Britcar 24 Hour at Silverstone

Last weekend saw the rather epic Britcar Endurance Race hit Silverstone for 24 hours of racing, reliability issues and rain.

I’ve covered Britcar events before but as this was my first 24 hour race, I armed myself with a sleeping bag and lots of spare camera batteries.

The team LNT Ginetta G55 took pole and led the race early on, only to be hit by lighting issues, a tyre blowout and terminal oil pressure problems. Other Class 1 teams suffered too with Neil Garner’s Mosler having a rear wheel fuse onto the hub. Hammers, chisels, drills and even an angle grinder were needed to cut it lose, costing the team a full 2 hours.

Mike Brown’s stunning chrome-finished Aston Martin Vantage faired better, winning class 1 and finishing 2nd overall. It also drew a lot of attention on the public grid walk before the race.

Along with class 1 rivals; Neil Garner’s Mosler

and the Ginetta of team LNT. It’s always great to see the looks on younger race fans faces when they get a chance to get this close to GT cars.

As the sun began to head for the horizon, talk around the media centre water cooler turned to car 28, the Geoff Steel-run BMW M3 GTR. The class 2 car had been in the top 5 since the start and was looking strong.

The sun finally set and the race took on a different slant. Not just for the drivers but from a photographers point of view too.

The warm ambient light gave way too cool blue, but nothing about the racing cooled as illustrated by this G55’s glowing brakes at Village Corner.

After the last rays of sun left the sky, the temperature plummeted and the spectators retired to the bars and campsite, the drivers drove on and the photographers photographed.

By the early hours, the class 2 M3 GTR of MP Motorsport was leading the race and the pressure was showing on both the car and the pit crew.

Silverstone lit up by the hugely powerful LED clusters literally bolted onto the cars is a sight to behold.

After a few hours of sleep, the sun was rising and I awoke to a rather different race. The shiny Aston was still leading it’s class.

And the Mosler was holding tight on to 2nd in Class 1

But out in front, where it would remain as the Mosler, Aston and Ginetta suffered mechanical problems, was the the “little”, class 2 BMW M3 of MP Racing.

 

If only everything in life was as reliable as a… BMW?

For a full hour-by-hour commentary on the race, check out The Chequered Flag