A hot and sunny Bank Holiday weekend spent with friends at a music festival, drinking beer and having an all-round great time - what more could anyone want? Urrrm - how about some epic motorsport?...... cue the next round of the British GT at Snetterton!
Having had very little sleep because of being at said Festival, I left my kids snoozing in the tent and made my way to the car for what was going to be a fairly crazy 300 mile round trip to Norfolk. In all fairness, the journey wasn’t at all that bad – and before I knew it, the noticeable appearance of pig farms along the route suggested that I had arrived. With great sign-posting and very little traffic, I made my way into the circuit, and just like Oulton Park, found a great parking spot in-field trackside. As this was my first trip to the circuit, I spent the first hour or so just getting my bearings and wondering around the circuit. It’s quite a compact in-field, enabling you to comfortably get from one side to the other in under 20 mins. There are several man-made raised viewing areas which gives spectators great sight lines across much of the circuit. I must say that the whole circuit was very well maintained and looked stunning - sadly though, the ‘tree-man’ had been pruned – and so I didn’t manage to see the iconic figure that I have long associated with Snetterton. With the nature of the circuit, there are some great spots to watch from, with probably the end of the Bentley Straight/Brundle being one of my favourites. It was from this vantage point that I watched the opening laps of the first British GT race. I found myself in absolute awe of the speed of the cars and the skill of the drivers as they trail braked through the chicane having been at full chat moments before down the back straight. Watching it on TV simply doesn’t convey the ferocity of the machines and just how ‘on-the-edge’ they are. It was fascinating to watch the Aston Martin of Jack Mitchell in particular as he seemed to be absolutely on it; his tyres protesting loudly, lap after lap. Another great viewing spot is Murrays. The cars seemingly glide round the long right hander, blipping down through the gears in preparation for the sharp left hander of Murrays – before getting the hammer down to complete the lap. It’s also a great spot to watch the cars peel off into the pits for the driver change over. It was at the race mid-point that I decided the sun was a little too hot for me, and so made my way to the paddock in search of some much-needed shade. Thankfully I found shelter in the back of the Team Parker garage and watched their timing screens and TV coverage. And wow, what racing. Phil Keen and Sam Tordoff really did extract everything from their Lamborghini’s and pulled off some incredible passes. Whilst track-side viewing gives you access to the full visceral experience, the TV coverage gives you access to the wheel-to-wheel battles that unfold….so in many ways, I had the perfect race experience! It was then all nicely topped off by being able to stroll up to the podium – which is fully accessible to the public, and enjoy the trophy giving and champagne celebrations. As appears to be standard, the pit walk session was held over the lunch break - and provided me with the opportunity to pick up the latest Jake Yorath event poster. I know I have raved about his posters before – but they really are very good and my collection is coming along nicely. But a burning question for me and my son is ‘when will there be a Bentley poster?’ …..hopefully soon!! After a small issue with my phone running out of battery (I was clearly taking too many photos!) I managed to meet up with Andy Lloyd from Endurance and GT (EnduranceAndGT.co.uk) who had interviewed me several weeks earlier about my GT40 challenge. It was great to meet someone so passionate and knowledgeable about all things motorsport - and enjoyed our speculation about what the next race would bring and how that would impact the championship (interestingly, we queried why the No1 Aston of Adam and Johnston didn’t seem to be in the frame…). We said our good byes and will meet up again at Spa. Given how successful my viewing tactics had been first time round, I thought I’d do the same again, and duly watched the first half out at track side and then watched the second half at the Team Parker garage. With Rick Parfitt on a late charge, making dramatic lunges, the atmosphere in the garage was superb – and being able to share in that excitement was a privilege. If only he had managed to get third place……maybe next time! Once again, post-race, I made the short walk to the podium and watched-on as the winners celebrated by cooling each other down with their champagne. As I made my way back to the car, ever-so-slightly sun burned, I reflected on the way the two races had gone and realised that you can’t take anything for granted in racing. Even when Keen and Minshaw looked so dominant, events of the day twisted and turned and as a result, the championship remains very much alive! Bring on Silverstone!
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AuthorHi I'm Jon - an almost middle-aged motorsport fan - blogging for the first time.... Archives
September 2017
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