The unusual stories from national motorsport this week

Back in Norfolk after 40 years: Alfetta GTV

A big-winged Group 2 Alfa Alfetta GTV, veteran of the Napolina Alfa Romeo Dealer Team, competed at Snetterton for the first time in 40 years on Saturday.

Raced to victory in 1982 by Penge Alfa specialist Peter Hilliard - an acolyte of Jon Dooley, the successful squad’s catalyst - the Richard Melvin-owned warhorse is prepared at Chris Snowdon Racing.

Although George Osborne won the recent Historic Racing Drivers Club Historics On The Hill races in it at Lydden, the vastly experienced Snowdon was back aboard at Snett. He finished a fighting third having scrapped with brothers James and Ben Colburn in Giulia Sprint GT and 1750 Berlina throughout.

Unusual car: Lotus Excel-Eclat

 

Photo by: Steve Jones

Craig Houston took what is probably the only racing Lotus Excel-Eclat in the world to the Scottish Motor Racing Club’s Cadwell Park away meeting last weekend.

The multiple Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons class winner built the 1982 car – which is an Eclat fitted with later, sportier Excel bodywork – himself.

Another Eclat has occasionally appeared in Historic Sports Car Club '70s Road Sports in the hands of Neil Brown, but it's not an Excel or Excel-Eclat hybrid.

Houston finished ninth in race one before a mystery fuel starvation issue caused him to retire from race two and the Allcomers contest.

Track limits trouble: 116 Trophy

 

Photo by: Mick Walker

It is not just in Formula 1 where track limits have been a hot topic, they have also continued to be a thorny issue in national motorsport as well - including in the 116 Trophy race at Silverstone last weekend.

Five crews were disqualified from the enduro for repeated abuses, including likely victors Mark Sullivan and Sam Carrington-Yates, while a further six cars were handed five- or 10-second penalties.

Among those was the car piloted by 1992 British Touring Car champion Tim Harvey and his son Jamie. They were making their series debut and finished third on the road but were demoted to sixth after the penalties were applied.

Another record broken: Val des Terres hillclimb

 

Photo by: Paul Lawrence

The British Hillclimb contenders made a welcome return to the Channel Islands last week after three years away due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was a victorious visit for reigning champion Wallace Menzies, who extended his points lead thanks to two wins at Bouley Bay in Jersey and a triumph at Guernsey's Val des Terres.

However, it was Menzies's chief rival Alex Summers (above) who proved to be a record breaker, going a hundredth of a second faster than Menzies to set the new Val des Terres benchmark.

Pics of the week:

The Cobra of Harvey Stanley and Richard Cook kicks up the dust at a scorching Snetterton

Photo by: Richard Styles

Phil Lawless is sent spinning towards the pack at the start of a Fiesta Zetec race at Mondello Park

Photo by: Michael Chester