Iberian Poles and a race win for Beaumont

Jerez - Historic Festival 23/24 October 2021

Formula Junior

Andrew Beaumont in Lotus 22-35 and Lee Mowle in Lotus 22-796 enjoyed a strong Saturday morning Qualifying Practice in dry sunny conditions on the Jerez de La Frontera Circuit in Andalusia. Both drivers made good starts, however unfortunately Andrew retired on lap 5 with a driveline issue. Lee was racing hard, dicing in 3^rd place when a late spin dropped him 2 places to finish 5^th.

Andrew Beaumont in his Lotus 22

In Race 2 on Sunday Andrew  gained a place at the start and held off Richard Smeeton in his Wainer FJ until lap 9 when a suspension problem meant Andrew had to retire. Lee started 3^rd and finished on the podium; a good result for both driver and team.

Lee Mowle heading into turn 1 , lap1 

Lee Mowle and Phil Keen on the podium

Gentlemen Drivers & Masters Pre-66 Touring

Lee Mowle in his E-Type Jaguar with co-driver Phil Keen grabbed 3^rd place (2^nd in class) on the grid in Saturday’s Qualifying practice, and continued that excellent form in the Race on Sunday with a 2^nd in Class (4^th overall) finish, the E-Type continuing to enjoy superb reliability, only losing out to the more powerful TVR Griffith driven by John Spiers/Nigel Greensall.

Lee Mowle in his E-type

Historic Grand Prix Cars Association

Andrew in his Lotus 18-915 qualified on Saturday in 4^th position on the grid for Race 1 in the afternoon. Race 1 was sunny and dry, with Andrew starting very well, gaining 2 places on lap one coming past the pits in P2 chasing Rudi Friedrichs in his Cooper T53.  So it went on until with 4 laps to go when Andrew really put the pressure on Rudi which resulted in him making a mistake and Andrew taking the lead on the last lap to win by the smallest of margins at 0.089 seconds!

Andrew in his Lotus 18

Race 2 on Sunday, sunny and dry again, Andrew came past the pits at the end of lap 1 in 3^rd place to start a race long battle with Barry Cannell in a Brabham. However, on lap 10 Barry’s Brabham drove into Andrew’s Lotus 18 launching it into the air and suffering some damage. Andrew managed to continue to the finish, salvaging a 5^th place.

Andrew Beaumont celebrating with his competitors

Enhorabuena Classic Team Lotus!

Portimao - Algarve Classic Festival 29/30/31 October 2021

In between Jerez and Portimao the team was able to fly out the spares necessary to repair Andrew’s Formula Junior.  This enabled the CTL crew to get stuck in and have the car ready for action again, in time for Friday qualifying.

Formula Junior

The Qualifying practice took place on a damp/drying track, Lee finishing 6^th and Andrew 10^th.  This was a session that had the driest conditions of the weekend, as it transpired. Race 1 on Saturday morning, wet track, Lee lost a few places at the and start dropping back to 10^th then battled back up to 5^th at one point and finished 6^th . Andrew, not really enjoying the very wet conditions, pushed on to finish a solid 10^th.

Lee Mowle trying to keep dry in Portugal...in his Lotus 22

Race 2 Sunday morning, very wet conditions, at the end of the first lap Lee was 4^th and Andrew 12^th . Andrew battled throughout the race gaining 3 places to finish 9^th, with Lee finishing 5^th.

Gentlemen Drivers & Masters Pre-66 Touring

Qualifying practice took place Saturday morning, wet track, Lee Mowle and Phil Keen taking overall pole in the E-Type. The Race took place on Saturday evening a little later than planned as the bad weather delayed proceedings throughout the day, which meant the light was fading towards the end.

Lee Mowle enjoying the challenging conditions!

Lee took the first stint of the Race with Phil taking over for the second part. A race long battle took place with Jon Minshaw also in an E-Type, the final result was Lee and Phil finishing an excellent 2^nd in very difficult conditions, the car having performed very well throughout.

 Lee Mowle receiving some driver coaching from Phil Keen 

Historic Grand Prix Cars Association

Andrew in his Lotus 18 in a dry Friday Qualifying session grabbed an excellent pole position on the grid for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon.  Well done, Andrew!

Andrew Beaumont in his Lotus 18

The wet Race 1 came to an abrupt end for Andrew on lap 2 when he was T-Boned by a Bugatti T35B – of all things - taking him out of the race. A fine effort by the CTL crew saw the car was repaired and ready to compete in Race 2 on Sunday. Andrew had to start in 22^nd position, in very wet conditions. Despite this, Andrew gained some 9 places to finish in 13^th place; a sterling effort on his part.

Well done to Chris and the team for a successful end to a successful season, as the historic motorsport calendar continued its recovery from the effects of the pandemic.  And a special thank you to Charlie Catchpole for driving the CTL transporter for the long haul there and back, complete with the complications arising from Brexit and Covid.  Charlie made it back to Hethel on the Wednesday after Portimao, so the cars are all unloaded and back in the workshop, enabling the winter overhauls programme to get underway.

Tags