Report Hethel Sprint, September 3, 2023
The Hethel race track is on the site of the Lotus factory and is located just of the A11 a few miles from Norwich. The event was, as the Lydden Hill round on July 15, perfectly organized by the Borough 19 motor club with Roger Grimes, the club’s competition secretary, managing with the clerk of the course the day on the track. The turn out was a mix of single seaters and saloon cars; 106 drivers were in the
final ranking with a best time of 71.32s and a slowest time of 121.92 . All competitors were offered 1 practice run and 4 timed runs. In accordance with Lotus policy, no spectators were admitted and no photography or filming was permitted.
The weather was a mix of sun and clouds, no rain. All drivers took care not to cause a red flag, 3 runs in the morning and 2 runs after lunch break went smoothly with, as should be, no work for the recovery truck nor the 2 ambulances on site.
The Hethel sprint was the 7th round out of 9 in the 2023 AMOC speed series, present were Mark Chandler ( DB7 i6), Nigel Grice ( DB2/4 MkII), Peter House ( Vantage GT4 Rallye) , Neil Sims (DB9) and Guy Staudt ( Vantage S).
Peter’s GT4 car developed already during the practice run a gearbox problem and he decided after the 1st timed run to retire to potentially avoid a more serious issue with the gearbox. All other drivers completed the 5 runs and had fortunately no issues and much enjoyed the circuit.
At the end of the day the standings were:
Guy Staudt ( Vantage V8 S) 92.37s
Mark Chandler ( DB7 i6) 95.34s
Neil Sims ( DB9 ) 98.26s
Peter House (GT4 Rallye) 101.70s
Nigel (DB2/4 MkII) 112.14s
Next round: Curborough racetrack sprint on Sunday, September 17.
2023 Speed Championship Photos