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A fantastic weekend of racing and a superb birthday party for the iconic Seven - that's the verdict on the Golden Jubilee celebrations held at Donington Park this weekend (2/3 June).

The sun shone, the crowds came and 17 races for Sevens of all ages and sizes were successfully completed. Some 330 entries were in action and, says Caterham Motorsport Director Magnus Laird, the event couldn't have been bettered.

"It was a great 50th anniversary celebration," he said, "and I know that every competitor taking part was delighted to have done so - even if some of them did not have the happiest of races. It was a great spectacle, the racing was fast, furious and fun in the best Caterham tradition and the many spectators went home well pleased."

Among the fascinated visitors to Donington was Hazel Chapman, widow of the Seven's creator, Colin Chapman, their son Clive and his children. Mrs Chapman was moved by the event: "It's amazing to see the Seven thrive like this - incredible," she said. "I am quite sure that Colin never imagined when he designed the car in 1957 that it would still be around 50 years later, nor that it would be as big a success as it has been. Were he here to see this, I think perhaps he might be kicking himself for selling the car to Caterham!"

In addition to the racing there were static displays of the latest Caterham road cars, early Lotus and Caterham Sevens owned by Caterham founder Graham Nearn, plus historic Lotus Formula 1 cars owned by Clive Chapman's Classic Team Lotus, as well as cars from the Historic Lotus Register.

Many classic Lotus Sevens took to the track as well, and there were some vintage racers also, including 67-year-old Brian Mitcham, who started his track career in 1967 at the wheel of a 1-litre Seven and who this weekend sampled the quickest of the Caterham breed, the 2.3-litre CSR 260, for the first time. One of the youngest competitors was 16-year-old Vincent Beltoise, nephew of 1970s Grand Prix winner Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

The biggest winner of the weekend was Graham Fennymore, who tackled - and won - all five of his races at the wheel of his Superlight. "It's been great just to be a part of the weekend and to celebrate the Seven's Golden Jubilee," said Graham. "Winning is the icing on the cake." Fennymore won both of his Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge outings and the Superlight class in all three evo Caterham Eurocup events.

The race highlights.

Circuit Driver Caterham Academy
More than 50 of Caterham's newest racing recruits were in action at Donington, experiencing their first ever circuit races after beginning their seasons with sprint events and hill-climbs. In Group 1, motorsport design engineer Jonathan Walker claimed a 2.5-second victory over 19-year-old Ben Atkinson-Willes, with another youngster, 18-year-old Tommy Keet, claiming third place. The second Academy group suffered two race stoppages through track incidents, James Chan emerging the victor ahead of 22-year-old motorsport engineering student Philip Broad and Mark Figes.

Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge
Gareth Thomas claimed twin wins in Roadsport B to bring to four his tally for the season so far. The 46-year-old engineer triumphed on Saturday by four-tenths of a second from Steve Streets, with one of last year's Academy front-runners, Andrew Thomas, taking third. On Sunday Gareth's victory margin was 1.4s, with this time Paul Storton claiming second and David Tansley third.
With 40 Roadsport class competitors competing and a circuit with a maximum capacity of 36, three races were held for the championship's upper division, each competitor racing twice. Championship leader Jeremy Ellis won the first of his outings, by just 0.086s from David Pearce, but next time out was defeated for the first time this season. The driver who put an end to Ellis's winning streak was hair salon owner Toby Dicker; Pearce followed Ellis home for third. Mike Richards, third in the first of the Roadsport encounters, won race three ahead of Dicker and Toby Talbot.

Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge
Returning to the championship he won last season, Graham Fennymore stamped his authority on proceedings by claiming pole position by a three-tenths margin ahead of promising newcomer Glen Denny. And then in race one Fennymore romped to a 14-second victory after his closest initial pursuer, Rachel Green, was forced into the pits with an overheating problem. Patrick Gormley overhauled Denny to claim second spot, with David Knox setting a storming pace to fight through from 18th on the 31-car grid to claim fourth at the flag ahead of Andrew Beaumont and Chris Bialan. Championship leader Will Mitcham's race ended in flames on the second lap when leaking fuel ignited spectacularly.
There was another fiery moment in race two when Craig Welsher's Superlight was struck hard by another car; the race had to be red-flagged and restarted. Alas the second attempt to complete the race was unsuccessful also - more red flags flew when Clive Coote and Patrick Maher tangled at the Goddards chicane. Fennymore was declared the victor of the truncated race, ahead once again of Gormley, with Knox third and Denny fourth. There was further heartbreak for Mitcham, whose brilliantly repaired car was struck by several others which had failed to slow for the red flags.

Caterham Graduates
Three races for the enthusiastic and numerous members of the Graduates Club provided plenty of thrills and spills. James Barlow won the Classic race - by one of the largest margins of the weekend at 32 seconds - ahead of Chris Awcock and Mark Heywood. Andrew Ennis was the Super Graduate victor, with Andrew Vickers second and Edward Benson third, while in the Mega Grads it was Jamie Ellwood on top ahead of George Longmuir and Martin Amison.

