Steve Burgess and Ben Dimmack came away from Silverstone with three class wins out of four and two overall podiums too !!
Having changed from their previous Radical RXC to a Ford V6 twin turbo version, both drivers had to quickly acclimatise to their new mount with four races ahead of them.
Burgess set the qualifying time for the first race, not only taking class pole but second overall too.
It was Dimmack in the seat for the first sprint race, making a fantastic start. “I went wide into Copse but led the race until Village, then the Neary Mercedes got through and John Dhillon’s Lamborghini followed,” he explained.
He settled into a consistent pace and managed to retake Dhillon for second. But on lap six he succombed again to the Lamborghini. “I’ve never driven a car so physical though, so happy with third,” he added after also sealing victory in he GTO class.
It was Burgess’ turn to start race two and again it went well from the start. “I got Grahame Tilley’s Nissan into Copse and managed to drive past Dhillon and Paul Bailey’s Brabham on the Wellington Straight,holding second until the stops,” he explained.
The stop had been during a safety car intervention and having initially emerged in third, Dimmack’s advantage was wiped out by the caution period.
Only a lap after the green flag the first of the Pro Drivers got by, Will Tregurtha in Tilley’s Nissan, followed by Jamie Stanley in a Ferrari.
With class rivals Bailey/Ross Wylie winning overall, the RAW duo were second in class as Dimmack took the flag fifth overall.
It was Burgess’ turn to contest Sunday mornings sprint race, fortunately avoiding a huge first lap shunt.
He settled in second behind Neary from the start and held station throughout the shortened race. “I was on my own the whole race, the big gaps helped me get used to the car, so it was like an extra test session really,” he said.
With second overall though it was still a class win again in the GTO’s, their second of the weekend.
It was a second row start for the final race of the weekend and Dimmack was in for the start again. With Neary straight into the lead, it was a battle for second with Dhillon.
Dimmack was holding on but began to run wide and on lap six Dhillon was left with acres of space on the inside of Brooklands.
Tilley then closed in too, but Dimmack held onto third place until the pitstop window opened. “The tyre pressures got too high and I kept running wide. Disappointing but I tried hard though,” Dimmack explained.
In for the final stint Burgess had settled in fifth, with the gap to the top four out of reach.
“A bit lonely really, with not a lot for me to do,” he said. But they may have been disappointed with fifth overall, but with the Brabham crew retiring, it was still maximum points in the GTO class.