Tuesday 28th April 2015

Silverstone Britcar 24-Hour race reports

PHers Damian Hirst and James Morgan were at Silverstone over the weekend - read their race stories here!

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The Britcar 24-Hour made a return to Silverstone this year after two years away and PH gave away 15 pairs of tickets for the weekend with two lucky winners receiving a behind-the-scenes look at the weekend with Dunlop. They were Damian and James, whose experiences you can read here. They were both tasked with writing about the weekend so there is understandably some crossover in their words but it sounds like they both thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to both James and Damian, and all those involved with running the competition!

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James writes:
It all started with a late night, last minute attempt to enter a competition on PistonHeads to win two tickets for the Britcar 24-Hour. Two days later to my very pleasant surprise I received an email from Matt Bird at PH informing me that I'd not only won two tickets, but that I was also going out in the safety car and spending time with Dunlop to see they worked at a race weekend.

I had no idea what to expect as my father-in-law Geoff and I jumped in the car and headed off down the road from North Wales to Silverstone early on Friday. We had some time to kill on arrival but this certainly wasn't a hardship! The weather was perfect and there was plenty of track activity to keep us entertained including the MSA British Superkart Championship, Production BMW and Toyo Tyres Racing Saloons, Britcar Trophy Championship, SRCC Sports 2000 Championship as well as day and night qualifying time for the main event. We left the circuit tired but very happy in the early evening to find our accommodation. How did we manage to get two rooms at the nearby Premier Inn so cheaply, at the time of a 24-hour race? Comparing this to Le Mans 24-Hour, all I can say is that we were bloody lucky!

On Saturday morning, we arrived at Race Control at 1000h where we greeted by a very pleasant Claire Hedley (Head of Britcar Operations) and fellow winner Damian Hirst. There was bad news and good news. Unfortunately it had not been possible to arrange a lap in the safety car but, as an alternative, we would be allowed to start the race from the gantry over the pitlane. Big smiles all round! From this point, we were handed over to a great guy called Mickey from Dunlop, who showed us around the tyre change operations and gained us entry to several of the team garages. Big thanks is due to the SICL.com team who gave us VIP garage passes and a detailed tour around their SEAT Leon Cup Racer as it was being prepped. The build up to the race start at 1600h reminded me in many ways of Le Mans, albeit on a smaller scale. There was the same nervous excitement from fans and teams alike, but there was something very different to Le Mans. Everyone was far more approachable and down to earth. This event was much more about gentlemen than corporate giants.

At around 1550h, with the crowd cleared from the starting grid, Damian and I received our start procedure brief. It was quite easy in fact. At 1600h we had to wave a green flag to get the rolling start underway, and then as the cars approached the end of their first lap and the safety car moved over, we were to wave union flags to officially start the race. What could possibly go wrong? As it happened, nothing did. We waved our flags and the race was underway; 24 hours of piston pumping nirvana had begun!

For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, Geoff and I drove around the circuit, stopping at various superb vantage points to follow some of the most exciting motor racing I've seen in a long time.

After a good night's sleep, we returned to the circuit to a greyer, colder day. Apparently the safety car had been out for most of that night and the rain had been relentless, but the teams had battled on. As the finish time approached, the sun came out, crowds gathered and tired but exhilarated race teams clambered onto the pit wall to welcome home their heroic drivers and battle scarred cars.

If I had to choose between the Le Mans 24-Hour and the Britcar 24-Hour then the latter would win every time!"

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Damian writes:
I didn't know what to expect on arrival at Silverstone and was amazed to find the tickets gave me full access to Silverstone including parking in the paddock!

I met with Claire from Britcar, along with fellow competition winner James, who advised us that we would no longer be going in the safety car but then added that we were getting a better prize. We would be starting the race from the gantry! Now that is awesomely awesome!

Next we were introduced to Ash Woodman (SICL.com Racing SEAT Leon Cup Racer drivers), who along with the team manager gave us a tour of his car and supplied us with a couple of garage VIP passes for the weekend.

Off to the next stop, Mickey (Team Boss at Dunlop), he sorted us out with a cuppa and then gave us a tour of the Dunlop tyre service area. As this is a 24-hour event, Dunlop had brought 2,800 tyres for the weekend!

Moving on, Mickey then gave us a tour of a number of garages, including Sir Chris Hoy's LNT Ginetta team, as well as numerous Aston Martins, BMWs, Radicals and so on.

