TIMMS FLIES WHERN YOU'RE HVING FUN

Marcus Pye
Jun 6
3 min read

HISTORIC ONE-LITRE F3: HSCC SPRING TROPHY MEETING DONINGTON PARK 30-31 MAY 2026: MARCUS PYE

Jason Timms emerged atop the combative Historic One-Litre F3 Championship openers, defeating defending champion Peter de la Roche on both days.

Donington attracted an excellent entry of 21. With the exception of former champion Leif Bosson, who came from Sweden to race his familiar ex-Sten Gunnarsson Gullringshus Brabham BT28, it was a domestic field, bolstered by the Lotus 41s of welcome returnee Barry Sewell and debutant Paul Durban in the ex-Mo Nunn car. Delightfully, Nunn’s 1968 sponsor Roger Swift of Astrali Accessories was present to support the former RAF fighter pilot. Also out was Gil Duffy with the U2 raced in period by Edward Lewis of Westover racing shoes fame. Although it didn’t get beyond practice.

Cheshire ace de la Roche snared pole position, his 1:15.232 (94.70mph) in the ex-Ken Sedgley Alexis Mk17 a second ahead of Jason Timms, Ian Bankhurst in an earlier Alexis, his ex-Terry Ogilvie-Hardy Mk8, and Jeremy Timms.

Like Jeremy a previous champion, Andrew Hibberd (ex-Chris Irwin Chequered Flag Brabham BT18) lined up fifth, but the ex-Dave Brodie SpeedSport Titan Mk3 of Mark Carter was withdrawn after qualifying. Thus Josh Sharp (ex-Sedgley Chevron B17), Oliver Musgrave (B15), Steve Seaman (BT21) and Nick Fennell (Tecno), all inside 1m20s, were promoted.

FROM TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: PETER DE LA ROCHE ALEXIS MK17, NICK FENNELL TECNO F3, JASON TIMMS BRABHAM BT21

Andrew Tart (ex-John Fenning Merlyn Mk9, destined not to start), Chris Dunster (Lotus 31), Simon Armer (ex-Tom Walkinshaw Petonyer Aviation March 703), Sewell, Bosson and Tony Wallen (ex-Carlos Pace Lotus 59A) formed the midfield. The Brabhams of Martin Whitlock, late entry Mark Linstone (BT21s) and Simon Etherington (ex-Manfred Mohr BT15), Durban’s red Lotus and Duffy completed the table of times.

De la Roche’s yellow Alexis led the first race until the final lap when his engine, which had started to fade when he had a 4.6 second lead, ran out of puff. Peter duly fell easy prey to Jason Timms who won by 0.440s, with Bankhurst a second and a half behind in third. Having squabbled with his cousin, initially over second, Jeremy Timms salvaged a distant fourth, following a spin at Redgate on lap 9, ahead of Sharp and Fennell.

Musgrave, Seaman and Armer also covered 15 laps, one more than Sewell, Bosson, Whitlock, Wallen, Durban and Etherington. Linstone pulled off at Coppice, joining Dunster and Hibberd in retirement. “The engine didn’t sound right, so I parked it.” said the 2024 champ. Jason Timms’ 1:15.407 (94.48mph) lap was the race’s best.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: #28 JASON TIMMS BRABHAM BT21, #24 JEREMY TIMMS CHEVRON B15 & PETER DE LA ROCHE RACE TOWARDS A PHOTO FINISH, #59 TONY WALLEN LOTUS 59A, #53 JOSH SHARP CHEVRON B17, #55 PAUL DURBAN LOTUS 41

Jason and Jeremy made it an all red lead fight from Sunday’s start, the Chevron driver forging ahead second time round. As he sped clear, setting a 1:15.787 best lap, de la Roche, Jason and Bankhurst fought for second. When Jeremy’s car faltered, the second Timms and de la Roche took up the cudgels, now chasing victory. Pete led the penultimate lap, but his rival had just sufficient extra grunt to snatch it on TSL’s transponder line.

Bankhurst, Sharp, Jeremy Timms, Musgrave - from the pit lane - Seaman, Sewell were next, with Armer narrowly repelling Linstone, and Durban - having improved his lap times by five seconds to clock a solid 1:20 - to round out the top 10. Bosson completed 12 laps too, pursued by Wallen, Whitlock and Etherington.