It’s Monday morning as I type this, it’s grey, chilly and raining outside, but am I feeling blue? Not one bit of it! As today is the day for gathering everything together, packing the motorhome, sorting out my paperwork, and starting to build the excitement to 3 days of on-track action at the end of the week at Silverstone.
|
Seeing as it is April, you do need to pack for all seasons – suntan lotion and winter thermals both get included as the weather can be all things in one day there. And then there’s the rain – it has at some point rained during the meeting for the last 3-4 years (indeed, the 2014 WEC race was stopped with half an hour still to run when the deluge literally flooded the track), and I have recent experience of the moisture there as it rained for some 12 hours of the recent Hankook 24 Hours held just a week ago. But you put up with these ‘little’ inconveniences for the pleasure of the sight and sounds of the prototypes and GTs out on track.
They say all roads lead to Rome – well, as far as some 100,000 of us are concerned, this week all flights from around the world, boat passages across the English Channel and the North Sea, and A, B & C roads lead only to Silverstone. Many of the teams, drivers and ACO officials will be arriving at the start of the week, the marshals gathering starts on Thursday, and the fans will arrive Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Whether an old hand, or a new follower to endurance racing, enjoy the experience. Don't forget to get yourself all WrappedUp4Silverstone (see what I did there???), and remember, Sunday’s WEC race is just a quarter of the distance the same cars will be doing at a certain event in June! Have fun!
Steve Tarrant