A smart start from pole by Rod Begbie in the green TVR Grantura MkIII saw him followed into Madgwick by William Penrose in a maroon Grantura and Jeremy Cooke in the Lotus Elan S2 at the start of this all-British race. An early mover through the field was Chris Ryan in his MGB ‘Le Mans’, gaining fourth place by the end of the first lap before an error by Cooke promoted him to third until he was bumped down the order by the flying Lotus Elite of Robin Ellis.
Race report: Les Leston Cup 73MM – Members’ Meeting Favourite Moments
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Ellis and Ryan, pushing hard, were soon on the tail of the Penrose TVR as Begbie extended his lead. Ellis closed the door on a bold dive down the inside at Woodcote by Ryan who made a great save as the MGB put tyres on the grass before the chicane.
On lap seven, Ryan saw his opportunity as the three cars encountered traffic, nipping up the inside at St Mary’s to leapfrog both Ellis and Penrose to snatch second. At Fordwater on the following lap, Ryan passed Begbie with apparent ease to take the lead. Ellis continued to fight his way up the field, taking third from Penrose on lap nine; the top three then remaining unchanged to the chequered flag. A dramatic fire at rear end of John Hugenholtz’s Lotus Elite saw him retire from sixth place with less than two minutes on the clock.
Images by Jochen Van Cauwenberge.
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