SUN, SAND & A SEA BREEZE COULD ONLY MEAN ONE THING – THE MINIS RETURNED TO ZANDVOORT ON THE NETHERLANDS COAST TO PUT ON A DAZZLING DISPLAY OF CLASSIC RACING AMONG THE DUNES

The first treble-header of the season saw all four classes together on the 2.646-mile GP circuit, qualifying on Saturday morning producing pole positions for Rupert Deeth, Ian Fraser, Damien Harrington and Joel Wren in Miglia, Libre, Se7en and S-Class respectively.

From the off it was action all the way, Saturday afternoon’s opener requiring a rolling restart after Darren Thomas’ Se7en collected the barrier at Schievlak, before Deeth went on to secure overall victory from the equally close Kane Astin, Ian Curley and Aaron Smith, the latter having started from pitlane after an engine glitch on the initial grid. Fraser triumphed in Libre but only after a dogged chase of Julian Proctor who made an early break, Phil Harvey taking 3rd ahead of Belgian racer Pieter Van Cleemputte, making a welcome return after his previous effort a few seasons ago. Se7en honours fell to Harrington after a titanic dice with Ross Billison, as Spencer Wanstall and Glen Woodbridge shadowed them across the line. Despite the best efforts of the Birkett bothers, Olly and Louis, out front it was Wren who made good use of traffic to keep the advantage in S-Class.

Sunday morning may have seen more clouds looming off of the ‘Nord Zee’, but the temperature onshore and on-track never dropped, once again the leading Miglia quartet freely swapping positions until Astin timed his move to take the chequered flag in front after 11 hectic laps, Curley, Deeth and Smith all within a blink, with Phil-Bullen Brown next up from Mark Sims after Colin Peacock pulled off with an oil leak. Fraser doubled his Libre tally once Proctor dropped out with a blown engine, Huw Turner moving up into 2nd after clutch issues in the previous day’s race, Harvey once again taking 3rd. The leading Se7ens again battled superbly, but it was Harrington who got the nod from Billison, with Daniel Munro shadowing Wanstall across the line for the final podium position. In S-Class, Wren looked even more in command to take his second maximum score, including a new lap record, Olly Birkett next up before Bertie Woollard came through for a well deserved 3rd after a titanic battle among the chasing pack.

Thanks to the welcome coastal breeze, the half-anticipated rain forecast all weekend thankfully never amounted to more than few spots on screens, but unfortunately the post-lunchtime finale would be interrupted, firstly due to Andy King’s beached Se7en on the opening lap, but which was able to rejoin the full grid restart, then again due to a hefty collision out in the ‘dunes’ when Paul Woodbridge spun after contact and was collected by the unsighted Woollard. As in Saturday’s encounter, the clear-up reduced the running time to 9 laps, however this was still ample time for yet another terrific thrash out front, Astin taking a second win by just 0.315s ahead of Deeth, Curley and Smith, less than 0.8s covering them all, Peacock, Bullen-Brown and Sims completing the Miglia runners. Fraser looked on course for a treble in Libre until a puncture curtailed his run, leaving Turner to gratefully take up the reins from a fast-closing Proctor who had stormed up from the tail of the field after an ‘11th hour’ engine change. At one point, Billison looked like he might reverse the Se7en outcome but Harrington retook the lead to secure a class treble, Munro nabbing 3rd though from Wanstall on this occasion. Similarly, the S-Class resulted in a clean sweep for Wren, running well among the Se7en leaders, Olly Birkett again in 2nd battling among the Se7en chasing pack, younger sibling Louis salvaging 3rd after a late pit visit to unbend a dragging bumper which also caused a deflating tyre. Completing the runners in the compact but competitive 27-car entry included the Se7ens of Steven Hopper and Graeme Davis, plus the S-Class of Callum Perfect whose gearbox broke during race 2.

The next treble-header follows on 2-3 August at the much-anticipated annual Mini Festival at Brands Hatch, rounds 10, 11 & 12 in the Goodyear Mini Challenges supported by Mini Spares. Don’t miss it!

RESULTS:

ZANDVOORT   11-13 July 2025           Rds 7, 8 & 9

Race 1 (9 laps)

1          23        R Deeth           Miglia

8          127      I Fraser            Libre

11        29        D Harrington  Se7en

16        741      J Wren             S-Class

Race 2 (11 laps)

1          11        K Astin            Miglia

7          127      I Fraser            Libre

10        29        D Harrington  Se7en

14        741      J Wren             S-Class

Race 3 (9 laps)

1          11        K Astin            Miglia

8          123      H Turner         Libre

11        29        D Harrington  Se7en

13        741      J Wren             S-Class

For full results:           www.getrraceresults.com