RACE REPORT: SNETTERTON | 20-21st May 2023

Qualifying

Lap times were improving for all throughout qualifying and Andy found his second and third fastest in the second half of the session.

He pitted for a tyre bleed down and would then go on to run another 2 flying laps.

His fastest lap came on his first flyer after the stop. Despite a lift due to a mistaken red flag (which cost him 4 tenths) Andy managed a lap time of 1:52:329 which put him in P9 for the race, just behind teammate Peter.

Race 1

Andy maintained his P9 position in turn 1 after being put under pressure from Macleod. Coming around into Agostini Macleod made the move stick and dropped Andy back into 10th.

He maintained this position until lap 4 where he was one of two cars that passed through an incidenta recovering Peter Tyler.

On lap 14 Andy gained another position by keeping steady passed the recovering car of Rishover.

His race ended here in P12

Eighth is probably where I should be

Race 2

Starting P9 with teammate Peter beside in 10th. Andy had a clean start and maintained position around the first lap. It wasn’t too long before he was able to make a move on Zielonka in front which moved him up into P8.

In the next lap Andy was promoted into 7th when a car up the order had an off.

Unfortunately, by lap 5 Andys running was cut short with suspected engine failure.

He did well to find a safe area to retire the car but sadly he was forced to become a spectator.

Race 3

With the issues solved from race two, Andy was back with a vengeance. His fastest lap from race 2 determined his starting position and so Andy was back in 14th position as the lights went out.

He moved himself up into 11th within a few laps before the safety car was deployed for an incident.

They spent one lap behind the safety car, and during this time the pit window opened.

Andy had a smooth pitstop and with a number of cars receiving success seconds, he emerged P6 overall and 2nd in the Fangio class.

With 5 laps remaining, Andy put on a real charge and began fighting with Zielonka for 5th.

He took the position with 2 full laps remaining and was lapping 3rd fastest.

It was a terrific drive and after a few spells of bad luck, it was great to see Andy up on the podium.

Qualifying

Ben had good pace all the way through qualifying and with 30 minutes to set a good time he was constantly swapping between 2nd and 3rd.

After the 8th lap he came in to bleed the tyres and cool off the oil and breaks he went out again for another few laps. Within 2 laps he had set the fastest time of the session. With just over 4 minutes left he was locked into pole position by a red flag.

it was perfect timing on my last lap. I had been in traffic, then made a mistake or two before I got a clear run

This was the perfect start, showing he had the outright pace needed.

Race 1

Starting on pole, Ben was set to lead the cars in their rolling start. With new start procedure rules implemented for the weekend there was a confusion which caused Ben to split from the pack too early. This cost him a 10 second time penalty which put his theoretical position down into the mid pack.

As the first few turns of lap 1 unfolded, Lay was able to make a late breaking move into turn 4 dropping Ben to an on track position of 2nd.

Still on the first lap and coming through turn 11, just before the long right of Coram, a touch of oversteer allowed the car of De Leon to catch up behind. De Leon sealed the move into Murrays which left Ben in 3rd as he came across the start finish line of the 1st lap.

The on track order would stay like this for the remainder of the race, but Ben still needed to recoup his 10 second penalty.

This didn’t take long, Ben was lapping consistently well just like in qualifying. He would would gain a 10 second gap from the cars behind and ultimately finish the race in P3 and 24 seconds ahead of 4th.

Race 2

For the second race, Ben started on the front row in P2 as a result of his fastest lap in race 1.

The start this time was more processional due to the new rules and the cars seemed to slot into their designated spots around turn one. The first lap ended with no changes in position.

Ben was keeping Lay in his sights and they remained within a second of each other whilst increasing the space to De Leon and others behind. Bens pace was really showing with a fastest lap on lap 5, but he struggled to force a mistake from Lay.

Time ticked down, Ben was setting PB’s whilst Lay put in a fastest lap with just 7 mins left.

The race remained like this until finally they passed the chequered flag, Ben in P2.

Race 3

There were no surprises that Ben started P2 in the final race of the weekend. The 3rd race always carries the weight of any ‘success seconds’ of which Ben had to wait an additional 20 seconds to everyone else. Comparatively, Lay had 0 and De Leon had 15.

As the lights went out, De Leon learnt from race 2 and found a way to move into 2nd.

The race was quickly neutralised by a safety car in lap 2 which lasted 4 mins 20.

When the race got back underway Ben was fighting to retake P2 but was unsuccessful.

The pitstop window came and went and Bens additional 20 seconds had a huge impact, especially as the grid was tight after the safety car. Ultimately once all the cars had come in, Ben was lapping in 13th.

