Willhire 24 Hour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Willhire 24 Hour was an endurance race for production cars held at Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit in Norfolk, England between 1980 and 1994. Over the years, the race included both sports cars and saloon cars. Latterly, it was contested by competitors running in the FIA Group N specification National Saloon Car Cup. The race has throughout its history has been run by the British Racing & Sports Car Club (BRSCC),[1] which was also responsible for the aforementioned series.[2]
The race was sponsored by Willhire Vehicles Rentals (now Anglian Willhire, part of Northgate PLC), a local car rental company, after its owner Roger Williams was approached to sponsor a motor racing event at the circuit. Roger talked about sponsoring a 6- or 24-hour event, initially as a joke, but the offer was accepted and the United Kingdom's first 24-hour race was founded.[3] The 1989 event was 25 hours long to mark the 25th anniversary of the Willhire company.[4]
The final event was held in 1994. Its experience in hosting an 24 hour race was proven to be beneficial when subsequently, Snetterton became a host of some British Touring Car Championship night races from 1999, but full 24-hour racing did not return until 2003, with the introduction of the Snetterton 24-Hour 2CV Race.[5][6] However, national 24 hour endurance racing would not return until the introduction of the Britcar 24 Hours in 2005, taking place at Silverstone Circuit. The 2005 Britcar event is sometimes referred to as the Britcar Willhire 24 Hour Race.[7]
[edit] Winners
The Willhire 24 Hour was won by a number of drivers who went on to have success in other forms of racing. In 1986, the winning car was co-driven by then BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Mike Smith.[8] The full list of winners is given below.[3] Other notable drivers who competed in the past other than those listed below include Kieth O'dor, Tiff Needell, Steve Soper, John Cleland, James Thompson and Gerry Marshall.
| Year | Drivers | Car | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Pete Hall Phil Dowsett Martin Carroll Syd Fox Hamish Irvine Andrew Jeffrey |
Opel Commodore GS/E 2.8 | 955 |
| 1981 | Martin Carroll Pete Hall Andy Rouse Syd Fox Phil Dowsett |
Opel Commodore GS/E | 990 |
| 1982 | Robb Wells Chris Alford Malcolm Paul |
Morgan Plus 8 3.5 | 970 |
| 1983 | Tony Dron Win Percy Andy Rouse Phil Dowsett |
Porsche 928S 4.6 | 995 |
| 1984 | Bill Taylor Paul Edwards Barry Robinson John Lock |
Porsche Carrera RS | 952 |
| 1985 | Roy Eaton David Oates John Clarke |
Ford Capri 2.8i | 970 |
| 1986 | Mike Smith Lionel Abbott |
Ford Escort RS Turbo | 965 |
| 1987 | Robb Gravett Graham Hathaway Phil Bullman |
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | 984 |
| 1988 | Lionel Abbott Graham Scarborough |
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | 1,025 |
| 1989 (25 hours) |
Mark Hales Slim Borgudd |
Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth | 1,025 |
| 1990 | Matt Neal Dave Wallis Stuart McCrudden |
BMW M3 | 896 |
| 1991 | Kurt Luby Will Hoy Ray Bellm |
BMW M3 | 909 |
| 1992 | Mike Jordan Steve Griffin Graham Coomes |
BMW M3 | 928 |
| 1993 | Mike Jordan Mike Burtt Charlie Cox John Morrison |
BMW M3 | 935 |
| 1994 | Nickie Torregiani Del Delaronde Andrew Jeffrey James Prochowski |
Ford Escort RS Cosworth | 939 |
[edit] References
- ^ BRSCC year-by-year. Motor Racing Archive. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ McKnight, Nigel (1991). Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation. Motorbooks. ISBN 0-87938-652-5.
- ^ a b The Willhire 24 Hour. Motor Racing Archive. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Top field for 25-hour race", The Times, 1989-06-17.
- ^ "Introduction: Snetterton 24-Hour 2CV Race 2003", 2CV Racing Club. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Round-the-clock racing", Daily Telegraph, 2003-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Double finish for MG-ZR duo at Donington", theGrid.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ John Blunsden. "Detroit could see a charge from the non-turbo cars", The Times, 1987-06-20.
|
|||||
