Wanneroo Park – 27th July The tale of the Safety Car and THE RAIN!
The fifth round of the 2025 Formula Classic championship took place at Wanneroo Park on 27th July in what can only be described as awful weather conditions. The local weather forecasting service had been predicting a very wet day on the 27th for about the 10 previous days and, boy, they were not wrong!
The number of entrants was low for the event, many put off by the weather forecast probably.
The track was wet for the qualifying session and the rain only coming down modestly. Allan Jones qualified fastest in his Ralt RT5 followed by Bill Norman in his Ralt RT4 and Brian Searles in his Tiga SC84.
Race 1 started under heavy rain conditions that rapidly deteriorated to torrential rain, so much so that the safety car was deployed and the field tippy toed their way around track for the latter part of the race until the checkered flag came out. Craig Thompson, Van Diemen FF2000, decided to retire early from the race due to the terrible conditions. The Race 1 finishing order was Allan, Bill and Brian.
Race 2 looked to be much better conditions with the rain holding off and the track drying out a little but no sooner had the field left the assembly area the heavens opened again! Brian spun his Tiga at the top of the hill on the first lap but recovered and continued. Allan Jones was not so fortunate spinning his Ralt into the sand trap at Turn 6 and ending his race there. As Allan was stranded in a precarious position half on and half off the track and the safety car was deployed, and the race neutralised whilst the Ralt was recovered. The finishing order at the flag was Bill, followed by Dave Dearden and Craig.
Dave enjoying a snack with his crew in between down pours.
Track conditions had improved by Race 3 and the rain was holding off (finally!) Allan Jones came quickly from the back of the field to try and challenge Bill for Race 3 honours but it was not to be. Bill holding on to the lead until the flag. Glenn Swarbrick, who had been running very steadily in the two previous wet races, was closing in on the back of Craig’s Van Diemen during the closing laps of Race 3. As the pair approached the entrance to the left hander they touched wheels spinning Glenn off the track into the grass and ending his run. Craig was able to continue to the finish.
The collective brain power of Formula Classic trying to figure out why Bill had an ignition problem.
Post race debrief with a hot dog and a cold beer!
Outright results for the meeting were; 1st Bill Norman 70 pts 2nd Dave Dearden 54 pts 3rd Brian Searles 50 pts
The next round, The SmashaStrawb South West Cup will be held at Collie Motorplex on Sunday 17th August. Entries are currently open vis the MSA portal.
The third round of the 2025 Formula Classic championship took place at Carco.com.au Raceway on the 28th of June. It was a cold winters day with bright sunny skies to warm the competitors.
It was great to have Colin Youd joining us for the first time in the ex Rob Jordan Tiga.
Dave Dearden was also out in his newly acquired Reynard FF2000.
Qualifying:
11 Cars took to the track for qualifying in what was a great turnout for Formula Classic.
Pole position was secured by Bill Norman in his Ralt RT1, closely followed by Allan Jones in a Ralt RT5 and Peter Marsh in the Aztec.
Phill Grove put in some excellent times in what was his first competitive session in his VD RF82.
Race 1:
Race one started out well until Ricky Virago’s car caught fire and pulled off the track to the infield just after turn 6.
Ricky was fortunately able to extinguish the fire with his hand held onboard fire extinguisher.
Confusion then ensued with the track going to full course yellow and the safety car being deployed.
It took several laps for the backmarkers to get passed the safety car to allow the lead car to be picked up at which point race control decided to release the cars for the last few remaining minutes of the session.
Unfortunately the pack decided, incorrectly, to follow the safety car into pit lane except for Glenn Swarbrick who swept into the Lead in his Macon Formula Ford followed by Bruce Mitchell.
Craig Thompson slowed to enter pit road and then decided against it and resumed the track behind Glenn and Bruce.
The cars in pit road saw the three leading cars sweep past and decided to join the race again, albeit somewhat behind them.
With only one lap left to run, Glenn Swarbrick crossed the Line for a well deserved win followed by Bruce Mitchell and Craig Thompson.
Race 2:
Race two was closely contested at the front by Bill Norman and Allan Jones, with Allan eventually managing to pass Bill at turn 7 on the last lap for the win with Peter Marsh in third place.
Colin Youd and Craig Thompson were trading places regularly with Colin finishing ahead of Craig.
Further back in the field the remaining 4 cars of Dave Dearden, Phill Grove, Glenn Swarbrick and Bruce Mitchel were also racing closely with each other at times.
Race 3:
Race three had Bill Norman sweep into the lead on lap one and hold that position over Allan Jones through to the finish.
Peter Marsh was third in the increadibly fast Aztec, which only has a 1300cc engine. All credit to his driving skill, setup and tuning by his crew.
The remaining cars all had a good race with the final places being fiercely contested.
All in all a great day was had by everyone.
Final results were as follows:
1: Bill Norman – 60
2: Allan Jones – 59
3: Craig Thompson – 51
The next round will be at Carco.com.au on the 27th of July – be sure to be there!
