Silverstone Recap A Weekend of Highs, Lows, and... Oil?

Silverstone where legends are made, engines break, and side mirrors go missing.

Before we even hit Round 1 this season, our car was already throwing tantrums. Engine troubles had us playing catch up from the start, and given how tightly matched the grid is this season, every tenth counts. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the replacement engine didn’t make it in time for this round Silverstone was the target for its debut, but alas, the old faithful had to soldier on for one more outing.

Qualifying :

We went into qualifying with a touch of mid to exit understeer, which we improved but couldn’t fully dial out. That said, the bigger issue became very clear, very quickly our straight line speed was lacking. Plan B? Go tow hunting. And it sort of worked. We dragged out a P4 in class (just 0.050s separating four of us!), with the front row FN2 chassis cars (which love this place) locking out P1–P3.

Race 1 :

Started P7, pushed up to P4 while scrapping with teammates, and then bam both side mirrors folded in. No rearview, no interior mirror, just vibes and blind corners. Despite that, we held our ground until the quicker cars inevitably caught up, dropping us back to finish P7, a bit bruised and, frankly, blind.

Race 2 :

P4 grid start, nailed the launch, took the outside line through Copse, and bagged P2. A late lunge into Brooklands got us P1 happy days! We even started pulling a gap. But on lap three, Copse decided to betray us. At 120mph, the car suddenly snapped like we’d hit an oil slick. Turns out, someone had spilled oil. No warning flags, of course. Thankfully, we kept it out of the wall and recovered quickly. The red flag came soon after, and we were reinstated to P1 for the restart.

At the restart, we led the opening laps valiantly before yet again the straight line deficit took its toll. Finished P5, all things considered, a strong result.

Race 3 :

Starting P6, the fast boys were already ahead and our straight line speed was... not great. Still, another solid launch saw us fighting hard. Our new interior mirror (installed post Race 1 “adventure”) actually paid off finally, we could see who was trying to dive bomb us! We clawed our way back to P6 but couldn’t hold off the inevitable charge from behind. Finished P8, with a few more scuffs and stories to tell.

Post-Race Diagnostics The Culprits Revealed

Turns out a cracked inlet manifold and a broken exhaust flexi weren’t doing us any favors down the straights. So that explains a lot... But the good news? A replacement engine is on the way, and with it, hopefully, a bit of redemption.

What’s Next?

We’re already deep prepping for Croft, June 14th & 15th another triple header! With the replacement engine (finally) and some repairs under our belt, we’re optimistic about turning pace into points.

Huge Thanks To:

• Mill Street Motors

• Europa Crash Centre

• Motordrive Seats

• Demon Tweeks Motorsport

• Onamission

• Jautos

• Fusion Wraps Ltd

And of course, a massive shout-out to the friends, family, and supporters who make this all possible Ashley for wielding the spanners, and the Area Motorsport wizards for keeping both car and driver in one piece. We're getting stronger. See you at Croft!