Race Report: CSCC Turbo Tin Tops at Mallory Park

It may be early in the 2026 season, but a chance to sample a different race series would always be welcome. In this case, it was a debut in the Classic Sports Car Club's Fox Transport Turbo Tin Tops Series, catering exclusively to front wheel drive, turbo and supercharged cars, combining its grid with the Puma Cup

Qualifying

On a bright, but slightly chilled morning, qualifying would get underway. Almost immediately, there was relief aboard the #41 Team HORNET Renault Megane as all of the gears were accessible, unlike the opening event of the season at Brands Hatch. The replacement of the linkage assembly had seemingly cured the car of its primary ailment, though it would soon become apparent that further adjustments to the cockpit shifter mechanism would be required to suit the new linkage.

Out on track, a brand new set of previously-untried Vitour Tempesta P1 tyres was proving to be another facet to adapt to, the tyres initially providing very little in the way of grip until nice and warm, causing a few nervy moments through the final sweeping bend of Devil's Elbow. Lap times were somewhat disappointing, until a planned pitstop and tyre pressure adjustment saw the car's handling change dramatically.

Lap times were coming down consistently, until a substantial incident involving the #33 Ford Puma of Harry Sherrard and Thomas Reid made contact with the #50 Audi TT of Wayne Shorney at the Devil's Elbow, sending both cars into a violent impact with the wall on the outside of the corner. The session was red-flagged almost immediately, and the return journey to the pits would reveal the extent of the problem. Large sections of the barrier had been knocked completely flat, blocking the pit entry. Shorney's Audi was perched on top of the tyre wall, making recovery even more inexpedient.

The session was clearly not going to be restarted, so the best time of 52.800 would serve as the best that the #41 would set, good enough for 4th place on the overall grid, and 3rd in class TA.

Race

A lingering threat of rain in the distance cast a shadow over the start of the race, which would see the #41 machine hold on to 4th on the road for the opening tour. However, concerns over the tyres lack of predictability when cold caused slight hesitation through the Devil's Elbow, allowing Bradley Horton's #99 Class TD Ford Fiesta to get a run down the start finish straight multiple times in the early stages of the race. On lap 3, Horton made his move to the outside of the long right-hander at Gerrard's. As the cars emerged from Gerrard's and onto the Stebbe Straight, the ear of the Fiesta abruptly broke away, sending it sliding towards the Megane. Somehow, by a margin of millimetres, the Ford and Renault never quite touched. Sean Wortley was considerably less fortunate in his class TC #999 Mini Cooper. Horton valiantly kept his Fiesta off the Megane, but that now saw it slide the other way into the side of the Mini, ripping off one of the rear wheels. As Wortley spun through the grass, the car dug in and rolled, bringing about an immediate race suspension.

It was during this suspension in the race that a truly bizarre set of circumstances occurred. The grid was reformed with a new grid sheet, but instead of lining up where the #41 had been observed to be on the road, TSL showed the car running 14th, at the very back of the field. The Team HORNET machine was initially pushed behind the Puma Cup cars, despite their 10-second start delay. A degree of common sense would prevail, and the Megane was shifted up to the back of the Turbo Tin Tops field.

This wasn't the end of the confusion, as when the lights went out, four of the Puma Cup entries failed to observe the 10-second start delay, heavily bunching the field into Gerrard's on the opening tour. Fortunately, this time things would remain clean throughout the field. Mired at the back, a strategic gamble was thrown by Team HORNET to undertake their mandatory pit stop as soon as the pit window opened, taking advantage of clearer track away from the pack to set decent lap times and undercut the opposition.

This would have the downside of setting up a slightly more lonely race from this point onwards for the #41 machine, with very little interaction with the other Turbo Tin Tops entries for the remainder of the race, instead regularly mixing it up with the Puma Cup cars as they swarmed in close proximity to each other.

The race would conclude 20 minutes after the restart, just half of the intended run time before the incidents had delayed the timetable. Team Hornet would cross the line in 2nd place overall, winning class TA in a highly unexpected result.

Team HORNET will return to Mallory Park for the next event, returning to the CMMCS Production Saloons on May 23rd