Free entry to Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone

Malcolm

Supporter
I have been asked by the organisers of this years Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone to see if there are a couple of you who wish to display your GT40/replicas over the weekend in return for free ticket access. In reality they are interested in supercars in general so if you had something nice tucked away then this may also apply to you. Amongst others they already have an Enzo, Koenizegg (however you spell it!), a Dino and the dreaded P car factory will be supplying some cars too. You will be parked in the paddock directly behind the pit garages used for the event so really central to the event overall. Even us race drivers now have to park in the public car parks this year (but they took my 996 C4S as a supercar so I'm ok!).

If this is of interest to you please call David Hornsey on 01252 834377.

If the Enthusiasts Club want a club stand even at this short notice then there is an opportunity there as well I suspect. But for the Supercar dispaly there will only be an opportunity for the first couple of callers on a first come first served basis. If that ends up being you, I am driving the ex Jason Plato WTCC Seat for Samsboyz Motorsport based in garage 6c I believe. Come and say hi!

Britcar 24 Hours web site is here;

Britcar


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Keith

Moderator
I'd have loved to come to this event, alas I do not believe I will ever go to a live race meeting again..:cry:

Malcolm, I am a bit concerned at you driving the ex Plato car - last time I heard it running there was a very heavy whine coming from around the drivers seat area..

Hope you are successful mate and the whine has either gone away, been fixed or doesn't bother you.. :)
 
Keith, Not to pry but why do you state "alas I do not believe I will ever go to a live race meeting again..:cry:" Being the avid car guy you are I thought you'd attend as many as you could.

Regardless, sorry to read your words.
 

Keith

Moderator
In a nutshell Jimmy It's kind of been a reality for a couple of years now. The fact is, it can be dangerous to move out of my comfort zone because I only have about 18% lung function.

I am going to the Southampton Boat show because I have managed to hire a mobility scooter, the weather is going to be reasonable and I will be close to my support infrastructure (friends, doctors, hospital etc)

I do tend to get myself in trouble by being a denier so I have to be prudent.. :)

Thanks for asking anyway and yes, I would attend every damn meeting if I could!

I'll give you an example - my boat was ready to go 2 months ago but I haven't been able to find the strength/conditions or help to use it yet. Frustrating I know, but one has to be realistic.
 
Kieth, you are very welcome to use this mobility scooter that I built for my grandson to use in a local carnival, all speed restrictions removed and a KERS button on the steering wheel, very quick ! Frank
 

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Keith

Moderator
That's waay cool Frank! Running a bit of wing though isn't it?

Does it have DRS in case I get within 1 second of Auntie Madge and her 4 wheel Rascal?
 
No DRS yet, but added sister power ! And an alternative scooter if you prefer !
 

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Malcolm

Supporter
I'd have loved to come to this event, alas I do not believe I will ever go to a live race meeting again..:cry:

Malcolm, I am a bit concerned at you driving the ex Plato car - last time I heard it running there was a very heavy whine coming from around the drivers seat area..

Hope you are successful mate and the whine has either gone away, been fixed or doesn't bother you.. :)

Only whine from the drivers area is in fact our cold air blower onto the driver. Makes a bloody racket, worse than tinitus so I am running hot in preference! However we do have a turbo on our car so perhaps less to whine about. And if you can't make it there will beTV coverage sometime after the race so will post up details for you when I know when. Thanks for your support.
 

Malcolm

Supporter
Kieth, you are very welcome to use this mobility scooter that I built for my grandson to use in a local carnival, all speed restrictions removed and a KERS button on the steering wheel, very quick ! Frank

Sh*t Frank, I know Robin asked you to look at some aero mods on the Yellow Peril but don't you think you have taken it a bit far?
 

Keith

Moderator
Only whine from the drivers area is in fact our cold air blower onto the driver. Makes a bloody racket, worse than tinitus so I am running hot in preference! However we do have a turbo on our car so perhaps less to whine about. And if you can't make it there will beTV coverage sometime after the race so will post up details for you when I know when. Thanks for your support.

