Fourth in Class for Hooker in the Willhire
24 Hours Britcar Enduro
13 September 2005
In a late hour deal, Ryan Hooker (Upminster) took part in the Willhire
24Hours race at Silverstone last weekend (9-11th September) in the
#4 Ford Falcon sported by Adam Sharpe Motorsport. It was a weekend
full of drama and excitement, on and off the track, as Ryan and his
three co-drivers brought the Falcon home fourth in class.
Friday's qualifying sessions were heavily disrupted and the evening
session subsequently abandoned as a torrential storm struck the famous
circuit. As Ryan recalled during night qualifying soon looked more
like a river than a race track as lightening lit up the sky!
Thankfully, Saturday morning saw drier conditions as the teams prepared
for the 5pm start, and any rain that followed caused tricky conditions
but couldn't dampen the excitement of the 55 teams competing in the
first 24Hr race on British turf for many years.
Sadly a last minute problem meant Ryan started the race from the pitlane
but it wasn't long before he was working his way through the field
and towards the end of his hour and a half long stint he'd made up
over 20 places. Handing over to the team's next driver, Clint Bardwell,
Ryan was pleased to see the Falcon was proving good on fuel consumption
and was impressed by the power it displayed on track. The third and
fourth drivers, Robin Webster and Adrian Watt completed their stints
and with the midnight hour approaching Ryan was back behind the wheel
for his second stint. As Ryan described it, he had a "flyer" through
the dark hours and found the #4 Falcon, which arrived from Australia
just a month earlier, a very enjoyable drive.
A couple of hours kip refreshed Ryan ready for another stint that started
around the 7:30am, though since his last outing the car had suffered
an off and the recovery process had slightly twisted the chassis which
mildly effected the drive but didn't hinder them coming home fourth
in class as the chequered flag fell at 5pm on Sunday.
"The weather may have been unkind for much of the event" said
Ryan afterwards, "but it didn't take away from a great event that
I hope becomes a regular fixture on the British motorsport calendar.
The Falcon was a very enjoyable drive and the engine seems particularly
strong and promising for such endurance events. We lost a few hours
racing with a steering belt problem but otherwise the car was remarkably
trouble free from a technical viewpoint. It's certainly an interesting
addition to the British scene."
Organising and staging a 24Hour event is a huge undertaking not lost
on Ryan. "I'd like to extend my thanks to the organisers of the
Willhire 24Hr and Silverstone for a very enjoyable event and a huge
thank you to the marshals who had to operate in the most awful conditions.
And many thanks to the Adam Sharpe Motorsport Team for giving me the
opportunity and my personal sponsor Firesure for their continued support."
RH
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