In the Pits - Ben the volunteer

I’ve been to Silverstone many times and have been into the paddock area as a guest of a scrutineer, but I had never been in the pits.

I found myself with the opportunity to help Andrew and Aspect Racing, campaigning his 1972, 2.0-litre 4/4 Morgan, as his usual crew were otherwise engaged. With only one member of his team left and his 13-year-old son, Andrew asked if I could step in and help. Luckily, I have an engineering background and a keen interest in cars and motorbikes, and have done my fair share of tinkering on my own +4 Morgan and fixing over the years, so I felt up to the job.

We arrived at Silverstone early evening and got set up with the help of Ollie, a young motorsport student gaining experience in the real world of racing, and Andrew’s son. Once the car was out of the trailer and the paddock tent was up, it was time for microwave curries all round and then bed.

The car had been checked over before being loaded, but we double-checked it, making sure there was enough fuel for the two qualifying sessions. Andrew was entered into the two Morgan Challenge races and had also elected for the extra Techniques Cup race.
Running from the original pit straight, I had my first taste of the assembly area and being on the pit wall.

Two good qualifying sessions saw Andrew qualify 15th overall and 1st in class for the Morgan Challenge, and 2nd overall for the Techniques Cup — a great result!

Then, with 20 minutes to go before the first race, the car wouldn’t start!

I’m upside down under the dash on the passenger side while Andrew tries to start it. No luck, and no loose wires. Bonnet open, nothing obvious. Andrew suggested the starter cables, which can’t be seen under the heat protection wrap as it’s right by the exhaust.
I laid down under the car and could see a loose cable, but not where it went. The ignition/solenoid cable was off, but I could barely reach it and had no idea where it was meant to fit.
So we rush to get a jack out of the trailer — only to find someone has parked their Porsche behind it! Owner identified, car moved, jacks out and the car up in the air. Andrew had seen the connection before, so he was now under the car working out how to reconnect it.
Contact made and the starter spins!

He’s back in the car and we’re rushing (good jog for me!) over to the assembly area, just in time to get his helmet, gloves, straps and HANS device on before lining up for the race.
The first race was completed successfully, but before Race 2, it happened again! The cable had detached once more. This time we knew the deal, and efficient teamwork saw the problem fixed in minutes. The routing of the cable wasn’t ideal, so the wrapping was pushing it off. We rerouted and slightly crimped the connection to ensure a tighter fit.

It was really exciting watching from the pit wall, with lots of overtakes down the National Pit Straight, including several by Andrew. He came 2nd and 3rd in class in the Morgan Challenge races and, after some dicing with a TR250, came 3rd overall and 2nd in class in the Techniques Cup, only beaten by a car with 25 hp more.

It was a long, enjoyable day with 2 qualifying sessions, 3 races and a lot of chasing a Morgan around to the assembly area and back!
There were, of course, some chilled moments, with plenty of beautiful old cars to admire alongside the many Morgans. As it was the Bentley Drivers Club meeting, there were also lots of Bentleys, which took me back to when I was at primary school and my father rebuilt a pre-war one.

Between us, we kept the car going and topped up with fuel all day, allowing Andrew to get out and race.

I was really pleased to have helped Andrew and thoroughly enjoyed being in amongst it on a race day, when I’m so often the other side of the fence. The weekend was topped off with a visit to the Car Club Fest on the Sunday.

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend!

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