The biggest and broadest selection of British historic racing grids takes place at "The Home of British Motorsport" this weekend with a total of 24 races. With a choice of grids from the U2TC (Under 2 litre Touring Cars) via FF1600, Formula Junior and Formula 1, to big banger sports cars in the Masters Historic Sports Cars race, the event looks set to be a cracker.
So, running through the entry list here there are one or two that catch the eye. Looking no further than those Masters Sports Cars, GT40 No 17 includes the long overdue return of Steve Soper. Having retired due to medical reasons, it seems he's made a full recovery, so hopefully this won't be his only event this year or in the future.
The Supertouring Car Trophy has Patrick Watts in his Peugeot 405 which he pedaled to victory at Brands Hatch two weeks ago. He faces competition from Paul Smith with Tim Harvey in the RS500 not to mention the rest of a fantastic grid.
The Transatalntic Trophy for Pre 66 Touring Cars includes a name from the Group A days of the BTCC. Karl Jones, ex RS500 racer, is entered in Ford Mustang No 61.
Another entry of note is the XJR14. I believe this is the first race for one of these cars since 1991. Nic Minassion will pedal it in the Group C races.
Anyway, whatever your favourites, if you attend I hope the weather and the racing are excellent.
More information can be found at the Silverstone Classic Website.
Showing posts with label Historic Motorsport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historic Motorsport. Show all posts
25 July 2013
14 November 2012
Is this au revior or goodbye?
In 1995 I had a massive accident in my Mk2 Capri. It was at Cadwell Park and I ran out of brakes at the end of Park Straight. Needless to say the damage was substantial and I needed a replacement car! That was April 9th. A week later I was visiting my late father in Frimley and there, in front of his neighbour's house was a Mk 3 Capri!
I discovered that it was an MOT failure so offered £50.00 for it and returned the next day with a trailer and took it home. During the next five weeks a friend and myself, built it into what we thought would be a competitive Gp1 car. Along the way my trailer had been stolen so I bought a new one. Then my trailer was found so having bought a new one I sold the old one.
The car was entered at Thruxton on 31st May so it was with some relief that we turned up at all let alone ran the car. Its brakes were not good and it had a collapsed damper, but we raced it and didn't finish last.
All that seems a long time ago but I guess 17 years is a long time really. However since those days, the car has won its class on many occasions, it's been developed to a high standard and has bespoke suspension, very good brakes and is generally pretty quick, although I confess with my lack of seat time and trying to get used to new tyres,which changed the gearing, it hasn't looked exactly quick this year. Nonetheless it still managed 3.06 at Spa and indeed after reflecting on my driving it could have been at least three secs quicker!
But now sadly it is time for us to part. I hope whoever buys it will keep it running and indeed I hope it brings as many smiles to the new owner's face as it has to mine. Obviously it needs bodywork repair after the Spa accident but these are being carried out after Christmas so it will be in pristine condition for the new owner.
Anyone interested can contact me via my website www.mallettracing.co.uk
I'll put it on e bay in December. :(
I discovered that it was an MOT failure so offered £50.00 for it and returned the next day with a trailer and took it home. During the next five weeks a friend and myself, built it into what we thought would be a competitive Gp1 car. Along the way my trailer had been stolen so I bought a new one. Then my trailer was found so having bought a new one I sold the old one.The car was entered at Thruxton on 31st May so it was with some relief that we turned up at all let alone ran the car. Its brakes were not good and it had a collapsed damper, but we raced it and didn't finish last.
All that seems a long time ago but I guess 17 years is a long time really. However since those days, the car has won its class on many occasions, it's been developed to a high standard and has bespoke suspension, very good brakes and is generally pretty quick, although I confess with my lack of seat time and trying to get used to new tyres,which changed the gearing, it hasn't looked exactly quick this year. Nonetheless it still managed 3.06 at Spa and indeed after reflecting on my driving it could have been at least three secs quicker!But now sadly it is time for us to part. I hope whoever buys it will keep it running and indeed I hope it brings as many smiles to the new owner's face as it has to mine. Obviously it needs bodywork repair after the Spa accident but these are being carried out after Christmas so it will be in pristine condition for the new owner.
