The Ilford Films Trophy - Race of Champions Meeting

Brands Hatch Circuit, Kent, Great-Britain

Track length: 4.265 m

Entries accepted: 35 + 6 reserves
Starters: 32

Pole position: Clark
Fastest lap: Clark in 1.54,8

Distance: 20 laps
Average speed: 131,16 kmh
Ruleset: Group 2

Missing from the grid was Alan Hutcheson's Galaxie, so the V8 brigade was represented by a trio of Mustangs.
Clark made a picture start in the Lotus Cortina, whistling into Paddock Bend ahead of Roy Pierpoint (Mustang), Jack Sears (Lotus Cortina) and Mike Salmon (Mustang).  Close behind came a phenomenal traffic jam, with Andre Baldet pushing his Lotus Cortina ahead of a mess of jostling Minis, a pair of Anglias and Gawaine Baillie's red Mustang. How the procession sorted itself out without shunts passes comprehension, although there were quite a number of close shaves.
Jim Clark's Cortina lifted its near side front wheel at Bottom Bend about a foot in the air and continued to three-wheel almost the entire length of the Bottom Straight, bounced back on the deck again and immediately lifted for South Bank. He steadily pulled away from Pierpoint's pursuing Mustang. On lap 3 Salmon cleverly took Sears, but when the Norfolk man tried to re-pass into South Bank he found an awful lot of motor car in front of him.
At the end of five laps, Clark was seven seconds in the lead. Meanwhile the large Mini field had been somewhat depleted with the retirement of Marshall, Vernaeve, and Miss Burns-Greig. Frank Gardner also retired in his Cortina. John Rhodes completely dominated the 1300 cc section, but, behind, the Anglias of Chris Craft and Mike Young were locked in combat with Harry Ratcliffe (Mini-Cooper S) Tony Lanfranchi (Alexander Mini-Cooper S) and Boley Pittard in the Don Moore machine. In the smallest category European champion Warwick Banks was getting well away from Campbell-Cole and Stancomb - all three in Mini Cooper S entries.
At the end of the seventh lap, to the great disappointment of Team Lotus, Clark came into the pits with wobbling wheels. Nuts were hastily tightened and Jim re-entered the fray in eighth place. On lap 8, Sears moved up into second place in front of Salmon. On lap 9 Clark lost a wheel at Dingle Bend and abandoned. Then came two spectacular accidents at Paddock Bend, at the same time but unconnected. Chris Montague (Mini Cooper) slewed backwards into the ditch, but Bill McGovern bounced his Mini on its roof and was extricated unhurt by Montague. Mick Clare abandoned his Mini.
With Pierpoint and Sears fighting for the lead, Salmon's pit had been signalling to him not to try to go for the lead. But on the 17th lap the situation suddenly changed - Sears was missing; the front left hand tyre had punctured just under the bridge at South Bank. With Sears gone, Salmon unleashed more horsepower, but in the remaining three laps he could not get any closer than 8 sec from Pierpoint's Mustang. Andre Baldet was over a minute ahead of John Nicholson in another Lotus Cortina - the only other survivor in the 2-litre class. Rhodes, during a tremendous drive which kept his Mini Cooper S up with Baldet, set up a new class record of 1.58,2.  Jim Clark had also cut the 2000 cc figure to 1.54,8, only 0,4 sec outside his own Galaxie record.
So to Roy Pierpoint went victory in his first outing with his own Mustang, followed by Mike Salmon in the dark blue Dawney-English entry and Andre Baldet in the Moto-Baldet Lotus Cortina.
After the race the two Trustram Anglias which finished second and third to Rhodes in the 1300 cc class were disqualified for infringing regulations as to track width and inlet manifold design. Although larger section wheels were homologated, it appears that Fords omitted to state the increased track width. This put Ratcliffe and Lanfranchi into their placings.

Klasyfikacja generalna.

1. #34. Roy Pierpoint (GB) - Ford Mustang.  20okr.
2. #35. Mike Salmon (GB) - Ford Mustang.
3. #46. Andre Baldet (GB) - Ford Lotus Cortina.
4. #51. John Rhodes (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
5. #33. Gawaine Baillie (GB) - Ford Mustang.
6. #53. Harry Ratcliffe (GB) - Morris Mini Cooper S.
7. #55. Tony Lanfranchi (GB) - Morris Mini Cooper S.
8. #59. Boley Pittard (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
9. #60. John Cannadine (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
10. #44. John Nicholson (GB) - Ford Lotus Cortina.
11. #66. Peter Pilsworth (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.  19okr.
12. #71. Warwick Banks (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
13. #68. David Wansborough (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
14. #76. Mike Campbell Cole (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
15. #69. R.Bloor (GB) - Morris Mini Cooper S.
16. #54. Tony Rutt (GB) - Morris Mini Cooper S.
17. #86. Ted Savory (GB) - Morris Mini Cooper S.
18. #73. Charles Stancomb (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.
19. #75. Aniya Taylor (GB) - Austin Mini Cooper S.