Rounds 1 & 2 - Silverstone National

A new season, new regulations, new sponsors, new cars and new faces. Silverstone National Circuit welcomed the start of the 2023 SRCC Sports 2000 Championship with a busy programme of 4 races, 2 races for each group, Historic Pintos sponsored by Apsley House Capital PLC and Duratecs sponsored by BS Burner Services Ltd. With additional support for the Championships from Yokohama Tyres, VMEP and Varley Red Top Batteries. Togethrer with Lifeline Fire Extinguishers, and Raceparts who both had visiting representatives who dropped into the morning briefing.

Friday testing had been a mixture of delays caused by heavy showers, the track going from wet to greasy with a drying line enabling the brave to slip onto slicks toward the end to try a dry a set up for the predicted improved weather for Saturday. For the University of Wales Trinity St.David (UWTSD) Motorsport Team their weekend began on Thursday lasting into the evening as they fitted a new splitter and side floor pieces manufactured by their driver John Iley to trial on his car. The new bodywork added weight but John hoped their would be performance advantages to negate the gain.

During the test the students were able to conduct a flow vis test on John’s car once the conditions dried. Tim Tudor ensured the Students had another lengthy evening when oil pressure problems were detected at the end of the day. Friday produced problems for others as well and for them the weekend did not look so good. Colin Peach had his Van Diemen drop to the floor whilst unloading damaging the rear uprights and Peter Brouwer could see his trip wasted when he developed transmission problems, compounded by the fact that his trusty mechanic had stayed in Holland preparing a car for Hockenheim the following week.

Yet again the SRCC camaraderie came to the rescue. Chat in the paddock and on the WhatsApp groups ensured that most problems would have a solution. Overnight Peter had a change of diff and Colin’s car was repaired and ready to go on Saturday morning, following assistance and spares from Joshua Needham. Colin’s tale of woe does not quite end there. An hour before qualifying they found an oil leak which looked like they were going home. Richard and Andrew Dewhurst this time coming to the rescue.

With the anticipated dry race weekend, the next challenge for many was the new tyre regulations agreed at the AGM earlier in the year. Each car was to be allowed only one set of new dry tyres for the race weekend, the use of wet tyres and used dry tyres are unrestricted. New tyres would be barcoded and the competitor must then photograph each code and forward it for recording. Some found they learnt new skills, some struggled, but the process went through without too many hitches.

Qualifying

In qualifying the first group out on track were the grid of 16 Pintos. The entry held a lot of promise with new faces and some lost entries due to the clash with Goodwood Members Meeting. More new cars and drivers are anticipated for this historic class. The session proved to be interesting, as the track was cold and still wet from the overnight rain. The tyres struggled to gain temperature, spins and track limit reports ensured a full report log in Race Control at the end.

At the end of the session it was new face Will Schryver who headed the timing sheet by 1.3 seconds in his Royale RP37. Will whilst new to SRCC he is a seasoned competitor, having raced alongside his father Michael in a number of sports cars in historic classes over the years, he has also campaigned a Formula Ford. Second in qualifying was Nick Johnson with his Lola T592s. 3rd fastest was Charlie Hyett his Lola T87/90, resplendent with the Hyett team Pegasus Engineering Logo prominent on the front bodywork. Closely following Charlie was David Williams in his Lola T492. Breaking the Lola dominance at the front was Clive Steeper in his Tiga SC80 from Ross Hyett in his latest acquisition a Tiga 87B, them Mike Fry in the Tiga SC79 before Nick Hyett rounded out the top 8 with his Lola T88/90.

Sadly qualifying was as far as Nick Johnson would go for the weekend, A mysterious problem that was allowing water into the bore relegated him to the role of spectator. The second withdrawal was Patrick Egan in his Lola T90/90 who had a number of teething problems particularly in the handling of his Lola that could not easily be rectified at the circuit. He wisely decided that it was better not to continue with the weekend until all the issues were resolved. Everyone looks forward to his return as soon as the car is sorted.