Anyone interested can contact me via my website www.mallettracing.co.uk
I'll put it on e bay in December. :(
4 November 2011
Spa 6 hours 2011
Somewhere just after 10pm on Saturday evening 24 September 2011, I had a Vettel moment. I refrained from waving the finger and indeed failed to shout "that's what I'm talking about!". But I did whoop, yell, holler and generally got noisy in my helmet because, at the fourth time of asking, I saw the chequered flag at the end of the Spa 6 hours!
Our weekend started after I landed at Heathrow on Tuesday 20th. We collected the car from Ken Clarke that afternoon and set out at 5:30am the next morning for the Ferry. We arrived at Spa around 3pm in the afternoon and unloaded into the garage, which we shared with the Sunbeam Tiger driven by Julian Mazjub and Ewan McIntyre. That was a blessing because we were No. 21, right under the access stairs to the Paddock admin, thus there was only a small place to park. In fact the Tiger team were doing all their prep in an awning elsewhere so only used the garage as a base during testing, qualifying and the race. Although I didn't get all their names, they were a most sociable bunch of guys and therefore made life pretty good.
As we were settling in, a rather tall German gent arrived with an unfeasably large motorhome and an equally large trailer containing a GT40. He asked if we would be good enough to move our car because he needed space for his awning. His logic was that he had three cars and only one garage and that we would be going to a hotel at night so would have no need of the space. I said no. However he was lucky because our friends with the Tiger didn't need any space so we could back our car up to the rear of the pit. Nonetheless his attitude took the shine off the day.
At dinner in the hotel that evening we got talking to a very nice couple who appeared extremely knowledgeable. They introduced themselves as Chris and Leslie a couple of real racing enthusiasts. This was their first trip to the 6hrs. We spent a lot of time in the subsequent evenings talking about the event in general and what they'd seen during the day.
Thursday was sign on day so I headed up to admin to sign on. Ken Clarke and Anthony Robinson would co drive the MGB and they were on their way. We were due to test at 5 ish so there was plenty of time to fit the new FIA approved 5kg extinguisher etc. before scrutineering. I took the car, three helmets and sets of overalls to the technical control bay, we passed!
Bearing in mind that the car had not finished a race in its previous two outings we set it up for longevity, rather than speed. The ignition was backed off to cope with unleaded and we ran a relatively tall diff. Revs were limited to around 6k. I got in and did four laps, three of which had yellow flags and one where I was baulked by a couple of Healeys. I came back in and Anthony hopped in. He came back a lap later complaining that the car was fluffing over 5k. We thought it was fuel vapourisation so we sent him out again. He was towed back later because the car stopped and would not re start. It took about two hours on Friday, but we finally nailed the problem down to the rotor arm.
Both Ken and Anthony were to get a number of laps around the circuit in their cars during the Masters and BSSCC races, but we decided to limit qualifying to four laps each. Of course this was a disadvantage to me but again, we were looking at saving the car. Ken went out first and clocked our qualifying time of 3:20, not particularly fast but not last. Anthony ran at a similar pace. My job was to bed some pads and just do three laps, which I did. We parked the car with no problems and went home.
Next morning we discovered that we had qualified..........98th! Significantly we weren't last.
Anthony was strapped in and around 16:08 the race started. We ran at 1hr stints so Anthony got a full tank and the rolling start. After ten laps the safety car came out for a serious accident at Eau Rouge. All I can say is that we were relieved to see Anthony come round in the SC snake the next lap. Allowing for attrition we were up to 72 at the 1hr mark and it was Ken's turn.
In what would be a continuing pattern for Ken, the pit lane was closed for a safety car so he sat there for about 5 minutes before he (and others) was released. After that his stint was pretty unremarkable, just a steady stream of times around 3:22 until it was time for Anthony to climb aboard again. We had decided on AKAPKP as the driver rota because Anthony preferred not to run in the dark. So at the 2hr mark we were 68th.
Anthony's second stint would set our fastest time. He had a pretty clear run which steadily got faster until he hit 3:19. Then we called him in because we were worried about the fuel. We were now 63rd.
