Tom Cloet, Mike Gardiner and Paul Fenton were the drivers prepared to take on 24 hours around Silverstone International circuit in the Moore Racing-prepared and supported BMW M3. The start of the race coincided with a downpour, which saw the support crews standing ankle-deep in water in the pit garages and made for interesting times on track. Mike Gardiner was first out and the deluge, combined with a dislodged windscreen wiper, did not make conditions easy for him. After a report of oil from the car, the team brought the car in to discover a split oil cooler, which turned out to be part of a faulty batch from the manufacturers, as other teams suffered the same problem. The resultant repairs left the car 49th out of 55 at the end of the first hour.
Tom Cloet took over after Mike's first session and perfectly anticipated the drying track as to when to change over to dry tyres. Tom handed the car over in 42nd place having made very good progress against the rest of the field. Paul Fenton was third out and had a great drive in the drying conditions, outperforming Porsches, GT cars and others in the field, by being able to get the tyres up to temperature where most were struggling for grip. By the end of the stint the car was up to 27th.
As 1am rolled around and with 2 drivers tucked up for a snooze, Mike was back out on track and up to 23rd place. The support team was enjoying a snack and all was looking promising for a good stint through the night. Then as the car roared past the pit straight yet again, the engine let go and our first foray into 24 hour racing came to a sad and abrupt end. Packing up was done in a sombre mood. Those with the short straw had to stay behind to look after the truck until it could be extricated from the paddock the following day, and most of us headed home to sleep off our sorrows.
The damage was subsequently attributed to the earlier oil cooler failure - itself due to a failed oil regulator. The smallest things cause the biggest problems in 24 hour racing. We will be back next year; older, wiser and even keener!
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Contact: Richard Moore - 07939 569027 or Paul Fenton - 07801 417931 |