2025 Season Review
The 2025 season promised much, three away meetings, and 4 Knockhill meetings. Though only Minis would do all 7 meetings. But it ended in October at a fog bound Knockhill, as only one SMRC race was run. This was for Minis on the Saturday, all other championships got a qualifying session, but no races. So most Scottish Championships raced at 5 meetings, as they all had at least one away event. While Minis raced at 7 meetings. Guests were allowed to race at Knockhill events and any away rounds, but they did not score points. Their cars had to comply with our regulations. Only club members could register for championships and score points.
Away rounds once again were varied. With all championships going to Cadwell Park in June, as the Club ran a full meeting there, backed up by visitors from the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons, who raced with our Classics. Away rounds were also held at Oulton Park in July (Minis) and Croft in August (Classics and Minis).
Scottish C1 Cup supported by Mintex
Ayden Wilson C1 Champion car no. 24 and Runner up James Hitchen car no. 27
This year, there was a good season long battle for the title, between two regular C1 drivers. Ayden Wilson took the title in 2025 after finishing 3rd last year. James Hitchen was runner up in 2025 after being 4th in 2024. The C1 is a one litre hatchback, and provides close racing. It is also a starter championship for newcomers to try motorsport. C1s also have regulars who enjoy the budget racing, and has always had a close fought championship. The 2024 champion Murray Scott and 2024 runner up Dan Martin did not race in the championship this season.
The Championship for the C1 hatchback was run over 10 rounds, after the October Knockhill was abandoned due to fog. There were two away races at Cadwell Park, plus eight races at Knockhill. The Championship was a close fight all season between two drivers, Ayden Wilson and James Hitchen. Whilst 3rd and 4th was also battled over by Gregor McPhaden and James McCracken with Henry Gillespie never far behind in 5th. There were 10 registered competitors scoring points. The top 8 drivers all scored in at least 9 of the 10 rounds run. The top 5 drivers scored in every round. C1s were again proving reliable.
This championship started off as one of the closest we’ve had. After 4 rounds Ayden Wilson and James Hitchen both had two wins and two seconds, to be tied on 45 points. Then Wilson got ahead after Hitchen dropped points in rounds 6 and 7, while Wilson took a first and second in those races. By the start of the September meeting he was 24 points ahead, and ended that meeting 22 points clear. Ayden Wilson had an impressive 5 wins and 4 seconds with a fourth his lowest finish (in round 10). James Hitchen was also quick and took 4 wins, 3 seconds and a third plus a fifth and an eighth.
The only other race winner was 3rd placed Gregor McPhaden, who won round 7 at Knockhill. But he also had 2 seconds and 4 thirds plus two fourths as his top scores. He held third overall all year, and was 28 points behind Hitchen, but 27 clear of James McCracken in 4th. McPhaden had been 11th in 2024 and had upped his game this year. But McPhaden had started well with a brace of thirds in rounds 1-3, and carried on scoring well all year. He’d started C1s with a limited season in 2024, but this season he was there all year, and also won the Newcomers Cup. In 4th James McCracken mounted a late season charge to record a second, three thirds and a fourth in the final 5 races. He’d got a couple of fourths early in the year. He’d finished 7th last season, so progress was made. In 5th was Henry Gillespie, scoring in every round, with 2 thirds, 3 fourths and 3 fifths his top scores. He was only 12 points back on James McCracken, and raced well. Marc Nisbet took 6th, he scored in 9 rounds. He had a fourth and 4 fifth places as his top scores, and had a DNF in round 10. Newcomer Liam Kelso was 7th and scored in every round, and had 5 sixths as his top scores. While Sam Milne was another newcomer, he scored in 9 rounds and had one DNF to finish 8th. He was ahead of Kenny Dock who scored in 7 rounds, but had a DNF in April and two DNS’s at Cadwell Park following an unfortunate weekend ending accident during Qualifying. In 10th was Peter Edie who competed in 4 rounds.
We had guests racing in C1s, with one at Cadwell Park. While at Knockhill in May and July there were 2 cars out in each meeting. This grew in September, as three cars were out with guests in them, and 13 cars raced. Of these the highest finisher was Matthew Baldie racing the SMRC hire car, who had competed a few races in C1s in 2024, he got a 6th in September. The abandoned October meeting had 13 cars qualify with 4 of them being guests, maybe some guests will return as regulars next year.
