2024: Barton Racing Fast Forward
Another ambitious season kicked off early for Barton Racing with a visit to America in mid-January, where Harry Barton, with Nigel Greensall co-driving, completed six races at Sebring over just one weekend. Result. Total reliability from the almost new Toyota Supra GT4 EVO, and five podium places, including a fine 3rd overall in the headlining six hours of endurance. Flushed with success the team returned to Europe and the final round in the GT4 Winter Series (13-16 February), consisting of two thirty-minute sprints and a longer one hour, two-driver race on the Sunday. Against the best in the business, and a full grid, Harry and Nigel were 3rd Pro/Am pairing overall, whilst maintaining their 100 percent finishing record.
The 2024 UK historic race season opened with a disappointing Masters test day at Donington on 19 March. Great plans for unveiling our Lister Storm and BMW 2002 Schnitzer came to nothing, both cars unfinished, while the BMW TiSA blew its differential early on. Smart work by Retro Engineering had the car out in the closing afternoon session but, all-in-all, everybody returned home frustrated. This depressive start to the season continued at Spa-Francorchamps (25-28 April, where the TVR had its engine let go during practice. An overnight switch saw Harry and Ollie Reuben put the car on pole for the three-hour race. Victory then looked decidedly possibly and we went into Sunday upbeat. Sadly, one hour into the race, the second engine began giving off ominous rattling noises, forcing retirement. It was, as they say, early doors. On a brighter note, George Barton took his outrageous Barton Racing, road-going, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat to Santa Pod Raceway and hit 10.913 seconds, terminal speed 125mph over the quarter mile. There was, George said with a wry smile, “plenty more to come.”
MRL: Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup, 4 May. Historic motor racing is a cruel and expensive mistress. After missing out badly at Spa, Barton Racing had just seven days to pick itself up, bite the bullet, and have the TVR ready for this tough three-hour race at Donington Park. Reuben Racing pulled out all the stops, burned the midnight oil and the Griffith was there on the grid, polished, primed, and ready to go. And what a cracker of a race it turned out to be. Positions between the lead four cars switched back and fro, compulsory pit stops and driver changes adding to the drama. With only minutes remaining nothing was settled. Harry pushed hard, finishing fourth, no more than a coat of paint between him and John Davison, and just 35 seconds behind the leader, after three hours! No prizes, but proof the TVR was back on form, with a promise of more to come. Then, 15 May saw Harry testing at Silverstone, trying out suspension mods on the Toyota. Weather conditions were far from perfect but incremental changes proved positive. It was time well spent.
Brands Hatch: Masters Historic Festival, 25-26 May. The TVR Griffith and Harry were up against some fierce opposition in the Pre-66 GT and Sports Car race, with plenty of V8s let loose on this demanding 2.4-mile Grand Prix circuit. It was a full-on encounter with Harry always up amongst the leaders. Sadly, the car seemed to go off song in the closing stages with traction and handling issues, so when the flag fell after 80 minutes the team had to be content with fifth overall. Later investigation showed up a cracked chassis. In the Pre-66 Touring Car race the BMW TiSA performed well with Harry gaining 10 places, finishing 14th overall, and taking a class win.
Next on the agenda, a complete change of atmosphere: Le Mans FunCup 2024. A four-hour, flat out blast, with over 100 Volkswagen Beetle lookalikes providing entertainment for both driver, and spectators. Once again, Harry and Nigel Greensall were sharing a car. This time a multi-coloured racer with a propensity to lift its front wheel under the slightest provocation. Harry/Nigel kept away from trouble during qualifying, landing up an unheard of, 91st on the grid. Thus, next day it was do or die. Amazingly, the pair did more doing, than dying, and rose quickly through the ranks, at one time holding 30th position. But it was too good to last. Various penalties flew their way, mostly without foundation, for this was a race where the organisers interpreted rules depending whether it was before, or after, lunch.
Zandvoort, 21-23 June: Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars, Round 2. With the TVR Griffith ‘hors de combat’, awaiting a chassis rebuild, only the BMW 1800 TiSA was available for this popular gathering among the sand dunes. Again, Harry drove well, finishing a hard earned 3rd overall, picking up maximum points and another class win along the way.
Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars, Round 3. Motor racing takes you to new and exciting places, some absolutely steeped in associated history. Such is Brno, deep in the Czech Republic and a thousand kilometres from Calais. A long haul for Retro Engineering from our base in Worcestershire but, all agreed, it was worth it, if only for the Pilsner lager! The original 18-mile road course (longer even than the Nurburgring) has been mostly built over but there still remains a tricky, man-made, undulating circuit threading its way 3.35 miles through deep forest. And its abrasive surface, combined with 32 degrees of mid-summer heat, made the weekend really hard on tyres. In fact, Harry faced little competition and took an easy class win, third in a row.
