The team headed to Silverstone for the latest round of the BARC Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Championship. Arriving a day early to take advantage of the availability of testing time on the circuit the team set about their weekends work with gusto. The Clubmans first outing onto the circuit was designed to provide circuit re-familiarisation and also to scrub in a new set of Avon slicks on the front of the car. Towards the end of the first session the car set a benchmark time against which the team could use to gauge progress throughout the day. Subsequent sessions showed consistent reductions in lap times as the team dialled in the car to the circuit and the team ended the day pleased with the times and the performance of the car.

The mood soon darkened however as during the post test checks the team discovered traces of oil on the floor of the car. Further investigation found the cause to be a broken primary gear. Fortunately the team was able to replace the broken part and the Clubman was declared fit to take part in the DMN meeting.

Qualifying saw the Clubman heading onto the circuit as part of the large and varied DMN field once more. As the session progressed the Clubmans laptimes began to fall and it was soon matching the times achieved in testing the day before. As the session ended the Clubman had taken a clear 1st in class and had set its fastest ever laptime around the Silverstone National circuit.

Rolling starts were the order of the day and as lights went out for the first race the Clubman got off to a flier putting in a strong opening lap and maintaining its position in the field. As the race progressed the Clubman was caught and passed by a pair of Cosworths as the turbo charged leviathans stretched their legs on the large circuit. The Clubman continued to lead its class and increased its advantage over its rivals despite being passed by a 306 and an Integra. As the chequered flag fell the Clubman took a comfortable class victory and even finished ahead of the previous years championship winning Escort WRC!

For the second race the starting positions were based on the finishing positions from the previous race. Once again the Clubman got a good start although the Escort WRC streaked past on the run to the first corner, however, the Clubman was also on the move and took places from the 306 and Integra by the end of the first lap. Once again the Clubman held a clear advantage over its class rivals by the mid point of the race – things weren’t all going the Clubmans way though as the clutch failed with several laps still remaining. Fortunately the Clubman was able to continue and manage the gap back to its class rivals taking the chequered flag to record another class victory.

The team had a great weekend with the Clubman dominating its class throughout the meeting and picking up two class wins. The work carried out during the test session laid the foundations for the successful performances during the races and once again the teams ability to respond quickly in the face of adversity paid dividends. The team can now look forward to the next rounds that will take place at Lydden Hill on the 29th of June.

(Thanks to John Griffin for the information!)