C1 Cup Points (All 10 rounds counted):
1. Ayden Wilson 219 2. James Hitchen 197 3. Gregor McPhaden 169 4. James McCracken 142 5. Henry Gillespie 130 6. Marc Nisbet 99
C1 Newcomers Cup
Gregor McPhaden C1 Newcomers Cup winner, car 18
There were 4 newcomers registered, but this competition was dominated by Gregor McPhaden. He won the class an impressive 10 times out of 10 rounds, to record a 100% class win rate, in his second season in C1s.
Liam Kelso provided the closest competition for McPhaden, as he finished 2nd but 54 points behind. Though he’d recorded 9 class seconds and one third. In third was Sam Milne scoring in 9 rounds with one class second and 8 thirds. Peter Edie did a limited season and scored 4 times, as he was 4th.
C1 Newcomer Points
1. Gregor McPhaden 250 2. Liam Kelso 196 3. Sam Milne 148 4. Peter Edie 56
Scottish Fiesta ST Cup supported by Yokohama Tyres
Gerry Hendry, Fiesta ST Champion car no.1 and Dave Colville ST runner up car no. 52
This was a 10 round Championship following the October Knockhill meeting being abandoned. All scores counted towards the Championship. The 2.0 litre Fiestas had competitive races all year. There were 3 classes, the ST, ST Newcomer, and the STC or Challenge car which is built to a slightly lower spec. The 2024 Champion Gerry Hendry defended his title and again dominated the Cup. The cars went to one away round at Cadwell Park in June, and drivers received 10 bonus points for being there.
Gerry Hendry led the title chase all year. He nearly completed a clean sweep of race wins, but took 9 first places, and one second in September at Knockhill. He was never headed in the points and drove both well and quickly all year. He was chased by two racers all year. Initially, it was veteran former ST champion Dave Colville on track, with four consecutive second places. Dave had returned for a full campaign after limited races in 2024. These two had some good dices, and Dave often got very close to Gerry. Dave took 4 seconds, 5 thirds and a sixth on his way to 2nd overall. He was 15 points ahead of 3rd placed Jamie Dickie, who was top newcomer in 2024, and who did 8 rounds in 2025. Jamie Dickie finished fourth and third in the May races, after not entering April. But he upped his game a little from June onwards, and at Cadwell Park he started a run of 5 seconds in 6 races and in-between them, took a victory in round 9 at the September Knockhill. So we usually had 3 quick drivers at the front of races, from May onwards.
Michael Gordon took 4th with 2 thirds, one fourth and 4 fifths his best scores. He had one DNF in 10 rounds, and was 13 points ahead of the 5th placed driver, top newcomer Angus Ross. He had 3 fifths and 4 sixths as his top scores and also recorded one DNF.
Next up in 6th was veteran Peter Cruickshank, who’d been racing Fiestas since 1997. He moved from XR2s to STs in 2013. This season he did 8 rounds and scored in 7 of them, as he recorded one DNF. But he got 5 fourths, a fifth and a sixth as his scores. He has now retired from racing, and his final meeting was in July at Knockhill. During his 12 years in STs he was runner up twice and a race winner several times. He was also XR2 Champion back in 2012 when we had full grids of these cars.
In 7th was Lucy Hales-Maver after competing in 6 rounds, with a fifth and sixth as top scores. Arran Ward and Andrew Mackie were 8th equal. Arran took a third and fourth in May at Knockhill, qualified at Cadwell Park so got the bonus points, but was a DNS. That was his season. While Andrew had a third and fourth in September, after he had a sixth and a DNF in July. In 10th was Lachlan McLachlan a newcomer who did 4 rounds later in the season, with fifth his best score at the final round. Calum Bruce was 11th scoring in 4 rounds at the 1st and 5th meeting.
Only Gerry Hendry and Dave Colville scored in every round. Michael Gordon scored in 9 finishes plus had a DNF in the final round, while Angus Ross also had 9 finishes and a DNF.
There were 11 drivers registered for points. Guests entered at two meetings. One at Cadwell Park, who only did qualifying. Then two appeared at the abandoned October Knockhill meeting. Though at Knockhill they were well known racers, who did well in qualifying. We didn’t see 2024 runner up Kieren Preedy, or 2024 top Challenger spec driver Lorn Murray in 2025.
