Words By SSgt Dan Moughton
Silverstone Festival, arguably one of the biggest events in the calendar for any petrol head! With a myriad of car clubs, race teams, racing heritage and so much more, the Silverstone Festival will be one to remember for every member of the Army Sports Car Racing Team! This year the team had the privilege to attend the British F1 GP, showcasing the Army Sports Car Racing Team, the cars and the events and race series we compete in, however, the Silverstone Festival was not a place for the team spectate, this time we would participate.
That’s right, the Army Sports Car Racing Team and the Sunvit-D3 Army F430, driven by Driver Sgt Will Ashmore, took to the grid to race against some of the very best GT Race Cars in motorsport in the Master GT Trophy, a racing series within Masters Historic Racing. The grid at hand; we are talking Aston Martin GT4s, Porsche Cup Cars, various Ferrari Challenges, BMW Factory M cars, an Aston Martin GT2 and even a few Lamborghini Huracan Evo Factory GT Cars… The grid walk was something else!
Daunting? A little. Out of place? Absolutely not! From the get-go the team set out in classic ASCR fashion, professional, driven and determined to prove to the grid that this team belongs in the Masters GT Trophy Series. Will set a fantastic qualifying pace, putting his car 19th out of 35 on the grid, despite being caught off guard by the track change layout. Post Qualifying, Driver Will Ashmore was pleased with the car and how it performed around the circuit, unfortunately, he was just a little frustrated with himself for not having a better understanding of the circuit.
Race day preparation saw the team practicing pit stops, this meant tyre changes, tyre pressure read outs, air raise practice and comms within noisy environments. The team was definitely well prepared for the race, with every person knowing exactly what was expected of them when it came to the stop.
The race was one to remember, with everything falling in to place. The teams efforts in practice paid dividends, with team able to make up two places in the pit stop alone. This allowed Will to deliver the drive of a lifetime, putting his Sunvit-D3 Army F430 into 14 place over all and Best in Class, leaving the GT4 pack way behind. Even more impressive, Will found that the cars of GT3 class, which had the likes of Porsche Cup Cars and Factory GT3 F430s in, were in his sites, nipping at their heels as they battled between themselves. Needless to say, the Sunvit-D3 Army F430 driven by Sgt Will Ashmore was in a class of their own.
Overall, the Silverstone Festival, racing in the Masters GT Trophy was a huge success for every member of the team, for British Army Sport and the British Army as a collective. The Army Sports Car Racing Team was able to showcase to the motorsport community exactly what they can do and, that the team can compete with the very best cars on the grid. The Masters GT Trophy series is no gentlemen driver race, it’s a serious set up with six figure cars racing at one of the most prestigious circuits in the world, and the Army Sports Car Racing Team was there, racing hard and winning their class. This is what the Army is built on; testing our limits, pushing beyond the unexpected and delivering results in the toughest conditions.
Fancy seeing the full video? Head over to our YouTube Channel: Army Sports Car Racing for even more content.