Mini preparation expert Nick Swift took the fight to the Fords at Brands Hatch on Sunday in the 18th Masters Historic Festival.

The Tenterden racer comfortably won his class in the Pre-66 Touring Cars by securing a sixth-place finish in his Morris Mini Cooper S.

Swift, the only non-Blue Oval driver inside the top 10, took the flag less than half a second behind Victor Cullen's more powerful Ford Lotus Cortina.

His Willow green entry was 32 seconds clear of closest class rival Phil Bullen-Brown, while Cranbrook’s Ollie Streek rounded out the top three finishers in the up to 1,300cc category aboard a similar Mini.

Swift, who runs St Michaels-based Swiftune Engineering, had hoped for more success in the Gerry Marshall Trophy Series, but was forced to retire in the early stages with mechanical woes.

He was handling a Mini 1275 GT in the 45-minute event, but pulled off on the Cooper Straight after Graham Hill Bend on the fifth lap.

Former British Touring Car Championship star Sam Tordoff dominated the Pre-66 race in his Ford Falcon, while Michael Whitaker Jnr (Rover SD1) took the Gerry Marshall Trophy spoils.

Later this year, Swiftune Engineering will support the Sanwa Trophy at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival on August 3/4.

The event, held exclusively for pre-66 Minis, will be split into two individual 20-minute sprints, and a capacity 34-car grid has already been assembled.

Former British GT champion Mike Jordan, whose Jordan Racing Team ran Tordoff's Falcon on Sunday, is expected to take part in the race, which will celebrate 65 years of the Mini.

The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit will host MSVR Club Car Championships this weekend, including the return of Clio Cup GB.