For a sport that takes place at a frenetic pace, the speed of change in motorsport can be remarkably slow at times. Traditions are well established and are often religiously stuck to with very few daring to break the mould. Yet trying something new is important to keep offering fresh ideas for competitors – although such innovation can be tricky at a time of financial uncertainty, like at present, when many are battening down the hatches and keeping things simple.
One organiser that has not been afraid to innovate over recent years has been the Classic Sports Car Club. Rather than simply sticking to the most popular circuits, it recognises the importance of spreading the joy and includes a wide variety of venues on its calendars. And another example of it going against the grain is with its 24-hour event at Anglesey earlier this month. Very few UK club organisers tackle such an undertaking and the CSCC opted to mix things up by not just running a conventional continuous twice-round-the-clock enduro for the same teams, but instead have a sequence of shorter races one after the other over a 24-hour period, a format that is already used at existing events further afield such as the Le Mans and Daytona Classics.
Particularly when it comes to historic cars, such an approach brings clear merits. It means less wear and tear on the ageing machinery and is also less demanding on amateur drivers who may not always be best-placed to cope with the physical challenge of a 24-hour contest. So far, so good. But, sadly, the CSCC’s 24-hour event over the first weekend of July was not exactly overwhelmed with entries.
While the combined Tin Tops and Turbo Tin Tops grid and the Swinging Sixties Group 1 field were strong, in the high 20s for their races – each set having four 40-minute contests plus a half-hour night familiarisation session over the 24 hours – the same could not be said for all of the others. Take the combined Magnificent Sevens, Open Series, New Millennium and Slicks Series grouping that attracted just 10 crews despite comprising four of the CSCC’s regular categories. Therefore, there were fewer than 100 starters when adding all of the Welsh entries together – disappointing considering the effort and money that went into creating the event, including its livestreaming.
There are plenty of legitimate reasons for that relatively low turnout. Despite its picturesque setting, Anglesey is not exactly on the doorstep of many club racers and some will have been reluctant to make the trek – although it is one of the tiny number of UK venues that permits 24-hour racing. Plus, although the CSCC had worked to keep entry fees excellent value, the fact the meeting essentially encompassed almost four regular club events would mean more consumable costs for the drivers – fuel, tyres and the like. And then the Super Touring Power event at Brands Hatch, which featured an array of tin-top categories for cars also eligible for the CSCC divisions, was also held on the same weekend and caused a calendar clash for some.
Source: Autosport