Fareham’s James Wren missed out on potentially the best result of his short motorsport career at Thruxton in Hampshire on Sunday, a first corner accident ruling the Dalmeny Racing driver out of what could have been an exceptionally successful race.

Normally to be found competing in the wheel-to-wheel lunacy of the Castle Combe Formula Ford Championship, James has been taking advantage of the opportunity to race his Van Diemen RF92 at some of England’s finest circuits in this his comeback season after the hiatus his university finals caused. A trip to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit at the end of May had left Wren thoroughly impressed, and for his next ‘away-day’ he chose Thruxton, the fastest traditional circuit in the UK. Beginning with the high-speed sweep of Allard corner, a tricky complex of sinuous bends then leads onto an exhilarating sequence of ultra-fast sweeps at the back of the circuit, before the heart-in-mouth, heavy-braking bravery required to slow down in time for the kerb-lined Club chicane. Even in a FFord, a top speed of 138mph is still maintained for much of the lap.

“It’s an absolutely brilliant circuit,” said James after qualifying 18th, a respectable effort given that around half the field had encyclopaedic experience of Thruxton thanks to their work as instructors at the circuit’s racing school. “The complex is difficult in a FFord because you’re trying to turn in, hold a sideways slide and change gear all at once. In theory it’s possible to go absolutely flat-out through all the corners at the back of the circuit, but I haven’t actually managed to do that yet, I’m lifting off the throttle a little bit for some confidence in one or two places. Then when you get to the chicane there’s so much space you can be fooled into braking too early and realising you’ve almost stopped and you’re still 100 metres from the corner.”

This weekend offered the FFord competitors a race on both Saturday and Sunday, and the former would provide plenty of encouragement for James before the heartbreaking denouement of the latter. After a good start and a lucky avoidance of a multi-car incident at the chicane (“I got through a gap between two spinning cars, by the time the guy behind me tried to, the gap was a bit smaller!”), James joined a battle for the lower top ten positions. A combination of his own daring and his Van Diemen’s excellent straightline speed helped him past fellow Combe regulars Shaun Macklin and Nick Jones and into 12th position, from where he would chase former Combe class champion Hugh Elliott to the chequered flag.

With this result giving James 12th on the grid for Sunday’s outing, a top ten finish was a highly realistic possibility. Sadly that dream lasted only a few yards, for as the field swept through the first corner, Elliott spun in front of the pack. As Wren tried to avoid the rotating Swift, he was hit from behind and sent careering headlong into the barriers.

“It was easily the biggest accident I’ve ever had,” said James as he pondered his once immaculate Van Diemen. “I don’t even really understand what happened, I assume someone behind me didn’t see Hugh spinning, couldn’t slow down in time and hit my rear wheel, because my rear suspension was broken very early. It was a bizarre feeling trying to turn right and follow the road but being steered in the opposite direction because the back wheels were facing the wrong way. As soon as I realised I was heading for the barriers I just got my hands back from the steering wheel and covered my head. The only consolation now is that there are a few undamaged parts on the car so it could probably have been worse… somehow…”

James plans to begin the rebuild immediately and is optimistic about his chances of returning at Combe in early August. Ben Norton and Julian Heap, two drivers who James had been well-matched with in race one, went on to finish sixth and seventh on Sunday, so had Wren survived the first corner confusion this would have easily the best result of his career. Such frustration just provides the Dalmeny Racing team with added incentive to get back on the track as quickly as possible.