Following a refreshing summer break, our team were ready to get back into action for Round 4 of Club Enduro at the iconic Silverstone circuit. But just before this event, we had the incredible opportunity to attend The British Motor Show, where I was honored to be part of the youth in motorsport panel. It was a fantastic experience to showcase Audrey The Audi in the arena, engaging with car enthusiasts and media with a series of interviews. As the show came to a close, we swiftly transitioned to Silverstone with all our equipment ready for race weekend. This was all made possible by the invaluable support of "Bicki" and Adam Kluj Transport Services. Their assistance with the logistics of our journey was truly above and beyond, ensuring we could make both the event and the next leg of our race season.
Arriving late on Friday night we decided to get some rest and set up in the garage in the morning. On Saturday the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation in the busy garages, while others were racing, we went over every detail of the car ensuring that everything was prepared for our challenge of going straight into our qualifying the following morning at 9.40am. It was a group effort, with Elliot from TeamBrit joining us as our technical partner, adding his expertise into the mix, and of course my trusted teammate Bobby was also with us, ready to tackle the challenge of the 3km, high speed Silverstone International layout.
As we hit the circuit on Sunday morning alongside another large grid of competitors, sat in the driving seat again the excitement was building. Despite being aware of our car's limitations in terms of straight-line speed on this 'power circuit' I remained optimistic about our chances. I took to the track for the first half of the 30-minute qualifying session with a sense of confidence, aiming to secure a good starting position among the group B cars.
Following Bobby's turn on the track it was confirmed we would be starting the race from 7th position in our class, and the 22nd overall. It was a satisfying outcome, considering the challenges posed and the advantage held by the group A cars. Our team's efforts had positioned us well for the race ahead and we were still confident that we could make progress in the race from here.
After Audrey had successfully qualified, she was weighed to ensure fairness and compliance with the specific rules of competition. Then, to confirm that she met the criteria set for class B which is 250hp per ton, she was summoned to undergo testing on the dyno machine to measure her power output accurately. As expected, this verified that Audrey's performance fell within the regulations. Despite the challenges posed by the weight of the TT car, she handles great under braking and cornering on the racetrack. Throughout the first few races races we have often found ourselves losing time to our competitors on the straights. So we decided to make a couple of small adjustments, reducing the drag of the rear wing a little but hopefully not enough to affect the stability. This is where our racing budget leaves us at a distinct disadvantage through lack of testing, and not really knowing the characteristics of the car well enough to make predictable changes.
The testing procedures took up a lot of our time for final race preparations, plus an early call to assembly area led us to work under pressure be ready for the early afternoon race. We had already decided that I would be the one to start the race. During the qualifying session, we had noticed high fuel consumption, so we planned to start fully loaded and for me to stay out on track as long as possible before making a pit stop.
I was pleased with my race start once again and quickly began gaining positions from 11 rows back. Despite the heavy fuel load, I steadily progressed, only being slowed down by a safety car period. I was ready for the restart though and after the SC had pulled in I continued to move up into the top 10 over all and P2 in our class. We brought the car into the pits on lap 54, achieving my fastest lap shortly before that with a lighter fuel load. I then handed over the car to Bobby, and the crew celebrated with high fives after an official complimented us on having "the most professional pit stop of the race"
With 47 minutes remaining, Bobby also performed admirably after our additional refuelling caused us to drop back and rejoin in 18th place overall. He also navigated a Safety Car period during his stint, and despite a final strong effort, achieving P4 in our class was the best result we could achieve. Upon reviewing the race, I was pleased to note that both Bobby's and my fastest laps were almost identical. However, we were all somewhat disappointed to have narrowly missed out on another podium finish,...although we did come out with a win in Clubman class, some more points in championship, and some ideas of where to make improvements for the final push in our last two races of the season.
Once again it has taken the help of many people to bring this together and we are truly grateful to everyone who has played a part, it is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to Nurburgring Tours, Critical Power Solutions, Adam Kluj Transport Services, and Team Brit who thankfully are not only partners, but all directly involved valued members of our team, we really couldn't do this without their help and support. Also thanks to JPC Specialist Motorsport, Autism Supergood, Questmead, Shaw Tyres and Exhausts, Carbotech, Green Bricks, Teamkarting, X-Kart, Racecar Radios, Road Angel, and everyone with their name on the roof.
Really looking forward to the next one which is at my home track Oulton Park on Saturday 20th September, especially now that this result leaves us P2 and only trailing P1 by only 4 points in our Group B championship.
See you there,
Sandro#19
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