Hmmm, maybe Jason took the whine with him.

I Know! :idea: I'll ask Alan Gow!!! :laugh:
 
Kif, I am thinking about you. ( post #4 )

If only we could change human body parts as easily as car body parts. As the acknowledged International expert your Research Department could have developed some Karbon F . lungs.

My thoughts are with you.

Z.C.
 
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Is that James Severs?

Only kidding mate - looks great. How did you do?

:lol::lol::lol: I deserved that I guess...

Malc did very well but I'll let him spill the beans on that...

I was there with CT RACING, providing support to their Motec system and we had a good run really, despite a throttle cable breakage, a caliper coming loose and being down on power due to what we suspect to be a faulty variable valve timing system (VANOS) that made the engine gutless below about 5500rpm.

Still, it made the 24 hrs and finished 29th overall..
 

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Malcolm

Supporter
What a weekend I have just had! I joined Sams Boyz Motorsport at pretty much the 11th hour after my original team, Brooklands College, withdrew from the Britcar 24 Hours. This didn’t leave too much time to get to know the team or indeed the car, and whilst the team were instantly friendly and supportive, the car was a bit of an unknown quantity to me. I have never raced a front wheel drive car before. Ever. How would my rear wheel drive bad habits affect my performance? But first things first.....

Thank you to James Tucker of Britcar who contacted me directly once he heard I was without a drive, and pointed me in the direction of Sams Boyz Motorsport and their ex WTCC Seat Toledo, originally prepared by the Oreca Team on behalf of Seat for Jason Plato to race at Silverstone in 2005.

Much encouragement by Ann Hardy of J Shepherd Ltd to get myself another drive was the motivating force which lead me to follow up on James’ lead and so big thanks to all at J Shepherd for standing by me when the original drive failed to materialise.

Solid support also came again from Good Taste Bakers of Camberley and thanks need to be extended to John Kimber for listening to all my racing chat!

Quality support such as this is hard to come by and is very much appreciated.

Rushing up to Silverstone on Thursday night to deliver the caravan to the camp site for my family to sleep locally and to get my race suit and helmets to the team for scrutineering on Friday morning, I walked into a tense time as the pit garage was being set up. So much to be done, but this was not helped by the race organisers needing trucks moved and sharing a garage with another team who obviously were concentrating on their car alone. However Andre Severs, our team owner/driver, had a strong crew who just worked and worked and by the time I returned later on Friday morning all was calm, yet very busy. There was still much to be done. First up, scrutineering. Actually second up was scrutineering, first up was getting three very large trays of cakes and buns from my car to the team transporter, courtesy of Good Taste Bakers. This delicious food supply was extremely popular and welcome throughout the weekend and helped to keep energy levels high. Possibly slowed our lap times a bit as the drivers tucked in, but kept our energy levels high....

Our team’s car is a bit special. A Seat Toledo on the road is bland. This car isn’t. The body shell may be the same but it has been reworked and seam welded. The suspension is very trick and nothing like what you would expect to find on the road car version. The engine is also different, different even to its original race engine. Now, the heart of this machine is a 1.8 litre turbo petrol engine that has been limited to 285 bhp for the sake of reliability. It has to last 24 hours after all. The gear box is also simpler than the original race box. No longer a sequential unit, it is now a 6 speed H pattern box with limited slip differential. Inside the car is completely stripped out and any remaining items are purely functional. Digital dash board with gear shift lights and telemetry, race bucket seat with head restraints to help with G forces and accidents, full FIA specification roll cage, removable steering wheel to help getting into and out of the car and many other detail items that all go to make up a proper race car.

The car was taken to scrutineering and all was going well right up to the noise test. Fail. A temporary scrutineering sticker was given out, valid for daylight qualifying only. The car had spiked on the overrun and had jumped from a passing 101 dB to a failing 103 dB. Just another job to add to the list then.

