Silverstone Sat/Sun 1/2 November 2014
The weather at this meeting has varied a lot over the years but it was a bright and sunny Saturday morning as qualifying got under way at 9.00am. The circuit itself was very wet after early morning rain but dried out steadily with the usual Silverstone stiff breeze to help the drying process. The WHT entry amassed a fantastic 112 cars which were split into 6 heats. Only 10 minutes were allocated for qualifying so not much time to get to grips with circuit conditions. All the pre-event favourites came through qualifying without too many dramas except Chris Middlehurst who ended up 11th in his heat as his engine sounded rough.
The Historic Sports Car Club were the organisers of the weekend and on Saturday provided a couple of support races, with 20 lap races for Open Wheel and Closed Wheel cars. The 14 car Open wheel race featured some unusual machinery such as an Ehrlich, Oliroy, Sauter and Mitter but the Chevron B34 was the car to have as Jon Finch won ahead of Andrew Huxtable's similar B34.
The Closed wheel race was a more entertaining race as poleman, Andrew Schryver, elected to start from the pit lane in his Chevron B26 to liven things up! It didn't take him long to carve his way through the 31 car field and he took the chequered flag.
The Saturday heats at the WHT can sometimes be quiet affairs as nobody wants to risk too much and sacrifice grid position for Sunday but the majority of the 6 heats saw some excellent racing, especially for lead positions. Notable races were Heat 2 which saw Oliver White time his run to the front just right in a 4 car battle for the lead. Heat 3 saw the first big casualty as American scholarship driver Aaron Telitz crashed out at Brooklands on the first lap after starting on pole. Heat 5 saw a good battle between Michael Moyers and Peter Dempsey with Moyers winning out in the end. Last years winner, Scott Malvern, finished the day off in the gathering gloom just after 4.00pm by ominously winning Heat 6 by the widest winning margin in all the heats. After a very good days racing it was back up home to recharge for Sunday's excitement....
What the WHT needs to provide an extra bit of spice to proceedings is a greasy/wet track for the whole day and praise be that's exactly what we got on Sunday. No matter how quick or slow the driver, the format for the WHT means that everyone is guaranteed 2 races over the weekend and first up on Sunday was the Progression race where only the first 6 cars proceed to the Last Chance race. This race always provides a huge disparity in speed as the slower drivers from Saturday mingle with faster drivers who suffered problems in their heats. Jonny McMullan (who had retired early with a mechanical problem in Heat 1) won from Aaron Telitz.
Star of the Last Chance race, and one of the drivers of the day, was Michael Mallock who won a restarted 7 lapper in his Grandfather designed Mk9, the oldest car in the entry. Mallock also won the Historic Final later on after an epic scrap with Jamie Jardine's 15 years younger Reynard 84FF...
There were 3 other support races on Sunday with Allcomers races for Open and Closed Wheel cars along with an unusual 20 lap handicap race entirely for drivers in the British Women Racing Drivers Club. The handicap must have been a harsh one for Fiona James in her Lamborghini Gallardo as, despite being the quickest car on track, she was classified 26th in the results! The Open wheel race was very easily won by rapid Henry Chart's F3 Dallara and the Closed Wheel race featured a great scrap for 2nd between Ray Mallock's Clubmans car and the mighty Can-Am March 717 of Dave Coyne. Sadly Mallock retired before the end in a race won by Jon-Paul Ivey's always well driven Radical.
The Semi Finals and Final of the WHT provided so much action and drama it's difficult to know where to begin! Semi 1 saw Wayne Boyd finish 7th after contact with Scott Malvern at Copse on lap 1. Malvern had to battle hard with Chris Middlehurst before eventually winning. Niall Murray finishing 3rd ahead of the other USA Scholarship driver, Michai Stephens who had quietly progressed throughout the weekend.
Semi 2 saw a Red Flag after 3 laps which benefited several drivers as an original grid restart helped those who slipped back at the original start. Michael Moyers winning out in the end.
As is obligatory it would seem, the Final always seems to take place in virtual darkness which helps underpin the unfolding drama. A biblical dark cloud approached from behind Luffield and thankfully held off dropping it's contents until the slowing down lap! The Final will be remembered for years to come and featured what Motor Racing should be all about - fantastic racing and plenty of incident. Lap 1 saw 3 of the top 5 cars on the grid disappear with Moyers dispatched into the Becketts gravel trap by Peter Dempsey who then took himself and Scott Malvern out at Luffield. Then arriving at Brooklands on the next lap, new leader Joey Foster spun down the order after contact with Niall Murray! Did anyone want to win the 2014 Walter Hayes Trophy? That someone turned out to be Wayne Boyd. After starting 14th he slowly worked his way to the front, overcoming a stiff defence from Chris Middlehurst and then embroiled in a great scrap with Robert Hall for the win. The last lap saw Boyd cut back on a tight line underneath Hall at Brooklands and cling on around Luffield for victory.
The whole weekend was a great advert for Motor Racing in my opinion. The WHT has become a must-do event for many drivers and as the Final proved, an event that many drivers are desperate to win. As a spectator all you ask for is an entertaining event to watch and the WHT provides this year in year out. The simple layout of the National circuit at Silverstone also helps with the quality of racing and I'm eagerly looking forward to the 2015 WHT already.
Admission was £10 on the gate both days with a good programme £3. The weekend was a good opportunity to catch up with old friends and with a long winter ahead a very good way to end the season. The Spectator may well attend various Oval Racing/Rallying/Karting/Bog Snorkelling over the coming months so watch this space.......
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