For avid fans of historic motor sport, where better  to spend a sunny autumn day in late October, than the HSCC Championship Finals Historic Race Meeting at Silverstone? The nine race programme that kicked off at 13.15pm guaranteed there was something to please everyone, whether their racing penchant was for Historic Touring Cars, Classic Race Cars, Classic Formula 3, Historic Road Sports, or Formula 2 and Formula 5000 single seaters, this event had everything! 

The HSCC organise a very slick operation, each race is 15 minutes in duration, it’s fast moving action, variety is definitely the spice of the day, and there’s a full running commentary too. For many of the racers taking part, it’s very much a family affair with husbands, wives, and spouse all enjoying action on the track. For the Lyons family, Frank, Judy and son Michael  their passion is for racing in Class F for Formula 5000 cars that originally competed between 1972-1977.

Having proved himself in Formula Renault and the British GT Championship, young Michael has had a cracking 2011 season in the ex-Parnelli Jones Racing  - Unser  Lola T400 and indeed won the day’s Derek Bell Trophy Race, and notching up the fastest lap at 108.87mph.

'We purchased the car from the USA around four years ago,' said Frank. 'Theoretically the Lola T400 wasn’t as good as the T332 and lots of people didn’t like them in period as much at the T332. When the car came to us it proved a bit of a handful to drive, but now we’ve got to grips with the rising rate suspension set-up and have learned how it works, the car has become much more enjoyable to drive. It’s really interesting to see the rapid development from the 1968 Lola T142 here today and the last of the line in the shape of the T400. It’s lovely to see these older cars out as well, and great that enthusiastic racers have preserved them.'

Another father and son team was Graeme and James Dodd, driving a 1963 Jaguar MKII and a 1968 Ginetta G16 respectively. The Ginetta started life as a hillclimb car and was powered by an Oldsmobile V8 engine. Nowadays the car is in FIA specification and is powered by a 2.0 litre BMW engine, and while not as aerodynamically efficient as the Chevrons, James did well to qualify on pole and indeed won the Guards Trophy Race for GT & Sports Racing Cars  (took fastest lap too, at 95.12mph) with the Chevron B8s of  Nick Fleming and Steve Hodges a very close second and third. 

One of the most unusual cars in that race was the 1966 Brahma B2 in which Richard Piper finished 5th.  The car was originally built in the USA by Paul Fitzgerald between 1964-1965 to compete in the 2.0 litre Can-Am Championship, but that had effectively ceased by the time the car had been completed. However, the Brahma B2 was then raced in the  SCCA Sports Car Championship which it won in 1971. The original 2.0 litre Abarth engine has long since gone, and two years were spent trying to track one down, but to no avail, so  nowadays power comes from a 1600cc Lotus Twin-cam engine.

Hugh Coleman’s 1968 Chevron B8 was the ex-David Good hillclimb car back in 1969. It later spent  a period of time as a road and race car in Canada and was purchased by Hugh in 2001. It has been extensively raced since then and very much cherished by Hugh and his son Mark who finished 6th place in his race. 'The Chevron is such a great car,' enthused Hugh!