[Creventic 24H TCE Series] Silverstone 24 Hours - 2017

[Truckosaurus]

(I realise this isn't technically a sportscar event, but we are the most likely fans of an endurance race).

Is anyone attending the Silverstone 24Hrs this coming weekend?

I have the Friday off work to use up the last of my annual leave before the end of the financial year, so can get to see some qualifying as well as the race.

In an ideal world the race would start earlier in the day than its 16h00 start, but at least it should see darkness fall before too many retirements.

Last year the TCR cars were fast but fragile, so we shall see if they have improved for this season.

[eps]

I attended this event with Truck, having been to the Dubai 24 hrs of which this forms a part or subset..

The racing was really good. The cars looked great on the track. The only slight criticism would be the small grid - but this event looks set to stay and they will improve and expand it. I'm sure there would have been more GT4 cars (specifically Ginettas) racing if it hadn't clashed with the BTCC event at Brands Hatch on which Ginettas feature. In fact one of the team owners was even splitting his time between the two events (lucky chap!) - Colin White (CWS).

In the end the 'Touring Cars' won the race - although that was mainly because it was "their" event as they headline it. The Seat Leons look really impressive and there was a lot of free access to everywhere and signage and communication - something that a lot of motorsport events lack!! i.e. they indicate which grandstands would be open and when. Little things like this which made it easier to know where to go and when.

I've posted some photos on flickr - the weather was most unseasonably kind. https://flic.kr/s/aHskSeFhbZ should be the album link for those interested.

Looking forward to going to the WEC which is less than 2 weeks away now! Although there is a lot of earthworks going on in the area which was where the fanzone was placed for the past two years... They are starting their WRX 'track'. So not sure how things are going to be laid out for the WEC - but I guess there is 'more than enough' space there.

[Truckosaurus]

Additionally, there was also commentary by 'Radio Show Limited' - John Hindhaugh and Paul Trusswell - over the tannoy, on AM at the circuit and with video on YouTube which made spectating enjoyable.

There were some grumbles of complaint from some of the GT4 teams as they felt their Balance of Performance (via minimum lap times) was especially harsh - especially as some of them were getting penalised for 'sandbagging' when backing off through the final corners to prevent breaking their lap time target.

As an outside it seems the current GT4 classes seem to be there just to make up the numbers rather than having any chance of having a free reign to race and get a decent overall finish through reliability/consistency (as only a couple of the Touring Cars had a trouble free race).

[eps]

free reign?

GT4 should (he says) be given a bit more chance - I suspect that at least one of the GT4 teams were using it as a 24 hour proving ground...

[NaBUru38]

An M3 GT4 is hardly a touring car.

[Truckosaurus]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

An M3 GT4 is hardly a touring car.

Indeed. It is barely even a GT car (due to its humble saloon car base).

Perhaps the line-in-the-sand for this series could be limiting the 'GT' or 'Special' classes to 4-cyl vehicles.

This would allow in things such as the Mazda MX5, Toyota GT86, Lotus Elise, Alfa 4C, Ginetta G40, Porsche 718 (in related news, there was one running around the Porsche Experience track on Saturday and it didn't sound too bad), etc.

They could run flat out and not trouble the front runners.

[Matt]

The penalty system is atrocious.

Not only can you get penalized for breaking out of your bracket time in a single lap, but if any three sectors over the course of the event add up to a time that goes under your dial-in, you get penalized.

That's absolutely stupid.

[eps]

They are literally there to make up the numbers. The Touring Car specification cars are the ones they want making up the race, but it's only year 2....

To be fair, from what I understand, Creventic are very receptive to making changes or tweaks to improve things and get people racing.

They certainly seemed to set things up really well - it was one of the best organised meetings I've ever been to. Most of the time things are left to luck and guesswork for the spectator!

[indigorallye]

Creventic are fantastic at organising an event, and very receptive to change if it's needed. In fact, in the admin office there was a suggestion box.
That said, I think they were a bit harsh on the GT4 cars. Abba/ Rollcentre had a minimum reference lap time of 2:16, and fuel limit of 70 litres. They had no chance of taking the fight to the TCR cars. Granted, it is an event designed for TCR's and below, but all should be given a chance.
I also thought that changing class for the Moss Motorsport car during the race was a step too far. I'm not sure on the details, but I wouldn't have been happy.
For the future, I'd like to see more A3 and A2 cars from UK teams, but then I would say that!