Joaquin Folch took victory in the sixth round of the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix World Championship at Donington Park on September 24. Driving a Brabham BT49C, Folch dominated the race which was the feature of the Vintage Sports Car Club’s “GP100 at SeeRed” event, a live celebration of the centenary of Grand Prix racing.
The TGP series brings together 3-liter Formula 1 cars from 1966 to the mid-1980s, in which all are required to compete in their period livery. The championship is split into four age-related classes and, with two rounds to go, the points table is close at the top with Joaquin Folch closing in on Steve Hartley, who brought his Arrows A6 home in 3rd place, just behind Peter Sowerby’s Williams FW07C. Katsuaki Kubota had qualified his Classic Team Lotus-entered Lotus 78 in an excellent 4th spot but was unlucky to suffer engine problems on lap two, the resultant oil spill at the hairpin causing some heart-stopping spins, including the leader, but fortunately without harm.
America’s John Delane and his Tyrrell 001 enjoyed a close contest with Mike Littlewood’s BRM P153 for honors in the category for pre-1971 cars, with Littlewood eventually taking class honors despite his BRM V-12 becoming increasingly smokey. Delane leads his class by a large margin and is currently 3rd in the overall championship standings. A welcome new entry to the series is the carbon fiber-tubbed McLaren MP4/1 in the hands of Dean Lanzante, which took an encouraging 5th place.
by Keith Booker
