Nevertheless, victory was out of the question. Instead, it was the E-type of Harvey Stanley and James Cottingham that claimed the spoils. Former World Sports-Prototype Champion Martin Brundle started from pole in the Jaguar he shared with his son Alex. However, it was Stanley who led away in. Second place was initially held by fellow Jaguar man John Young only for the veteran to endure a lurid spin. Stanley managed to eke out an advantage after Brundle Sr battled hard with new third place man Jon Minshaw in the E-type he was sharing with Phil Keen.
The lead trio managed to drop the ‘Dragonsnake’ AC Cobra of Mike Whittaker and Mike Jordan, the purple-hued car making its circuit debut at the Revival Meeting having previously been a star of drag racing. The top three stopped together 22 minutes in to swap seats with their respective co-drivers, the Cobra claiming the lead. Keen headed Brundle Jr on venturing trackside with Cottingham leaving the pits 20 seconds in arrears after his wingman had problems with his harness.
After 32 minutes had been run, and with most driver changes having been made, Keen headed the field with Minshaw following in his wheel-tracks, with Cottingham guiding the third-place Jaguar on its lock-stops as he clawed back lost ground. Unfortunately, the Brundle E-type spun on its own oil after the engine blew and connected with the barriers shortly thereafter. The safety car was brought out with 27 minutes left to run, the gap between Keen and Cottingham, which had been reduced to 14 seconds, was annulled at a stroke.