October’s Algarve Historic Festival featured a pair of 30-minute contests for the Historic Touring Car Challenge, with both being won by the pale blue and white Cologne Capri of Alex Buncombe and Andrew Smith. Their JD Classics-entered Ford was joined by a “team” car, an identical Capri piloted by Antonia Nogueira who finished 2nd in Race 1, but dropped out of the second contest. Overall runner-up honors therefore went to the Ford Escort-mounted brother act of Dan and Robert Brown, with the Mk1 Escort RS of their father Sean and Robert (again) taking 3rd.
A two-hour sunset enduro was staged for 1950s sports cars that included driver swaps and strategic planning by the teams. In the end, victory was taken by the British Racing Green Lotus 15 team of Philip Walker and Miles Griffiths, who held off the charging Lister Jaguar Knobbly of Gary Pearson and Carlos Monteverde for top honors. Third place went to the Kremer family pairing of father Gabriel and son Dion, who claimed the final podium spot after a fine late charge through the field by Dion.
Pre-War entries also had two half-hour Motor Racing Legends races in which to shine, and while the Saturday outing enjoyed sunny skies, Sunday’s race was beset with pouring rain. The dry contest fell to Bentley-mounted newcomers Richard Hudson and Stuart Morley after polesitter Fred Wakeman’s Frazer Nash Super Sports suffered a blown head gasket. In Sunday’s rainy race, however, Wakeman’s repaired machine battled back to take the win after a stirring duel with the Bentley of Clive Morley and Duncan Wiltshire. Saturday’s winners finished 3rd.
