As ever support for the three main rounds was from Porsche, Ginetta, Renault and the Formula Fords. The new 991 911 GT3 is a wide arched beast of a car with speeds in excess of 150mph up the final straight. The Clio cup was not as well attended, but the new shape cup cars are fast and nimble. Ginetta host the Juniors and the bigger GTs. 14-17yr olds feed up to the faster category. Formula Fords, like last year seem to be the poor relative. Weak grids and poor racing (to be fair, we didn't even bother watching such was the disappointment of last year and from the TV coverage of the first rounds)
With a queue forming we jumped in line for the signing session. After a short wait the crowds filed in. Normally I avoid the big teams as the line is massive, but we were near the front so joined the Honda line.
[grumblemode]The session in the pitlane is only 30 minutes long, everyone was out ready with piles of posters and smiling drivers, happy to sign anything and pose for photos....except Honda. They were five minutes late setting up and Matt Neal was the grumpiest driver we met all day. Not a word escaped his mouth and he barely acknowledged or smiled. Lesson learnt, avoid the biggest team on the grid in future [/grumblemode]
At the other end of the pitlane was two time champion Alain Menu, at 50 the oldest driver on the grid and the nicest man ever. He smiled, signed a poster and was happy to chat for a few seconds about coming back to the UK.
With the racing due to start, we headed for the final chicane for the first of the Clio cup rounds.From start to finish it seemed as they it was one long conga of Clios bouncing pass.
The 911s were up next, a smaller grid again, but much closer racing than last year.
The first of three rounds of the BTCC was next. The grid now so large it trailed from the start line back to the chicane. We watched as the grid was formed up before the rifle fire of exhausts sounded the warm up lap and they were away.
[grumblemode] I know they have an important job to do and I fully respect them for doing it so we can spectate and enjoy the day. But up until this point the orange marshalls had managed to stand to one side of the area in front of us while doing their jobs, now though they completely blocked the view along with a bank of official photographers. This meant that for most of the race not only could we not get any photos of our own, but also we could barely see the track itself. I wasn't the only person to comment on this during the day[/grumblemode]
For lap after lap they bumped and bounced the curbs with Pirtek driver Jordan winning the opening round, making up for the late lap puncture of last year.
Wanting a change of scenery, we started a walk round the track for the Ginetta Juniors. From the top of the hill we could watch them out of the chicane and round the back of the circuit. For a group of 14-17yr olds it was close but tidy racing.
Round at the complex it was the turn of the bigger GTs to race. Big wings and late braking was brought to an end by a smoky car.
Moving away from the lager swigging twats near us, we headed to the middle of the complex for the next BTCC round.
The race was ended early for a nasty crash at Church for one of the BMWs, luckily the driver escaped unharmed. We headed to the paddock to investigate and let the dull FF cars do their thing!
With mechanics hard at work rebuilding it was back to the chicane for the last races of the day, Porsche and Clios headed the final BTCC.
In the previous Clio Cup race, there had been damage to suspension following heavy jumping over the curbs. The organisers in their infinite wisdom decided to issue the marshalls with bendy pylons to mark the corners. All this succeeded in was giving the guys in orange a dangerous job of running on traffic each lap to clear the course of shards of plastic and refit more. They kept this farce up for the first few laps before running out of pylons and giving up. It was like a scene from a Keystone Cops film.
With the leaders taking each other out the race ended in a scrum. Then it was the last race of the day, the final BTCC round.The reverse grid put one of the Focus on pole with the Hondas well down the order.
Lap one saw Plato's MG with very bent rear wheel limp home as the rest stormed through. There was then a safety car break to recover the battered car of Jackson who had smashed the tyres at Church. A few laps after the safety car pitted Belcher sent his Vauxhall over the tyres and through the trees. Huge cheers went up as he emerged unhurt from the wreck, the race.
As soon as the checkered flag dropped, the crowds surged for the gates, so we went back to the paddock for a wander. With everyone packing up we were free to wander the pitlane itself and see the damage close up. Neal clattered into Collard and ended up last.
We watched the champagne being sprayed from the podium and made our way back to the car, within minutes we were on the A303 heading home. Knackered and hot, but a brilliant days racing. I now need to relive it all again with ITV4s coverage I recorded and fill in the bits we missed.
Steve.
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