Qualifying was also to throw some issues at us. The car’s transponder packed up so not all of the drivers were able to record times. Each driver had to post 3 lap times to qualify individually for the race. The same applied for the night qualifying session. Peter James went first and I jumped into his seat next. On my second lap the turbo pipe blew off losing about 75% of the engine power! All the bad memories of the engine failures from 2006 and 2007 flooded back but Will, our engine man, took the news very calmly and had it fixed in minutes and I was back out to complete my allotted laps ,back up to full power. Andre went next and put in his laps but no times recorded due to the failure of our transponder. Mark Heywood took the last stint and time was getting tight to get all his three laps in as the session was drawing to a close. Then news we did not wish to hear. Mark had pulled over as the gear selection mechanism had failed somehow. Not a lap completed and the session ended. By the book, Mark was out of a drive.

Drivers briefing at 3 pm in the Jimmy Brown Suite. This has to be one of the biggest gathering of race drivers in the country for a single event. 57 teams, mostly with 4 drivers. The Clerk of the Course explained what he wished to happen in various circumstances and generally ran through some procedures. After a short Q&A we were released back into the paddock and back to sorting last minute job lists. Like noise tests and light pod fixing for the night session.

The noise issue was solved by repacking the silencer and getting the car retested. 97 dB. Good.

An additional 4 headlights were fixed to the bonnet of the car and to the regular road driver, seemingly at very odd angles. However these lights had two purposes. One to illuminate the track ahead without care to the guys in front and two, to light up the apex of corners so the drivers can position the car well to get the best lap times.

I find that the atmosphere really picks up for night qualifying. The lights contrasting against the darkness is fantastic and with a good commentary in the back ground it certainly gets the mood just right.

This time all goes well mechanically during the session and soon it is my turn to take the last run up to 10 pm. As you get in the car the world shrinks in around you. Your mind is concentrating on the job you need to do and you hope and pray all systems work as they should. I will be helped to get in (and out) the car every time by Pauline, wife of James, one of the mechanics, who has responsibility for doing up my belts and for plugging in my radio head set. I clip on the steering wheel, do a radio check with team manager Ian and am waved off down the pit lane. There is a 30 mph speed limit in the pit lane and there are speed traps to ensure it is adhered to. 2500 rpm in second gear will do the job but the car just wants to go so keeping that rpm is not as easy as it sounds. The pit lane crawls by but at last the white line is reached and the car is released. As you round the corner on to the circuit, all goes dark as the high lighting levels from the pit lane are replaced by just the lights of the car. Follow the feed in white line and approach Becketts, a left right left right left set of corners leading onto Hangar Straight. Short brake into Stowe and then onto Vale chicane and Club. Heading back now past the new pits complex and then into the new section of track that I only drove for the first time recently. The corners are sharper than they look on TV! Right hander at the end of the pit straight followed by a fast left leads you to Village, the biggest stop of the circuit. Down two gears and haul the car to the right and then sprint the short distance to the new hairpin dropping another gear. As you exit the hairpin, let the car run wide pulling gears in quick succession as you now run down the long International Straight to rejoin the old track layout at Brooklands. This is a much nicer corner than it used to be but you need to get it right to be in the right place for Luffield, the corner that seemingly goes on forever. Once released there is one final gentle but very fast right taken flat out putting you on the start finish straight. Past the pits and our pit board and on to the next lap.

That session went well for me. I am beginning to find my comfort zone in the car and for the first time ever I am quicker at night than I am during the day. It all clicks and when that happens it is a great feeling. I just hope I can stay in that zone.....

It is only daylight qualifying that counts to grid position and we are 45th on the grid, middle of class 4 (there are 19 in our class). If night time qualifying had counted we would have jumped up to 36th on the grid but like most motorsport, it’s just a “what if” scenario and counts for nothing. But it does wonders for morale and means that we are all going to bed happy which can only be good for the race tomorrow.