ST Cup Points (all 10 rounds count)
1.Gerry Hendry 255 2. Dave Colville 180 3. Jamie Dickie 165 4. Michael Gordon 122 5. Angus Ross 109 6. Peter Cruickshank 102
Fiesta ST Challenge Cup
Lachlan McLachlan car no. 24
This Cup is for the slightly lower spec Challenge cars. Last year 4 cars competed. But in 2025 only Lachlan McLachlan entered, and he took the Cup after racing 4 times and taking 4 class wins.
Challenge Cup Points
1. Lachlan McLachlan 64
Fiesta ST Newcomers
Angus Ross, ST Newcomers winner car no. 17
For the second year running in STs we had a Newcomers competition. This year we had two drivers. Angus Ross competed in all 10 rounds and scored in 9 of them, winning the class every time he finished. While Lachlan McLachlan did 4 rounds in July and September, so was runner up. Last year Jamie Dickie won this Cup and we had 7 competitors.
Newcomers Points
1. Angus Ross 170 2. Lachlan McLachlan 64
Scottish MINI Cooper Cup supported by Mintex and Yokohama Tyres
Chad Little MINI Cooper Cup Champion car no. 25 and Daniel Patterson MINI Cooper Cup runner up car no. 18
The Scottish MINI Cooper Cup has always been competitive since its inception back in 2003, and 2025 was no different. Once again we had good close racing and lots of action. The cars did 3 races at each Knockhill meeting, bar in October, when fog saw the Sunday races cancelled. It comprised of 18 rounds, after 2 of the 3 rounds were lost in October, with 17 top scores counting.
The first two races at each meeting were with the more powerful Cooper S car, but their third race of the day was only for Cooper Cup cars. This third race also featured a reversed grid for the top 5 to 8 finishers in the previous race. The number of cars in this format was decided after the second race at each event, and drawn at random. This varied between the top 5 and top 8 cars classified as finishing race two. If 6 was drawn then the Cooper winner starts 6th and the 6th placed finisher from race 2 starts from pole, and so on. There were three away meetings. At Cadwell Park in June and Croft in August, the cars also completed three rounds at each meeting. But at Oulton Park in July they did two rounds. So the Championship had some away round changes from 2024, when it went to Kirkistown, Anglesey, and Croft.
After the opening three rounds newcomer Stuart McPhaden led on 60 points, and was 11 points ahead of Chad Little, with Jack Irvine a point behind Chad in 3rd. Daniel Patterson was 5th on 35, but behind Jacob Heap who had 42. But at the next meeting Jacob had two low scores, and wasn’t seen again. By round 6 we’d had two Knockhill meetings, Chad little was leading the Cup on 111 points, Stuart McPhaden had 104, then Jack Irvine and Daniel Patterson were tied on 101 points for 3rd. These 4 were pulling away from the pack. Chris Cockburn was next up with 64 points followed by Ian Munro on 59 points.
The Cup went to its first away meeting at Cadwell Park, a winding hilly circuit loved by bike racers. We had three different race winners, Chad, Daniel and Stuart, as Jack only scored in 2 of the 3 rounds. This left the top 4 as Chad 168 points, Daniel 162 points then Stuart on 129 after only one score at the meeting, and Jack on 124. The cup would now be a two driver race for the title.
The next meeting was two races at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Chad took a first and second, but a cat amongst the title pigeons appeared. It was Robbie Dalgleish, having a limited season he had scored mid race points in April, missed the next few rounds and reappeared at the classic race circuit of Oulton Park. He was on fine form and took a win and a second place. But Daniel Patterson scored two solid thirds that day. The Cup title chasers were left as, Chad Little on 213, Daniel Patterson 194, Stuart McPhaden 158 and Jack Irvine 144. Next was the third of the away rounds at the Croft circuit near Darlington, a flat former airfield. After 3 more rounds Chad was on 285 points having taken 2 more wins and a second at Croft. Daniel had 257 following a win, a second and a third at Croft, then Jack moved up to 3rd overall on 189 points, with a second and a third to go with a sixth. Stuart had 184 points as one of the 3 races saw a no score.