Speaking following qualifying, Will Schryver did not anticipate a runaway victory in the race. The only testing they had managed with the Royale had been in the wet, on the Avon tyres they used for competing in Thundersports. Their first run on Yokohamas had been at this weekend due to a delay in delivery, so the car had been running with a soft set up during qualifying giving him a cornering advantage. The set up would change for the later racing when he expected the competition to be a lot closer. The Duratec qualifying by contrast on a dry and slightly warmer circuit was a lot closer. 25 cars went out to qualify. From the outset the tussle for the top spot was close between Josh Law, Michael Gibbins, Richard Johnson and Paul Trayhurn in the Gunn TS11. Paul’s run ending following a brush with Peter Brouwer which flat spotted all 4 of his new tyres. After inspection, Paul was allowed to swap them for a second set of new tyres. For every rule there are discretionary exemptions with Paul’s case being the first test. The contact between Paul and Peter took place following a safety car period, when John Owen spun exiting Copse and in the resulting rotation, John’s rear bodywork decided to become detached depositing itself back on the circuit. The safety car being deployed so that the Marshals could make a recovery. Unfortunately the damage was a little beyond a gaffer tape repair, but a trip to see Cindy and Clive in the MCR truck meant a spare rear section was fitted and in place for the race.

In 5th place was Tom Stoten in the next generation Gunn the TS12. This meeting proved to be an extended test session for the team and Tom was not to feature in the weekend results, but it is a car to be watched during the season as Tom is always a contender to challenge for the top spot on the podium.

James Barwell was 6th on the timing sheet ahead of the repaired Van Diemen of Colin Peach, the Dewhurst patch having worked. Tim Tudor and John Iley had mixed fortunes as they pushed for a quicker times following the resumption of qualifying following the Safety car period. John finding clear track whilst Tim got bogged down in traffic giving John the opportunity to outqualify his team mate.

American Bart Wolf was having his first run with the group in his Carbir S2. Bart is based at Elkhart Lake where he has a very busy preparation business. He enjoyed his run in England particularly the friendly nature of the group the excellent driving standards on track. Across the pond the driving can be a little more aggressive similar to some of the other, perhaps more high profile series here in the UK, which will remain unnamed. He has hopes to do more over the season dependent on work pressures. But the shop does have 16 race cars going out over the Brands Hatch weekend so he thinks he could be missed if he hopped on the plane. Although he did enjoy testing on the Indy circuit.

Keith Mizen’s car in 15th looked superb in its Martini tribute livery, just ahead of Mike Turner sporting new bodywork and a striking new livery. The last of newcomers Bryn Tootell completed the grid after a troubled session.

Historic Race 1

As Will Schryver had predicted the Historic Championship race on Saturday was not to be the walk in the park suggested by qualifying times. At lights out Will made a great start, having warmed his tyres on the two green flag laps each of the races were to have for the weekend. He built an early advantage of 1.5seconds at the end of lap 1 from Charlie Hyett in second place followed by Ross Hyett in 3rd place. Clive Steeper had made a demon start to be second into Copse at which point caution prevailed and he gave away as many places he had gained. Clive had surprised himself with the amount of grip a well set up car could deliver. The race continued to be a learning experience as he learnt how well this year’s set up package worked. Clive’s caution handed fourth place back to Mike Fry with David Muse in the Shrike 5th, having moved up 6 places from 11th on the grid. Marc Noaro who had started 9th had moved up to 7th behind Clive Steeper the pair swapping places a lap later.

