HTCAV – 2017 Historic Sandown Report
Some came for the F5000s, others for the Group A & C tourers, open wheelers, MGs, sports sedans and other categories. But no matter what you came to see at this year’s 26th Historic Sandown, the Group N runners provided some of the best on-track action at the 11-12 November event.
With the HTCAV regulars bolstered by entrants from NSW, Tasmania, WA and Queensland, there was plenty of interesting and appealing new metal to be seen amongst the familiar machinery.
Here’s how it all went down in the Nb and Nc classes for the HTCAV’s last major meeting for 2017.
PONY CAR WARS
The ‘bigs’: Groups Nb over 4.5L and Nc over 2L
Tasmanian Darren Pearce (Camaro) grabbed pole in qualifying with a quick 1.21.6 lap; two seconds clear of Darryl Hansen (WA) in his ’68 Ford Mustang. A half second in arrears, former GT3 racer and 2018 Super Ute tester Elliot Barbour screamed his Torana into third, with HTCAV President Les Walmlsey’s Charger another half second back in fourth. With four different makes in the first four spots – the stage was set.
Race 1: Pearce leapt out to an early lead, with Hansen and Walmsley in hot pursuit. Barbour’s Torana became embroiled in a fierce battle with the legendary John Mann, who appeared to have found more speed from his ex-Laurie Donaher Camaro.
Another on the comeback trail was fellow former Shepparton hell-raiser Tino Leo, who was back in his famous orange HQ Monaro. Tino reacquired the coupe last year, having parted with it 17 years ago! He and son Dom are still getting the car back to the set-up which made it one of the absolute front runners in the early days of Group Nc.
Great racing right through the field was exemplified by Sydneysider Bill Attard (Mazda), who chased the two battling `64 Mustangs of Andrew Cannon and Bill Trengrove, while Sandgroper Shane Attwell parked his Pony Car with a split oil line.
At the end of six laps, Pearce cruised to the win in the bold yellow Camaro, but drama unfolded behind him as Hansen slowed dramatically within sight of the flag when a fuel pump packed up. Walmsley pounced to snatch second as Hansen limped home, just finishing in front of Barbour. Mann was fifth, in front of Tickford Supercar part-owner Rusty French in his typically all-black fastback Mustang.
Race 2: Rod Hotchkin (dubbed “Hot Chicken” by all and sundry – brother Brett is “Chips”) made a great start in his big blue XY Falcon to grab a few spots off the line, which soon became third after he zoomed past Hansen’s Mustang on the back straight.
Pearce looked set for another win until he slowed with gearbox issues just as the last-lap board came out. As the Tasmanian struggled to get gears, Walmsley assumed the lead and Hansen second place. French had a huge lock up at Dandenong Road corner as he attacked Pearce’s wilting Camaro, which disappeared in a plume of smoke with two corners to go. With a broken gearbox and ventilated engine, Pearce was now out for the rest of the meeting.
More drama came when Greg Freeman spun his immaculate Camaro on the oil from Pearce’s windowed engine block, leaving Andrew Clempson (Mustang) nowhere to go but the sand trap, putting an end to what had been an impressive charge from the rear of the field.
Avoiding the chaos, Walmsley led home Hansen with “Hot Chicken” third from French and Andrew Whiteside (Mustang), who just held out Mann after a great dice.
Race 3: At the start of Sunday afternoon’s final race for the category, French smoked his tyres as Walmsley shot off into the lead, while Hansen regained third from a fast-starting Whiteside.
Capri stalwart Lawrie Nelson (see last month’s issue) battled with Leo, who had battles of his own with a recalcitrant gearbox that eventually saw him park the HQ at the end of the start-finish straight.
The HQ Monaro of David Tessari had a huge stoush with Barbour and French, while Mann retired with gearbox woes, as did class returnee Michael Miceli in his brand-new Boss 302 Mustang.
Cannon and Trengrove had yet another big scrap for Nb class honours until the red flag came out - the Torana of David Landry had lobbed into a sand trap and couldn’t escape.