Collie – Ernie Hastie Memorial Race Weekend Report
Round three of the Formula Classic Series had a small but passionate group of drivers come together for a chilly but ultimately beautiful day of racing. It was great to welcome Phil Grove to his first race meeting sporting fresh “P” plates on his recently acquired Van Diemen FF2000 and also to Tim Davies on a return appearance in his lovely and very well prepared Ralt RT4. With only five entries, making a commitment to the meeting the competition was spread (due to the variety of cars) but the camaraderie between drivers and supporting crews was always on show. Qualifying: Slippery Surprises The morning started off with temperatures dipping below 2°C. A very chilly start to the day made the track conditions quite slippery for all competitors in the earlier qualifying events, however the sun eventually provided a good dose of warmth for the remainder of what was to be a stunning day. Qualifying proved to be a bit of a challenge, with the cold track causing some slick conditions. Ricky and Craig both had some tricky moments, with both spinning on the slippery surface. With only five cars on track, there was no hiding, but it was Bill who managed to put in the quickest lap, followed by a surprised Ricky in his RT5 and Tim closely behind. Craig and Phil followed along but it was a solid showing from all drivers, considering the tricky conditions.
Race 1: Unfortunately, it wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone. Ricky encountered some ignition problems with the Ralt and was forced to withdraw before the start of Race 1. It was a disappointing outcome for him given his qualifying position, but the team quickly got to work diagnosing the terminal issue. Phil, meanwhile, faced similar issues as he gets to know his way around a new car, but with the support of the group, he was able to get his car going just in time for Race 2. Bill had lead from start to finish followed by Tim and Craig. The race being a little processional but that’s how it goes sometimes.
Race 2 & 3: In Race 2 and Race 3, Tim managed to lead away from the rolling starts however Bill got his head down and through his solid performance managed to overcome Tim in the later part of both races. It was entertaining watching the battle at various parts of the circuit and clearly room was given on a few occasions despite a good race between both drivers. Phil managed to make the start of race two and was determined to complete the race with a car that refused to behave, unfortunately retiring from Race 2 with one lap to go. It was a tough break, but is confident he’ll be back stronger the next time out. Craig settled into his mid field role for each race but did maage to provide an impressive “off” in Race 3. After experimenting with tire pressures, he managed a spectacular spin at the high speed turn one in full view of the onlooking crowd. No damage was done other than to his pride, so he quickly restarted and bounced back, albeit a little gun shy on his way to finishing the race.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend of racing, and despite the challenges, the spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship was evident throughout weekend. A big thank you to everyone who came out to race and support! We look forward to the next event and hope to see everyone back on track in late June at Wanneroo.
3 x Ralts and 2 x Van Diemens turned out to play…
Troubleshooting problems
Tims very pretty car. (And fast too…..)
No Ricky! You don’t fit.
Outright results for the meeting were; 1st Bill 75 pts 2nd Tim Davies 60 pts 3rd Craig Thompson 54 pts
The next round of the 2025 Formula Classic season is at Collie Motorplex on Saturday 28th June 2025
The second round of the 2025 Formula Classic championship took place at Collie Motorplex on 23rd March with 10 cars entered for the event. The weather was unseasonally warm, but the breeze helped to keep everyone cool.
It was great to see a few new cars join us for this event. Firstly, Marty Bullock in his recently refurbished Ralt RT4 that had just returned from New Zealand after competing in the Taupo Historic Grand Prix.
Glenn Swarbrick had forsaken his traditional Macon Formula Ford in favour of the recently refurbished ex Trevor Hine Lotus Elan. The Elan was acquired last year, by Marty Bullock, from Trevor’s estate and this was it’s second run following its maiden outing at the Vintage Stampede at Wanneroo last year.
Paul Barron made his return to the track after a long absence with his trusty 2001 Van Dieman Formula Ford. Following an accident at Wanneroo last year the car was extensively rebuilt and is now sporting a new red livery.
Qualifying – Bill Norman claimed pole position in his Ralt RT4 by several seconds from Marty Bullock in his later model Ralt RT4 followed by Ricky Virago in his immaculately prepared Ralt RT5 and Lance Carwardine the Jane Brabham BT23. Interestingly Ricky and Lance were only separated by 0.1 of a second. Next up was John Hurney followed by Paul Barron, Craig Thompson, Brian Searles, Dave Dearden and Glenn Swarbrick. Unfortunately, John Hurney pulled out after the qualifying session and didn’t run for the rest of the day.
There was a little bit of uncertainty at the drivers briefing regarding which side of the track was pole position for a rolling start, also whether there should be one or two warm up laps. All was resolved after a bit of common sense was applied.