I leave the team hard at work. Rob and Ann from J Shepherd Ltd are now heavily involved in the team. As a proactive sponsor, they were very keen to get hands on and Sams Boyz Motorsport, being the friendly and welcoming team that it is, made space for them and so soon had them both grafting away with the rest of the team. Ann was put in charge of managing the driver pads which kept race control informed of who was at the wheel and at what times the car was on track or in the pits and Rob was given spanners, wheel guns and fuelling equipment to help the regular mechanics on the car. Team work. To me one of the things I learn from this weekend is the importance of teamwork and communication, especially under pressure. It is useful learning to take back to the real world beyond the gates of Silverstone.

Back at the circuit for 10:30 am to watch the warm up. Mark is going out first and this session will count as his daylight qualifying laps that he missed due to the mechanical issues he suffered. The organisers don’t want to lose people from the race so work to make things happen. Mark and Peter complete the warm up and all is good. Being a short session there is not time for all drivers to go out so I sit this one out as does Andre.

Now we just have the countdown to the race. Which involved getting the car out onto the apron for a pit lane walkabout for the spectators to get close to the car and drivers. These less high profile events are very good for getting spectators up close to the machines they have come to see. The paddock is open to spectators all the time during the event and the teams are not allowed to close off the garages to public viewing. You get to see the highs and lows whether the teams like it or not. Then the cars go to the assembly area and at 3:45 pm are lead onto the grid for the grid walkabout. It is quite something. There are 57 cars so the crowd is large and goes out of view around the last corner. It is a good place to be. But there is a last minute job to be done.

One of the fuel lines seems to be weeping! With 24 hours of the race to manage still, Ian runs back to the team pit garage and grabs the spanners he needs. The job is dealt with, with seconds to spare and it means we will not have to make an immediate pit stop to do a safety related repair.

But it’s now very hot. Like very, very hot. The news channels had been broadcasting that it was the hottest October day on record and it certainly felt it. 28C! There is a drink bag in the car and it has become an important piece of kit now.

The cars do a slow lap behind the safety car and at 4:30 precisely the race starts.

Peter is at the wheel for this first stint. He loves taking the start, anxiety inducing as it is! He has been briefed to be cautious, after all there are 24 hours to go. He chooses to concede some places rather than take risks and it is a strategy that is hard to argue with. Nothing I can do now but go and get ready for I am taking the second stint. Funnily enough it is only now that my heart starts to pump a bit harder. I do not like anticipation of an event. I want to get into it, not wait for what seems like an age. I go off by myself to try to focus. I keep an eye on the garage hoping not to see our car coming in for an unscheduled early stop.

I get the nod from Darren to get ready now. Peter is suffering from the heat. Not sure how much longer he can last. He hangs on a bit but then his times drop and he is called in. It is not just a case of me just jumping in and going. There is a routine to be followed. The wheel nuts are slackened off by Darren and Harley as the driver is got out the car. Pauline is there to help. Once clear the refuelling guys get to work. James and Matt do this with the dry break refuelling churns assisted by Rob on the fire extinguisher. Everyone else has to stand back by 4 metres.

Peter is in a bad way. He is helped to a seat and given fluids. He wants to go and walks to the back of the pit garage but doesn’t make it. He falls to the floor unconscious and not well. Recovery position and medics called. Peter is taken away to the medical centre for dehydration treatment and a drip. But he will be back.

Meanwhile as I am getting into the car it is bluntly pointed out that I must drink all my water! I have also poured a lot of water down the inside of my 3 layer race suit and Nomex underwear to help keep me cool. It will for a few minutes at least! And then off I go for my first stint.

