Snetterton Liqui-Moly 2cv 24 hour 2018

Richard Gardiner’s Team Beacon Downe took top honours for the 2CV 24hr race. With drivers Kristopher Tovey, Peter Rundle and Louis Tyson driving a near perfect race, with team Ecas and Team Gadget taking the other two podium positions. Three weeks ago the winning car was on it’s roof at Donington Park….

A massive effort from the whole paddock got the car back on track that day and this spurred Richard on to fully repair the car and enter the 24 hour race. Are Richard and the three drivers lucky ?

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

The whole event is a real show of team effort with the people behind the scenes playing vital roles that enable the drivers to race in the cars for 24 hours.

The paddock during the race was the usual mix of team members asking other competitors for spares to keep the cars going following unforeseen incidents. The usual teams helping others out with spare parts and mechanics was a pleasure to watch. A few of my favourite teams that always help others out are MIM Racing, Gadget Racing, Tete Rouge Crisis, Pork Pie racing, Rosie Racing, Iceni Racing, Jelly Snake racing and Hollis Motorsport.

It’s hard to say when a race like this starts who you want to win the race. Maybe a team that has taken part in every round of the 2cv championship that has travelled the length and breadth of the country in the appalling weather we had at the early meetings this year. Or maybe a once a year team that has put all of it’s effort into one race and planned everything at weekly/ monthly meetings. Both types of team have put in a massive amount of preparation and now the 2cv cars, drivers and teams meet opportunity.

So can you say the winning drivers and team are lucky. Some teams had two engines changes, some more, some less. Is this luck or preparation. I will leave it up to you to attend next years race and make up your mind.

This race also has the invited Mini Grand 24 cars, which ran 1275cc engined classic Mini’s this year. They have been racing at the 2cv 24 hour event since 2012. These little cars are fantastically turned out and add to the spectacle of classic cars competing for 24 hours around the Snetterton circuit. This years race had the Mini’s completing 734 laps whilst the winning 2cv completed 708 laps. The fastest Mini lap time was 1:40.96 compared to the fastest 2cv lap time of 1:51.92 and that’s not bad considering the 2cv’s only have a little 602cc engine.

The wining Mini was car 193 team Misfits finishing infront of Andy Slades 177 Team Toyshed Mini with the last place on the Mini podium going to 153 Lyford Racing

And finally thanks to Richard Gardiner for the fabulous winner’s speech which perfectly summed up what makes this club and this event so special.

The race results can be found here.