Then it was back to Knockhill for the September meeting. After 3 more rounds, Chad had 353 points following a win and two seconds, Daniel was on 311 and had a win, Jack had 262 and also took a win, while Stuart was on 234 and had two thirds and a fourth in September. So to Knockhill in October, there were 3 races planned but only one was run. Chad Little had a third and meant he scored 370 points, so dropped a score to finish on 362. He was the new champion having led most of the season. Daniel Patterson was runner up with 331 points having a second in October. In 3rd was Jack Irvine on 262 points, he took a fourth at the final meeting. But Stuart McPhaden was well down the order that day and finished with 234 points. The last race was won by Robbie Dalgleish after he’d missed another 2 meetings following Oulton Park.
The top 4 saw Chad Little take 6 wins, 8 seconds and one third as his top scores. Daniel Paterson had 6 wins, 3 seconds and 4 thirds as his top scores. Jack Irvine in 3rd overall took 2 wins, 2 seconds and 5 thirds. While in 4th Stuart McPhaden had 2 wins, 1 second and 5 thirds. The only other race winner was Robbie Dalgleish, who scored 93 points and was 12th but who won 2 races and had one second. In previous years Robbie has won races and was 4th overall in 2023 and was runner up in 2024.
In 5th overall was newcomer Michael Williams, with 177 points and he had 4 fourths and 5 fifths as his top scores. Then in 6th was Chris Cockburn, on 160 points with one second, 2 fourths and 3 fifths as his top scores. Into 7th came Martin Wijetunga with 122 points. His best finish was one second, then one fifth. In 8th was Blair Dryburgh with 121 points he had one fourth and two fifth place finishes. In 9th having to drop 3 points was Barry Holmes as he scored in every round. He finished with 118 and took a third as his highest finish at Cadwell Park. The top 10 was rounded out by the experienced Ian Munro who was 6th last season. But he missed a few races this year, scored 114 points and had a third and 2 fifths in his scores.
Others of note included the newcomer Jonathan Wild, in 11th. Former Cup runner up Robbie Dalgleish was in 12th after a very limited season. Jensen Bell and Jacob Heap were 13th and 14th after shortened seasons. A total of 19 drivers scored points.
Only two drivers scored in every round, these were Chad Little and Barry Holmes. So they were the only two to drop points. Chad lost 8 points which didn’t affect his position, while Barry lost 3 and dropped a place to 9th. In 2025 just 5 drivers won a round, whereas 6 drivers won races in 2024, and it was 5 winners in 2023. Oliver Mortimer won the title in 2023 and 2024 and is now semi-retired. He appeared as a guest in September 2025 along with another driver. Oly took a race win on the road at that meeting and two other top 5 finishes. But he scored no points, and for the championship is not recorded as a winner, as he was a guest. Three other guests appeared in October, but only one finished the race.
The top 3 in 2025 are all experienced Mini racers. Chad Little was 3rd in 2023 and 4th in 2024. Daniel Patterson was 3rd in 2024. Jack Irvine was 2nd in 2023 and 7th in 2024. But Stuart McPhaden in 4th overall is a newcomer and a rising star.
MINI Cooper Cup Points (18 rounds with the best 17 counting)
1. Chad Little 362 2. Daniel Patterson 331 3. Jack Irvine 262 4. Stuart McPhaden 234 5. Michael Williams 177 6. Chris Cockburn 160
MINI Cooper Newcomers Cup
MINI Newcomer Winner Stuart McPhaden car no. 53
This season there were 6 novices registered for the Newcomers, which was 3 down on 2024 but still 3 up on 2023. Four of last season’s newcomers were back (Stuart McPhaden, Michael Williams, Jonathan Wild, and Curtis Paterson), as allowed in the rules, to compete for a 2nd year. Only the winner from 2024 Martin Wijetunga, or drivers with more than 2 years experience are not able to re-enter. This Cup saw a keen battle again this year. Dropped scores were not making any difference by the season end, as everyone had at least one no score. There were 18 rounds held at 7 meetings.
Just 3 drivers shared the class wins. Stuart McPhaden was in fine form dominating the top step of the podium with 13 wins, but having 3 DNS or DNFs, so his winning margin was just 11 points as he scored in 15 of 18 rounds. McPhaden took 13 class wins, 1 second and 1 fourth on his way to the title. He was chased hard all season by Michael Williams and Jonathan Wild. Although McPhaden led all year, initially it was Wild in 2nd. After 6 rounds McPhaden had 150 points with Wild on 104, and Williams catching up after an early no score on 96. By the end of 9 rounds after the Cadwell Park races it was closing up, as Stuart McPhaden only scored once in 3 rounds there. He still led with 175 points, but Jonathan Wild had 160 and Michael Williams had 157.
