TWO decades of saloon racing will be celebrated at Castle Combe on the August Bank Holiday Monday.

In 1995, the track’s Saloon Car Championship, for steel-bodied road cars running on road tyres, was added and has been a resounding success, with exciting racing, large grids and regular drivers, with whom Combe’s loyal crowd have built an affinity.

Two of those are Tony Dolley - the only man racing in the first year still competing today - and Mark Wyatt, who missed the 1995 season but has raced at the circuit ever since.

Wyatt is in contention to win his first outright championship title after two decades of trying.

He has clinched his class numerous times, but despite dominating class B with his Interceptor Racing Astra for most of this decade, the outright title has eluded him, usually due to missing a round.

This year, he has a slender one-point advantage over team-mate Russell Poynter-Brown, who leads class D with his Corsa and also sponsors the championship.

To celebrate this 20th year, there will be a lunchtime grid walk, where spectators can see the cars and drivers close up, prior to the first of two races that afternoon.

Leading class A and likely to be out front is Southampton’s Gary Prebble in his SEAT Leon Turbo, which, with a demon set of new tyres, now seems to have the edge on Calne’s Tony Hutchings, the former double-champion.

At the last race, Hutchings was confident of being able to catch Prebble as the race developed but mechanical issues with his Audi TT forced retirement.

Charles Hyde-Andrews-Bird from Ditcheat moved to third in the class A points last time out, his Renault Megane running strongly with its new engine. Conversely, the VW Scirocco of Bath’s Dave Scaramanga took a step backwards with its mechanical upgrades, but is still potentially the fastest car in the field.

In class C, Adrian Slade, from Seend, will be hoping for reliability, from his Peugeot 106.

With two trouble-free races he should be able to close the points gap on Bristol’s James Keepin, the class leader in his MG ZR.

Although Melksham’s Edward Moore eventually missed the podium at the last round, his fastest lap and super strong pace throughout the race was cause enough to speculate how he might influence the course of this year’s Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 championship.

Meanwhile, Chippenham’s Adam Higgins, who was promoted to race-winner last time, has to make up four points on Lanford’s Roger Orgee, whom he has only beaten twice this year.

After the excitement of last season’s Castle Combe Sports Racing Series race on August 8, a double-header for the fastest machines seen on the Wiltshire track is eagerly awaited.

Professional driver Craig Dolby was given a hard time by former double-Combe champion Simon Tilling, who not only outran Dolby for the first part of the race but set a new lap record in the process.

The annual visit of the Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic series is something Combe’s loyal band of spectators always look forward to.

Catering for Ferraris of all types built prior to 1990, there are classes for both unmodified and lightly modified cars and last year, East Chinnock’s Gary Culver was a winner in the wet in his 328 GTB.

Also returning for another non-championship pair of races is the Monoposto Racing Club, bringing its eclectic range of single-seaters for the first of three races for the Tiedeman Trophy.

Warminster’s Geoff Fern won the trophy last year and has been a front-runner in his class in the main championship for many years.

He leads it again this year, whilst his team-mate Nigel Davers, also from Warminster, has not been out much this year in his BMW-engined Jedi but as another former champion, should be in contention.

Monday’s action begins at 8.40am, with qualifying and racing beginning at midday.