08/05/2026
🏁 Spring Speedsters 🏁
Rounds 3 & 4 of the Hot Hatch Championship and we headed to the circuit with a full team.
Webber 93
Waterman 112
Willsher 15
Sprague 148
Ridout 7
Heavy rain the night before soaked the track and a thick mist/fog in the morning made for a nervous approach to qualifying. Tyre choices and set ups decided last minute we headed out onto what was a surprisingly dry track. One lap in and we had our first red flag of the day, a Mini in the wall at tower and we were pulled back into the pit lane to wait for the Marshalls to work their magic. A brief session of 6 laps and the 93 car was clear on pole by 0.664 in race one and 1.108 for race two, Mark Wyatt and class A competitor applying pressure from the off.
Into race one, the track was dry, we were on pole and the car felt great. The lights go out and we fly off the start, up to the rise and around quarry maintaining our position. Behind us was a tangle, four or five cars including Waterman sustaining race ending damage and Ridout with just a small bump thanks to some quick evasive driving. Red flag. The Marshalls re gridded everyone and we tried again, up the rise and through quarry cleanly. The headlights of Wyatt’s yellow Astra very much a fixture in the mirrors for the first half of the now 17 minute race. We pushed on, trying to break away and give ourselves some breathing space. Eventually we did, breaking our own Class A lap record in the process and Mark lapping the quickest he’s been in that car proved we were pushing each other along. Webber P1, fastest lap and new class A lap record.
Race two. This saw a smoother start and we got off up the road nice and early this time, clearing a comfortable lead from Wyatt and keeping to the task in hand the 93 car had a 17.159 second gap to the 98 of Wyatt by lap 15 when disaster struck. A nearside front brake issue caused the car to spin on the approach to Tower(Gooch’s) at a speed of 117 Mph and send us infield across the track and into the recticell barriers the other side. Although it was a big crash the development of safety in motorsport has come a long way and the car bounced out, completed the final lap and pipped Wyatt to the finish by just over a second. The damage only visual and repaired within an hour back at the workshop!
We continue the charge for the class A title and also the overall Hot Hatch Championship but most of all enjoy each and every race day to the full. The team has now grown to 5 with Ben Pemberton joining us for the rest of the year in the rental Civic having had Mark Ridout in it for this meeting who drove superbly and came home 2nd in class with a 1.17 lap time!
Club racing can be many things, but it enables you to meet new people, all of which share the same passion for cars, racing and of course the repairs that come with it 😅
We owe special thanks to Will Self for rescuing the ECU after Qualy and getting us to the grid.
All the pictures for this post are credited to JPE Photography, you’ll find him as local as Combe and as far as Spa, he’s a credit to motorsport and always a friendly face.
We also wouldn’t be here without our sponsors, they make racing a reality and help more than just financially, if any of the services they offer can be of use to you then please ask and we can put you in touch!!
Hyland Car Sales Ltd
Willand Service Centre
Paul Kingdom - Kingdom Automotive
LVL Transport and Recovery
Dampsolve Southwest
Track Car Door Cards
Retro Resus
M4 Tyres Ltd
Rare Rims
Phoenix Automotive Technologies
Parsons Motorsport
F&M Autocare
Total Roofing - Marlon Holley
Andys Man Club
Finally a special thanks to the Orange Army and everyone at Castle Combe Racing Club who make these days viable.
We look forward to seeing you all on the 25th of may!! Our tents always open so come and say hello 🏁
