There’s something about Silverstone, the grandeur, the history, the reputation, that affects me. I turn up, get in the car and drive like a muppet. Last time we were here I span on the first lap. This time, well I’d lost it twice by the time we limped over the start finish line with a trail of broken cars in my rear view mirror. That last bit, I hasten to add, was nothing to do with me - it seems like I’m not the only one who is fooled by the width of the track into thinking more cars will get round a corner than is actually possible.
All that, was following Qualy, where it became clear my car was possessed. Really. The throttle response bore little or no relationship to the input from the right foot. A go faster instruction would cause the engine to die for a moment, cough, and then explode in a flurry of revs (often accompanied by the rear end of the car volunteering to lead for a bit). The opposite happened when coming off the throttle…basically nothing. Revs would stay high for a second, two seconds maybe ten. Great for pushing out the boundaries of braking points, but not hugely fun in the wet. McMillan swapped lots of bits over, but couldn’t correct anything. Finally Ben put some tape over the throttle idle valve thing, and cranked open the idle screw. Not an idea solution, but safer than a random engine.
The restart of race one was a bit better. Briefly. I got a reasonable start, kept it together for a whole lap, before fluffing a gear change and running wide at Becketts. Daryl had spun in front of me, and just as I thought I was going to avoid him, he found some grip and..well…watch the video.
Normally - about here, I would include the video, however, Silverstone have draconian measures (£25k fee) if videos “appear” on the internet…so if you would like a copy, mail me.
Stunningly, McMillan were able to put it back together again and I was out for race two. Unfortunately, the cameras were also out, batteries died, the front one before the 1st corner, the rear a few laps in. My race consisted of outbraking myself at Brooklands, making it all the way through the gravel, and out the other side, apparently to a round of applause from the assembled crowd in the BRDC stands, over the grass and rejoining (eventually) somewhere between Luffield and Woodcote. Quite a good cross country expedition, but not time saving: no hamilton-esque penalty! I spent a few laps playing catchup with the pack in front, then had a good scrap with Roger, the James’s, and eventually Hugh, who had taken a similar trip to the Brooklands gravel, but had been assisted out by the marshals. Actually Hugh kind of went past us like a knife through butter…
Not one of the better events of the season for me really, and time and work pressures are probably going to keep me from Mallory at least.
Last night was the BARC AGM at the RAC club in Pall Mall. Not a lot to report other than Lord March’s presence for the 1st time in years, and the fact that we got through the entire proceedings in 15 minutes, then headed to the pub. Hurrah!