Saturday 23 August - Silverstone
Perhaps the most prestigious of events on our calendar, Silverstone certainly gave us the most space in the paddock! Although we were only racing on the National circuit, over half of this is the same as the Formula 1 track. The day was dry and hot, and with 40 entrants, all was set for a good battle.
Qualifying was in one session, and with 40 cars on the track, it was very difficult to get some clear space. Add in the inevitable yellow flags as cars expired or spun, and flying laps were hard to come by. I made 2 early mistakes, both on my first full lap. For some reason, I decided that the first corner, Copse, only required a slight lift, rather than a dab on the brakes, and ended up going over the rumble strip and grass, and on to the newly installed tarmac beneath - convenient! Keeping my foot firmly planted on the accelerator, I ended up at the next corner, Becketts at well over 90 mph. Unfortunately I had not warmed up my brakes, and they were suitably unresponsive, having not been used since Mallory Park 2 weeks ago in the wet! Again, a visit over the very prominent curb ensued, but there was yet more tarmac on the far side so we were OK. By about lap 6 I had got the hang of the track, and the car was really on form. We had a lengthy practice session, and I ended up completing 12 full laps. My best was 1 min 15.99 seconds - good for 10th place, and averaging almost 80 mph. Tim Gray (11) took pole again, with Big Al (31) not far behind.
The race was limited to 34 cars which was the most we've had all season. The first corner (Copse) was going to be interesting, and I was on the outside of the grid, therefore unable to defend an inside line, and susceptible to any spinners from the inside heading in my direction. The start and first corner were as frantic as normal, and went without incident. Although I made a good start down the outside, I played safe around Copse and was still in 10th at the end of it. Colin Beckwith (39) was immediately ahead of me, and I took a couple of laps to get a decent toe down the main straight and overtake him on braking for Brooklands corner. Simon Read (8) was next, still suffering from a car that would not pull much over 6000 rpm. However, it still handles like a dream, and having overtaken him I had to try hard to stay in front, especially around the long Luffields corner where he was able to take a much better line than me. I soon caught up Andy Crapnell (7) and David Brailey (49), embroiled in their own battle, which I joined. I managed to pull alongside them repeatedly, but always on the wrong part of the track to make it stick at the next corner. Towards the end of the race, the newly married Brett Townsend (41) caught Simon Read behind me, and we all started to catch the tail-enders adding to the excitement and overtaking opportunities. On the final lap, myself, Andy and David went down the Club Straight side by side catching 2 tail enders. We got past one on the straight, but caught Lee Simpson (66) right at Brooklands corner. Andy and David went around the outside, and I decided to follow Lee through the first part then tuck inside. I neither lost, nor gained, and ended up following home David and Andy who was pipped at the line. Brett finished behind me, having overtaken Simon amongst the tail enders on the last lap.
Final result 8th place, but even better, I recorded the 5th best lap time of the day, exactly 1 second slower than the best time - definite progress. Next race, Lydden in Kent on Sat 30 Aug.