2CV 24 Hours at Snetterton

 

Snetterton  2CV 24 Hours

 

Just when we were allowed out I thought it would be nice to go somewhere for the August Bank Holiday.  Silverstone and MotoGP was a possibility but it was too close to camp overnight but too far to travel each morning. Being a fan of MotoGP I would want to be there for the practices and qualifying as well but getting through the traffic would be a nightmare. I noticed a car show for the Bank Holiday with the Citroen Car Club and signed up for that instead. It would be within the track at Snetterton so I could show the car and watch the race at the same time, when signing up I was asked to bring the Burton for the display. The plan was set, off to Snetterton on the Friday, camp and be home late on Sunday as there was another meeting on the Monday that we had to vacate the grounds for. I dropped the cat in the cattery had lunch and headed for Norfolk. Travelling in pleasant sunshine progress was good until the M25 where it was a wall to wall procession at slow speeds. This did not change on the M11 and A11. I must admit I have not seen levels of traffic this dense for so long. Our journey time was predicted to be 2 hours 10 minutes according to Google but ended up over 4 hours. Google lies. When we did arrive there was no one at the entrance to check us in and went on to camp next to a Dianne in the public camping area after a drive around the field and a chat with the Marshall post about what to do. We set up camp but needed a hammer to drive the pegs in beyond the stones that was borrowed from a Dianne van owner across the field that had come to look at the Burton. From the moment we arrived there was interest in the Burton. We watched some of the practice sessions before setting about the evening meal. It was a bit slow to reheat but not too bad. Our neighbours were Alex and Sylvia and their children and were going to be a significant part our weekend. It was cold and windy the North wind coming in off the North Sea is a challenge for those who like it warm bringing out the brandy for internal warmth. It was good to be eating one of Gita’s curries to keep the chill out. We had an early night to keep warm but not before ten as the practice session did not finish till then.

I was up early and off to the circuit office to get an update on the display we had booked for. To my surprise they knew nothing about it but as an alternative there was a parade lap for Citroens and the assembly was an eleven. I agreed to take part and signed the necessary document.  I relayed this back to as many of the 2CV people I had met. When Gita surfaced we set about breakfast. Rain kept threatening but didn’t come too much. Breakfast of bacon, sausage and eggs was a good start and we only had just finished when there was the call to assemble for the parade. Not being that quick we ended up near the back of the line. We were approached individually for the collection of £10, for charity to be in the parade. No one objected as would you not give £10 to have three laps of Snetterton? On the dot of eleven thirty the procession moved off. If you didn’t slow down for the corners it was quite entertaining but on the straights it was quite slow. It was over all too soon and when parked up next to the tent there was a procession of people coming to see the car. The rain came again and this time it stayed. We took shelter with our neighbours and as the rain became heavier so did the consumption of brandy (medicinal purposes to keep out the cold). In the next two hours our neighbours had become friends. The sun had come out to dry the track just in time for the start of the race.

Picture by David Barry

We watched the cars go to the line and the start then went off for a mug of tea the wandered around the track at various vantage points to see the action and take photos and the odd video.

I took a few photos in daylight of 2CVs drifting around Murrays and Coram in the dark. The night was noisy and I tried to sleep but awoke to silence as there were no cars racing for a while. I later found out that there was a gap in proceeding because a 2CV had emptied its crankcase contents on the track and racing was stopped while the mess was cleaned up. The racing had resumed and they were still at it in the morning each car separated by a respectful distance with eight hours to go. The night shift had finished and the next shift was about to get going with fresh intentions of getting ahead of the cars they had followed during the night. Time for breakfast, which was a lengthy affair a there was little gas pressure for the stove due to a cracked pipe and everything took so long to heat up. Breakfast concluded we packed everything in the car ready for a quick exit after the race and moved it to where lots of other 2CVs had lined up near Murrays. We met up with Alex and Sylvia there and Alex gave us some Citroen centenary tee shirts by Polydeus.

 Alex does them so if you are looking for a bespoke design he is someone to contact. From there we watched the last few laps and car number 97 finish winner of the 2CV race. We joined everyone in the winner’s enclosure taking photos of the teams.  We said our goodbyes and went off home, the traffic being much better at that time of the day.