Following the next meeting at Oulton Park, where 2 rounds were run, McPhaden had 225 points, with Williams now 2nd overall on 197 points and Wild had 192. The cars were at Croft next for 3 more rounds, and McPhaden was on 270 after these races, with Williams right with him on 267. Wild was still close on 244. Then back to Knockhill for rounds 15-17 in September. By the end of that meeting McPhaden had 345. Williams was on 323, but Wild was on 280. Then there was only one race in October. Stuart McPhaden had his lowest finish of the year in fourth but the day finished with him on 359, and champion by 11 points.
It was Williams who closed the gap in October, as he continued his good form and took the final class win of the year. He scored 348 points. He recorded 4 wins, 11 seconds, two thirds, but had a DNF. Jonathan Wild was 3rd overall. He scored 300 points over 17 races and had one DNF. He had 1 win, 6 seconds and 10 thirds after a good season.
In fourth overall was Sam O’Riordan, who scored in 7 rounds, his best result a class third was at Cadwell Park. He recorded 1 third, 3 fourths and 1 fifth as he got 98 points. In 5th was Curtis Paterson, who scored in 2 rounds, with a third at the final round, and a fourth early in the season. While 6th overall was Ally Chalmers who scored just once back in April.
Newcomers Points (18 rounds with the best 17 counting)
1. Stuart McPhaden 359 2. Michael Williams 348 3. Jonathan Wild 300 4. Sam O’Riordan 98
Scottish MINI Cooper Cup – Knockhill Cup
Chad Little MINI Knockhill Cup winner car no. 25
This cup was in its third year, after starting in 2023. This competition was held over 10 rounds all at Knockhill. These were in April, May, September and October. As in 2024 there were 19 drivers who scored points in this cup.
After 3 rounds in April, Stuart McPhaden led with 60 points, from Chad Little on 49 and Jack Irvine on 48. But after 6 rounds Chad Little was leading with 111 points, from Stuart McPhaden on 104. Then there was a tie for 3rd with Jack Irvine and Daniel Patterson on 101. Patterson had a no score in round 1 so was catching up. After another 3 rounds with 9 rounds now gone, it was Chad Little leading on 179 points. But behind him it was close. In 2nd was Jack Irvine on 160 with Daniel Patterson on 155, then Stuart McPhaden on 150. After the final round in October, Chad Little took the Cup by 21 points on 196 points. In 2nd was Daniel Patterson on 175 points. He beat Jack Irvine by just 1 point, as Jack scored 174 points. Stuart McPhaden the quick newcomer was 4th with 154 points.
In the overall results, Chad Little took 2 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third and 1 fourth, plus an eighth. He was 21 points ahead of Daniel Patterson, who had 4 wins, 1 second, 1 third, as his top scores, but had a DNF. In 3rd Jack Irvine had 2 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, 4 fourths. In 4th was Stuart McPhaden taking 1 win, 1 second, 4 thirds and 2 fourths as his best scores.
In 5th overall was Chris Cockburn on 110 points, though he’d been behind Jacob Heap after 3 rounds, then after 6 rounds took over 5th chased by Ian Munro, as Heap faded away. Munro would also drop back, and Michael Williams came through for 6th overall, with 81 points, leaving Munro 7th after he didn’t compete in September, and finished with 68 points. In 8th was Blair Dryburgh on 59 points, just ahead of 9th place Barry Holmes who had 56 points. The top 10 was rounded out by Robbie Dalgleish on 48 points, who did just 4 rounds but took a win in October, after missing most of the season.
So, just 5 drivers won rounds of the Knockhill Cup in 2025. Only 6 drivers scored in every round, while another three scored in 9 of the 10 rounds. In 2023 and 2024 the overall MINI Cooper champion also won the Knockhill Cup, and that has been repeated this season, as Chad Little emulated Oly Mortimer’s results. Chad showed consistent good pace and recorded 8 podiums in 10 races. He went from 6th in 2024 to being the winner this season. In 2025 Daniel Paterson has also moved up, as he was 4th last year. While Jack Irvine has returned to the top 3, having been runner up in 2023, but 7th in 2024.
