HRDC Castle Combe Classic 2025 OUMF’s Jack Sears Trophy and Allstars Race Reports

It was the morning of Saturday September 20 th , the day before race day, and not one idle hand could be seen at the OUMF HQ as we were preparing for… The Annual Freshers BBQ! Though this may have appeared to be typical OUMF last minute antics, but for once, we were prepared, and far from the last minute. The Riley 1.5
and Sebring Sprite had been spanner checked and were ready to hit the west country track before the weekend had begun. The BBQ commenced with some members scurrying to make their very own pop-up restaurant while others undertook the ferrying of between 100 - 150 freshers from pub to HQ for a day of socialising, eating, and most importantly, recruitment of future race engineers!

The end of Ding’s ‘Kings speech’ to the newcomers marked the start of our race weekend. As freshers walked on down the drive feeling enthusiastic at the prospect of joining OUMF, we got to work packing our showcased projects away, loading the two race cars onto their trailers and sorting who was to go in who’s car to get to Castle Combe circuit before dark…but only just! Arriving at the circuit at sunset, we had to hurriedly unload the trailers and promptly set off to make it to the Bell Inn in time for the team dinner. Afterwards, with our stomachs full and aching from laughter, we headed back to the circuit to unload some of the van to make room for Ding to sleep in it, and pitched our tents, ready for a 6am wake up. Though most voted against it, Eddie Scheer, Evan Dunbabin-Wray, Christos Karakitsios and myself honoured our tradition and embarked on a windy track walk to partake in certain superstitious rituals en route to ensure race day was as fruitful as possible!

​Our early start was marked with the smell of burning petrol (and bacon) as our ‘pits’ were set up and both Riley and Sprite prepared for Scrutineering. Our roles for the weekend were assigned by the appointed ‘Big Cheeses’ - aka ‘team leads’– Sam Cox (Riley) and Ethan Wakeman (Sprite). This was the least amount of people in an OUMF race team in my experience so far, with just 12 members, so most of us were responsible for a corner on both cars; bring on the challenge!

With the request over the public address system of Ding to go to the Assembly Area in the Riley, the first session of the penultimate race in the HRDC calendar commenced. Ding qualified 2 nd in Class putting us in an advantageous position for the race later that day, and spirits were high in the paddock. Upon the arrival of the Riley back at our pit, we got to spanner checking in preparation for its race at 12:30, shortly prior to warming up the Sebring Sprite ‘Little BeWT’ for qualifying at 11. To no one’s surprise, Ding put the Sprite in P3 in Class on the grid for the Dunlop ‘All Stars’ race later that day, and the prospect of a double podium was suddenly on the cards! After qualifying, Ding noted that the brakes seemed to stick and upon further inspection, Ollie Raja-Brown noticed that the front right brakes were giving off more heat than the left. So to make sure the Sprite was in top form for the race, Ollie and I whipped the pads out and found that the inner piston was moving at a slower rate than the outer piston. With the application of our favourite Bulldog BDX lubricating spray, and some prying back and forth, we were satisfied that the piston was functioning as it should for the race in a few hours time. 

The time was 12:36 and the grid for the HRDC ‘Jack Sears Trophy’ was a cacophony of 4, 6 and 8 cylinder harmonies, met with silent anticipation from the surrounding teams. The tense atmosphere could be cut with a knife before the flag was waved and all 22 drivers roared over the start/finish line. The race was going smoothly with the Riley making its way through the pack and catching up to car No.199, a hot  contender in the ‘Leston’ class in an Austin A40. The sun was particularly bright that Sunday afternoon and the conditions were more than favorable. However, shortly after a successful driver swap, Ding was back out there and having the drive of his life, overtaking Minis, Austins, Fords - and then the Safety Car was suddenly deployed…! From the pit lane we were delighted to see the Riley moving up the ranks until it slowed into the pits to serve a ‘Drive Through’ penalty. No bother (we thought) and it was back to racing before any coherent words could be exchanged between Ding and Ollie. I’m sure you can imagine our surprise when after a few laps, Ding was back in the pits, and a marshal came barreling over to explaining that our driver change didn’t meet regulations and we were disqualified!

The Dunlop ‘All-Stars’ race was a definitive contrast to the earlier endeavour and was, to our relief, much more smooth and successful, with Ding bringing home the Sebring Sprite to yet another podium with a 2 nd in Class – a great end to the weekend that we were all proud of. Congratulations, thanks and handshakes were exchanged in our pit as we gathered for a celebratory picture to commemorate another action-packed race weekend that we were all so privileged to be a part of.

Before we could fully pack the cars away it was off to the HRDC tent for the traditional prize giving, followed by an encouraging address to the team from Julius, and a big thank you in the shape of a bottle of champagne presented to him and our friends in the HRDC.

As we often hear from our supporters and visitors at shows and race weekends, the fact that we continue to participate and compete well is an impressive feat. From an inside perspective its hardly surprising though, due to the dedication and ever increasing expertise of every individual team member - like Tom Reid and his
intimate knowledge of our engines and their tuning, Ethan Wakeman and his electronic wizardry or Charlie Lemme and his leadership and analytical skills – to name but a few! As small as the 2025 Castle Combe team was, each member had a defined place in the well-oiled machine that is OUMF and we all owe our team spirit
and the rare opportunity to get hands-on racing experience to our ‘tame racing driver’ Ding Boston, who’s unwavering determination, race-craft and extraordinary faith in putting his life in the hands of a bunch of students is key to our success.

Personally I feel incredibly privileged and grateful to have the opportunity to be part of the OUMF racing team and none of it would be possible without our many generous supporters including Julius Thurgood and the HRDC who allow us to live our dreams on track and gain the practical experience which is so rare but so
necessary these days. 

Roman Eastwood – 2nd Year Motorsport Engineering