FELIX Fisher won the Guard’s Trophy at the Howard’s Day season opener on Easter Monday as Castle Combe Circuit celebrated half a century of Formula Ford racing.

The Somerset man was quickest in qualifying with a 1min 10.309secs lap, leaving him 0.366sec up on defending Castle Combe Racing Club Formula Ford Champion Luke Cooper, while sibling Josh Fisher and Roger Orgee filled row two, with the top four covered by less than nine-tenths of a second.

It was a similarly close-run affair in the two nail-biting races, and while Felix led the first from lights to flag, he was chased all the way by brother Josh, who slipped from second to fourth on the final tour after a late error, with Orgee snatching second and Cooper finishing third.

The second Formula Ford race was just as close and just as thrilling, although this time it was Josh Fisher that emerged victorious, 0.568sec up on Cooper, with Felix 0.120secs further back.

Still that was enough to give Felix the overall win and the 50-year commemorative Guards Trophy in memory of the very first sponsor of the Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship back in 1969.

Felix Fisher said: “I am really, really pleased. I thought we had the pace to compete at the front, and we have definitely got it. To get my first win here for about nine years is special. Roll on the rest of the year.

“It was very close and that is what Formula Ford is all about. None of us touched wheels throughout all of that mayhem and that is a credit to all of the drivers.”

In total, 19 of the 34 Castle Combe Formula Ford champions turned out to help the Wiltshire track mark its 50-year Formula Ford anniversary, with Bryan Sharp – Combe’s very first Formula Ford champion – among them.

Meanwhile, in the CCRC Pro Alloys Saloon Championship, it was another battle of the brothers, with pole sitter Adam Prebble and brother Gary locked in a race-long duel, that also initially included Calne’s Simon Thornton-Norris.

Adam eventually came out top to win by 7.450secs. Robert Ellick took the final podium spot, with Thornton-Norris ending up seventh and second in class B – two spots behind class winner Mark Wyatt and one spot up on Matt Parr, the class C victor.

The Reis Motorsport Insurance CCRC GT Championship saw Kevin Jones do the double in his Noble M12 RSR – he was also named driver of the day – while Tetbury’s David Krayem was second in both races and Oliver Bull twice took home bronze.

As for the Samco Sport CCRC Hot Hatch Challenge, Salisbury’s Craig Tomkinson took pole and led virtually throughout in his Vauxhall Nova to beat Chris Southcott by 5.287secs. Joe Dorrington was third.

Of the rest, in the Kumho BMW Championship, Garrie Whittaker was in a league of his own with pole and two wins, while Ben Tinkler also did the double in Classic Formula Ford. The 5Club Racing MX5 Cup race wins went to Ben Short (2) and Paul Bateman.

The Castle Combe Racing Club Championships resumes at the May Day Madness meeting on Monday, May 6.