The Welsh Sports & Saloon Car Championship (WSSCC) latest races 7 & 8 at Silverstone National Circuit on Saturday 29oh August. Topping the entry list in Class Five it was good to see Keith Butcher, and his Lamborghini Huracan and this time the engine chimed up and kept running, after a change of wiring loom fixed the misfire! Keith confirmed ‘We were fortunate to borrow one, as it seems that Italy shuts down during August’ (This seemed to be a factor in Robert Rees deciding not to run his Ferrari! ). Joining us in Class Five was Nigel Mustill from Salisbury in his potent 7000cc Volvo S60 but David Krayem was missing, as he had damaged the gearbox in his 7litre Ginetta G50 during Friday test sessions!
It was nice to see Gareth John back with us in his Ginetta G40 (now Class 4). in Class Three we had Mike Cook (BMW 330) In Class Two we had current points leader Wayne Spiller and his Mazda and also Craig Attard (also Mazda) and Mark Williams and his Renault Clio. Sadly Andrew Williams wasn’t fit to drive but was looking after Verity Banks in her Ford Fiesta. Plus we also had 2 Guests, Christian Douglas in his Aerial Atom who has raced with us before, and Scott Parkin in a TCR Audi TT. From Barnsley, Scott was new to us. Nice to see Andrew Barron who is part way through the Motorsport UK: Clerk of the Course Training Programme have previously done a similar role in America, and hope to be our C of C in 2024.
The Race 15 minutes Rolling Start Apparently we were the only championship to have a rolling start on the event. With Nigel on Pole with Keith 2nd and Christian Douglas 3rd and all 3 under 60 seconds for the 1.64 mile circuit (Nigel was on 102.19 mph for the lap) it was clear that these would be setting the pace at the front. And it was Nigel who jumped into the lead, but Keith harried him setting the races fastest lap early on, only for Nigel to set the overall and Class 5 lap record on lap 6 and pulled a gap to Keith who then had to keep Christian at bay crossing the line after 16 laps with only 4.95 between them at the end.
Scott Parkin settled into 4th and was the only driver on 15 laps. After a bit of a mix up on lap one it was resolved with Mark Williams leading Class Two until the actual Class Two winner Wayne Spiller caught him to finish 5th ahead of the returning Class Four Ginetta G40 of Gareth John who had Mark WILLIAMS for close company ! Craig ATTARD was 8th overall & 3rd in Class 2. Mike COOK BMW 330 was 9th and Verity was 10th and picked up ‘Driver of the Race’ award as she had bettered her Quali time by 3.5 seconds.
The grid We lost Nigel Mustill as he said his gearbox had picked up a leak, and he made an early start for home! This left Keith Butcher and Christian Douglas on the front row.
Scott Parkin had Wayne Spiller for company. Mark Williams played his Double point Joker for this race and had Craig Attard for company. Mike Cook and Verity Banks were on the last row!
Race Two -15 minutes Rolling Start Christian & Keith put on a power show as they diced for the lead. Christian got ahead, but Keith was at times very close and got into the lead, only for Christian to re-take the lead on the twisty bits. On the penultimate lap Christian set the races fastest lap (59.301 seconds 99.58 mph). Keiths fastest lap set in the early laps was 59.309 seconds - 99.57 mph, so there was not much between them, but Keith rolled it back as he knew that Christian was a non-points -scoring guest, so no points were at stake. One lap down Scott Parkin, Our other guest settled into 3RD. Behind the podium finishers Mark Williams made a rocket start to lead Class Two point scorers from 4th and although Gareth John got by Mark early on, Mark was still leading Class Two from Wayne Spiller. Craig however had a slow start. It took a few laps before Wayne got by but Mark Kept him honest all the way to the Cheqeured flag! Wayne set the Class Two fastest lap on his last lap! Craig was 7th Mike Cook was 8th and Verity was 9th. Christian Douglas was judged to be the ‘Driver of the Race’ by Andrew Barron and his fellow Clerks.
For those who unable to see what the Silverstone National circuit is all about, should look up Wayne Spillers You Tube feed showing 100 mph on the straight and 60 mph on the corners! Wow That’s what I call motoring!
You can see the action on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH2R3IIqroY
Results https://www.tsl-timing.com/file/?f=TCRUK/2023/233330wss.pdf
Current points
|
Driver |
Class |
Points |
|
Wayne Spiller |
2 |
159 |
|
Mike Cook |
3 |
130 |
|
Craig Attard |
2 |
118 |
|
Mark Williams |
2 |
112 |
|
Verity Banks |
1 |
84 |
|
Andrew K Williams |
2 |
74 |
Hi the latest scores in the Blake Edwards Trophy standings after 8 rounds is
Damian Longotano 3 wins
Nigel Mustill 2 wins
Chris Everill 1 win
Keith Butcher 1 win
Wayne Spiller 1 win