Race 1 saw Bill take the lead from Marty with Ricky and Lance in pursuit. Sadly, Bill came to a halt early in the race part way up the ‘bowling alley’ causing the race to be red flagged whilst his car was recovered to a safe position. There was then a bit more pit lane confusion sorting out the correct order for the restart necessitating the whole field, apart from Marty, on doing one further lap under the safety car. Following the red flag Paul had returned to his pit bay assuming the event was over and was not allowed by the marshals to rejoin the field on the grid for the restart. The race resumed with Marty leading followed by Ricky and Lance. With only a couple of laps to go Lance pulled off at the end of the ‘bowling alley’ with some mechanical issue but was able to coast around turn 8 into a safe location. It was a good day for the Ralt marque claiming first, second and third places in the race. (Brian Searles claiming third spot in his Ralt RT1 after the demise of Lance) Glenn retired the Elan during race 1 with engine maladies.
The telltale pool of oil below the Elan was not a good sign.
Race 2 – The diminished field of 6 cars took to the grid for Race 2. The three Ralts lead away the field but Paul who had started from rear of the grid was moving up through the field and was beginning to challenge Brian for third spot. With only a couple of laps remaining Brian spun off at the beginning of the start finish straight hand could not handing third place to Paul. Unfortunately the RT1 had stalled in the spin and would not restart.
Race 3 – saw Marty, Ricky and Paul lead the field away. Brian who’d start rear of the grid moved up through the field to finish 4th with Dave Dearden and Craig Thompson the remaining finishers.
The first round of the 2025 Formula Classic championship took place at Wanneroo Park on 22nd February with 12 cars entered for the event. The weather was a balmy 25 deg. C but with a fresh breeze helping to keep everyone cool.
Qualifying saw Bill Norman (who’s 79th birthday was the day before) claiming pole position in his Ralt RT4 by a couple of 10th’s of a second from Marty Bullock in his Chevron B20, both cars qualifying in under 60 seconds. Lance Carwardine was third in the Jane Brabham BT23 followed by Ricky Virago in his immaculately presented Ralt RT5. James Hagan, a guest from Northern Ireland, in a borrowed Van Dieman Formula Ford was next up followed by Craig Thompson, Brian Searles, Dave Dearden, Glenn Swarbrick and Leon Magistro. It was good to see Leon out in his Reynard 84F Formula Ford, another immaculately presented car. Unfortunately neither Bruce Mitchell nor John Hurney made the qualifying session both having issues at the start of the day.
Race 1 saw Bill take the lead from Marty with Lance and the remainder of the field in pursuit. On the opening lap of the race Dave Dearden, uncharacteristically, spun his Vector at turn 7 and beaching the car on the infield. This brought out the safety car for a few laps whist Dave’s car was recovered. Dave confessed in the pits afterwards that his left foot had slipped off the clutch pedal whilst changing down at the bottom of the hill and momentarily got stuck under the brake pedal and causing him to miss his braking point! No harm done fortunately. Marty drop out on lap five with fuel starvation issues handing over a comfortable lead to Bill that he held until the end. Craig, had an incident at turn 7 too whilst running a steady 6th place when part of his rear wing collapsed on the corner exit, Craig electing to head to the pits then rather than risk being black flagged.
Repairs to the collapsed rear wing of Craig’s Van Dieman.
Race 2 was a 15 minute + 1 lap event. Bill led the pack away but developed an engine problem during the race and subsequently slipped back to 6th place. Brian Searles dropped out on lap five following a missed gear that ‘buzzed’ the engine that sheared the flywheel bolts. In the meantime Ricky was getting quicker and quicker in his Ralt finishing in third spot behind James in the Van Dieman.
The collective Formula Classic ‘Brains Trust’ examining the over revved Tiga engine.
Race 3, Bill retired his Ralt after race 2 with a shredding cam belt issue. Lance lead the field away followed by James , Ricky and the rest of the pack. Ricky continued getting quicker and quicker again in race 3 and eventually hauled in and passed James to claim second place honours for the race. Meanwhile at the back of the pack Leon and Glenn were having a ding dong battle. Leon had a little more straight-line speed than Glenn but Glenn made up for this in the braking areas and corner speed. Coming over the hill on the last lap Leon was ahead and pulling away slightly but Glenn made up heaps of ground under brakes and did the world famous under over move to sneak through on the inside and managed to hold Leon off to the line, but only by inches. A fantastic end to the days racing.
Outright results for the meeting were; 1st Lance Carwardine 70 pts 2nd James Hagan 56 pts 3rd Ricky Virago 55 pts
The next round of the 2025 Formula Classic season is at Collie Motorplex on 23rd March 2025
Below are the dates for the 2025 Formula Classic Championship. 22nd February Wanneroo Night Masters 22nd / 23rd March Collie Icebreaker 17th / 18th May Collie Ernie Hastie Memorial 28th June Wanneroo 27th July Wanneroo 16th / 17th August Collie SmashaStrawb South West Cup 13th September Wanneroo 27th / 28th September Collie Coalfields 500 25th October Wanneroo Bob Creasy Memorial