Walmsley greeted the chequer first, but copped a time penalty for jumping the start. He had five seconds in hand, but the Safety Car closed the gap, so by the time the race was called, his advantage was gone and he was demoted to fourth for the race, behind winner Hansen, Rod Hotchkin and Whiteside, with the Falcon of Darren Smith fifth.
Rod discovered post-race that his 351’s starter motor had decided to bungy jump off its mounting and spent the whole race dragging along the ground. It is now slightly flat on one side…
VIVA ITALIA
The ‘smalls’: Groups Nb under 4.5L and Nc under 2L (plus invited)
Current HTCAV Club champ David Brown (Datsun 1600 SSS) took pole for the weekend’s three races ahead of Gabriel Digenis (BMW), Rob Burns (Alfa) and NSW’s Jerry Lenstra in a Ford Escort RS1600.
Race 1: Brown could not take up pole position after his Datsun’s battery died on the dummy grid. The race got underway with Lenstra making a fast start, but he was soon put back to second by the Alfa of Burns. Soon after, Burns had the BMW of Digenis for very close company in what developed into an entertaining battle for the lead.
Behind this trio, JUST CARS scribe and category veteran Chris Ralph (BMW) settled into a solid fourth in his last meeting. He’d sold his Gulf-liveried 2002 a few months ago to a new Victorian owner who will continue to race it.
Further back, Phil Pearmain (Mk1 Jaguar 3.4) found himself immersed in an all-Pommy battle with the Cortinas of Simon Browning and Johnny Luxmoore. The all English punch-ons continued with the two Minis of Len Read and Ted Brewster locked in a big dice, until the latter lobbed his Brick into the sand and stayed there, ensuring plenty of bucket and spade references were directed his way post-race!
In what was a close race, Burns won from Digenis and Lenstra, followed by Ralph and the Minis of Richard Hill and Adrian Read.
Race 2: Digenis and Burns again got stuck into it at the front, as did Hill and Adrian Read in another amazing battle for sixth, while the magnificent MkII Jag of Group N rookie Brock Green used its lusty straight-six power down the straights to keep out a clutch of Minis harrying the Cat in the corners. Green had been equally impressive in the first race. Pearmain had a less successful second outing, though, retiring his Mk1 Jag after two laps.
Having started at the back, Brown was slicing through the field and, on the final lap, clawed his way up to third after Lenstra retired with engine issues.
Burns took another close win (less than a second) from Digenis, with Brown further back in third, followed by Ralph, with Hill the first of the Minis in fifth, ahead of Read.
Browning won the battle of the Cortinas again, ahead of Luxmoore and David Schofield, while the Holden 48/215 of Phil Barrow (see JUST CARS #261) was the last finisher.
Race 3: In the final race, Digenis hooked up nicely at the start, but Burns slipped into the lead before the Safety Car was despatched because Barrow had stalled on the line.
After the green flag came out, Luxmoore and Browning mixed it up again, joined by Derek McLaughlan in his rockin` and rollin’ `56 Customline.
At the head of the field, Brown’s pursuit of second-placed Digenis faltered with the Datto losing ground towards the end and finishing only a second ahead of Ralph in fourth. Burns, meanwhile, had eased out to a handy lead and made it a clean sweep of the weekend, with Digenis second, then Brown, Ralph, Hill and Green.
Ralph later celebrated hanging up the helmet (and no doubt delivering a straight car for its new owner…) with a “shoey” in the paddock. Having perhaps started the dubious trend on a Supercar podium a few years ago, Bathurst winner and occasional Historic Touring racer David Reynolds has a lot to answer for!
It was another great outing for the JUST CARS historic tourers and a meeting with just as much going on off-track as on. No better example of the spirit of the class could be seen than the work done by fellow racers on the `68 Mustang of Chris Stern, who clobbered a tyre barrier in practice. A front guard rushed from East Coast Mustang and a flurry of great work from fellow racers and mates including Nick Cascone and the Hotchkin brothers had Chris back on the track when all had looked lost...