At the head of the grid the order had settled but Charlie was rapidly reducing the lead to Will in the Royale. On lap 4 David Muse’s flying start to the season began to stutter as a drop in power and a misfire signalled his air filter had begun to work loose. Firstly dropping him behind Marc Noaro and then David Williams, who had a terrible lap 1 that dropped him from 3rd on the grid to 8th. On lap 6 Charlie Hyett took the lead. Will and Charlie were now in a race of their own to the finish having left Ross Hyett to fend off the fast approaching Noaro and Williams. Will and Charlie had a terrific tussle, until Will finally regained the lead on lap 12 which he was to keep to the Chequered flag. Afterwards he did say that was the hardest he had worked in a cockpit for a long time. The final podium position was finally taken by David Williams on lap 12, with Ross being gradually shuffled down the order first by Marc Noaro and then by his older son Nick, who too was recovering from a poor first lap. Nick finally taking 4th place from Marc and Mike Fry with Ross finishing 7th from Clive Steeper in 8th. 9th place was taken by Juerg Tobler in his only race of the weekend as he had to fly back home to Vienna. The top 10 was completed by Richard Cooke. David Muse had slipped all the way down to 11th when his air filter ejected onto the Wellington straight. The final finisher being David Axisa in his distinctive Tiga who had enjoyed a race long duel with Andreas Floth who retired with overheated brakes. Nick Bailey retired with a broken throttle cable. He would return to race on Sunday following three offers of assistance from fellow competitors, with Mike Fry being the eventual donor of a new cable.

Duratec Race 1

Unlike the earlier Pinto race the Duratec contest at the front followed the form of qualifying, with the top 4 finishing in the order they had started. Although the race at the front between Michael Gibbins and Josh Law remained intense for the duration, with Josh unable to find the important break to slip past Michael despite his best efforts. With Copse being Josh’s bogey corner where he unfortunately attracted a track limit penalty for overenthusiasm. But to be fair he was not alone in finding the boundaries in that first race with over half of the field being noted for at least one infringement around the circuit.

The top 4 being Michael Gibbins, from Josh Law, Richard Johnson, and Paul Trayhurn. The race taking place behind did not follow the form book. Tim Tudor made a fantastic start from 11th on the grid to be 6th and side by side entering Luffield with the other fast starter David Houghton who had come through from 8th. On the run down to Copse Tim passed David for 5th position. Their battle continued throughout the race but without a further place change. Tom Stoten was one of the front runners to drop back but James Barwell was the biggest loser with a spin at Luffield on lap 1 that would lead to his retirement from 11th on lap 18 with a loose lead that had drained his battery.

Whilst Tim Tudor had a great start, his team mate John Iley did not do so well dropping back two places to 12th at the start. From there his attempts at moving forward were thwarted by gear selection problems. Although he was able to enjoy a good dice with Peter Williams he was coming close to being caught by Keith Mizen, to finish in his first lap position of 12th.

Bryn Tootell was the first retirement with gearbox issues, on lap 7, whilst Tom Stotten, had an adventurous race as they experimented with set up on the car, finally retiring to the pits on lap 14 after his second pit stop of the race.

The contest for 5th place on the road continued to heat up as David Houghton continued to close down the gap to Tim Tudor, as Tim’s tyres started to go off, the pair finishing less than 7 tenths of a second apart at the end.

Colin Peach had a lonely race having lost the two places he gained at the start when he got boxed in. Comfortably following the group in front conserving his tyres for race 2 he panicked when he saw a 5 second penalty board which mistakenly he thought was for him. Pushing on not certain how close his class rivals were he set a new Class lap record to win class B from the following Peter Brouwer. The conservancy would have to wait for the second race.

Roger Donnan who finished second in the Derek Bell Class to 4th placed finisher Paul Trayhurn followed Peter Brouwer closely. Behind Roger hard on his tail were class rivals, the Kookaburra Coffee king Grant Williams and Peter Williams who finished in that order. Grant having random problems with gear selection.

Mike Turner enjoyed a race with Clive Hayes ,John Iley, and Bart Wolf. Around half distance Mike found temperatures were getting somewhat hot on the car and cruised home to the finish.

Historic Race 2

Sunday and second races for both grids. Following his retirement in Race one, team Muse spent an evening working on the car changing ratios, camber and tracking mods followed. A Sunday morning visit from Andy Cattani triggered a quick rescue operation when he spotted a crack in the accelerator linkage. A quick welding job was conducted; they were ready for race 2. As in the first race, William Schryver made the best start, this time leading by over two seconds at the end of the first lap from Charlie Hyett, Marc Noaro, David Williams and Nick Hyett with Mike Fry rounding out the top 6.

