Race report: Glover Trophy – Revival 2019

Qualifying had been another battle between the two cars that starred at last year’s revival – Andy Middlehurst’s Lotus 25 and Joe Colasacco’s Ferrari 1512. These two glorious cars – as raced in period by Jim Clark and John Surtees – embody the spirit of motor racing in the early Sixties like few others, and on this occasion the Lotus took pole by half a second.

Middlehurst got off the line very cleanly indeed and took the lead as the field streamed into Madgwick for the first time, but Colasacco lost out to a bold move around the outside by the BRM-engined Lotus 24 of Timothy de Silva which brought him second place.

Neither de Silva or Colasacco’s cars would last the 18-lap distance, however. Their retirements left the way clear for a hugely entertaining dice between the Lotus 20/22 of Simon Diffey and the Lola T60 of Ben Mitchell that ended in Diffey’s favour by just 0.6 seconds.

Although Middlehurst cantered to the finish for a richly deserved win his race was far from blemish-free, after he chanced upon most of the fluids that had been in the sister Lotus of Nick Fennell until its Coventry-Climax engine expired. Middlehurst’s car drifted wide and bounced over the gravel trap but was able to continue and take the flag in fine style.

Photo by Drew Gibson.