Silverstone Sunday 16th August 2015

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. Catering for drivers under the age of 16 there were 12 cars on the grid this weekend. A worrying amount of cars suffered unreliability issues in the pair of races and that's not good in a series which should provide a near bullet-proof car for youngsters to learn their skills and racecraft in. Carlito Miracco winning both races, with the first being red flagged 2 minutes early and the second featuring myriad time penalties for track limit violations! The wide open spaces of Silverstone tempting the teenagers to take corners to the limit no doubt!
Even more varieties of Ford Fiesta were seen in the XR Challenge races with the North-West based championship making a very rare appearance at the Home of British Motorsport. Once a staple diet at almost every Oulton Park meeting with separate grids for Fiesta XR2 and Escort XR3i the championship's glory days are well and truly over. 10 cars became 8 for the final race of the day but a very good battle for the lead in both races kept the spectator's attention.
The best race of the day by far was the Super Mighty Minis one. Only 12 cars on the grid but they almost all circulated as a 12 car pack throughout with constant place (and paint) swapping. Jamie White eventually emerging from the pack to take the flag. The National circuit is one of the best layouts in the country that always provides some good racing. Essentially just 4 corners but one where overtaking is a given in almost all formula.
The fast but fragile Avon Tyres Intermarque championship for National Hot Rod type cars also had 2 races and it was really good to see the Mk1 Toyota MR2's out on track. Their double-header saw 20+ car grids for the old car and the tendency for the mid-engined Mk1 to be VERY tail happy saw lots of spins and action throughout!
I really enjoyed the days racing and as a Donington regular, the 5.10pm finish was a joy to behold. I was back home by the time when meetings at Donington are still going! A decent days weather helped too with the notorious Silverstone breeze not in evidence. The only slight downers on the day were the fact that the Woodcote stand wasn't open and that the scoreboard at Luffield was still showing the results of the final race from the meeting the week before which remained resolutely on screen all day....
Admission was £10 on the gate and programme was £3