Not my best really. I don’t settle as much as I would like and I keep getting the line wrong at Club getting all 4 wheels over the white line and so on my 5th lap I see the black and white diagonal flag hung out next to our race number, #78. This does not help my situation as now I am trying to remember what the flag means and, combined with the wrong ear pieces I cannot really talk to the team over the radio. Each lap I see the flag hung out. I choose to pit after the 3rd time but am waved straight through by the team. Ok, no Stop and Go penalty or discussion with the Clerk of the Course. Back out on track , things begin to settle into a better routine but I am suffering from the heat. The tyres are also suffering from the heat and I am getting a lot of under steer powering out of the corners. Rear wheel drive habits are hard to kick! My times are ok, quick even. I aim for consistent lap times and to keep out of trouble. I manage a best time of 2:29.4 which will remain our team’s fastest lap for a while. The heat is persistent yet the adrenaline of driving keeps me going. But when I stop?

After 80 minutes I get the call to box, to return to the pits. I pull up to James holding out the pit board in front of the car. Not a rushed in stop as F1 drivers do but more gentle and safer for the crew. We don’t carry spare mechanics on the shelf and we need to look after those we have! I clamber out the car and the change of position from seated to standing hits me hard. I just walk to a seat ignoring all. Get my helmet off and pour a bottle of water over my head. Wendy is here to help me get cooled. I am drenched in sweat but I had been drinking all the time I was out. I had also pre loaded with fluids and in reality I was not dehydrated but wanting the loo badly! But my core body temp was up high and it would not make sense to get up again until that had stabilised. I drank more fluids and sat still. 40 minutes later I got to the loo and all was well in the world again.

It had got dark whilst I was out on circuit so now the long slog of the night began. We had swapped lights in the morning as after night qualifying the team had decided that the lights were not bright enough. HID lights had been fitted and aligned only in the garage. It turned out that they had been set to perfection and now we had great forward visibility. Mark and Andre drive on into the night whilst I ate dinner and began pre loading fluids for my next stint. News had come back that Peter was getting better but would not be allowed to drive again until he had been checked out of the medical centre after sun rise. 12 hours away. We were down to three drivers for now with a long night ahead of us. My next stint was scheduled for 11:30 pm, which was not a good time to get a tummy upset! Sshh, don’t tell anyone, I’m sure I‘ll be fine.

Jump in the car on schedule and head out. Much cooler now and the team had adjusted the rear windows to allow a flow of air through the cabin. Made a big difference to driver comfort. And I get back into the zone I need to be in. This is a good stint for me. After my first stint, and Andre’s first stint the tyres were shredded on the front of the car. Canvas and wire were hanging out! We could not go on like this as we would run out of tyres before half distance. Andre and I got together and with Will and Ian, we worked out how I needed to change my strategy and style of driving to protect the front tyres. Less trail braking, less aggression on the turn in and more gentle application of the throttle on the exit. Plus aim for a slightly slower lap time, say on average 3 or 4 seconds per lap slower. Ian would be on the radio (different ear pieces now so I can hear the team properly) to give me lap times and to remind me to stay at a consistent pace. And the stint becomes a joy to drive. I lap constantly with no dramas and at a pace that gives me space on the track. Perfect. I feel good so I radio in and suggest that as I have a good rhythm going, could I double stint and do a second 90 minutes? After some discussion it is agreed so at 1 am I come in for a refuelling pit stop. I asked if there was time to go to the loo whilst the team work on the car? Yes there is. I get out the car and dash to the loo. Both the team and I do our splash and dash and as I turn to leave the toilet I find that I had interrupted a gentleman washing his face and doing his teeth at the basin behind the door! I introduce myself quickly and apologise, and then it is back to the car, getting a cheer from our supporters who found this all rather amusing. Thank goodness I had kept my helmet on!

