VTEC Challenge does Silverstone


Jonathan F

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Silverstone International: June 7th/8th (Rounds 7 and 8 of Honda VTEC Challenge)


Rounds 7 & 8 saw the VTEC Challenge head to the spiritual home of British motorsport, that which is Silverstone and their “International” circuit.

VTC Entrants:

08 – Simon Jessop – Super Tuner – Integra DC2
14 – Daz Smee – Production – Integra DC2
39 – Rob Burkinshaw – Tuner – Integra DC5
46 – Mark Bennett – Super Tuner – S2000
47 – Paul Garrod - Production – Integra DC2
66 – Paula Webb– Production - EP3 Civic Type R
77 – Rick Rowles – Invitation – FN2 Civic Type R
139 – Andy Smith – Super Tuner – Accord Type R
142 – Dawn Boyd – Production - EP3 Civic Type R

It was a warm welcome to a number of new drivers for the weekend’s events, as well as welcoming back some absent friends to the fold.

Mark Bennett and Rick Rowles have raced previously with the VTEC Challenge, but for reasons outside of their control have been away from the track for a while.



Mark is back at the helm of his sleek S2000 running in the “Super Tuner Class” and Rick was representing the Civic brand with his beautifully prepared FN2.

In the “new” camp, Daz Smee and Paul Garrod were both running JDM Integra’s in the growing “Production” class.

New to racing, Daz was spotted racing in the “Armed Forces Challenge” at Snetterton when we raced there the last time out and after spending some time with our drivers, has decided to give the VTC a go.

Having raced a few years ago in a rapid DC5, Paul Garrod is getting back into the seat with his recently completed DC2 and had driven all the way from Ipswich in his race car, which remains road legal!



For the “MOTORS LIVE” event, we had again been paired up with the “BOSS” championship for Fords and would be part of a huge grid of 40+ cars.


Qualifying:

With everyone expecting Noah and his Ark to make an appearance during the qualifying session, all 42 cars took their tentative first steps out on track.

For those BOSS drivers that had not already switched to their wet tyres before the session, it was a solitary lap fighting for grip before they pitted to swap over to full wets.



With no alternative to the Toyo 888’s it was a matter of getting stuck in for the VTEC drivers and driving with respect to the track conditions.

With drivers struggling for visibility through a combination of spray and misted up windows, several where forced to pit/stop in order to clear their windscreens and side glass.

Most drivers suffered from lack of grip throughout the session, resulting in sideways moments for all as well a full spins for Bennett and Webb.

Out in front for the VTEC’s was Rob Burkinshaw and his DC5, setting the pace with the returning Mark Bennett in 2nd and the Accord of Andy Smith in 3rd.



Daz Smee led the “Production” class contingency, a great result on his first outing into the VTC.

Impressively, Rob was the highest place car not to be running full wets.



Pole: Rob Burkinshaw
2nd: Mark Bennett
3rd: Andy Smith

During the break before the race, a number of drivers took the opportunity to fit added de-misters in readiness for a wet race, but other than topping up with fuel, there was little else to do before suiting up for race 1.


Race 1:

Thankfully the weather broke before our first race and everyone was greeted with glorious sunshine and a dry track.

With a rolling start for race 1, the grid assembled at the end of the pit lane in order to follow the safety car. Some confusion over the number of laps behind the safety car meant the grid was well strung out by the time the lead cars crossed the line, resulting in a few drivers missing out on a better start.

It better suited conditions, Burkinshaw began to make up places from the off and was already climbing through the grid from 8th before turn 1.

The rest of the field managed a clean get away to start the 15 minute race, however with 40+ cars heading into turn 1, there where a few near misses and only quick reactions avoided unnecessary contact.

Bennett, Jessop and Smith began their fight for class contention, with Bennett leading the trio for the majority of the race. Dawn Boyd in her EP3 quickly began to climb up through the grid to challenge Daz for class honours. With the luxury of being able to see out of her windows, (following a misted up qualifying), the gap to Daz soon closed up and she comfortably took the lead in class by the time she had crossed the line at the end of the first lap. With Dawn and Daz taking 1st and 2nd in class at the chequered flag, it was Paul Garrod who drove a trouble free race to finish 3rd.

At about half way distance, a Peugeot in the Pre-2005 classed dropped oil on the run into turn 1 and the subsequent slick meant drivers had to take avoiding action, with some luckier than others in the outcome. Unfortunately for Mark, the oil meant a loss of position from 2nd to 3rd and try as he might, the clock was against him and he was unable to regain 2nd place.



The FN2 Civic of Rowles suffered from an intermittent misfire, which severely hampered progress, but keen to complete the race he struggled through to the end.



Following a massive off in qualifying Webb regained confidence in the dry conditions and found her rhythm and enjoyed a race long battle with several of the BOSS drivers.



