Griffiths didn’t have an easy time of it, though, as Andrew Hibberd in another Lotus 11 challenged for first place during the early stages of the race as the pair broke away from the proceeding pack led by the Lolas of Nick Finburgh and Billy Bellinger who battled for third. Bellinger’s silver machine ultimately triumphed after some inch-perfect racing around the Chicane and would challenge Griffiths into the end of the race. By this point, Hibberd’s #11 had stopped in the daisies, suffering a race-ending mechanical failure.
That left Griffiths to slice his way through the backmarkers, almost coming a cropper when car #39 strayed across his bow. Bellinger and third-placed Finburgh’s chasing Lolas suffered worse in the traffic, allowing Griffiths to open up a seven-second lead. Finburgh, meanwhile, fell into the clutches of Jacob Holstein’s #19 car, tearing past in pursuit of Bellinger, setting personal-best lap times as he went.
Holstein’s hunger proved to be his undoing. With Bellinger just two car lengths in front, snap oversteer sent him into the bank on the home straight, obliterating the nose of his #19 Lotus, leaving him hammering the rim of the now (very bent) steering wheel.
The Jaguar E-type safety car took to the track while the marshals retrieved large chunks of Lotus from the start-finish straight, but the battle for first was soon underway as Bellinger rallied in the closing laps of the race.
Ultimately, Griffiths managed to pull ahead as the pair sped through traffic and took a comfortable victory after Dalglish sacrificed third place with a trip off track. The result was Miles Griffiths’ third Madgwick Cup win in succession.
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