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FEATURE
Photos: EDP Photos, Steve Jones, Ollie Read
CASTLE COMBE’S
RECORD BREAKER
Gary Prebble has the most outright wins at the Wiltshire circuit, but shows no signs of slowing down. By Stefan Mackley
First outright win came aboard ex-Tony Pond Rover 220 Coupe in 2000
A common sight at
Combe:Prebble leads With 60 outright victories to his name,Prebblehas 24 more thannext best
irStirlingMoss,Nigel thecarandalmostmyself”in1993. Despite having lived in Southampton
Mansell,AyrtonSenna Miraculously,hesufferedonlyheavy his whole life, Prebble considers Combe
andDavidCoulthard. bruisinginthefrighteningshuntand to be his local circuit and it’s very much a
Theyareallmultiple returnedthefollowingseasonatthe family affair, with dad Brian having taken
Formula1racewinners wheelof aRover220Coupe,whichhad seven outright wins and, to date, younger
buttheyhavealso,at previouslybeenusedbyTonyPondasa brother Adam has 14 to his name.
S onestageoranother testcarfortheRoverTomcatRaceSeries. “What I love about Combe is just the
intheirdistinguishedcareers,all Sixmoreyearsof classwinsfollowed sheer competitiveness of what you’re
wonaraceatCastleCombe. butitwasn’tuntilApril1,2000–almost doing, you’ve got to drive the wheels off
Theyremainpartof theWiltshire adecadesincehe’dfirstracedatthe the car to stand any chance of winning
venue’sillustrious70-yearhistoryand, circuit–thathetookhismaiden the race,” says Prebble.
althoughtherehavebeenhundreds outrighttriumph. “Combe doesn’t take any prisoners.
of winnersatthetrackduringthat “IjustrememberhowecstaticIwas There’s no big massive crash barriers or
time,onemanisfarandawaythemost andIthinkIwasliterallyscreamingin gravel traps. If you come off the circuit
successfulintermsof victories. myhelmetfortheentirecoolingdown you’re in the wall and I kind of guess
GaryPrebblehas60outrightwins lap,”saysPrebble.“Ithinkyoualways that adds to the excitement of driving
tohisnameatthecircuit–aswellas rememberyourfirstracewin.” there. It’s one of those circuits that
countlessclassvictories–andthatis Thefloodgateshadfinallyopened I think sorts the men out from the boys.”
nearlytwiceasmanyBobLight,his andhewentontoclaimanother25 Prebble’s younger brother Adam (left) has also taken outright wins at Combe His remaining three wins have come
nearestrivalintheall-timetable. winsintheRoverbytheendof 2006,by at the wheel of a Peugeot 205 GTi in the
Lighthas36triumphs. whichtimehehadalsowonthecircuit’s seemtobeasgood,tobehonest,asCombe.” todayandwhichwasanotherformer popular Hot Hatch Series, which was
UnlikeLight,though,Prebbleisstill SaloonCarChampionshipoutrightin Withfour-wheel-drivecarsthe Ballardcar. introduced in 2017, but Prebble has now
racingatthecircuitwhereheusedto 2002,aswellasClassAhonoursin2001, weaponof choiceinthecategoryby “Weputitonpoleandactuallywon acquired a Honda Civic EG that is
watchhisdadBriancompetebefore ’02,’04and’06.It’saserieshestillbelieves 2007,Prebblemadetheswitchtoa theraceonmyfirsttimeeversitting undergoing an engine change and which
hegothisfirstchancebehindthewheel isoneof thestrongestintheUK. MitsubishiLancerE7RSformerly inthecar,”saysPrebble. will make appearances throughout 2020.
in1990.“ThefirstcarthatIracedwas “ThenumbersintheSaloonshave ownedbyRobBallard. “Ithinktherearesomepictures And despite racing at Combe for three
Dad’sspaceframeMaguireHillman alwaysbeenfantastic,”addsPrebble. Theswitchdidn’tputahalttohis somewherewhenIgotoutof thecarand decades now, Prebble has no plans to
Imp,”recallsPrebble.“I’dneverhad “It’sagreatchampionship:thepeople winningwaysashetook14winsaboard sortof leapfroggedandjumpedintoRob stop any time soon and intends to put the
atrackdayinmylife,neverdriven therethatyouracewith,theyaregood theJapanesecarintheSaloonsseriesas andweendeduphavingabigembracing outright wins record as far out of reach
onaracecircuitbeforeanditwas cleanracers.Thequalityandstandard wellastheSportsandGTChampionship moment.Itwasquitesomethingelse, as possible for his rivals.
acaseof sinkorswim–andhethrew of theracesisreallygoodandit’sjust –claimingtheoutrightandclasstitles I’llalwaysrememberthatrace.” “I think motor racing is one of those
mestraightoutinqualifying.” sopopular. forthelatterseriesinboth2012and’14. Atthewheelof theLeonCuprahehas games that you just keep doing for
Prebbledidswimthoughashebegan “Ihavetriedothersaloonseriesand WiththeLancerprovingtooexpensive taken17outrightwinsatthetrackso as long as you’re physically and
totakeclasswinsaboardtheImp,before thenumbersaren’tasgoodand,the tomaintain,however,Prebbleswitched far,aswellasfurtherClassAspoilsin financially able to do it,” adds Prebble.
acrashatCamp“completelytotalled waythattheyarerun,itjustdoesn’t totheSEATLeonCuprathathestilluses 2015 ’17and’19 “My dad gave the game up when it
started scaring him and I think
WINS CASTLE that’s when he sort of said to me ‘the
minute you start not enjoying it, or
Rover220Coupe–26wins Peug aloon Car overall it’s frightening you is the time to hang
(2000-2006, Saloons) GTi w ampion: 2002 up your overalls’. Until such time I’m
Mitsubishi Lancer E7 RS – 14 wins used aloon Car Class just carrying on.
(2007-2014, Saloons/Sports & GT/other) Hot H champion: 2001, “My goals really are just to keep doing
SEAT Leon Cupra – 17 wins Serie 2, ’04, ’06, ’15, what I’m doing. I love the circuit. The
(2014-2019, Saloons) 7, ’19 people there are so friendly and I want
Peugeot 205 GTi – 3 wins ports and GT to try and put a record there that makes
(2017-2019, Hot Hatch/other) verall/class it hard for anyone else to beat. The more
Lancer was used in Sports and GT ampion: 2012, ’14 wins that I can get the bigger the target
and that’s what I intend to do.” ■