Points (all 10 rounds count)
1. Chad Little 196 2. Daniel Patterson 175 3. Jack Irvine 174 4. Stuart McPhaden 154
R53 MINI Cooper S Cup
Ross Wilkinson no. 21, winner R53 COOPER S Cup
MINI Cooper S cars are the most powerful cars in Scottish one make racing. They race on slick racing tyres, have 1.6 litre supercharged engines and adjustable suspension. They had 13 rounds, all of which counted towards the Cup. Only one driver registered and he contested 11 rounds. The Cooper S started ahead of the Cooper cars at each meeting, and eased away from that class in the races, other than when it was a damp track in September, and the Cooper class cars were all over the S early on.
Ross Wilkinson race 11 times and took a class win at each of these races, as he won the combined Mini race on the road every time. The Cooper S did not race in race 3, when Minis had a triple header. 2024 champion Jamie Blake didn’t defend his title.
Points: (all 13 rounds counted)
1. Ross Wilkinson 176
Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons Championship supported by HelloReport
Classics new champion Alastair Baptie (MGB GT V8) car no. 13 and Iain Mitchell Classics runner up (Nova) car no. 11
A multi class championship, so cars score points against their class competitors. There are several classes for cars to enter in. This championship has Saloons and Sportscars racing against each other. Cars that were manufactured before 31st December 1989 are eligible, and must remain predominantly in period specification. Class A up to 1500cc engines. Class B 1501cc to 2500cc engines. Class D 2501cc to 3600cc engines. Class E Sports and Saloon Cars over 3601cc engines, and any period homologated race car. Class G Limited Production Cars, sports or saloons, specials, kit cars and recreation cars, 2 wheel drive only, maximum 2 valves per cylinder engines. There is also an invitation class (Class I) for period cars not complying fully with the technical regulations. The classic Scottish XR2 Championship ran in their own class with the Classics, as per the last few years.
Competitors are racing against each other on track, but only scoring against drivers in their own class. Their scores are then put into the overall points table, to find the Champion. There were 14 registered competitors. Drivers needed 3 drivers to start in their class per race in order to score full points, with 25 for a class win. If 2 or fewer started a race in that class, then points were reduced. There were 10 rounds, with away rounds at Cadwell Park in June and Croft in August. There had been 12 rounds planned but this was reduced by 2, as the October Knockhill meeting was abandoned due to foggy weather.
The new champion for an impressive fourth time is Alastair Baptie, and the first time he’d won in the V8 car. His previous 3 titles being won in his amazing class A, Fiat X1/9 sportscar. He raced a class E car in 2025, his very quick MGB GT V8 sportscar, with which he headed the class. He didn’t get it all his own way as Alasdair Coates in another MGB GT V8 won the class a couple of times. This championship attracted a huge amount of guest drivers, as classic racers sometimes only like to do a couple of races, while others did nearly a full season as a guest. We had a number of guests from the Historic Modsports and Special Saloons Series at the away rounds as guests, and this Series will be coming under the SMRC umbrella in 2026. While the first Knockhill meeting also saw the KMSC Modsports Race Championship added to our grid.
The Classic season saw several drivers in with a chance of overall honours, and the points table swung about. Leading after 2 rounds at Knockhill, was John Kinmond with 50 points in his class A Mini. He was chased by Alastair Baptie in class E on 45, then Colin Calder in class G Ginetta with 42. Next was Alasdair Coates in class E MGB GT V8 with 41, and defending champion Iain Mitchell in his class A Nova on 40. The next meeting was also at Knockhill in May. After 2 more rounds we had John Kinmond still leading, with a perfect score of 100. Alastair Baptie had 90 to be 2nd, while close behind him was Alasdair Coates on 86, then Colin Calder on 84, then Iain Mitchell with 80 points was 5th.
The first away meeting was next as SMRC ran at Cadwell Park. Classics completed rounds 5 and 6. Alastair Baptie moved into the championship lead with two class wins, so he now had 150 points. Iain Mitchell moved into 2nd on 140 as he also took two class wins. Alasdair Coates was 3rd on 136, while others had DNFs or DNS. John Kinmond had problems though he was there in qualifying and got the 10 point bonus. But his score was now 110. He dropped behind Paul Bowers in his class A Fiat Coupe who was 4th. Paul had now got 114 after a steady start, where he was on 64 after 4 rounds. Colin Calder was a DNS so dropped back. While Ewan Anderson was now also going up the leader board, with his Class E MGB GT V8. He now had 110 points to tie for 5th with John Kinmond.