Charlie’s relentless pursuit of Will was rewarded with him taking the lead on lap 6. On lap 7 Clive Steeper deposed Mike from 6th place. A position he would lose two laps later when he went too hot into Copse and indulged in a little drifting as he attempted to keep the car approximately pointing in the right direction. The recovery process shuffled him further down the order as Ross Hyett and David Muse both went by. On lap 10 Nick Hyett joined brother Charlie in a podium position, sandwiching William Schryver into second place. David Muse run in 8th place came to end when he pulled into the pits on lap 14.

The team surmised they had gone too far in the ratio changes only being able to hang onto their grid position. The car lost drive between Brooklands and Luffield for a disappointing second non finish of the weekend. As Michelle wrote “Disappointing but it seems to take awhile and a load of heartache to put cars back on track after 18 years of hibernation. Thanks to all who help us live our dreams to participate in the SRCC”. Ross Hyett retired on the following lap with a puncture.

The lead changed for the final time on lap 16 when Charlie recorded a much slower lap. Despite recovering quickly he could not close the gap a second time. The final order being William Schryver from Charlie Hyett and Nick Hyett, with Marc Noaro 4th winning class C from David Williams and Mike Fry.

William Schryver on his debut with the club also collected the prize for the Driver of the Day.

Duratec Race 2

The Duratec second race, produced a similar result to race 1, despite getting to within 2 tenths of the winner Michael Gibbins and setting a new SRCC lap record Josh Law could not find the opening to get past. Richard Johnson was again 3rd with Paul Trayhurn 4th overall and winner of the Derek Bell Class from Peter Williams and Roger Donnan. Colin Peach was the winner of Class B and finished 5th overall.

Mike Turner having cruised home on race 1 got a little racey off the start in Race 2 making up 3 places, enjoying a race with Clive Hayes, Ash Law, Peter Brouwer and John Iley. All went well until he outbraked himself at Becketts on the last lap dropping two places behind Josh Needham and Steve Ough to finish 15th one place higher than his Race 1 result.

Down the order things got a little firey at times. Firstly Tim Tudor who had his sights set on passing Paul Trayhurn renewed his dice with David Houghton. A low voltage warning saw Tim retire to the pits where the Lithium battery briefly caught fire which stirred the Silverstone management into action when they realised he was parked under Race Control. The fault was later traced to a wiring loom failure which had caused a short circuit. Andrew Butler’s retirement at Copse when his engine expired also required some deft extinguisher work by the Marshals.

John Iley retired with splitter damage after contact with another competitor and Tom Stoten continued his extended race test having pitted 3 times to make adjustments during the race. David Houghton having looked set a solid 5th place was the final retirement. A suspected shearing of the drive shaft bolts caused him to coast to a halt close to a Marshall’s point, creating very little delay to the race with his considerate driving.

Bart Wolf had an early incident which led to the cut off switch activating causing him to coast to a halt at Maggotts. He was quickly able to restart finishing 19th. James Barwell had a much better race on Sunday coming from 22nd to 9th overall and fourth in class. Post race the club instigated the first of a random check on in car cameras. As all competitors are aware they should have cameras working and recording the qualifying and racing at every meeting. Three cards were collected the footage viewed to the Clerks satisfaction. It is anticipated this check will be conducted at every meeting this year. Whilst the first selection was taken from the leaders in this instance, it is required of all competitors to have cameras on and recording, so cards will be requested at random from across the grid.

Throughout the weekend everyone was well catered for by the Pink Ladies team of Maureen and Karen, so even if a competitor did not have the best of weekends on track the refreshments were guaranteed to lift the spirits.

In the absence of Nick Bates, Karen aided by Alan did a terrific job in presenting the awards. My thanks to everyone who contributed either at or post the races with information to compile this report. Many thanks to Alan Jones for this report.