02/06/2026
Latest from the Woodford Trailers British Sprint Championship - Double strike for Faulkner: John Loudon reports:
Still full of early season enthusiasm, Woodford Trailers British Sprint Championship competitors made the first annual journey to the fantastically well-organised BARC Wales Pembrey Summer Sprint weekend. The weather promised some respite from the recent tropical heatwave and this thankfully arrived on cue, as the usual queueing outside the gates to get access to the circuit would otherwise have been unbearable. This would have been particularly problematic for Steve Miles who, having been testing his Van Diemen at Llandow Circuit en route, saw his drive-by-wire motor actuator arm self-destruct, requiring emergency repairs to be carried in the queue, with components and help being provided by fellow competitor Steve Broughton.
Joining in with BSC competitors for the first time in a while was returning competitor Craig Sampson in his Vauxhall-powered works SBD Westfield mod prod car, dipping his toe in the Challenge Cup as well as Victor Porrett, nephew of Championship elder stateman Grahame, in his Empire EVO who was just gaining experience. Ex-Challenge Cup competitor Phil Montgomery Smith was also competing and mixing it with the BSC crowd, having made the long trip from St Austell in Cornwall. Pete Goulding was again missing as he recuperates from recent knee replacement surgery, while Terry Holmes was busy preparing for his forthcoming holiday.
Practice and qualifying for run-off one saw Grahame Harden still struggling with binding brake issues, despite having replaced all of the brake components on his Force TA SL since Blyton. Steve Miles’ emergency repairs didn’t last very long, so further assistance was sought from Steve Broughton and now Craig Sampson, who between them were able to save the day. The Mike Taylor / Cathy Sewart Mygale had developed a major oil leak, the cause of which was eluding them until Graham Porrett spotted a popped-out grommet which was pushed home to stem the flow. Steve Brown had a scare by spinning 360° at the Hatchets hairpin on his first attempt, but stayed on track and made the cut. Simon Wallis managed to lose a front wing end plate in the pit lane but it was sadly not able to be refitted, having been run over by John Loudon who was following him and mistook it as being something of insignificance.
Run-off one again saw the formidable Ethan Faulkner heading the timing sheets with a new class record, followed by Steve Broughton who would have also broken it, had it not been for Ethan’s speed. Team Faulkner were two members down due to holidaying in Canada, but Ethan still delivered and reported back. Steve Miles’ issues now seemed to be behind him, and he bagged an impressive third, followed by John Loudon in the smallest-engined car of the field, who was regretting not having hit the apex at Hatchets hairpin on both laps, which had cost him time. Steve Brown followed in fifth, having made sure he finished, given his near miss in qualifying. Grahame Harden was enjoying the virtues of downforce for the first time in his racing career, and set a new sub-1700cc sports libre record, even though being hindered by binding brakes. Cathy Sewart and Mike Taylor were having a close battle in their shared Mygale for seventh and eighth, reaping the rewards of their winter developments. Simon Wallis seemed unhindered by his lack of a front wing endplate and of dash display and finished ninth, narrowly ahead of Porrett senior who was bemused to be going slower, despite having more horsepower than last year. Carole Torkington rounded off the points scorers in eleventh, still somewhat nervous about her OMS’s handling following a recent pushrod failure at Blyton two weeks prior.
Top 12 Run-off: Pembrey Nat Rd 11
1. Ethan Faulkner (1.6 Force TA) 91.22* (+0.00)
2. Steve Broughton (1.4 DJ Firehawk CT004) 92.54 (+1.32)
3. Stephen Miles (2.0 Van Diemen RF96mm) 95.52 (+4.30)
4. John Loudon (1.0 Force TA) 96.29 (+5.07)
5. Steven Brown (1.3s RLM Empire Evo2) 97.87 (+6.65)
6. Grahame Harden (1.4 Force TA-SL) 98.22 (+7.00)
7. Cathy Sewart (1.6t Mygale EcoBoost) 103.21 (+11.99)
8. Mike Taylor (1.6t Mygale EcoBoost) 103.96 (+12.74)
9. Simon Wallis (1.1 OMS 3000M) 106.31 (+15.09)
10. Graham Porrett (1.6t Mygale FF 200) 107.93 (+16.71)
11. Carole Torkington (1.5 OMS CF08) 117.43 (+26.21)
Run-off two saw Ethan Faulkner again head Steve Broughton home, but by now the track had marginally gone off and times were generally slower. An oil leak had materialised on Ethan’s car and overnight investigations and temporary repairs were to immediately ensue once the affected area had become cool enough to touch. Steve Brown proved to be the exception to the rule and produced his best time of the day to finish third, with John Loudon again in fourth while Steve Miles slipped to fifth, despite no obvious degradation to how the car felt. Grahame Harden also proved an exception and again broke his class record in sixth. Mike Taylor came seventh in the shared Mygale, but sadly, this was the last time the car was to complete a run as a major accident ensued when Cathy took the wheel, apexing too early at the Esses and exiting onto the grass, spiralling into the outer barriers and badly damaging both ends of the car. Thankfully, Cathy was unharmed and the car will be repairable given time. Simon Wallis missed out on gaining a place by a mere three-hundredths of a second, but managed to stay ahead of the slowly improving Graham Porrett and Carole Torkington in ninth and tenth respectively. A point of note was that Philip Montgomery Smith would have been a real threat for top honours had he been registered in the Championship as he was producing some epic times in his supercharged OMS 2000. Sadly for him, however, his OMS parted company with a front wheel and he retired early from the weekend.
Top 12 Run-off: Pembrey Nat Rd 12
1. Ethan Faulkner (1.6 Force TA) 92.10 (+0.00)
2. Steve Broughton (1.4 DJ Firehawk CT004) 92.92 (+0.82)
3. Steven Brown (1.3s RLM Empire Evo2) 96.03 (+3.93)
4. John Loudon (1.0 Force TA) 96.10 (+4.00)
5. Stephen Miles (2.0 Van Diemen RF96mm) 96.98 (+4.88)
6. Grahame Harden (1.4 Force TA-SL) 97.97* (+5.87)
7. Mike Taylor (1.6t Mygale EcoBoost) 104.07 (+11.97)
8. Simon Wallis (1.1 OMS 3000M) 104.10 (+12.00)
9. Graham Porrett (1.6t Mygale FF 200) 106.23 (+14.13)
10. Carole Torkington (1.5 OMS CF08) 120.17 (+28.07)
BSC Positions after Pembrey Nat Rd 12 30/5/26
1. Ethan Faulkner (1.6 Force TA) 314 points
2. Stephen Miles (2.0 Van Diemen RF96mm) 266 points
3. John Loudon (1.0 Force TA) 260 points
4. Steven Brown (1.3s RLM Empire Evo2) 229 points
5. Grahame Harden (1.4 Force TA-SL) 202 points
6. Mike Taylor (1.6t Mygale EcoBoost) 188 points
7. Cathy Sewart (1.6t Mygale EcoBoost) 179 points
8. Graham Blackwell (1.6t Mygale FF 200) 166 points
9. Steve Broughton (1.4 DJ Firehawk CT004) 143 points
9=. Graham Porrett (1.6t Mygale FF 200) 143 points
11. Peter Goulding (1.6t Mygale FF 200) 137 points
12. Simon Wallis (1.1 OMS 3000M) 136 points
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