From Marcus Pye’s column (page 105 of May 13th 2010 copy of Autosport)
I’m certain I’ve not seen a better Monoposto field – flourishing on the MSVR package and split into two grids – from which Tristan Cliffe’s extraordinary 117mph lap in a 12-year-old F3 Dallara powered by a fuel-injected Toyota engine, annihilated the record. The old motto ‘Motor Racing in the Grand Prix Style for the Club Enthusiast’ has stretched imaginations since the Mono club’s foundation in 1958, but on this occasion is was bang on the money.
And from the race report (page 116 of the same copy)
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A huge Monoposto 2000/1400/1000 field was a splendid sight, but top qualifier Tristan Cliffe’s heart was in his mouth when he stalled at the start. Everybody in the stampede missed him, but the red Dallara was last away.
Having lapped seven seconds quicker than Jeremy Timms in the morning (slicks on the wet track proved ideal), Cliffe sliced through the field to 16th in a dramatic opening lap and was third (behind Arty Cameron’s adventurously-driven one-litre Yamaha R1-engined Jedi and ahead of defending champion Nick [sic] Harrison) within four laps.
Almost 14 seconds adrift of leader Timms’ ex-Peter Dumbreck Dallara et half-distance, Cliffe was more decisive during lappery and slashed a six-second deficit to 1.5s on the penultimate circuit! On Timms’ gearbox through church last time round, Cliffe popped out of his slipstream up Woodham Hill to no avail. An extraordinary manoeuvre round the outside into the chicane got Cliffe’s nose ahead though, but he couldn’t make the left hand element. As he clattered over the kerbs Timms dived back past for a memorable victory.









