Reports > Castle Combe early May Bank Holiday 03/05/2021
Wet and windy Combe
After a cold and dry morning practice the weather turned very wet and windy for the afternoon races.
In the Formula Ford race, Ben Mitchell was having his second outing in Richard Hudson-Evan's Classic Auction Review backed Van Diemen RF99 and qualified fourth while James Colborn and Steve Bracegirdle in their Class C Van Diemens lined up 12th and 16th (2nd and 3rd in class).
As the Formula Fords lined up for the start, the heavens opened but Ben made an excellent getaway to take second place on Lap 1. However, on Lap 5 he put a wheel on the painted kerb at the Esses, spun and dropped to eighth. Ben made a decent recovery and went on to finish a disappointed 6th. James and Steve maintained their grid positions during the race to finish 2nd and 3rd in Class. James had been feeling unwell all day so this represented a good result in the circumstances while Steve has never liked the wet in the Van Diemen.
In contrast to the single seater, Steve Bracegirdle was much happier with the Mini in the wet and had entered his Mini Cooper S in the 26 Lap (with pit stop) Dave Allan Trophy race and ran consistently and quickly to finish a creditable 7th in a 20 car field.
Many thanks to Phil Johnson / EDP Photo News for these images for which he retains the copyright.
