Castle Combe – 23rd March 2019
Steve: 1st in Top12 – 115.67s New BSC Record Watch Video
Matt: 2nd in Top12 – 117.44s
Carole: 3rd in Class – 148.60s
Zoe: 2nd in Class – 145.54s
Chris Jones was sharing our Westfield, he qualified for the Top 12, achieving a new BSC Class Record – 128.78s Watch Video
Speedscene reported: ‘He set a new Mod Prod record, this in a car he had never driven before. Chris was also very enthusiastic about the levels of lateral G that he was able to reach without upsetting the car or racing line. ‘There is more to come’ was his ominous comment.’
We hadn’t had any time to test the 2.0L XE SBD Dallara despite its newly installed engine before arriving at Castle Combe. Matt drove the Dallara first and said he was still having to pump the brakes even though we had re-built the entire braking system. On Steve’s practice, he took care to pump the brakes all the way around and was only a few tenths of the record. By the first timed run, we had worked out that it was definitely pad knock-off and both drivers were getting practiced at driving around the issue. Matt managed to improve his time and Steve finished in 115.48s which broke Mark Smith’s 2014 record that he had set in the SBD Reynard. For the 2nd timed run, the temperature had dropped slightly and Steve pushed the car too hard on the exit of quarry having a bit of a spin. Steve qualified 2nd for the Top12, just pipped by Colin Calder by 3/10th, the temperatures got even cooler and all the V8s began to drop like flies. By the time it came to Steve’s run, he knew he had to get a banker in so he took a steady run, which was enough to lead after the first runs but not quick enough to break the record. Matt put in a good run and significantly improved his time on both the Top12 runs. When it came to Steve’s final run, being the last car to go and already leading the Top12, he knew he only needed to break the record to claim an extra point but the track conditions were getting ever colder. Despite that, he managed to put in a quick, if slightly untidy run, to break the record and claim the extra point.
Speedscene Report: ‘Steve Broughton and Matt Hillam took first & second in the British Sprint Top 12 Run-Off at Castle Combe in their shared SBD Dallara and scored the first National Run Off win for Pirelli tyres. Having qualified second (to Colin Calder) with a new record, Steve put in a ‘banker’ on his first Run-Off and then went for it on his second. The run was a bit ragged, but enough to seal the win and set a new record for another bonus point’