Dave Lowe and his Lotus 69 were hit by misfortune in the opening rounds of the season. (0588384)

DAVE LOWE had a dismal start to his Classic Formula Ford season through no fault of his own.

Bad weather meant that the Sarnian had to make four attempts to get to England and finally arrived at Thruxton late on the Sunday night after qualifying had taken place that afternoon.

‘I was allowed three laps early on Monday morning, but had to start at the back of the 19-car grid,’ Lowe said. Despite a spin in the race, he worked his way up to 10th overall and third in his class before more misfortune struck.

‘On the slowdown lap I saw white smoke pouring out of the back, which turned out to be a blown head gasket. As I was out the following weekend at Donington, I set to to replace it before leaving that night to return to base at Gatwick.’