DWYER LEADS THE F2 MARCHES

Name: LEGENDS OF BRANDS HATCH SUPER PRIX
Start: 2026-07-11
End: 2026-07-12
Location: Brands Hatch

Marcus Pye
Jun 3
3 min read

DEREK BELL TROPHY: HSCC SPRING TROPHY MEETING DONINGTON PARK 30-31 MAY 2026: MARCUS PYE

Mark Dwyer returned to the top of the Formula 2-packed Derek Bell Trophy podium with two hard-fought wins in his Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi liveried March-BDG 742.

But the Yorkshireman was made to work hard to repel Chris Porritt (ex-Divina Galica Chevron-BDG B40) and Mark Harrison (ex-Ricardo Zunino March-BDG 772) – not the Historic FF2000 Lola racer – in Sunday’s series opener as action switched to the Grand Prix circuit. Marc Mercer (ex-Bill Brack March-BDA 78B) kept Dwyer sharp later in the day.

FROM TOP LEFT:CLOCKWISE: CHRIS PORRITT CHEVRON B40 TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SHADE IN A HOT PIT LANE. 17 MIKE BLETSOE_BROWN CHEVRON B27, 41 MARC MERCER MARCH 78B, 77 MIKE BAINBRIDGE CHEVRON B29

Nineteen competitors turned out for Saturday’s acclimatisation session before gunning for grid positions in the afternoon. Graham Ridgway (ex-Gabriele Serblin March-BDG 742) looked committed, indeed was quickest for much of the session on 1:30.546s, but Harrison pipped him to pole by 0.117s, Mark’s 1:30.429 equating to a 99.02mph in the car hillclimbed and sprinted by Ted Williams, Martin Bolsover and Roy Woodhouse after its contemporary F2 use.

Porritt - whose Chevron competed in Donington’s 1977 European F2 Championship round with downhill ski queen Galica up - and Dwyer were in the 31s, chased by Mercer’s 1600cc FAtlantic spec March and Paul Campfield in his meaty F5000 Chevron-Chevrolet B28, raced in period by American Philip ‘Skeeter’ McKitterick.

Neil Harrison, Mark’s brother, qualified the ex-David Franklin March-BDG 772 seventh, but substituted the team’s F3 Dallara F398 for the races, thus started from the back. Mike and Calvin Bainbridge qualified their pair of Chevron B29’s - ex-Joe Sposato in 2-litre BDG spec and ex-Alo Lawler with Atlantic BDA respectively - in mid-grid. The F2-spec B25s of Mike Bletsoe-Brown and David Sheppard split them, in the company of Jim McGaughay’s US Atlantic Swift DB4. McGaughay, incidentally, was a later owner of the aforementioned ex-Serblin Trivellato March, which he converted into a Renault 5 Turbo clone for Donington GT racing, with an original BMW sting in its tail…

Robin Lackford’s ex-Dolly Indra Atlantic spec GRD 272 and Mike Lane’s Chevron B49 were next up, chased by closely-matched invitee Jim Spencer (Reynard 883), Scot Steve Barlow (Ralt-Alfa Romeo RT30) and Richard Cooke (March-Toyota 793). Having tagged the barrier at Goddard in the morning, damaging the ex-Neto Jochamowitz car’s wing, Barlow was fortunate that Simon Hadfield loaned a replacement from his workshop, 10 miles away. Jim Spencer (Reynard 883) and Jago Keen (Palliser WDB2) completed the field.

LEFT OT RIGHT: MARK HARRISON LEADS THE CHARGE IN HIS MARCH 772, RICHARD COOK HAS NO TIME TO ENJOY THE SPLENDOUR OF DONINGTON HALL AS HESPEEDS PAST IN HIS MARCH 793, MARK DWYER MARCH 742

Drizzle greeted the drivers and delayed Sunday’s race start, alas without Ridgway (food poisoning) and Mike Bainbridge. Dwyer played himself in gently, running fifth behind Mark Harrison, Porritt, Mercer and Campfield on the opening lap. Having overpowered Mercer, Dwyer dived past Porritt into the hairpin and Harrison in a cutback scramble out of Goddard on the penultimate lap for a narrow win, 0.600s ahead of Porritt.

In a race foreshortened by an early chequer with Lane’s Flying Tiger’s Chevron embedded in the kitty litter at Coppice, Mercer wasn’t far adrift of the top three. Marc finished comfortably ahead of Campfield, Bletsoe-Brown, Bainbridge Jr and McGaughay. Neil Harrison, Sheppard and Lackford also went the distance.

Dwyer doubled-up later as fluctuating fuel pressure forced duellist Porritt to peel off and park at Hollywood. Mercer was barely two seconds adrift at the finish, shadowed by Mark Harrison. Paul Campfield, Neil Harrison, Mike Bainbridge and Bletsoe-Brown all covered the leader’s distance. Barlow, Lackford and Cooke completed the finishers. Porritt set fastest lap at 1:31.074s (98.32mph), compared to Dwyer’s 1:30.800 (98.61mph) first time out.