Race report: Earl of March Trophy – Revival 2019

Peter de la Roche sat on pole position in his 1951 Cooper-JAP Mk.V but it was the later Mk.VI car of 1957 vintage, driven by Stuart Wright, that got away from the line cleanest of all and headed the field through Madgwick at the front of a 29-car pack.

The miniscule dimensions and tail-happy handling of these predominantly rear-engined cars meant that two- and three-wide racing for position was standard fayre up and down the field. This fast and furious action resulted cars exiting the track in a variety of directions, making for a rather noisy game of snakes and ladders as drivers sought to make up lost ground.

Pole man de la Roche reasserted himself at the head of the field and erstwhile leader Wright went off at the chicane in his pursuit. Finally, the race was curtailed by a red flag when another incident at the chicane resulted in too much damaged machinery to move safely. Thus an action-packed Earl of March Trophy ended with victory for Peter de la Roche.

Image by Jordan Butters.