On 3rd May 2014 Team Quinntech Racing and Rebecca Racer attended the home of the British Grand Prix, Silverstone,
for the 750 Motor Club event Cartek Roadsports Endurance Series in order for Rebecca Racer to compete in the Porsche Boxster, now named the Turtle Porsche with Turtle Wax as title sponsors. Testing took place on the day before.
The race meeting did not start very well; there were some problems in testing due the car still being in development. There is a delay on the Team Dynamics castings for the correct wheels to sit neatly around and without fouling on the HiSpec Motorsport calipers, specifically designed to complement the Pro Race 1.3 18” wheel’s dimensions. These wheels also host the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres provided for this year’s races. The decision was made to fit the optional OE (Original Equipment) GT3 alloy wheels that the car came with when it was a road car, in order to explore the braking upgrade and run with the new Michelin tyres. Due to the set up not being fully tested it was not certain what the Turtle Porsche would be like. There were some issues with the way the car behaved so two members of the Quinntech racing team embarked on a journey back to Reading to retrieve essential parts that could mitigate the unbalance that the car was suffering with. Thankfully with extra man-hours the Boxster was fit to race, although still not perfect with issues primarily feedback through the steering wheel possibly down to the wheels.
Qualifying therefore saw a less than desired position of 6th out of 11 drivers. The focus was to secure a strong result and hope that the mechanical issues did not plague the race too badly.
Rebecca Racer’s sponsors, Turtle Wax as well as a representative from brake pads provider Mintex/TMD Friction attended the event with a 30 strong hospitality suite in the Brooklands building, which included a fantastic view of an intricate part of the circuit – enabling first class views of the racing. After qualifying Rebecca gave a speech to the guests divulging to them the importance of Silverstone in her life as well as how she got into racing, entertaining them with stories from along the journey and a focus on what is to come with Project Le Mans. After pictures, autographs and promotional items were given away it was back to focusing on the racing.
Robert Quinn, Team Manager, was able to make some adjustments to the suspension after quizzing Rebecca on its behaviour mid corner. This made the car behave in a way that was more suited to the long bends of Silverstone and Rebecca’s driving style.
Lining up to go on to the grid, a podium is always best-desired result however it was not looking feasible this time. When the lights went out though, Rebecca got an excellent start in her JMG Porsche powered Boxster. The engine was freshly rebuilt by the Dorset based specialist for the first round this season and is now lubricated with Ravenol – the official lubricants partner of Project Le Mans, and pulled away well from the start line. After a strong start and with her serious head on, it was not long until she climbed up to 3rd place. The difficulty once the position is obtained is to hold it there. Having so much support and faith in Quinntech’s Racing’s work was easily worth half a second a lap! Despite the teething problems and issues in qualifying, Rebecca was driving the car hard and competitively enough to ensure the team could be proud to be supporting her. Each lap saw attention to lines, turning and braking points to ensure it was even more polished than the last lap. A controlled oversteer moment in front of the hospitality suite which hosted the Turtle Wax guests encouraged some excitable yelps and claps. This was even louder when the chequered flag was shown and after 45 minutes of racing and the mandatory 60-second pit stop the team had a result they could only have dreamt about the day before. Third place achieved, another well-earned trophy to add to the collection.
Special thanks to Quinntech Racing, Turtle Wax, Michelin, JMG Porsche, Mintex, HiSpec Motorsport, BTB Exhausts, ITG, Valet Magic, Quantum Racing Suspension, Spraytech, Rimstock and Ravenol who all play vital roles in Project Le Mans.
The next race is at Snetterton on 26th May.