Back into the car for another 90 minutes and I continue pounding out the laps and am very pleased to see my times remain consistent as I approach three hours in the car. Racing at night is a fantastic experience and it doesn’t feel tiring at all. It is but you just don’t feel it during the moment. The car is strong and is doing all it should. The under steer issue is solved and now I can say I can race a front wheel drive car acceptably well. I am certain that my lines and times could be improved upon but I make a conscious decision not to change a successful rhythm of driving a lap of Silverstone. This is not the time to experiment but to be consistent and safe. In reality we haven’t started a race yet. We are just eating up the hours to get to daylight and then to appraise what needs to be done then. This is endurance racing and it is great.

I get called to box at 2:30 am and climb out of the car on a high. No dramas and the team get to work with a regular pit stop and the brake pad change. I will take a while to unwind from this stint but it has given me memories I will have for life. Mark and Andre continue the driving work and with a small adjustment to the front suspension to stiffen it up, we all seem to be having good tyre wear rates now. The mechanics keep going relentlessly. I don’t see any of them take a break during the whole race and this is awesome support. Ian, Will, Matt, James, Rob, Darren and Harley are all stars.

After an hour of wandering the pits I begin to feel tired and so go for a shower and head off to bed. On the way I have a 15 minute chat with Willie Green who, like me, is having a good event. I have booked a 5 am wake up call to get me ready for my next stint at 5:30. I fall to sleep very quickly and 5:00 arrives way too soon. The team have a tumble drier working flat out in the pit garage to dry out the race suits and Pauline has brought me a warm race suit. The half hour before I drive goes by in a flash and I only have time for a quick coffee. No need to preload fluids now as the ambient temperature has dropped and the drink bag in the car will suffice.

The team do an oil change on the car, 4 litres out and 4 litres in and then off out again I go onto the circuit. At 5:30 the circuit is still covered in darkness but during this stint I know the sun will rise. I am due in at 7 am. Again I am driving well, although I am still struggling to get my braking point for Village right! Why can’t I get it right? I try to work on this and sometimes succeed, sometimes fail.

The faster cars pound past and you feel them go by, with their big engines belching flame on the overrun. Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mosler, Aquila, BMW, Porsche, Marcos, Lotus, Honda, Toyota, Seat, VW and even MX5’s from Mazda are all represented. I love being close behind a fast car in a corner, to watch it twitch and drift around. Mechanical poetry in motion! Sometimes they get it wrong and in this stint there is quite of bit of that! I enter Vale Chicane very close to a Marcos that has just pounded past me. I am hard on the brakes and turn in to find he has spun 180 degrees to a standstill, headlights blazing directly into my eyes! I can only react instinctively and how I miss this car I do not know. It must have been very close and I radio the pits to report that I had played my lucky card for the race.

Cars are falling by the wayside now. We are over half way through the race and the attrition is beginning to show. Cars are pulled up at various points around the circuit, some being recovered to the pits for repair, some to the paddock and will need complete rebuilds. A Lotus has got collapsed rear suspension and has stopping at the ideal turn in point for Village. It is sat on track in a very dangerous place and can’t move. The safety car comes out and picks up the leader. I am about 10th in the snake of cars behind the safety car and I try to keep heat in the tyres by weaving side to side. Whilst it may not reheat the tyres much it does keep the mind concentrated on the job. With Ian on the pit wall, we work out that the safety car will be in next time around. Ian tells me that the group of cars behind me are all class 1 or 2 cars so are much faster than me and so not to defend any position. The cars in front get a jump on me, but I get a small jump on the cars behind so they do not catch me till we are on Hangar Straight. I can see an explosion of light bearing down on me as I get close to my braking point for Stowe corner. Some cars are flashing their headlights as well to ensure I know I am about to swallowed up by the faster cars. I choose to stick to the middle of the track so leaving room on both sides and before I can take my next breath, I am engulfed by Astons, Porsches and Ferraris on both sides going past at ridiculously higher speeds. They are trying to use me to block each other and as they pass they weave from side to side of the track to gain a better position for themselves and the corner now upon us. Six cars go past me at Stowe and two more under braking into Vale Chicane. That was some sight!

