Castle Combe Saturday 10th October 2015


The Spectator doesn't venture outside of the Midlands much for his spectating thrills these days so it was time to put that right and a visit to Castle Combe in Wiltshire was made for my latest meeting. Indeed it was way back in 2004 when I last made the trek to Combe. Situated near to Chippenham, the circuit is only allowed 12 racing days each season and this was "Grand Finals Race Day". 
The circuit has always been a favourite for spectators with Bank Holiday meetings seeing crowds in their thousands turn out. There is a very local South-West feel to Combe...the Castle Combe Racing Club (CCRC) run core championships at the majority of meetings. Formula Ford 1600, Saloons, Sports Racing plus Sports & GT filled 6 of the days 10 races with visiting championships, Production BMW and Historic 1 litre Formula 3 completing the card with double-headers each on this particular day.
The CCRC was formed several years ago due to the circuit management wanting to take more control over meeting content at their own circuit. Combe has always felt slightly outside the mainstream of UK racing somewhat and, after a few years where some meetings suffered poor quality, the circuit has softened its stance and allowed visiting series from BRSCC, BARC, 750MC & MSVR to race at various meetings.
The 1.85 miles of Castle Combe provide the driver with some of the trickiest corners in the country. 2 chicanes were built in 1998 to slow down what was a fearsomely fast track where a small mistake was (and is still) punished by a relatively small run-off area with barriers close at hand. The photo below is at Tower bend, a quick right-hander which shows the proximity of the tyre barrier. Bad for the drivers but great for the spectators! Indeed as someone used to the vast run-off areas at Donington and Silverstone, being so close to the action took a little while to get used to on Saturday!

The classic corner at Combe though is Quarry...one where most of Combe's loyal crowd flock to and set up their deckchairs at silly o'clock in the morning German tourist style to claim their favourite spot! Quarry is a deceptive right hander which follows the longest straight. Add into the mix a blind left hand kink (Avon Rise) just before the braking zone and you have a very entertaining corner to watch from. It's fascinating to see the regular drivers tackle Combe. The natural apex isn't the quickest line it would seem at almost all the circuit's corners.
As for the days action the circuit start qualifying at 8.30am which they have in common with only Oulton Park I believe. A good idea as, even with 3 red flags in qualifying, the meeting never felt that it was chasing time and I wish other circuits followed this. The only problem with early starts is that its even earlier to get out of bed and spectate though!
FF1600 has always been a stalwart at Combe over the years and there were 2 races today, one for the championship finale and the other being the traditional end of season Carnival race. Featuring an almost identical entry list the pair of races saw a great scrap for the lead in both races between the "ancient" Reynard 89F of Josh Fisher and the "modern" Spectrum 011c of Michael Moyers. Fisher taking the Championship race then Moyers claiming the Carnival after skilfully defending from Fisher all race long.
A poor 11 car Sports Racing Series race saw the Spire of Tim Gray lap the field up to 2nd place.
The Saloon championship at Combe has consistently provided large grids and a colourful spectacle. Long time series stalwart Gary Prebble's SEAT Cupra winning comfortably but controversy for the fight for 2nd place with a last lap tangle at Bobbie's chicane seeing Dave Scaramanga's VW Scirocco turning round the Audi TT of Tony Hutchings to claim the place. James Bond fans will note that Scaramanga is the name of the villain in The Man with the Golden Gun. Apparently Dave Scaramanga's father went to school with Ian Fleming who used the name in his book!
The Sports & GT race saw the Ginetta G50 of David Krayem triumph in an eclectic field which included a 1971 Ford Mustang, an Ariel Atom, an ex-BTCC Nissan Primera plus a Peugeot 205!
Sports cars and Saloons were combined for the days final race with Krayem winning again.
The pair of Production BMW affairs saw 2 very dominant victories for Gary Feakins but battling further down the enormous field provided more entertainment.
The first of the Historic F3 races was probably the race of the day with the first 4 laps featuring 4 different leaders in a wild opening. Quarry corner claiming leader James King in race one and then claiming 2nd placed Ewen Sergison in race 2. Sergison's Brabham BT21 meeting the barriers with some force in race 2 and he was lucky to not injure himself more as he swallow dived over the armco barrier and landed on his helmeted head! The March 703 of Simon Armer (looking mean in his classic open faced helmet..!) emerging from the chaos to win both races.
I was pleased to have made the long journey to Castle Combe. It is a fantastic place to watch motor racing and one where the spectator is amply provided for. Large grassed banks surround the majority of the circuit and, although there is more catch fencing than there used to be, it seems more unobtrusive at Combe than other places. Even the presence of a large Solar Panel farm on the infield doesn't spoil the view. A clever idea is the lunchtime grid walk with Formula Fords on the start line and GT's at Quarry lined up for fans to walk round and chat to drivers.
The quirky £2.50 paddock charge still exists at Combe..I'm sure it was £2.50 when I first visited back in 1993. Admission on the gate was £15 and a good programme was £3. After a mild October so far it was a chilly and overcast day on Saturday which meant an outing for the winter hat and gloves. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my day and hope it won't be 11 years before I return!

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