Local sons did their best to make their fathers’ days at the Castle Combe circuit’s Summer Motorsport Carnival, writes John Moon.

For the first time, Combe combined elements of rallying with racing, courtesy of a visit from Tour Britannia.

With the Tour making up most of Saturday’s programme, it was the circuit’s home championships which dominated on Sunday, all three being double-headers which would prove vital to drivers’ championship points.

Making the biggest improvement to his Formula Ford 1600 championship standing was Bradford on Avon’s David Vivian who, until this weekend had endured a disappointing season with his Wiltshire College Swift SC92.

Qualifying 13th on the grid and fourth in class B for both races, gave Vivian a seemingly-impossible task to claim victory over the previously-untouchable Adam Higgins from Chippenham.

Despite problems with an unsuitable top gear ratio and handling, Higgins again claimed class pole in his elderly Van Diemen RF90 with 18 year old Luke Cooper, from Yatton Keynell, a fine second despite his engine giving up the ghost in the family’s Swift SC92.

Race one saw Vivian making rapid progress after a flying start, holding fifth place behind Higgins at the end of lap one, taking the class lead and fourth overall second time around and holding those positions to the finish, a class fastest lap adding to his points.

But the Swift was far from healthy, Vivian explaining: “It was getting hot so I was watching the gauge all the time and pulled in straight after the flag.”

Cooper was fifth overall and second in class with Higgins dropping to seventh overall and fourth in class.

Pole man Rob Hall shared the lead with fastest lapper, Saltford’s Steven Jensen, but was ahead at the end, with Josh Fisher deposing Jensen to third at Quarry on the ninth lap.

The shortened 10-lap second race saw similar progress from Vivian who took other fourth overall and class win, with Higgins second this time and seventh overall.

“I wasn’t going to go out because of the overheating problems, but we got the air out of the system and decided to give it a go. I’m glad we did. This is for my dad (Richard) because it was Father’s Day,” added Vivian. Cooper took third in class and eighth overall.

The Hall, Jensen and Fisher battle was joined for a while by Melksham’s Ed Moore, who qualified his new Ray third but had to give way to Vivian on lap six to come home fifth.

The podium featured the same trio as race one but with Jensen on the second step, five seconds clear of Fisher.

Trowbridge scrap merchant Andrew Shanley, also enjoyed a day at the circuit with his father Terry, picking up two second places in the circuit’s Sports and GT championship race in his Radical Prosport.

In both races Shanley made great starts from the outside of the front row, but the superior power from the turbo-charged Radical SR3 of Simon Tilling came through, leaving Shanley clear of the Wrington’s Smith family who took third places in each race, son Josh in race one and father Darcy in race two.

Chippenham’s Ian Hall was an easy class B winner in both races, despite his Darrian Wildcat T98-GTR not running cleanly throughout.

Yate’s Nick Charles impressed in the Castle Combe Saloon Car championship races for the National Mobile Windscreens 40th anniversary trophy.

The reigning champion once again occupied the front row of the grid in his little B class Peugeot 106, finishing a close second behind pole sitter Bristol’s Mark Wyatt in race one and claiming a superb outright victory in race two.

His main rival for the 2011 title, David Kift from Bristol, took third overall and second in class in race one, retiring in race two .

Tony Dolley in the 206 was second in race two with Atworth’s Rob Ballard fourth and fifth overall in his 460 bhp SEAT Leon.

With around half that power in his Mini, the previous round’s winner, Trowbridge’s Mark Funnell, was seventh overall in race two.

Calne’s Tony Hutchings was seventh and fourth in his Audi TT.

After an early morning ‘stage’ using almost two laps of the circuit on Saturday, the Tour Britannia returned for two races in the afternoon.

Ian Ashley, the former Williams Grand Prix driver and Danny Sullivan, former Indianapolis 500 winner and Tyrrell driver, took the first two places in race one.

Ashley won from the back of the grid in his Caterham R500 from Sullivan’s Porsche RSR.

David Smithies, from Flax Bourton, performed a similar feat in race two to take second in his Mk1 Escort behind the giant Shelby Cobra of Mark Freeman.