The first race in the new-for-2010 Stirling Moss Trophy took place at the HSCC International meeting on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on 16th May, and saw a fantastically high-calibre grid of 37 cars line up for the start. The only disappointment was that Stirling himself was unable to race, having not yet fully recovered from his recent accident. When invited to come and simply spectate, he replied, “The thought of being there and not driving is as bad as going to a dance and not hoping to pick someone up.”

On the day, it was Alan and Jason Minshaw in their Maserati T61 ‘Birdcage’ who won the 50-minute race for genuine, pre-1961 sportscars and sports-racers. The father and son team had much to celebrate: not only a win, but Alan’s 75th birthday the following day.

Intense competition throughout the race saw the lead change many times. Jamie McIntyre started his Lister Chevrolet from pole, but received a 10-second penalty for ‘jumping’ the rolling start. This allowed Graham Dodd’s Cooper Monaco to take the lead for a brief period, only to drop back – and retire on lap five. From lap three, it was Peter Horsman’s Lotus 17 that headed the pack, a lead he maintained right up till his pit-stop.

New rules introduced by Motor Racing Legends for the pit-stops had a significant effect on the running. While two-driver entries were free to stop as briefly as possible, single-driver cars were required to pit for a full minute.

Single drivers Jamie McIntyre and Peter Horsman both chose to pit fairly late, by which time Alan Minshaw, biding his time in a steady 4th or 5th place, had handed over to son Jason – who was able to press home the advantage and win. Meanwhile, the Lister Jaguar of Tony Wood and Alasdair McCaig, starting from fifth on the grid, was able to move up to second place overall. Peter Horsman’s Lotus 17 took third – just half a second ahead of fourth-placed Jamie McIntyre, who pushed right to the end, scooping fastest lap of the race on the very last lap.

Other class winners included another father and son pairing, Chris and Ollie Phillips in their Lola Mk1, Stephen Bond’s much-admired Lister Bristol, and the Rejo MkIV of Miles Griffiths – this latter in a class of just three cars, where all three finished on the same lap after some feisty racing. Finally, in an ironic ‘hare and tortoise’ twist, the AC Aces found themselves up against Cooper Monacos in Class 5, for disc-braked cars under 2000cc. While this might seem an unequal contest, both Cooper Monacos failed to finish – leaving the AC Ace of Alex Bell and Steve Stanton to scoop a well-deserved class victory.

The next round of the 2010 Stirling Moss Trophy, sponsored by J.D. Classics, is at Dijon, on 19-20 June.