The sun is now a pain. The low angle is putting it right into my eyes at two places on track. I have reduced vision turning right by the new pit complex and again into Copse by the old pit complex. At the new pit complex it is not too bad to deal with as the approach is all in shade and the mirrors work but into Copse the sun is blinding when I look in the mirror, as to do so means looking directly into it! I call for help and as ever Ian is on the pit wall and we work a system whereby he will call me if I am likely to be passed by a car turning into Copse. This way I know that I can turn in safely without seeing what is behind me but I am totally relying on him for information and he doesn’t let me down, saving me at least twice from faster cars. After 40 minutes the sun is high enough to be less of an issue but it was a testing time nonetheless.

The team I raced with in 2006 and 2007 is here again but this time running in what is nicknamed the Latvian Taxi as it was a BMW 3 series diesel race car from Latvia converted to M3 spec when it was brought over to the UK. They have engine power issues this weekend so are running slower than us and I am catching them again on the approach to Becketts. Ahead is a Lotus Exige and a Honda Accord. The Exige is the quickest of the four of us, now bunched up tight. He wants to get past the Honda and so makes a move in Becketts. It doesn’t work and he clips the Honda and spins it around. In front of the pair of us. Chris in the BMW thinks fast and turns left where the track turns right. For a millisecond I think to turn right but Chris’s action shows me the correct solution and I also turn left off the track, now completely blocked by rotating Honda. I have never been over here before but Chris’s bring us both back on track near the entry of Hangar Straight and we go on our way. I give him a grateful wave of thanks as I pass him. Back in the pits we have a laugh over the Lotus driver’s optimism!

I am due in at roughly 7 am but get a call asking me to do another ten minutes. I am up for that although it turns into 30 minutes whilst Peter is cleared by the Medics and made ready to drive. At 7:30 I box and am relieved of driving duty. It was a superb stint for me, made better by all the action and the sunrise which was really spectacular.

I go and sit for a bit, then have a breakfast that Sam has put together. The whole team is being very well looked after!

It looks like it will be another hot day. I go and catch a few moments of sleep and struggle to wake up a couple of hours later. Thank goodness Peter is back driving with us again. I know we could have coped, it is just better not to have to needed to cope with a driver down. I pour coffee down my throat and work hard on waking up properly. Because now we are going to be pushing to the flag. Daylight has come, we have assessed the car and driver position and then looked at the competition. There is one stint each left and we think we may be able to catch the guys just ahead of us.

Mark is running his last stint now. I will follow him just after 1 pm and that time comes round very quickly. I have been given fresh front tyres and a good set of rears. I am pumped up ready to go and am waved off down the pit lane for the last time.

Grip is low as I exit the pit lane as the tyres are cold and the rears need bedding in again. It is not quite as hot as the day before but it definitely isn’t cool. It takes a couple of laps to get the tyres into the right state and then I go for it. During the night I had been thinking about my driving and also listening to the others share their experiences. Earlier this morning Andre had knocked about 2 seconds off the teams fastest lap taking it down to 2:27.3. How did he do that? Is it even sensible to try to catch that time? I am told no one else will be using the tyres after me so whatever I do to them is my problem alone. Is it rude to beat the team owner in his own car? I note my pace is good and I am under 2:30 per lap quite a lot and I am not absolutely going for it yet. The car doesn’t feel it is under steering so all the changes made to the car and driver seem to be working. I decide that whilst the car is not under steering it would be ok to go quicker so long as I don’t get ragged, as prime importance still remains to bring the car in so the next driver has a car to go out in. It would be crazy to throw all the hard work away at this late stage.

I change my gear shifting pattern a bit by dropping an additional gear on a few corners. Instead of taking Copse in 6th I now go down to 5th. In the Becketts esses I use 4th more than I have in the past. I drop a gear in the right hander by the new pits to 5th instead of staying in 6th as I have all the time previously. This really helps to pull the car left in the next corner even though I am back in 6th by then. I really concentrate on the braking at Village and at last I am more consistent with the turn in and hitting the apex better. Down two gears for the turn in at Brooklands instead of one gear before and one after. This allows me to concentrate more on track position.

