TONY SKELTON is keen to make the most of the South Eastern Motor Sport Enthusiasts Club’s race meeting at Lydden on Sunday (July 17) and so he intends to take part in three of the club’s championship events.

The spritely pensioner from Bladbean, near Canterbury, is currently on a roll. His Barretts of Canterbury supercharged MINI Cooper S has already won a Britcar event at Snetterton and last weekend it won again at Brands Hatch in the hands of his team-mate, Arthur Forster.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to racing on my home track at Lydden, but we’re racing at Silverstone the day before so I hope we don’t have any problems.”

Skelton will be racing in the SE Sports & Saloon Challenge, when he will face Elham’s Nigel Craig and his arch-rival Bill Richards, as well as the SEMSEC Saloon & Sports Championship event and the John Taylor Handicap.

There is even more local interest in the SEMSEC event when they will be joined by Brian Davies (Ashford), Craig’s son Stephen who lives at Folkestone, Ian White from Sandwich and Stephen Edmed from Faversham.

Canterbury’s Gary Tidwell will have another chance to shine in the two Single Seater Challenge events and Chartham’s Peter Daniels will be running several of his cars in the Ford Fiesta Championship race.

There should be a real battle between the Radicals, Caterhams and Westfields in the Sports Racing Car Championship event, when double winner Louis Davidson, former champion Julian Sage and the winner at the April event, Leigh Parkes will be among the front-runners. Many of these cars will be appearing in the SE and SEMSEC races as well.

The action on Sunday starts with practice at 12.30pm followed by the first of eight races at 2.45pm.

The Lydden Circuit is on the A2, eight miles south of Canterbury. Admission is £8-00 (£6-00 for senior citizens). Parking, paddock and entry for accompanied children is free.