Now it was my turn. I got the refuelling straw and queued for what must have been around 10 minutes. With a full tank and little running I was pleased to get down to a 3:22 but as with the others, my stint was noteable for its lack of drama. Back to Ken, who, once again was held for a lap due to a safety car. We were 60th.
Ken ran into the darkness and times started to slow. The problem was twofold. The lights on many cars created a virtual 'whiteout' which made apexes extremely difficult to find; and our lights weren't exactly bright. Anyway at the end of the 5th hour we were 58th.
I had the honour of running through the dark to the finish. I was in "bring it home" mode so was driving around 80%. On one lap Joe Twyman's Elite exited Radillon alongside me. We ran neck and neck up to Les Combes. He looked at me, I looked at him, he looked at me, I looked at him, etc. Eventually, knowing I would be a mobile chicane, I waved him through. Then I saw that flag and it was all over. Coming into the pits was fantastic. All those people waving and clapping, it felt like a win not just a finish. We finished 46th, having benefitted from attrition plus our reliability and consistency.
So, the roll call. On timing and pit wall management, Pat; catering and wellbeing, Aline Clarke; on catering support and back up timing (plus screen cleaning) Hannah Clarke; on spanners we had Tim Clarke and Henry. On pedals and wheels we had Anthony Robinson, Ken Clarke and me.
Our weekend started after I landed at Heathrow on Tuesday 20th. We collected the car from Ken Clarke that afternoon and set out at 5:30am the next morning for the Ferry. We arrived at Spa around 3pm in the afternoon and unloaded into the garage, which we shared with the Sunbeam Tiger driven by Julian Mazjub and Ewan McIntyre. That was a blessing because we were No. 21, right under the access stairs to the Paddock admin, thus there was only a small place to park. In fact the Tiger team were doing all their prep in an awning elsewhere so only used the garage as a base during testing, qualifying and the race. Although I didn't get all their names, they were a most sociable bunch of guys and therefore made life pretty good.
As we were settling in, a rather tall German gent arrived with an unfeasably large motorhome and an equally large trailer containing a GT40. He asked if we would be good enough to move our car because he needed space for his awning. His logic was that he had three cars and only one garage and that we would be going to a hotel at night so would have no need of the space. I said no. However he was lucky because our friends with the Tiger didn't need any space so we could back our car up to the rear of the pit. Nonetheless his attitude took the shine off the day.
At dinner in the hotel that evening we got talking to a very nice couple who appeared extremely knowledgeable. They introduced themselves as Chris and Leslie a couple of real racing enthusiasts. This was their first trip to the 6hrs. We spent a lot of time in the subsequent evenings talking about the event in general and what they'd seen during the day.
Thursday was sign on day so I headed up to admin to sign on. Ken Clarke and Anthony Robinson would co drive the MGB and they were on their way. We were due to test at 5 ish so there was plenty of time to fit the new FIA approved 5kg extinguisher etc. before scrutineering. I took the car, three helmets and sets of overalls to the technical control bay, we passed!
Bearing in mind that the car had not finished a race in its previous two outings we set it up for longevity, rather than speed. The ignition was backed off to cope with unleaded and we ran a relatively tall diff. Revs were limited to around 6k. I got in and did four laps, three of which had yellow flags and one where I was baulked by a couple of Healeys. I came back in and Anthony hopped in. He came back a lap later complaining that the car was fluffing over 5k. We thought it was fuel vapourisation so we sent him out again. He was towed back later because the car stopped and would not re start. It took about two hours on Friday, but we finally nailed the problem down to the rotor arm.
Both Ken and Anthony were to get a number of laps around the circuit in their cars during the Masters and BSSCC races, but we decided to limit qualifying to four laps each. Of course this was a disadvantage to me but again, we were looking at saving the car. Ken went out first and clocked our qualifying time of 3:20, not particularly fast but not last. Anthony ran at a similar pace. My job was to bed some pads and just do three laps, which I did. We parked the car with no problems and went home.
Next morning we discovered that we had qualified..........98th! Significantly we weren't last.