I see very good times consistently on the lap timer. A few 2:29s and even some 2:28s which is faster than I have gone before in this race. Then the timer stops working!

I have no choice but to carry on. I am comfortable with the tyres and with the driving, not taking silly risks. The team must be ok with this as they are not saying anything to the contrary over the radio. A few laps go by then the radio crackles into life. It is Andre I think. “Well done mate, 2:27.07 fastest lap”. That feels good.

I back out a bit as there is no point trying to beat my own fastest lap when it is a good bit quicker than all the others laps I have done. That is a risk too far. I talk back to the team who are happy that I carry on setting my own pace but I want to be set to a pace now. This takes into account that we want to try and catch the cars ahead for position so in reality I don’t back out too much. We are stealing time off the cars ahead but will it be enough? Without timing screens in the car it is all very confusing.

I get a call to box. Something is hanging off the car, I don’t hear what over the radio but know I have to box now. I go in and the boys jump on the car’s front right wing. Ian explains that the front wing has worked or broken loose and is flapping. I haven’t hit another car or even been hit but it turns out that lumps of rubber and stones have been thumping and eroding the fibre glass wing and after all this time it was just too much for it, so it gave way. One of those things. They tape it down and I am back out quickly.

Before long my stint is coming to an end. I enjoy the moment, taking mental snap shots of the circuit. I am given a 3 lap warning to box. I don’t want to stop but know that I have to. 2 laps. One lap. “Malcolm, can you do another lap?” I don’t need asking twice so box one extra lap later. Peter is there to take over for his final stint. I get out the car elated and leave the pit lane. I’ve done my bit now and I am feeling elated!

Peter does an hour at the wheel and now we have Andre to take the last stint to get the team to the flag. The team begin to relax and the atmosphere lightens as all the hard work is paying off. Andre wants his fastest lap time back, that is clear. He is putting in great lap times and gets closer and closer. I genuinely expect him to get the time back and it would be a great last stint if he can. He chips away at it. 2:27.4, wow that one is close! Then the times drop back. Will comes over and says that Andre is stopping going for the times as the tyres are shot. I am pleased to have the fastest lap, but disappointed that the excitement of Andre chasing it is over. There was a big crowd around the timing monitors all enjoying the thrill of the chase.

We need the cars ahead to break now if we are to catch them and probability says that is not going to happen. We resign ourselves to 25th overall as our finishing position, 11th in class. It is now 4:20 pm. Ann starts yelling at the back of the garage. No one seems to be listening. She gets more vocal! Andre has a puncture and is coming in NOW! That got everyone’s attention. A new wheel and tyre is grabbed and the crew rush into pit lane. Other teams look on as we rush about, probably glad it is us rushing about and not them.

Andre comes in and it is his left rear tyre that is suspected of a puncture. The crew look but the car doesn’t go up in the air on the jacks. Andre is frantically waved off with no work being done. Will comes over to explain. The suspension has broken somehow and the rear wheel is at an odd angle. No time to look and certainly no time to fix. Andre will just have to limp around for two laps.

Last lap and everyone rushes the pit wall. The crash netting fence is climbed and people are hanging over it up and down the pit wall. The cars have bunched a bit behind the leader, a 430 Ferrari. Andre is in that bunch. A rousing cheer from everyone both in the grandstands and in the pit lane as the cars go past.

We did it!
 
Nice one Malc - great result and great write-up - thanks for taking the time...

I assume we will get some 'in-car' footage at some point too... ?
 

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Malcolm

Supporter
I have about 6 hours of video which will take a bit of time to sort out! One camera came loose, fortunately it was the driver facing camera but then as the sun came up the other one misted up a bit! However have some nice night driving video although not a lot of drama to see.
 
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