Silverstone Sat/Sun 25/26 August 2012
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 sight of 10 cars aquaplaning off the road into the barriers. The race was then red-flagged, the grid reformed and then the race restarted in a deluge of rain. Thankfully there were no serious accidents but only 10 cars finished and all in all it was pretty farcical. Jules Bianchi won on Saturday and the Sunday race was won (in the dry) by Sam Bird but only after race long leader Marco Sorenson suffered a puncture with 1 lap to go. After many years of the Renault Free Racedays first at Donington then latterly at Silverstone where thousands of people turned up, it was somewhat strange to see the World Series races in relative peace and quiet! The Classic Endurance race was a bit of a bore to be honest-some very nice cars (most of which are French based/owned) but 60 minutes felt too long.
The World Endurance Championship is new for 2012 as it replaces the Le Mans Series and takes in 5 non-European rounds. Sadly Peugeot pulled out just before the season started but Toyota had 1 car entered to provide opposition to Audi's 2 cars at Silverstone. The Audi's have to be seen and "heard" to be believed. With their Diesel/Hybrid technology they whisper around the circuit with the only noise coming when they rattle the kerbs. The irony is that the quietest cars are the fastest while the loudest (a pair of GT class Corvette's) rumbled around towards the rear. The future of motor sport is going to be quiet indeed.
The race was won by the Audi of Lotterer/Fassler/Treluyer but only after the Toyota put up a fight for most of the race. It pitted 4/5 laps before the Audi each time so ultimately the Audi had to make 1 less pit stop and a safety car period 75 minutes before the end effectively ended any chance of the Toyota catching up. I always view this meeting as one of the highlights of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed this one again. Weekend admission was £29 bought in advance and a very colourful A4 programme was £5
Rant Alert- Silverstone yet again doesn't quite know how to manage a meeting. The lack of Grandstands that were open was alarming and for a 6 hour race where the large crowd want to walk the track during the race it wasn't good enough. Also no attempt had been made to clean the stand at Club corner after the British GP so it was caked in dried mud. The GP circuit at Silverstone can only be viewed properly in Grandstands so if they aren't open it gives the feel of much of the circuit being out of bounds. Finding a programme wasn't easy either as they seem to have got rid of the booth that used to sell them as you came in through the gate! It will be interesting to see what is or isn't open in 2 weeks time for the British F3/GT meeting......
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 sight of 10 cars aquaplaning off the road into the barriers. The race was then red-flagged, the grid reformed and then the race restarted in a deluge of rain. Thankfully there were no serious accidents but only 10 cars finished and all in all it was pretty farcical. Jules Bianchi won on Saturday and the Sunday race was won (in the dry) by Sam Bird but only after race long leader Marco Sorenson suffered a puncture with 1 lap to go. After many years of the Renault Free Racedays first at Donington then latterly at Silverstone where thousands of people turned up, it was somewhat strange to see the World Series races in relative peace and quiet! The Classic Endurance race was a bit of a bore to be honest-some very nice cars (most of which are French based/owned) but 60 minutes felt too long.
The World Endurance Championship is new for 2012 as it replaces the Le Mans Series and takes in 5 non-European rounds. Sadly Peugeot pulled out just before the season started but Toyota had 1 car entered to provide opposition to Audi's 2 cars at Silverstone. The Audi's have to be seen and "heard" to be believed. With their Diesel/Hybrid technology they whisper around the circuit with the only noise coming when they rattle the kerbs. The irony is that the quietest cars are the fastest while the loudest (a pair of GT class Corvette's) rumbled around towards the rear. The future of motor sport is going to be quiet indeed.
The race was won by the Audi of Lotterer/Fassler/Treluyer but only after the Toyota put up a fight for most of the race. It pitted 4/5 laps before the Audi each time so ultimately the Audi had to make 1 less pit stop and a safety car period 75 minutes before the end effectively ended any chance of the Toyota catching up. I always view this meeting as one of the highlights of the year and I thoroughly enjoyed this one again. Weekend admission was £29 bought in advance and a very colourful A4 programme was £5
Rant Alert- Silverstone yet again doesn't quite know how to manage a meeting. The lack of Grandstands that were open was alarming and for a 6 hour race where the large crowd want to walk the track during the race it wasn't good enough. Also no attempt had been made to clean the stand at Club corner after the British GP so it was caked in dried mud. The GP circuit at Silverstone can only be viewed properly in Grandstands so if they aren't open it gives the feel of much of the circuit being out of bounds. Finding a programme wasn't easy either as they seem to have got rid of the booth that used to sell them as you came in through the gate! It will be interesting to see what is or isn't open in 2 weeks time for the British F3/GT meeting......
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