2019 – Silverstone
The famous Silverstone circuit was next on the calendar. Luckily the previous two events meant I didn’t have to do too much work on the car so a well-earned week off in West Wales re-charged the batteries and a quick weather report showed the weekend would either be sunny, cloudy, rainy or stormy. As Silverstone would be the venue for the annual Vee Centre BBQ which I was organising with Martin Snarey it would interesting to say the least.
Caroline and I packed the van with all the usual gear and the additions of a bargain barrel BBQ from Facebook Marketplace, a large gas BBQ from home and a new gas bottle, all to make sure the 80 people attending got cooked food!
Arrival at Silverstone is always fraught with the danger of not getting into the paddock let alone being able to setup. We managed to blag our way in but only to the temporary holding pen at Stowe so we decided to have a watch of testing and enjoy the blustery conditions. A few cups of tea later we settled into the garage and got ourselves ready for the weekend.
Qualifying was not the best. A mad rush in changing the fuel pump 30mins before the start didn’t help (a big thank you to Matt Topham in assisting) and with new tyres on the car the first few laps were slippery to say the least and to compound it all, two cars put a fair amount of oil down which the clerk of the course didn’t appreciate. This resulted in quite a delay for the club as the clearing operation is quite specialised. My final times were poor but I knew the race would be different now the tyres were sticky.
Race 1
The race was pushed to the end of the day due to the oil cleaning delay and I was starting 27th which is not good enough when I am in contention for a top three B class championship result. We headed out of assembly and warmed the tyres and brakes, gridded up and waited for the green flag lap. Oh yes, its Silverstone the green flag lap is from assembly, I remember. Not quickly enough though as when the lights went out I was thinking of feeding the 5000 in the evening. Bugger!!!!
The start was ok, I lost places but managed to gain them back quite quickly and then began a tussle between myself, Bill Garner, Phil Waterhouse and Elliot Mason. Lap after lap, myself and Bill fought hard for the position, sadly due to the nature of Silverstone if you have slightly less power than someone then you are a sitting duck on the straights even if you have a tow. The fight continued until a few laps from the end I made contact with Bill’s right rear wheel which dropped me back behind Phil and Elliot. The blood was boiling now as I knew I was faster than them and I caught back up on the final lap. I managed a double tow coming down Wellington Straight and managed a sneaky inside pass of Phil going through Stowe, and I kept the inside line for Vale stopping a possible last minute lunge by Phil for the inside. Phil went for the outside but sadly ran out of track and went for a trip in the gravel. I couldn’t get past Elliot on the last corner and ended up finishing in 25th and 6th in class. Not a good result but the racing was fantastic and my times were acceptable. Room to improve for Race 2.
BBQ
After the race had ended and the slaps on the back had been dually given it was time for the Vee Centre BBQ. This year in my role as the Chairmen of the Vee Centre, which I am proud to be, I had to organise the BBQ for 80 people. I obviously didn’t do this on my own (if I had the guys and girls would all have had a packet of dry roasted nuts and a can of coke between them)! The organising team were myself, Caroline, Martin and Lynne. The BBQs were lit and after a few hours of both cooking the food and ourselves the masses were fed and watered and it was soon time for a well-deserved break. A big thank you to Ross Price and Pete Belsey for assisting with the cooking and Daniel Hands for supplying sausages and ribs.
Race 2
No major concerns for Race 2. We managed to grid up in assembly, warm the tyres and I manged to remember the lack of green flag lap!!!!
I got a good start and made a few places, I saw a car mount the curb at the first corner which unsettled it and he span. The pack split and I managed to get through without losing anytime unlike at Snetterton where I was mugged for 5 places. The race was on and I was soon fighting with the usual people. I got close to the pack ahead but sadly my concentration went missing when I saw a car go off the track at Vale and I spun. I lost 3 or 4 places which got me fired up and I got on the back of the group again. I was lucky that a few cars were spinning in various places so I regained some places and a pass on Charles Boniface at Stowe gave me a 19th finish position and 4th in class.
Overall the weekend was a success. It was the second time at the track and I managed a couple of lap times of 1.18.4 which I was very happy about. The car was good, the weather was kind and the BBQ was a success. I didn’t score high points in Race 1 and it looks like it will be a big battle for the top 3 places in the B Championship, but why would we want a boring F1 style championship.
I am now currently Top of the B Championship, whoop whoop!
Donnington is next and with a busy few weeks with work I am just glad the car is in one piece. Let’s see what we can do.