Travelling across the pond: Operation Motorsport
Operation Motorsport Canada along with team-mates USA began their Race of Remembrance preparation when their Honda Civic Type Rs started the transatlantic journey in sea containers back in September.
REPORT: Boston victorious again in Race of Remembrance
Both teams were trained by the Skip Barber Racing School chief instructor Mike Stillwagon, himself a TC America racer and part of the US team.
“The cars are both TCA-spec built for us by Honda, it’s not really rivalry between the Canadian and US team, more just friendly banter,” he said.
It was the Canadians that won the duel in last weekend's Anglesey contest, though, in eighth overall, compared to the US in 12th.
From GTs to Mini: Graham Davidson
Former British GT champion Graham Davidson swapped his GT3 machinery for a more humble Mini Cooper, as he made his Race of Remembrance debut.
Sharing the Mini with fellow Scottish racers Adam Morrison, Ian Bonthrone and Fiona Kindness, he finished ninth overall and second in class in the 12-hour contest that is split into three parts with a poignant Remembrance service in the middle. But it was the sister Track Scotland car that took the class win, completing an additional lap.
“We’ve got two cars and we are all from Aberdeen,” explained Davidson. “I did the C1 24 hours at Spa a few years ago, but this was my first time in this race and it’s great fun. I lost ABS in the final start – I had hoped that we had still beaten them, though.”
A hard-fought debut: Laurence Roke
Ex-Royal Navy man Laurence Roke progressed from being a mechanic last year to making his race debut in last weekend's Race of Remembrance after receiving support from event organiser Mission Motorsport and having fought cancer.
After 14 years in the Navy, Roke was diagnosed with both testicular and liver cancer. Surgery and chemotherapy followed, before he was finally invalided out due to the loss of knee cartilage. At this point, Mission Motorsport stepped in to help him get involved in the sport.
“I was a mechanic at the race last year on the team’s C1 and this year James Cameron [Mission Motorsport CEO and founder] suggested I drove,” explained Roke. “So, I did my ARDS three weeks ago at Thruxton and here I am.”
His first time racing in anger was in the dark at Anglesey and, along with his four team-mates, finished fifth in class with their Mazda MX-5 Mk3.
“Laurence is a prime example of what Mission Motorsport is all about,” added Cameron.
An unlikely winner: Anton Martin
One of the most unlikely victories of the weekend’s British Automobile Racing Club action at Brands Hatch was achieved by Anton Martin at the wheel of his Ford Escort.
Qualifying among the slowest cars for the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Allcomers race, Martin was able to use the event’s handicap system of giving competitors at the back of the grid a certain amount of laps advantage – named credit laps – over their faster opponents at the front.
With two safety-car periods helping to ensure no driver was able to overcome the deficit during the 40-minute race, Martin ran out an unlikely winner by two laps over Michael Rudge’s BMW M3.
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