Anthony was strapped in and around 16:08 the race started. We ran at 1hr stints so Anthony got a full tank and the rolling start. After ten laps the safety car came out for a serious accident at Eau Rouge. All I can say is that we were relieved to see Anthony come round in the SC snake the next lap. Allowing for attrition we were up to 72 at the 1hr mark and it was Ken's turn.
In what would be a continuing pattern for Ken, the pit lane was closed for a safety car so he sat there for about 5 minutes before he (and others) was released. After that his stint was pretty unremarkable, just a steady stream of times around 3:22 until it was time for Anthony to climb aboard again. We had decided on AKAPKP as the driver rota because Anthony preferred not to run in the dark. So at the 2hr mark we were 68th.
Anthony's second stint would set our fastest time. He had a pretty clear run which steadily got faster until he hit 3:19. Then we called him in because we were worried about the fuel. We were now 63rd.
Now it was my turn. I got the refuelling straw and queued for what must have been around 10 minutes. With a full tank and little running I was pleased to get down to a 3:22 but as with the others, my stint was noteable for its lack of drama. Back to Ken, who, once again was held for a lap due to a safety car. We were 60th.
I had the honour of running through the dark to the finish. I was in "bring it home" mode so was driving around 80%. On one lap Joe Twyman's Elite exited Radillon alongside me. We ran neck and neck up to Les Combes. He looked at me, I looked at him, he looked at me, I looked at him, etc. Eventually, knowing I would be a mobile chicane, I waved him through. Then I saw that flag and it was all over. Coming into the pits was fantastic. All those people waving and clapping, it felt like a win not just a finish. We finished 46th, having benefitted from attrition plus our reliability and consistency.
So, the roll call. On timing and pit wall management, Pat; catering and wellbeing, Aline Clarke; on catering support and back up timing (plus screen cleaning) Hannah Clarke; on spanners we had Tim Clarke and Henry. On pedals and wheels we had Anthony Robinson, Ken Clarke and me.
27 April 2010
360 Motor-Racing Club 6hrs of Snetterton
The following interview was published by the Alfa Romeo Owners Club
A word with the chairman We caught up with Claire Smith, Chairman of the newly formed 360 Motor Racing Club to ask her what its all about
So…what is 360 Motor Racing Club?
Well its nothing to do with an X box!. The 360 Motor Racing Club is a newly formed club within motorsport,, set up to organise, facilitate and operate a 6 hour endurance race in the uk.
There are plenty of endurance races why is this one different?
Its different because its aimed at the Clubman competitor,. the competitor who normally would get 20-40 minute races plus a bit of practice and qualifying will now get a chance to compete in an endurance race.
Is there a market for that type of entry in endurance racing?
We think there is and judging by the enquiries we have had and interested parties involved I think we are right. There are enough endurance races out there for bigger budget outfits, we want to bring the excitement of competing in an endurance race to the competitors who may have dreamed about doing such an event, but their budgets doesn’t stretch to the kind of fees associated with some of the endurance races out there. The good thing is with this event is that its not robbing Peter to pay Paul as such, we don’t think we are taking any grid away from anyone else, we are not diluting the market, we are carving a new niche in motorsport that it could well do with.
How did the event come about?
There is a web forum called ten-tenths motorsport, where people who love motorsport can air their views on the many different aspects of it, we get competitors and Marshals and race officials and genuine enthusiast from all over the world who regularly post threads on there. There was a thread that was posted, just as an idea about an “alternative six hour race” The thread gathered momentum and several of the key contributors, I being one, formed a forum to discuss the feasibility of actually making it work. The rest is history.
How did you get involved?
I subscribe to Ten Tenths and was following the thread with some interest. I had been involved with Masters setting up their organising club so had an idea of what was needed to actually organise an event such as this, I then decided to invest a bit of my time and some resource into setting up the foundation to make it happen, just before Christmas, I founded the company and set up the website, kept pushing it along , we then had a meeting in London and the committee thought that as I had done a good job so far, they wanted me to chair the club, which I am very proud of and thank them for their trust and support
You are all enthusiasts then? Bit of a tall order to put on a race event isn’t it?