At this point we were left to our own devices to have a look around the paddock and meet the other drivers and teams. I was amazed at how welcoming each team was, bearing in mind they were preparing to start a 24-hour race. Moreover, and contrary to popular belief, there is very little if any sleep taking place during the race, meaning the teams are up for circa 36 hours straight! Coffee please!

We were asked to reconvene at the Dunlop area for 1520h where we were taken into the pits and introduced to the race officials. They explained the starting procedure and exactly what we would be doing.

10 minutes to go, five minutes to go, two minutes to go, one minute to go, 30 seconds...

And pause.

The moment we had been waiting for had arrived. All of the "what if I drop the flag?" and "what if I get it wrong?" stopped instantly as the engines roared underneath the gantry as they left the grid on the parade lap... We had succeeded!

Now just the matter of actually starting the race. Before we could become nervous the pace car was in the pits and 34 cars were hurtling towards us and BAM! There they were, Union Jacks at the ready the countdown began: Three, two, one... and GO, GO, GO! Our 15 seconds of fame were over but what a buzz!

After five hours of watching, learning and enjoying, I returned to the hotel to get some kip. I'd been reliably informed that sunrise is a great time to watch the racing.

I arrived back at the track for 0500h Sunday morning, having promised to make a round of coffees for the crew who'd been up all night. I had somehow managed to miss all of the overnight rain but was met with a sombre mood in the SICL.com garage. Unfortunately just before 0400h with the rain still falling, disaster had struck as Ash Woodman had lost control of the SEAT, hitting the concrete wall at Maggots head on at just over 80mph. Although Ash wasn't badly hurt, his back and ego ended up quite bruised...

Moving back to the race, the #35 Beachdean AMR GT4 car piloted by Andrew Howard, Jonny Adam, Jamie Chadwick, Ross Gunn and Harry Whale won the eventful race, completing 529 laps of the 3.66-mile Silverstone circuit. While Radical Sportscars, Marc Cars Australia, Beachdean AMR, St Bas Koeten Racing and Red Camel - Jordans.nl all picked up class wins.

The car of the race for me and seemingly the fans was the Paul Mensley Ford Fiesta - yes, a Ford Fiesta! It finished 14th overall and second in class, a great result. As the saying goes, 'to finish first, first you must finish' and it seems the team were onto a winner with impeccable reliability and a steady pace.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in organising the prize and looking after us for the weekend. In no particular order: Matt Bird (aw shucks, you're too kind - MB), Heather Tomsett-Firmin (RSM), Claire Hedley (Event Manager, Britcar), Mickey and his team (Dunlop UK Motorsport) and last but not least, Ash Woodman and the team at SICL.com Racing for their hospitality. This is certainly a weekend I will not forget in a hurry!

[Images: James Morgan and LAT]

[rallye666]

Ok I'll go first:

Looks like a day out that Monet couldn't buy

[SpeckledJim]

Silverstone: Too flatty - not banksy enough.

[eddieantifreeze]

The Fiesta - that little car is getting a serious amount of attention after this race!

I was one of the volunteers on it during the weekend. It did have a steady pace, however it seemed to have a taste for rear wheel bearings - it consumed then! Once that issue was fixed it ran smooth as you like though...

Epic weekend from my point of view!

[Turbobanana]

Sounds like both winners enjoyed it, but I reckon you missed a trick. The 24hr races I've been to went something like this:
- Watch the start, then about an hour or so of racing
- Catch some sleep, wake up to see the sunset (assuming there was one - may already have been raining)
- Watch through the night: you can watch cars racing in daylight any weekend, night racing is different: brake discs glow, flameouts are exaggerated etc.

[evilmiyagi]

tbh you're probably right Turbo!

It was a first for me at a 24hr race so was somewhat unsure what to expect...

Given the chance again, I'd probably do similar to what you've suggested...

Still, it was a cracking couple of days

[Turbobanana]

evilmiyagi said:

tbh you're probably right Turbo!

It was a first for me at a 24hr race so was somewhat unsure what to expect...

Given the chance again, I'd probably do similar to what you've suggested...

Still, it was a cracking couple of days

Hope the experience was enough to whet your appetite Damien - 24hr races are unlike any others.

Would have been there myself (living only 20 miles away) but childcare duties intervened: grrrrrr!

[evilmiyagi]

It has indeed

tbh, I'd previously dismissed Endurance with the impressions that more time racing = less interesting racing. But having seen it from the other side it is far from it.

Yes, there isn't as much overtaking for position but step back and look at the bigger picture and suddenly there is a lot more to it.

EM