Other races
Francois Ader claimed twin wins in the French Caterham 1600s, with Christophe Martin his closest rival in both and Alexis Gronier third, again in both races. Vicky Lloyd won the Formula Woman race from Kirsty Jeffrey and Zoe Dickson. the Lotus Super Seven S3 of John Muirhead triumphed in the first of the Colin Chapman Trophy Races ahead of the similar car of John Rees but Muirhead was thwarted in his attempt to do the double by mechanical problems; Rees took the win, a lap ahead of the rest of the field.

EUROCUP HAT-TRICK FOR RICHARDS & HAY

Richard Hay and Clive Richards celebrated the Seven's 50th anniversary in the best style possible at Donington Park this weekend, the duo between them claiming a hat-trick of evo Caterham Eurocup race victories to extend their overall series points lead.

Hay drove the Colards Motorsport-prepared, HayFisher-backed CSR260 to a comfortable win in the first of the two 30-minute sprint races on Saturday, with Richards repeating the feat in race two. Sunday's one-hour double-hander brought them their third win of the weekend, at the expense of their chief title rival Olly Bull and his new team-mate Philip Glew.

Saturday's opening race was a thriller, pole-sitter Hay duelling for many laps with the Acre Jean/Hyperion car in Bull's hands.

Richard and Olly traded the lead, and fastest lap, until the 15th of the 24 laps, when Bull was forced into the pits, and eventual retirement, with an electrical problem. This left Hay with a commanding lead which he extended to a five-second victory margin. "I only had one problem," said Hay, "which was that the data logger dropped into my lap and I had to hold it between my knees for much of the race! It's a great result for our championship hopes but I feel very sorry for Olly. He would have been hard to beat."

Second place was scooped by Hay's Colards Motorsport team-mate Michele Tommasi - his best result of the season - after both the Taylor's Foundry entries struck trouble. Gerry Taylor dived for the pits for attention after collecting a corner marker post while Malcolm Johnstone's excellent showing was brought to an end by a broken fuse.

Sarah Reader's superb qualifying form was underlined in the race, the 24-year-old collecting her first solo third-place finish, just 6.3 seconds behind victor Hay. Visiting South African racer James Forbes was delighted with his fourth place on his maiden CSR outing. George Brewster and Nigel Bent completed the top six.

In the Superlight division Graham Fennymore saw off an early challenge from David Knox and series returnee Ted Murray to take another convincing win, despite an intermittent electrical problem. Murray overhauled Knox for second on the fourth lap but was unable to catch the runaway Fennymore. Chris Bialan finished fourth, behind Knox, with Gary Halcrow and Clive Coote fifth and sixth. The R400 of Alastair Chalmers collected the Invitation Class prize.

There were different drivers at the wheel of the HayFisher and Acre Jean CSRs for race two but the battle between them was no less intense. Newcomer Glew demonstrated his adaptability in qualifying, pipping Clive Richards to the pole by three-tenths and, though beaten to the first corner by his more experienced rival, he repassed him to lead on the opening lap.

Richards and Glew swapped the lead several more times before Clive managed to pull a second's breathing space by the 10th lap. Unfortunately for him all his good work was undone by a safety car period necessitated by a crash between the CSRs of Thomas Klein and Peter Schmidt-Loffler. Glew got the drop on Richards at the restart and forcefully fended off Clive's attempts to repass; Philip looked set to record a win on his debut.

Unfortunately for Glew his plan came unstuck on the final lap when he tangled with a backmarker at the Old Hairpin; Clive seized his chance as Philip sorted himself out, nipping through the chaos to claim a nine-second victory. Tommasi was the grateful recipient of second place, the London-based Italian crossing the line nine seconds behind his team leader after recovering from a mid-race interlude behind Reader.

Glew recovered to third, thwarting Reader's attempts to pass him on the final lap, with Nick Phillips an excellent fifth, his pace not blunted by six months out of the cockpit. Brewster took sixth.

His electrical gremlins traced and cured moments before the off, Fennymore was on devastating form in the Superlight division, passing early leader Knox on the second lap and romping to his seventh race win of the season. For good measure he lowered Murray's lap record, set in the first race, by two-tenths of a second.

Thanks to the safety car period Murray was closer to the winner this time, and well ahead of third-placed David Bend. Bialan, Terry Clark and Sean Nash completed the top six. Simon Harris was the Invitation Class winner.

The one-hour endurance race provided even more of the same dramatic action, with Bull once again up against Hay in the opening stint and the two CSRs locked in combat for the lead right up to the opening of the pit-stop window. Hay was the first of the leading duo to break for the pits, Bull following him in three laps later.

With their new pilots on board, however, the tussle between them came to an end: Clive Richards emerged from the stops with a second's lead over Philip Glew and he was able to pull away to claim victory by 3.9 seconds. It seems all to have been in the tyres: "Our left rear was not in as good shape as theirs," said Bull. "For some reason it had worn more and Philip didn't have the pace."

