Race Review by Richard and Matthew Hollis

Silverstone. Late November. Last race of 2003. Many chose to stay away. It was unclear why, as it was unlikely to be due to the Silverstone winter climate, lack of finance after an expensive season or the fact that it didn't count for the championship.

So, only eight cars on the entry list, but most were in a cheery mood come Sunday morning. Then out of a covered race trailer rolls car no. 42, painted in Team Collier colours. On closer inspection, the no. 4 had been craftily placed in front of the no. 2. Yes, this car was the championship winning 'pram-sportive', beaten only once in the year, which at this meeting, was to be driven by James Hewes and Patrick Collier. Those that worked out the disguise quickly recalculated their targets and declared that they only ever wanted a podium finish, that winning wasn't important and it was the taking part that counts. Warwick Howlett made a welcome return, although it appeared he was less than ready to compete. Having been awoken by marshals informing him he had a) overslept and b) camped in the wrong paddock, he was now rushing to unload the car, let alone see whether it would run. Despite achieving this, he still missed the first part of qualifying as all the scrutineers had disappeared (reportedly to a full English breakfast) and hence was prevented from going out until the car had been passed. So the drivers all waved as they left Warwick and John Parker (who had also arrived late) behind and attempted to qualify. Water was on the track, and unsurprisingly this made it wet. This was no surprise, as 2CV racing at Stowe can only occur at times of rain under section 3.3.11 of the MSA Blue Book. Still, with slippery conditions, accidents can happen and Matthew Hollis quickly proved this theory correct by driving into Patrick Collier on the exit of the chicane. Despite considerable damage to both cars, both qualified well for the first of three separate races that would decide the overall enduro result. There was also to be a fourth sprint race scheduled for the end of the day, so after all the qualifying sessions, the cars lined up for part one of the enduro challenge. A side-by-side start saw Davis and M Hollis fighting for the lead, with Jon finally getting ahead at the chicane. Lap 3 saw the order reversed, as Matthew passed down the inside at turn 2. Davis was reeled in by a slow-starting Collier and eventually passed for 2nd. Further back, Martin Harrold was holding fourth from Allan Glide, who was running best down the straights, although he was experiencing fuel problems through the turns. A novel solution was to avoid turning, something that Allan explained was difficult to do. Tim Dodgson was blasting around in 6th despite the charging problems that were to dog him all weekend. Warwick and Katie took 7th and 8th at the flag. So Matthew claimed his first 2CV victory by a healthy 3.5 seconds, but it was still all to play for in the overall enduro race. Race 2 saw a grid line-up of Leason, Hewes, R Hollis, Davis, Parker, Glide, Dodgson and Croucher. James Hewes took a leisurely start and dropped back a few places. Paul took the lead with Richard tagging on behind, fending off the fast starting Davis. Lap 8 saw Leason and Hollis, travelling as one, catch Katie at turn 2. Paul dived for the inside to lap car no. 8, but Richard entered the corner backwards, making brief contact and sliding into Silverstone moor. Hollis rejoined once the engine was restarted, now down to 3rd. However, a pitstop for car 42 lost James four places. Rumours Team Collier were pitting for umbrellas, wellies and waterproof trousers were completely unfounded. So Paul took the flag some 13 seconds ahead of the Hollis car with Jon Davis having a solid drive to gain the last podium place. James lost out to Glide and Dodgson and came home 6th, ahead of the lapped Howlett/Parker mobile, and Katie. For the final enduro race, the Hollis boys just had to finish within 10 seconds of whoever won to claim overall victory. This task was made easier by a last minute driver change that saw Leason racing instead of Harrold and therefore starting at the back of the grid. Richard was on pole with Jon sharing the front row. Collier, Dodgson, Parker, Glide, Croucher and Leason made up the rest of the grid. At the start, Leason jumped from last to 4th, with Hollis holding the lead from Davis and Collier. A dry line was now emerging and by lap 8 Leason had passed Collier and Davis, with Patrick following Paul through to get ahead of Jon. One lap later, and both Leason and Collier passed Hollis in one move. From then on, Paul had to pull out 10 seconds over Richard, a fact that Team Fine Print were all too aware of, and who were doing a good job of visually counting it down on the pitboard. Entering the final lap, Leason had a lead of just more than eight seconds over Hollis in third place. With both drivers on the limit, Paul crossed the line 8.5 seconds ahead of Hollis, with Collier racing between them to take second. With just 1.5 seconds to separate them after 3 races, the Hollis brothers took their first enduro win ahead of Leason/Harrold with a consistent effort from Davis seeing him claim 3rd overall. That left just one more race, an all or nothing last sprint of the 2cv season. The track was now practically dry except for the difficult left-hander after the back straight. Qualifying positions were determined by the fastest times set by the drivers in the earlier enduro sessions, which meant Leason headed the grid with Davis second again. Leason sprinted away as Davis held of the challenges of a fast starting M Hollis on the outside, and Hewes on the inside. At half-distance, Hollis made a move down the inside of Davis at turn 2, but as both cars went for the same bit of tarmac, Hewes passed both on the exit. Matthew was forced to pit one lap later as he was leaking fuel due to the contact. On closer inspection, the exhaust was about to fall off, and the fan had sheared. Now seemed like a good time to retire, so he did. The squabbling for second left Paul to pull out an eleven second lead and win his 3rd race of the weekend. James Hewes claimed another 2nd place for the Collier car, with Jon Davis securing another podium finish. Dodgson, Glide and Croucher took the flag next, as the northern pairing of Howlett and Parker chose to sit this one out. Paul also took the fastest lap of the weekend with a 56.4 on a now nearly dry track. At this point huge praise must be given to the BARC SEC, for not only do they brave the extreme Silverstone conditions, but this year they put up a large marquee with heating, chairs, tables and even carpet! Festive prizes were awarded to plenty of drivers who had entertained and shown commendable commitment, as well as the regular trophies for the top three drivers in each race. Stowe in November might not be the biggest meeting, at the best track, at the greatest time of year, but at least all who took part had a good time, helped each other and enjoyed racing their 2CVs.

November and Silverstone - we're loving it.

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