The Motor Racing Spectator

With the motor racing circuits of Leicestershire not offering anything much in the way of car racing in August, it was time for The Spectator to travel further afield. A good looking BRSCC meeting on the Silverstone National circuit was my destination on the Sunday of the 2 day meeting. 12 races were on the bill and following 3 qualifying sessions in the morning, racing kicked off with a Mighty Minis race. It "kicked off" too much at Copse though early in the race as a 2 car shunt led to the appearance of the safety car for several laps. The dreaded safety car made another outing in the next race for Fiesta's after an incident at Brooklands but thankfully that was that for the day! The Fiesta championship provides a home for 4 examples of Ford's finest creation with the faster 2.0 litre ST version being the car to have. James "JJ" Ross taking both race wins in very dominant fashion. The ST Fiesta is also the model used in the Fiesta Junior championship. ...

For the first time in just over a year, Leicestershire's "other" circuit, Mallory Park, saw a visit by The Spectator. A car meeting at Mallory is a rare event sadly these days with the 2 previous meetings this year in March and May seeing me elsewhere. The fact that it was 376 days since my last visit was the sole reason for making the trip to the first day of a 2-day Classic Sports Car Club (CSCC) organised meeting. I'm not a huge fan of the CSCC's philosophy of 40 minute races for the vast majority of their races. Pit stops in club racing have never provided thrills as usually a good battle for position is nullified by a pit visit. The 40 minute race does however give the entrant more track time for their money plus costs can be shared with an additional driver if required. The humble spectator hasn't shelled out hundreds of pounds to watch though so longer races are understandable though they are certainly not always entertaining! 6 races were on the bi...