Anyone who actually works or competes in motorsport is an enthusiast! The guys in Race Control, or out on the bank marshalling do not get paid for their time, (In fact, if you are a clerk, you have to subscribe for your licence!) The thing is, the key people who are driving this event have a wealth of knowledge within the industry, collectively we have over 150 years experience in putting events such as these on, also, two of us in the committee team have done this before with regard to starting up.
Why Snetterton?
Well, mainly because of what happened with Donington. When we first looked at the idea, we chose Silverstone as a venue, but, because Donington had been put out of commission, it suddenly added huge pressure to the other circuits with every organising club in the land scrambling to get their meetings in a suitable venue. Silverstone was going to be having some development work done so we looked at Snetterton because, with the nature of this event, we needed to be able to get cars back to the paddock in the event of a breakdown etc, we can do that at Snetterton with a safety car.
What cars can compete?
Any Saloon or GT model manufactured between 1968 and 1986 upto a maximum of 3500 CC subject of course to the regulations and supplementary regulations. There are five classes with four classes being made up of various engine sizes and the fifth class being an invitation class for cars that may not fit the exact spec of the regs, but, are very much “in the spirit “ of the event
What Drivers can compete?
Any driver who has a valid National B Race licence can compete, providing they have not a “novice” status, that is, they have competed at least ten times. They will with registration automatically become a member of the 360 Motor Racing Club which they will need to be in order to compete.
Have you opened entry for it yet?
No, we have opened registration, whereby, we take a registration fee from the team . This registration fee will be deducted from the entry fee when entry opens, for full details though, go to www.360Motor-Racing-Club.com
What kind of response have you had?
I only have one word for that…AMAZING!. We cannot believe the response we have had, it is very promising
What can we look forward to at the event?
Well, apart from the excitement of the tortoise and hare type racing that could easily happen with the field we have, the fact that this race wont be won at the first corner (and if people are thinking that then its more likely that they would lose it at the first corner not win it) but we are currently talking to Radio Le man and its looking very likely that they will be covering the event and broadcasting it locally at the circuit and also to the world wide web!, we are very excited and pleased about that, we are also looking at some very special cars that are interested in entering but I cant give away too much at the moment,…..it will spoil the surprise!!! You will just have to trust us on that
Oh come on….what sort of interesting cars have you got?
All historic cars are interesting arnt they?. we have interest from someone with a Mk1 AVO Escort and me being from Essex just love them , some lovely GTi’s I think there is even an arrive and drive and I believe your editor who I met at race retro is coming with an Alfa?...
How do our readers find out more?
Go to www.360Motor-racing-club.com or e mail us on info@360Motor-Racing-Club.com or you can even e mail me direct on Claire.Smith@360Motor-Racing-Club.com
Is this just a one off event ?
We certainly hope not, we hope it will be a successful event and could become an annual thing. I certainly think that this could evolve and if so, we could well see maybe more than just an annual event or maybe a weekend event but I don’t really think we should run before we walk, its early days. Im just very happy with the team that we have got and the response so far. Its exciting stuff! Thanks Claire Smith
Entries are now being taken.
A word with the chairman We caught up with Claire Smith, Chairman of the newly formed 360 Motor Racing Club to ask her what its all about
So…what is 360 Motor Racing Club?
Well its nothing to do with an X box!. The 360 Motor Racing Club is a newly formed club within motorsport,, set up to organise, facilitate and operate a 6 hour endurance race in the uk.
There are plenty of endurance races why is this one different?
Its different because its aimed at the Clubman competitor,. the competitor who normally would get 20-40 minute races plus a bit of practice and qualifying will now get a chance to compete in an endurance race.
Is there a market for that type of entry in endurance racing?
We think there is and judging by the enquiries we have had and interested parties involved I think we are right. There are enough endurance races out there for bigger budget outfits, we want to bring the excitement of competing in an endurance race to the competitors who may have dreamed about doing such an event, but their budgets doesn’t stretch to the kind of fees associated with some of the endurance races out there. The good thing is with this event is that its not robbing Peter to pay Paul as such, we don’t think we are taking any grid away from anyone else, we are not diluting the market, we are carving a new niche in motorsport that it could well do with.
