2003 Auto Italia Round 3, Castle Combe
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Round 3 of Auto Italia, visits the fast and bumpy Castle Combe circuit near Chippenham, the home of Cozens Racing and the first outing for the new Alfa 33. I arrived a day early having transported the Scott Racing & Imagika Sports Alfa 33 to the circuit to ensure an early start for the 7am scrutineering. After a wet night, qualifying would be a little slippy as the track was still very damp, but Charles, Graham and Jackie all opted for slicks in the absence of any standing water. In the paddock, parked opposite us was a bright red Aston Martin to be raced later in the day by Rowan Atkinson, and as the day progressed, the number of autograph hunters increased progressively. I offered, but no-one seemed to want mine. Clearly not as famous as Glenn Stokes after all! For the race, Charles' new car would start from the front row, and got a good start as the rolling grid crossed the line. In an incident free race, he would eventually finish a creditable third in class to kick start the season, but with plenty more potential still to be realised. Meanwhile Graham Scott took the bull by the horns and powered through the grid in his 1.7 litre Alfa 33, passing several of the 2 litre Alfa 156 contingent on his way to a class win. |