Next on the calendar was another away meeting, this time at Croft in August. Here were rounds 7 and 8. Alastair Baptie had a first and second in class so dropped 5 points to Iain Mitchell who took 2 class wins. The overall points were 1st Baptie 205, 2nd Mitchell 200, then into 3rd came Paul Bowers with 164. Ewan Anderson moved up to 4th on 156, with Alasdair Coates now 5th with 146 having problems and just getting the bonus score. John Kinmond was 6th and had 136 but another fraught meeting saw just one points score.
Then it was back to Knockhill for what turned out to be the final meeting of the year. So rounds 9 and 10 took place. Alastair Baptie raced away to two class wins, so he kept 1st and had 255 points. Iain Mitchell was second in class twice and ended 2nd with 240 points. Paul Bowers had a third and fourth in class to be 3rd overall with 194 points. Ewan Anderson took 4th overall and had two class thirds for 188 points total. He was just ahead of Alasdair Coates who made up for a low scoring Croft, with two class seconds and a total of 186 points and 5th equal. John Kinmond got the Mini working well, and had two class wins. He finished equal 5th with 186 points.
In 7th was Jimmy Crow in the Scimitar. He’d scored 64 points after 4 rounds, then had low scores at the away rounds, before returning strongly at Knockhill. Jimmy finished with 116 points. In 8th equal was Colin Calder with 112. He scored well early in the season and at Croft, but missed a couple of meetings. He tied with Charlie Cope in his class B VW Golf. Charlie had a competitive season in a class that didn’t get as much support as some others, and he wasn’t at the September meeting after only getting the bonus at Croft. He took class wins 4 times, and finished with 112 points. The top 10 was rounded out by Richard Cooper in a class A Ginetta G15 sportscar, and he scored 96 points in 6 races. Others of note were Craig Houston in his Lotus Excel, which was 11th and had 5 finishes. While Michael Longstaffe was 12th as he took his class A MG Midget to 3 finishes.
Entries including guests or combined races saw big mixed grids. Knockhill in April saw 22 cars, with 13 being registered Classics or in the Classic XR2 Championship, and 2 classic guests. May Knockhill 22 cars were at qualifying, 12 registered classics, 2 XR2s, and 8 guests. But a couple dropped out after qualifying, still 20 cars started. Cadwell Park in June had an impressive 26 cars on the grid, with guests outnumbering registered Classic racers, as Historic Modsports and Special Saloons arrived in force, plus some classic guests as well. The Croft grid saw 27 cars attend qualifying, 11 registered competitors, plus 2 XR2s and the Historic Modsports cars and several classic cars, whilst 17 finished both races. The September Knockhill had a grid of 16 cars with a couple of guests. In September Alastair Baptie beat Alasdair Coates on the road, to take both the race wins, as well as class wins.
Some guests were former regulars like Adam Kinmond in his Rover SD1, while Shonny Paterson appeared late on in his Triumph TR8.
Points (all 10 rounds counted)
1. Alastair Baptie (E) 255 2. Ian Mitchell (A) 240 3. Paul Bowers (A) 194 4. Ewan Anderson (E) 188 5. Alasdair Coates (E) & John Kinmond (A) 186
Scottish XR2 Championship
Sonny Gray XR2 Championship Car no. 23
These Fiesta hot hatches race with the Classics, but have separate regulations. Back in the 80’s and 90’s we had full grids of XR2s, and in some years had to run qualifying races. This season 2 cars were registered, and we had a new Champion, Sonny Gray. In XR2s Paul Green won in 2024, and Duncan O’Neill in 2023. While Sonny was runner up in 2024.
Arron Hunter started the season in April, and by the end of our second meeting in May led the XR2s with 48 points. Sonny Gray started in May and took 2 wins to score 40 points. Neither car scored in Cadwell Park as Arron Hunter had to withdraw from the meeting following an engine failure in testing and Sonny didn’t enter, but both took in Croft. Arron scored well with two class wins and the bonus points, so now had 98 points, while Sonny had a DNF but got the bonus points for being there, and was second in race 2. He now had 66 points. He was 32 points behind Arron. But only Sonny scored in September at Knockhill, and he took two class wins. He finished with 106 points. Arron was a DNF in both these races and finished 8 points adrift.
XR2 Points
1. Sonny Gray 106 2. Arron Hunter 98
Kevin Pick