Although taking the overall VTEC win and placing 4th overall, towards the end of the race, Burkinshaw began to suffer from an intermittent misfire which hampered any further progress and meant a challenge to take a podium position was thwarted.

Further issues for Rick materialised upon returning to the pit garages and the Civic promptly emptied his coolant due to a damaged thermostat housing.

1st Rob Burkinshaw
2nd Simon Jessop
3rd Mark Bennett

Class wins were awarded to:

(P) – Dawn Boyd
(T) – Rob Burkinshaw
(ST) – Simon Jessop
(I) – Rick Rowles

Fastest lap: Rob Burkinshaw 1.20.184 on lap 3 of 12


Race 2:

With the sun shining again on Sunday, everyone busied themselves in preparation for race 2.

During the previous evening, Rick had repaired his thermostat housing and replaced his plugs as well as a few other bits and pieces in an attempt to overcome the issues from race 1. Only time would tell if these fixes had worked.

Rob Burkinshaw looked to rectify the issues he’d encountered in race 1 and spent several hours going through the car’s electric and reviewing the data log from the ECU. With time running out, he was left less than happy with the car and discussed an early pit if the car’s performance hadn’t improved.

When the time to race arrived, all drivers headed onto the pit lane and assembled in grid order in anticipation of what lay ahead. For a grid start, all cars followed a safety car for one lap, with a further green flag lap.

Sat in 4th place, Burkinshaw was surrounded by the top Fords, and had a huge mountain to climb to stay in contention.

As the lights showed red, those around Rob began to creep and he did well not to get caught up in their antics. Patiently waiting for the lights to go out the DC5 took off in pursuit.

Again, into the first corner and it was only the reflexes of driver Andy Smith that saved him from a nasty incident as the Accord became the ham in a Ford sandwich!

Jessop in the DC2 took 2nd place through the confusion with Bennett close behind and a recovering Smith in 4th.



Again it was Boyd leading the way for Production class honours as she climbed through the field from 19th overall. Smee again was driving without fault and apart from an errant road cone had no trouble to speak of.

Although the Civic of Rowles was running much better following the repairs, clutch failure now hampered progress and resulted in the driver from Wiltshire falling down the running order to the disappointment of all involved.



Much to her excitement, Paula’s lap times where beginning to tumble, knocking off over 5 seconds a lap against her previous best, and rewarded with 3rd in class.

Out in front, it was still Burkinshaw who was troubling the top 3 Fords. Whilst not able to match the straight line speed of some, under braking and around corners, the DC5 ruled the roost.

In 4th place, Andy was fighting for overall position, when he was tagged on the N/S rear wheel whilst cornering. With the rear already light, the Accord was soon broadside across the track, but thanks to quick driver input it was very quickly pointing in the right direction and narrowly missed a spinning Cosworth that had spun directly in front of the recovering Smith. Heart stopping stuff!

Jessop and Bennett had swapped positions behind Burkinshaw, with Bennett taking the inside line at “Village” when Jessop ran wide.

The following couple of laps saw the pair fight for position as well as defending from some quick Fords that where joining in the fun.

Coming into the “Link” a missed gear change from Mark opened up an opportunity for Jessop to attempt an overtake, however with the S2000 quickly gathering pace again, that window soon closed resulting in some close contact and Simon spinning off.

Both drivers continued with Mark out in front, however unfortunately for Mark (and unrelated) the engine in his car soon after began to loose oil pressure and he was forced to retire.

Having completed almost full race distance, disaster uncharacteristically struck lead driver Burkinshaw when his DC5 suffered from electrical failure. With no other option available, he was forced out of the race and into his first DNF of the season.

With the untimely retirement of Bennett and Burkinshaw, the order at the front changed, with Simon taking his first win, and Dawn her first podium of the year.

1st: Simon Jessop
2nd: Andy Smith
3rd: Dawn Boyd

Class wins were awarded to:

(P) – Dawn Boyd
(ST) – Simon Jessop
(I) – Rick Rowles

Fastest lap: Rob Burkinshaw 1.18.553 on lap 3 of 12


Summary:

In spite of the horrendous weather to start with, the weekends racing took place in glorious sunshine.

It was great to see several fresh cars out for the event and hopefully we can continue to build on that for the next 3 races.

Thanks to the series sponsors: Toyo Tires, Ultra Racing, Performance Autoworks, Finsport, Honda Tuner, R-Motion and MOTORV8 Media for their support.

Thanks also to everyone who attended at Silverstone, what ever the capacity your help and support is very much appreciated.

The next race is at Cadwell on the 26th/27th July. Anyone interested in coming out to race, just get in touch at vtecchallenge@gmail.com



Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Fletcher
 
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