How did the event come about?
There is a web forum called ten-tenths motorsport, where people who love motorsport can air their views on the many different aspects of it, we get competitors and Marshals and race officials and genuine enthusiast from all over the world who regularly post threads on there. There was a thread that was posted, just as an idea about an “alternative six hour race” The thread gathered momentum and several of the key contributors, I being one, formed a forum to discuss the feasibility of actually making it work. The rest is history.
How did you get involved?
I subscribe to Ten Tenths and was following the thread with some interest. I had been involved with Masters setting up their organising club so had an idea of what was needed to actually organise an event such as this, I then decided to invest a bit of my time and some resource into setting up the foundation to make it happen, just before Christmas, I founded the company and set up the website, kept pushing it along , we then had a meeting in London and the committee thought that as I had done a good job so far, they wanted me to chair the club, which I am very proud of and thank them for their trust and support
You are all enthusiasts then? Bit of a tall order to put on a race event isn’t it?
Anyone who actually works or competes in motorsport is an enthusiast! The guys in Race Control, or out on the bank marshalling do not get paid for their time, (In fact, if you are a clerk, you have to subscribe for your licence!) The thing is, the key people who are driving this event have a wealth of knowledge within the industry, collectively we have over 150 years experience in putting events such as these on, also, two of us in the committee team have done this before with regard to starting up.
Why Snetterton?
Well, mainly because of what happened with Donington. When we first looked at the idea, we chose Silverstone as a venue, but, because Donington had been put out of commission, it suddenly added huge pressure to the other circuits with every organising club in the land scrambling to get their meetings in a suitable venue. Silverstone was going to be having some development work done so we looked at Snetterton because, with the nature of this event, we needed to be able to get cars back to the paddock in the event of a breakdown etc, we can do that at Snetterton with a safety car.
What cars can compete?
Any Saloon or GT model manufactured between 1968 and 1986 upto a maximum of 3500 CC subject of course to the regulations and supplementary regulations. There are five classes with four classes being made up of various engine sizes and the fifth class being an invitation class for cars that may not fit the exact spec of the regs, but, are very much “in the spirit “ of the event
What Drivers can compete?
Any driver who has a valid National B Race licence can compete, providing they have not a “novice” status, that is, they have competed at least ten times. They will with registration automatically become a member of the 360 Motor Racing Club which they will need to be in order to compete.
Have you opened entry for it yet?
No, we have opened registration, whereby, we take a registration fee from the team . This registration fee will be deducted from the entry fee when entry opens, for full details though, go to www.360Motor-Racing-Club.com
What kind of response have you had?
I only have one word for that…AMAZING!. We cannot believe the response we have had, it is very promising
What can we look forward to at the event?
Well, apart from the excitement of the tortoise and hare type racing that could easily happen with the field we have, the fact that this race wont be won at the first corner (and if people are thinking that then its more likely that they would lose it at the first corner not win it) but we are currently talking to Radio Le man and its looking very likely that they will be covering the event and broadcasting it locally at the circuit and also to the world wide web!, we are very excited and pleased about that, we are also looking at some very special cars that are interested in entering but I cant give away too much at the moment,…..it will spoil the surprise!!! You will just have to trust us on that
Oh come on….what sort of interesting cars have you got?
All historic cars are interesting arnt they?. we have interest from someone with a Mk1 AVO Escort and me being from Essex just love them , some lovely GTi’s I think there is even an arrive and drive and I believe your editor who I met at race retro is coming with an Alfa?...
How do our readers find out more?
Go to www.360Motor-racing-club.com or e mail us on info@360Motor-Racing-Club.com or you can even e mail me direct on Claire.Smith@360Motor-Racing-Club.com
Is this just a one off event ?
We certainly hope not, we hope it will be a successful event and could become an annual thing. I certainly think that this could evolve and if so, we could well see maybe more than just an annual event or maybe a weekend event but I don’t really think we should run before we walk, its early days. Im just very happy with the team that we have got and the response so far. Its exciting stuff! Thanks Claire Smith
Entries are now being taken.
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