Within a few laps of re-joining the race from the pit stop, a mechanical issue picked up earlier turned got worse and as smoke bellowed from the front left Bens car was rendered undrivable and he was forced to retire the car.

On a positive note, this leaves Ben with no success seconds for the final race in the upcoming race weekend at Oulton Park.

Qualifying

Oscar banked a fast lap in within his first 3 laps before briefly pitting. He lapped another 5 times, each time crossing the line close, but no better than his pre-stop effort. With time for two final laps, he improved and positioned the car in P4 before setting off on a final lap. Despite putting in great sector times, the qualifying session was red flagged and Oscar had no choice but to settle for his penultimate lap time. Whilst this was a good result, like most drivers, he wanted more. Had the pace for P2 but was unable to string the perfect lap together, and without the red flag, who knows…

Race 1

Oscars first race at Snetterton had little action. The only change in the overall grid order came in lap 7, although this was due to teammate Peter Tyler in his SR3 class descending all the way down the order.

As the chequered flag dropped, Oscar crossed the line 4th in his SR1 championship but first in his Rookie class.

Race 2

Oscar would start race 2 in his familiar P4 position. During the race Joyce remained behind Ockenden but built an 8 second gap to the cars behind. It would be 4th once again and 1st in the rookie class.

Race 3

The final race of the weekend comes with ‘success seconds’ which holds the previous race weekend’s victors in place for a designated amount of time longer. Oscar picked up an additional 1o seconds in his mandatory stop.

The race started in his P4 space, but coming around after lap 1 Oscar lost a spot to Knutton behind.

It wasn’t long before the safety car was briefly deployed. After just one slow lap behind the safety car, the drivers were back underway, albeit nearing the pit stop window.

It was time to pit and Oscar served his extended stop. After a period it was clear Oscar was settled into P5 behind Micouris, Knutton, Ockenden and Wood.

He would cross the line in 5th and take the rookie class win for the 3rd time.

Qualifying

Peter was having a good qualifying stint.

I lost my best over track limits, but only a few 10^th’s out

 

Race 1

Peters race one started steady in 8th with no changes in position until lap 6 when he outbreaked himself making a move into turn 6 of Oggies. He dropped two places allowing teammate Andy through.

Peter spent two laps running in 10th before lifting to avoid a collision, which unsettled the car and sent him into a spin. This this dropped him down the order as the car wouldn’t restart.

I took Jason then overshot and spun

He subsequently pitted to adjust tyre pressures in a bid to set a fast lap in the last two laps. This would move him into a fighting position for race 2 on Sunday.

Race 2

Peter had a great second race. Starting in P10, to the left of teammate Andy in P9 he would consistently make places to finish in P5.

Andy made his move early on Zielonka who dropped from further up the order. Peter was soon on the attack.

Lap 3 and Tyler was promoted a place due to an off by Macleod further up.

Peter once again gained a place on lap 5, unfortunately this time it was teammate Andy dropping down the order. After this Peter was lapping in P8 overall and P4 in the Fangio class.

Lap 7 was unfolding and the cars of Williams and Zielonka in front come together. Peter was on the attack close behind this action and had to take evasive manoeuvres onto the grass.

Whilst recovering, the two cars of Chance and Guintoli made it through, taking the places of Zielonka and Williams. Peter remained P8 overall but was promoted to P3 in the Fangio at this stage.

Peter clearly wanted more and clocked in the top speed through sector 1 and outputting top 5 sector times, although picking up warnings for track limits.

I realised I was quicker than the cars ahead, caught them and was fifth. Then I nearly caught Chris Preen at the end for fourth too

By lap 10, Peter came around in P7

Race 3

Into the final race of the weekend and we knew Peter was subject to additional ‘success seconds’ after his outright 3rd at Brands Hatch. So making up for this penalty early in the race was crucial.

Lights out and around lap 1 Peter diced with the other cars but settled into 6th position, still 3rd in class.

There was a safety car on lap 2 which neutralised the race for a brief period.

On the restart, Peter suddenly started dropping down the pack – unfortunately he was stuck in second gear.

He managed to nurse the car around the remainder of the lap and into the pits where the team jumped into action with a potential quick fix. But, it was not to be. After leaving the pits Peter was unable to cycle up the gears and he was forced to park on the safe side section of the track and spend the remainder of the race as a spectator.

Then as I went into Wilson on lap five the upshifter wasn’t working and I was stuck in second gear. I pitted rejoined and it was stuck in first, so had to park it

Always one to draw positives Peter said

going into the Oulton Park round at least I wont have success seconds!