Added Richards: "I was relieved that Philip didn't seem to be able to stay with me. This hat-trick of wins is just what we needed. After two seasons of finishing second in the title race it gives us real hope that we might be able to pull it off at last this year."

Tommasi once again made the podium, taking third place some five seconds ahead of Reader, who put in another gritty solo drive. Johnstone made up for his sprint race disappointments to claim fifth ahead of fellow Scots Brewster and Iain Cowie.

Fennymore's drive to Superlight class victory was remarkable by any standard. A gearbox change before the race was completed minutes after he should have been on the grid, and he was forced to start the race from pit lane well after the rest had departed.

But Graham, who completed the opening lap 56 seconds behind his only class rival, Chris Bialan, was not deterred. "I thought I didn't stand a chance but after a few laps I could see Chris in the distance and it was a question of reeling him in, inch by inch." Fennymore seized the lead nine laps from the end to complete his Donington hat-trick and collect Eurocup win number eight. Simon Harris was once again the Invitation class winner.

Provisional results: CSR Masters
Round 7 Donington Park 2 June
24 laps / 46.97 miles
1, Richard Hay, GB/CSR 260, 32m 27.530s, 86.83mph
2, Michele Tommasi, ITA/CSR 260, +5.028s
3, Sarah Reader, GB/CSR 260, +6.377s
4, James Forbes, RSA/CSR 260, +34.083s
5, George Brewster, GB/CSR 260, +39.958s
6, Nigel Bent, GB/CSR 260, +43.486s
Fastest lap: Hay 1m 13.590s / 95.75mph

Round 8 Donington Park 2 June
23 laps / 45.02 miles
1, Clive Richards, GB/CSR 260, 32m 50.262s, 82.25mph
2, Michele Tommasi, ITA/CSR 260, +9.036s
3, Philip Glew, GB/CSR 260, +11.727s
4, Sarah Reader, GB/CSR 260, +12.196s
5, Nick Phillips, GB/CSR 260, +17.432s
6, George Brewster, GB/CSR 260, +1m 02.936s
Fastest lap: Richards 1m 12.957s / 96.58mph

Round 9 Donington Park 3 June
48 laps / 93.95 miles
1, Richard Hay/Clive Richards, GB/CSR 260, 1h 4m 7.783s, 87.90mph
2, Oliver Bull/Philip Glew, GB/CSR 260, +3.902s
3, Michele Tommasi, ITA/CSR 260, +53.444s
4, Sarah Reader, GB/CSR 260, +59.346s
5, Malcolm Johnstone, GB/CSR 260, 47 laps
6, George Brewster/Iain Cowie, GB/CSR 260, 47 laps
Fastest lap: Richards 1m 13.040s / 96.47mph

Provisional points placings
1 Hay/Richards 176 points; 2 Bull 129; 3 Tommasi 120; 4 Johnstone 106; 5 Reader 91; =6 Kurt Hoffmann, Thomas Klein/Pascal Engel 75; 8 Olivier Guerin 69; 9 Herve Cordel 66; 10 Wolfgang Becker 63 etc.

Provisional results: Eurocup Superlight
Round 7 Donington Park 2 June
24 laps / 46.97 miles
1, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, 33m 22.973s, 84.43mph
2, Ted Murray, GB/Superlight, +16.715s
3, David Knox, GB/Superlight, 23 laps
4, Chris Bialan, GB/Superlight, 23 laps
5, Gary Halcrow, GB/Superlight, 23 laps
6, Clive Coote, GB/Superlight, 23 laps
Fastest lap: Murray 1m 16.163s / 92.51mph Record

Round 8 Donington Park 2 June
23 laps / 45.02 miles
1, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, 34m 01.130s, 79.40mph
2, Ted Murray, GB/Superlight, +3.525s
3, David Bend, GB/Superlight, 22 laps
4, Chris Bialan, GB/Superlight, 22 laps
5, Terry Clark, GB/Superlight, 22 laps
6, Sean Nash, GB/Superlight, 22 laps
Fastest lap: Fennymore 1m 15.904s / 92.83mph Record

Round 9 Donington Park 3 June
45 laps / 88.08 miles
1, Graham Fennymore, GB/Superlight, 1h 4m 13.606s, 82.28mph
2, Chris Bialan, GB/Superlight, +23.720s

Provisional points placings
Sprint 1 Fennymore 118 points; 2 Coote 75; 3 Bialan 65; 4 Halcrow 51; =5 Steve Frost & Bill Addison 44 etc
Endurance 1 Fennymore 60; 2 Bialan 36; 3 Coote 33 etc.

Next rounds: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 3/4 August

Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cheesman Products, Circuit Driver, Cooper-Avon Tyres, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC Insurance Brokers, Mitchell Cotts, Motorsport News, Stack and Steel Fabrications.

04.06.2007