The Motor Racing Spectator

The last time The Spectator watched a 6 hour race it made me question my own sanity, so only 6 weeks on from the Donington European Le Mans Series 13 car spectacular, it was the turn of the World Endurance Championship to visit Silverstone. Thankfully there were 35 cars for the 6 hours which is down on previous years but a healthy grid none the less. Support came from a double header for the Formula Renault 3.5 World Series and a single hour long race for the Classic Endurance Racing series. On Saturday there were heavy showers forecast and the only one that did deposit precipitation came at just the wrong time! (In all my years of spectating one guarantee is that it will rain just before a slick shod single seater race after being dry all day, causing mass panic and confusion...) At 1.00pm the F.Renault race started in sunshine then the rain started and watching at Club corner it was relatively light rain but it was very heavy at Luffield a quarter of a mile away which led to the sig...

The lure of Pickups racing on Rockingham's 1.5 mile oval was enough for The Spectator to travel slightly further afield and head East to the less than salubrious surrounds of Corby. Given the cost of travelling in the UK currently, it takes something special to make the cost of travelling worthwhile and I'm glad the trip turned out to be worth it. It takes a lot for me to get excited about racing nowadays but I have to say that the 2, 35 lap Pickup races were fantastic. The oval is one of the most under utilised pieces of racetrack in the UK and it is only the Pickup series that races on it currently. Several years ago all the trucks were converted from right-hand drive to left-hand drive so they were compatible with oval racing safety and 18 were on show at Rockingham. Both races featured multiple passing and both results were in doubt until the chequered flag with Nic Grindrod winning the 1st and Paul Poulter winning the 2nd. Backmarker Geoff Dixon crashed on the very last ...

After yet another weekend off ( it must be the mid season blues....) the Spectator went to Mallory Park last Sunday for a BARC organised 9 race meeting. After not going to Mallory at all in 2012 it was the second visit in 2 weeks and a good looking mixture of races. There were double headers for Toyota MR2's, Nippon Challenge, Gearbox Karts and Champion of Mallory FF1600 with only a single race for North West Sports/Saloons. There was some very good racing throughout, with highlights being the North West Sports/Saloons which provided a very good entry and an entertaining race. The award for most frightening races of the year is definitely awarded to the couple of BSA 125cc gearbox Kart races. The sheer cornering speed of some of the quicker Karts is a sight to behold and with some huge speed differentials between Karts there were plenty of hairy moments. Personally if you want to race a gearbox Kart on a long circuit then you must be as mad as a box of frogs! I think I'd rath...