NEWS

SILVERSTONE 28/29 MARCH 2015

Mmmoist.

The Classic Touring Car Racing Club kicked the season off with an early season opener at Silverstone. For a change, we headed off for the first race of the year with two Jaaaags in the back, and a spring in our step. That was all the Spring we'd get, it was cold even by Northern standards.

Testing for one, a slumber for the other. Testing went well, rubbing the mould off the organic component and fiddling with the brakes until the times started to tumble. A new in-house laptime marker with a 1.07.7 belied the scruffy driving and getting bombed by GT cars, and hinted at potential to be unlocked.

A dry day 1 saw a decent qualifying, Helen and Katy on the same grid but in different races and in wildly different levels of tune. Helen took 3rd overall on the combined 83/93 grid despite a worsening misfire and being off her own pace. Comer produced a solid quali marred by a puncture that wasn't helped by a late-session shower.

Race 1 was a tale of mixed fortunes. Helen briefly stole 2nd, her errant pilot being too stupid not to overtake an M3 he had no hope of holding off. Return of qualifying's misfire dropped Helen into retirement from 3rd overall, whilst sitting pretty for her first 83 win. Katy dropped places like hot bricks as her set of brand new tyres bedded in, then came on song and took them all back again, finishing a very respectable 11th overall.

Race 2 saw Helen line up next to last, alongside a certain XJ12, but a late call on the rubber by the wizards of pit reflected the magic ingredient. Rain. The circuit was, and we don't say this often, tricky. Helen overtook 12 cars on the first lap, and slithered to 4th overall, to take her first pre-83 race win by a healthy 25 second margin.

Katy also relished the rain, coming home a remarkable 8th overall as "roadgoing" specification  and a tidy pilot played to their strengths on a greasy track. The 4th place in the 93s somewhat irritatingly saw Comer match my best ever with that series, in his second try.

All of it captured by the cameras of Motors TV, live. Next round is Castle Combe in May. Also on live TV. The Northern division returned home content and with a red hat. A good weekend out. That's what you pay for.

Yes, we even cleaned her. Well, it's the first race.

Briefly second, because the pilot accidentally discovered grip at Copse on the outside line of a drying track.

It rained. We may have said this before, but we like the rain.

Comer and Katy provided the Jaguar reinforcements. And did annoyingly well.

The camera sees this rather better than we could. Enjoy a quiet Sunday drive.