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The ‘Classic Sports Car Club’ at Snetterton - 18 October 2008 - the XK Challenge

Event Report by John Davies Roberts

A Race To Remember,
The Red Mist descended and
another 2nd in the Jaguar Class

Well, we’ve reached October and nearly at the end of the 2008 race season and what a weekend.

Accompanied by my very able Race Engineer Steve Andrew, we arrived at Snetterton on the Friday for what I hoped would be a full afternoon of Testing prior to the Saturday race.

The weather was beautiful but, like many race drivers who have their favourite circuits as well as their not so favourite ones. My history goes like this at dear old Snetty. Three engine blow-ups and three accidents. So you can imagine the thoughts that travel through ones mind with that history. And so it continued!!

After just 25 minutes of Testing, my throttle cable broke. That was a first in seven years. But of course it was Snetterton! This is when Steve took control. We didn’t have a spare cable or terminations. So we begged and borrowed (We didn’t steal) around the paddock and eventually came up with the goods. CKL was also alerted to the fact and my CKL Mechanic Dave Cousins brought additional cable et al.

At least I had 25 minutes to test the car, test me, remember the foibles of the track then try to fix the car for race day.

Saturday morning arrived bright and sunny and so did qualifying, but would I have some Snetty luck at last? NO! I had completed only 15 minutes of the 30 minutes when, the cable broke again. So I was unable to burn the excess petrol and improve on my Lap Time.

Dave was called into bale me out, and after disentangling himself from the cockpit with head under the dashboard and feet in the air at the “Pedal End” of things, he alighted successfully. Question. Would it last for the race? Of course it would????

Out of 31 cars qualifying, I managed only 20th, but I was undaunted at this prospect and proceeded to brim the petrol tank and hope for the best.

JDR leading the pack at Russells Corner	JDR pulling away from the pack	JDR pre-race in Assembly Area

So what was in store for the afternoon race he asked himself? We all gathered at the Start Line, and when the RED Lights went out, I made an excellent start and passed two XK’s. But when we got to the first corner, cars were five abreast, a-slippin and a-slidin, a few contacts and I couldn’t see a way through, with the obvious result looming of a Body and Paint Shop bill on the horizon.

So I took to the grass, only just making it past a car in front of me but sideways on. I headed off along the grass but I could the “Kitty Litter” ahead. I slammed it into 2nd gear, gave the engine half throttle and tried to drive through it and managed it, just!

I headed back to the circuit in 31st place. Oh boy, was I cross. Yet again the gods seemed against my having a good Snetterton race. The red mist descended, or should I say sheer determination not to be beaten. After all this was a 40 minute race and I did have time to make up places.

I think Lewis Hamilton had been told after Fuji, that you can only loose a race at the first corner. So JR decided to put the pedal to the metal and kick some “A”. And I did just that. This was one of the races where I did it on my own, CKL had his own race, so I was doing the full 40 minutes. After the Pit Stop, where I had to get out of the car, get back in, buckle up and straight back out on to the circuit, I finished the race in 14th position out of 31.

BUT, what I didn’t realise was that I had managed to settle into a reasonably fast pace, overtook when necessary and dropped into “Endurance Mode”. I had actually finished:

2nd in the Jaguars race!!

So a great result from a lowly start. It appears I may have got the Snetterton proverbial monkey off my back. Let’s hope so!

We will be at Mallory Park next weekend on
Sunday the 26th October

Hope to see you there!

John D R.

Steve from Applied IT	Steve helping JDR strap in	JDR looking bewildered at prize giving

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