Next, 3-4 August. Another weekend, another Masters race meeting, this time a return to Barton Racing’s home track, Donington Park. After the holiday atmosphere at Brno, the team, with three cars entered (a refreshed TVR, the faithful BMW TiSA and our modern Toyota Supra GT4), preparers Reuben Racing, Retro Engineering and Geoff Steel Racing were all going to be hard pushed. For us, the weekend started with Thursday testing, concentrating mostly on the TVR Griffith, now with new chassis and overhauled transmission. Harry was busy, busy, not forgetting he was also competing three times during Saturday/Sunday. Again, the 1965 BMW TiSA, although losing top gear late on, provided him with yet another class win, and the Toyota, an invited car in the Masters GT Trophy Series, with Nigel Greensall helping out as second driver, completed two 45-minute outings without fault. This just left the small matter of one 90-minute endurance race on Sunday, where the TVR, shared by Harry and Ollie, claimed third spot on a TVR Griffith-dominated grid. This was historic racing of the highest order. Until the pit-stop all things were possible, but premature release, coupled to a pit lane penalty, relegated the pair to fourth overall. Disappointing maybe, but proof that the car was back, and a force to be reckoned with.
Silverstone Festival, 23-25 August: Without doubt this meeting, with full grids, and loved by spectators, is the UK’s number one historic race meeting. It was also a memorable one for Barton racing, the first time Harry had driven four races in a weekend. The BMW TiSA won its class (fifth in a row), but things didn’t quite work out for the Toyota when heavy rain intervened, and all the hard work put in by Harry came to nothing. On Sunday, he was invited to drive a rare, ex-Le Mans Mosler MT900R in Masters Endurance Legends, but myriad mechanical problems side-lined the car almost immediately. This just left the 50-minute International Trophy for Classic Pre-66 GT Cars. And what a race. Fifty-four cars packed the grid and, when the flag fell, the TVR Griffith charged through into third, a position Harry made his own, waiting for the two duelling Shelby Daytonas at the front to make a mistake. It never happened and a well-disciplined Harry, keeping out of trouble, finished this real crowd pleaser just four seconds behind. In the meantime, brother George had again appeared at Santa Pod Raceway where, during the Mopar Euro Nationals, he set a new personal best of 10.729 seconds for the quarter mile, hitting 127mph across the line, winning himself the coveted ‘Fastest Modern’ Mopar Trophy.
The Barton family love Morgans, so when the chance to drive a 2009 Morgan Aero Eight GT3, owned by Roger Whiteside, at Paul Ricard in the Peter Auto Endurance Racing Legends Series came along it was, as they say, a no-brainer. This was to be a long and very hot weekend (31 degrees constant) with a full day of testing, overcoming a few engine management problems before qualifying, and two races, split between Saturday and Sunday. It would be fair to say, Roger is more amateur than professional and enjoyed being coached by Harry. In fact, the pair worked really well together, and against stiff opposition brought the Morgan home 20th and 19th overall. After a great weekend it seemed a shame, returning to a wet and windy Britain.
Everything comes to he who waits. The TVR Griffith proved its worth at Silverstone on 19 October when it produced a convincing, season-topping, outright win in the MRL Pall Mall Cup three-hour endurance race in the hands of Harry Barton/Ollie Reuben. A wet qualifying put the car sixth on the grid, but drying conditions allowed Harry to take the lead on lap three. A lead that was maintained until the chequered flag. Nothing beats winning the final UK race of the year.
So, with the season in England done and dusted, Barton Racing disappeared to Portimao in Portugal, where Harry booked himself a drive in the Iberian Supercar GT4 Championship, behind the wheel of a lurid green Mercedes AMG, Nigel Greensall again providing suitable back-up. Another long, and not entirely satisfactory, four days, all the hard work put into testing and qualifying diluted when both 45-minute races were subjected to constant red flag and safety car interruptions. Nigel started race one, ninth on the 43-car grid, handing over to Harry at the halfway point. The pair went on to finish 12th. Harry started race two, and going well, but multi-car accidents through turn one and five meant an extended period trapped behind the safety car, then it was time to pit, where somehow Harry managed to pick up a penalty for speeding. Another prolonging accident and the race was cut short, leaving our bright green Mercedes and its two drivers well out of contention and bringing up the rear.
In closing and with Christmas just around the corner, planning for 2025 is well underway, with the emphasis on modern GT4 to further Harry’s ultimate goal, racing at Le Mans. Of course, and it goes without saying, that time has also been set aside in early January for testing the Lister Storm and the BMW 2002 Schnitzer, both eligible for Le Mans Classic, another goal of Barton Racing. Oh, and did I mention? George is building a classic drag racer so he can go even faster at Santa Pod