Snetterton 24 hour 2CV race, May 2005
Le Poulet Rouge – In at the deep end

… My first race
… In a car I haven’t seen
... At a circuit I’ve never driven
… And for 24 hours

It seems very surreal now - two seasoned Caterham Graduates racers, two novice drivers and a mechanic with a bag of parts, all trying to keep a borrowed 2CV going for a full 24 hours. This was to be a truly memorable and emotional experience for us all.

Seeing the car for the first time with Mick carefully unloading it from the truck, I was struck by the fragility of the dark red tin snail on its four unbelievably skinny tyres. When the rest of the team arrived the car was checked over, stickers applied, fuel sorted and finally scrutineered. One rear light bulb and some electrical tape later she was all ready to go.

Mac gingerly rolled out of the pit lane onto the track to join a field of twenty nine other cars for free practice. He stayed out for twenty minutes before coming back in to hand over to Martin, then Keith and finally me which would be the order we would keep throughout the weekend.

Speed is not a feature of these cars and handling is very neutral with understeer being the biggest issue from the teeny tyres, especially on the exit of a corner. The weather for first practice was sunny and dry so Richies could be taken flat; I preferred to tuck it in early and take the double apex approach, giving the tyres the least resistance for a clean exit to Sear. Then it was hard onto the brakes, trying to maximise the momentum for a nice wide exit to Revett Straight. A slight lift at the bridge and very late apex trail braking into The Esses with early power for the best speed through the Bomb Hole, round Coram Curve and into the biggest braking point, Russell Bend. The car was surprisingly grippy through the corners, its’ low weight and lower-than-it-looks centre of gravity probably helping.

The first qualifying session went well enough and we rolled out during the late afternoon to set a time which would put us around 20th on the grid. The second qualifying session went even better and despite the pitch black of night I managed to bump us up 5 places, bang on the stroke of midnight on the final lap, chipping a third off the gap to first place.

The race started at 4pm the next day with a rolling start, Le Poulet Rouge managing to keep a good pace. However the oil cap popped off shortly afterwards sending oil spraying over the engine bay. A quick stop and clean up got us going again albeit a few laps down.

It was uneventful for the next couple of stints but it wasn’t to remain so when the engine started to develop some trouble. It took a while for anything to happen but a few laps later the car started to loose power and I had no choice but to bring it into the pits.

20 minutes later we were back out using our second engine but it seriously lacked power and a hellish noise at speed turned out to be the wheel arch rubbing on the tyre which forced another short pitstop.

The car was very slow indeed, an additional 20 seconds per lap in fact. On the pit straight it took until the corner marker at Richies before fourth could be picked up and then the revs stayed where they were. We were passed by all and sundry. A lot of time was lost before the third engine was prepared and eventually changed and although the replacement was a vast improvement it suffered from fuel starvation through Richies and Coram.

Night racing was certainly an experience and a full two hour stint in the rain even more so. However mechanical problems still plagued us - a bumpy sideways moment through Russell popped an already hastily repaired wing and pulled an electrical plug stopping the engine and preventing it from starting. Luckily the marshals managed to push us into the pit lane without the need for the safety car scrambling.

We would later have to change the coil, replace a snapped clutch cable and repair the exhaust where it had come loose from the manifold. All these problems meant we eventually dropped 129 laps behind the leader.

My final stint was uneventful. I started to short-shift and began to take Sear in fourth, striving for longer life from the engine and transmission, willing the car to carry on. I was still pushing hard though, an almost perfect drive for a full two hours saw me pass several cars, only letting the quicker class cars past with a wave from the window.

What a fantastic introduction to racing this event was. We crossed the finish line in 26th place, 129 laps behind the leader. With crowds and marshals waving and cheering it really felt like a win. Driving through an avenue of people lining the pit lane into Parc Ferme and standing with the car that had completed a 24 hour endurance race was incredibly emotional and, with a tear in my eye, I now have a strange affection for that little Red Chicken.

We all did a wonderful job and deserve a huge pat on the back for all 5 members of team Le Poulet Rouge (drivers; Mac Apostolides, Martin Amison, Keith Britnell, Dave Wilson and our top mechanic; Mick). Finally and most importantly, we owe a huge thank you to Trevor Williams who loaned us the car.