Practice | The Race | Results

Having lost a good result at the previous race, I was keen to do well at Silverstone. I was also a bit apprehensive, as class B and C cars were racing with class A cars for the first time this year. This meant a full complement of 34 kit cars - a few more then the 12 or so I was used to racing with!

Practice started well, and I was able to get some clear laps in. A rather ambitious attempt to pass 2 cars at Brooklands saw me run wide, and take a trip over the grass - fortunately with no damage to the car. I was still suffering from a flat spot in the engine power at about 6500rpm in 3rd and 4th gears, which was costing me time on the two straights - this was despite fitting a new fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator the night before. Hopefully a test session at Snetterton next Saturday will enable me to get to the bottom of this. I also suffered from my right-hand side mirror working loose, so all I could see through it was my steering wheel, which was not particularly useful! I decided that it would be safer to come in, but the session was about to finish anyway, so didn't lose any track time.

Despite the flat spot, and my excursion, I managed a time of 1:10.23 - some 5 seconds faster than I managed the previous year in my old car! This placed me 18th on the grid, out of 33, just behind Richard Welch, and with Charles Sterling not too far behind me. The prospects were looking good for an exciting race, with 7 drivers qualifying around the 1:10 mark.

Two drivers who had problems in practice were Jonathan White, who suffered an electrical problem. This meant that he had to qualify in another session and the rules state that he must start from the back of the grid. Tim Childs went off at Becketts, which damaged the car slightly and meant that he wouldn't be able to take part in the race.

The Race | Results | Practice

32 cars lined up on the grid, with Jonathan White at the back. I was nervous before the race about the prospect of being in the middle of 32 cars streaming into the first corner, but as the lights went to red, my only thoughts were about making a good start.

I managed a cracking start - drawing alongside Richard Welch, but as I went to change into 2nd gear, the gearbox refused to go into gear- a problem I now think is caused by me pulling the gear lever too hard in the excitement of the start. This left me cruising in neutral for a second or two, which allowed several cars to stream past me. I managed to stay out of trouble going through Copse, and passed a couple of cars on the run down to Becketts, and passed a couple more round the outside of the sharp right-hander onto Club straight.

I was now in a group of 6 cars, and I think we were in different positions every lap, and at one point we were going through Luffield and Woodcote 3 abreast! Charles Sterling was inches (sometimes millimetres) away from Tom Thornton, desperately trying to get past him, but somehow Tom was just able to hold him off. I was trying desperately to pass Charles, who in turn was defending very vigorously (but absolutely fairly). While I was trying to pass Charles, I was also trying to hold off Richard Welch, who managed to get past me on several occasions (once going around Copse - brave man!). Fortunately I managed to be ahead of him where it mattered - at the chequered flag. It was a close finish, and great racing - and there were several other close battles through the field.

Despite messing up the start, I managed to finish 15th overall, and 4th in class. I also improved my fastest lap time - down to 1:09.38 (a time that would have put me 5th (out of 34) on the grid at the race in October 1998!) There were several retirements - notably Andy Charsley, who spun into the gravel at Brooklands, and Mark Owen and Clive Hudson who had a slight coming together at Luffield, which caused minor damage to the front of Mark's car, and a puncture to Clive's. Rob Putnam had fulfilled one of his ambitions of racing at Silverstone, but unfortunately was unable to finish, as his oil pump broke after just 3 laps.

Results | Practice | The Race

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Race Results