Mallory Park Sunday 4th August 2013

The first weekend of August and already a circuit's last car meeting of the season....Autumn must be around the corner. Yes the last of Mallory's 5 dedicated car meetings of 2013 saw The Spectator visit the second day of what was billed as "The AUTOGLYM Classic Festival". Festival is the word here, as not only was the entire days racing going out live to the watching world on an internet live stream, but there was also a very large crowd in attendance which is a rarity for a club meeting these days. Apparently there was a GroupOn discount offer where tickets were just £6. I'm not an avid on-line bargain hunter so I was completely unaware that such an offer was happening, I duly paid £15 on the gate.....The large crowd reminded me of the Renault Free days at Donington & Silverstone in the recent past where, if something is free/cheap, hordes of people arrive at 11.00am, wander about for a bit dressed in entirely the wrong clothing, drink lots of alcohol,eat lots of burgers and go home at 4.00pm. Whilst it was good to see Mallory so busy, the circuit was ill prepared for what would be many people's first taste of live motorsport. Two weeks ago I wrote about how poor the infrastructure is at the circuit and with toilets out of order, bins not emptied and grass not mowed 2 weeks later, then something is badly wrong.
The Classic Touring Car Racing Club organise their own festival meeting once a year and after starting out at Lydden Hill, this was the 3rd such festival at Mallory. The idea of what is essentially "just another club meeting" and making into something a little different has certainly worked. The paddock was full to bursting with entries with 20 races over the course of the weekend - 5 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday. The club's portfolio of championships caters for virtually any saloon car that can be raced and in recent years has altered slightly with an emphasis on more modern machinery with some of the older saloons drifting away to the burgeoning historic scene. Added to the mix are the Ford only Blue Oval series who defected away from the BRSCC several years ago and provided one of the biggest grids of the day.
Along with 2 races each for the good old Mk1 Toyota MR2 and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club this was a very good day of club racing. The weather tried to ruin things though with unforecast heavy rain appearing at about noon for 3 to 4 hours. Highlight for me were the MR2's, who along with a handful of Hyundai Coupes thrown in, provided 2 very good races. This series for the racer on a budget is a fantastic way to get started in racing.
I voted the programme at this meeting a year ago as the best of 2012 and the very glossy and well produced A4 size one this year will be on the short list again for this year, all for £3.
Let's hope that this wasn't Mallory's swansong in terms of car racing and hope that not only is the noise problem dealt with, but that management at the circuit (whoever they may be) provide a decent environment for the spectator and more than 5 car meetings a year.....