, but I prefer the photos on this post to the race photography in my previous article.
My qualifying and race day experience on the 2024 Classic & Modern Touring Automotive Festival while watching the Classic Touring Automotive Racing Club (CTCRC) was a highlight of my 12 months up to now, for multiple reasons.
The racing was intense, the entrants were varied, and the sounds of the cars echoing around Mallory Park’s hills were bewitching. Yet, my walks across the paddock between races were my favourite a part of the event.
You see, for all my love of cars and motorsport, it’s the people behind all of it that I find probably the most interesting – especially those with real passion.
One such person is James Ibbotson. James not only competes in CTCRC’s Pre-1966 category, but I’ve known him since after we used to race online on Xbox Live almost every single day after school. I maintain that I used to be quicker than him then, however it’s a claim James refutes as “bullsh*t.”
I caught up with James several times throughout the day to see how he was getting on and to talk concerning the series and his race-spec Hillman Imp, which in a previous iteration was a well known stance automobile within the UK show scene.
“My dad has all the time had Imps and all the time took me to see them racing after I was young,” James recalls. “So I used to be probably destined to find yourself owning and racing one.”
Considered one of the youngest competitors within the series, James quickly made a reputation for himself by winning in his debut 12 months, attracting attention from a young audience.
“Historic racing is big within the UK now, and it’s not only the old boys anymore,” James explains. “Many individuals my age [27] and even younger are racing and doing well in historics.”
Looking across the paddock, nevertheless, it was clear that the variety of racing veterans far outweighed young talent. Their familiarity with their cars was apparent, mostly with the relaxed attitude everyone had when addressing an issue or making adjustments to their vehicles after qualifying.
“I believe a whole lot of the older guys had these cars as their first or second cars on the road a few years ago, so to be back in them and racing them probably feels right,” says James.
It was also clear to see which competitors had more serious paddock support setups than those with their cars and a toolkit. “Budget does play an element in competitiveness, especially at the larger events just like the Goodwood Revival where you may have 30 pro drivers competing for the last tenth of a second,” James added.
In keeping with James, club racing is typically an exception to that rule. “A well home-built and well-driven automobile can sometimes beat the larger more powerful cars, which is all the time great to see.” It very much echoes the British Touring Automotive Championships of old.
One chap in a classic Mini Cooper was well respected for refusing to trailer his automobile to any race meetings, simply turning up and racing with license plates still attached.
Such quirks are a part of the CTCRC series’ charm, and the owners’ pride was endearing. Nigel Baker was greater than pleased to take a while to speak me through his gorgeous Zetec-powered Mk1 Ford Escort, even pulling out some magazines to point out me the old features of the automobile.
Nigel’s Escort was easily my favourite automobile of the meeting, so it was sad to see it crashed into by a space-framed Vauxhall Tigra attempting a frankly ridiculous dive-bomb overtake on the primary corner of the race. Each cars ended up within the tyre wall directly beneath my feet, and the gorgeous Escort limped back into the pits in a tragic state. The Vauxhall driver was banned from the remainder of the weekend’s racing.
Mishaps aside, there was real competitive racing that weekend with cars swapping positions lap after lap within the heavily-contested categories, like Pre-’66 and Thunder Saloons.
Pre-’66 saw probably the most cars on the right track concurrently at Mallory Park, with 22 entrants, leading James to see a shiny future for the game. “With synthetic fuels on the best way, I believe classic cars shall be raced for years. The industry is just too big for historic racing to stop anytime soon.”
In comparison with the present evolution of the game, classic touring cars are a world apart. Whilst the fundamental principle is similar and the old class systems could have taken a number of many years to succeed in their final, standardised form, it was amazing to see how close the racing might be without additional interference by the governing bodies.
“I actively follow the BTCC although I much prefer historic stuff, but I’m undecided I agree with all of the fiddling that goes on to scale back hybrid assistance based on race wins,” James questions. “I’ve never seen so many various race winners in so few races before, but I find the racing exciting and can proceed to support it.”
When pressed on the vision for his future in the game, James’s only reply was to maintain having fun with it as much as he has been to this point; the social side of the culture being as enjoyable because the racing itself.
I can see more historic race weekends in my future, that’s needless to say.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn
mariochristou.world
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
