Mallory Park Finale Delivers a Vintage Thriller

The Vintage Sports-Car Club brought its 2026 race season to a close at Mallory Park on Saturday 15 August. The compact Leicestershire circuit providing the perfect setting for a busy afternoon of historic motorsport for the Mallory Park VSCC Finale.

Mallory Park may be relatively short, but it remains a challenging circuit with fast corners, elevation changes and excellent spectator viewing. Located at the centre of the circuit, the paddock lets enthusiasts see and hear the cars at close quarters, adding to the relaxed atmosphere for which VSCC meetings are so well known.

The day began with practice sessions, as engines fired up, warmed through and occasionally needed some persuasion to get going. Throughout the paddock, competitors and mechanics worked beneath bonnets, making last-minute adjustments before racing began. As is often the case with historic machinery, not everyone enjoyed a trouble-free morning, with one or two cars making an early return to the pits aboard recovery vehicles.

By lunchtime the sun had finally broken through, just in time for the ODM Grid Walk, allowing spectators to get even closer to the cars and drivers before the afternoon’s eight-race programme got underway.

Once racing began, Mallory Park delivered plenty of action.

Austin 7s, Bugattis and Pre-War Racing

The Mallory Mug Race for Pre-War Sports Cars brought together an evocative collection of machinery, including Adam Moody in the Riley TT Sprite. With cars sliding and working hard around Mallory’s fast bends, the race provided exactly the kind of spectacle expected from the VSCC.

Another highlight was the Burghley Trophy for Austin 7s and Historic Austin 7s. Among the competitors was Peter Marsh in the Austin 7 Pigsty. Several of the Austin 7s competing at Mallory are expected to be back in action in only a few weeks’ time at the famous Circuit des Remparts at Angoulême, one of France’s best-known historic street racing events.

The Boulogne Trophy Scratch Race offered another fascinating clash of marques and eras. William Way in the Bugatti Type 37 GP was among those taking part, competing against machinery including an MG Parnell K3, a car with links to Reg Parnell and the great pre-war racing venues of Donington Park and Brooklands.

One of the most distinctive contests on the programme was the Handicap Race for Pre-War Cars. Rather than everybody starting together, cars are released at different times according to their expected pace, the theory being that the entire field should converge towards the finish together.

It is a format that adds an extra layer of intrigue for spectators, with faster cars working their way through the field as the laps count down. Among those taking part were Nick Leston in the Lovell Elkhart Sprint Racer and Holger Reuss in Alvin’s Firebird Special.

Mallory Park VSCC Finale Produces a Final-Race Thriller

But the race of the day came in the Allcomers and Vintage Scratch Race for Pre-’66 cars.

The grid itself was impressive, featuring cars such as Frederick Harper’s Kurtis Indy Roadster and Max Sowerby’s Cooper T43, but attention soon centred on a superb battle between Jon Milicevic in the Cooper T59 and Rufus Flann in the Lotus 22.

Lap after lap the pair traded places, running in extremely close company and giving the Mallory crowd a proper wheel-to-wheel contest. Neither driver seemed able to establish a decisive advantage, and as the race entered its closing stages it appeared certain the result would go right down to the wire.

VSCC Allcomers and Vintage Scratch Race decisive moment.

Approaching the downhill section towards the start-finish straight, the leading pair caught a backmarker. With only a handful of opportunities remaining, #190 Flann seized his chance, using the traffic to perfection and sweeping past #60 Milicevic into the lead to take the win.

It was the move that decided a brilliant race and provided a fitting headline to the VSCC’s final race meeting of the season.

Mallory Park once again proved that historic motorsport does not need enormous grids, huge speeds or acres of run-off to produce entertaining racing. With its intimate paddock, excellent viewing and challenging layout, the circuit suited the VSCC perfectly.

From pre-war Austin 7s and Bugattis to Coopers and Lotuses battling wheel-to-wheel, the meeting offered a little of everything that makes the Vintage Sports-Car Club special.

A fine circuit, wonderful machinery and a final-race thriller, a fitting way to bring the 2026 VSCC racing season to a close.

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Thanks to Jeff Silver Photography for the images and narrative in this Mallory Park VSCC Finale 2026 report. Additional images are by David Harbey, you can find out more about these photographers by following the links below.