Race Report: Snetterton 29th September


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The weather had initially appeared ominous but things soon brightened up and that’s the way it remained. As usual, the car was washed before scrutineering through which there were no problems. Fuel was added and the car was then ready for the qualifying session.


Image copyright Matthew Holland, reproduced with kind permission

Whilst waiting in the Assembly Area, Karen become more and more nervous as always happens. Once she was out on track the nerves disappeared and she was straight into the swing of it. Her pace seemed good and she didn’t get caught in any battles for track position. She qualified in 27th place for Race 1, out of a total field of 34 cars. Importantly, her consistent lap times saw her qualify in 23rd place for Race 2.


Image copyright Matthew Holland, reproduced with kind permission

Karen formed up on the grid for Race 1 behind John Wilson #17 and Hugh Gilmour #98. As the lights went out she accelerated past Hugh and followed John past the Mk2 car of Andy Winterton #8. At the first corner she was squeezed between the Mk2’s of Dan Parker #65 and David Bryant #38. She ended up getting past David and chasing Dan through Sear corner and down the Revett straight.

When exiting Riches on lap two, there had been an incident which caught out Dan leaving Karen to continue chasing John Wilson. Dan quickly used the superior power of the Mk2 to drive past Karen along Revett to rejoin the fray. It was just a shame he seemed to be holding her up through the corners. In the third lap, Karen once again fell victim to the power of a Mk2 when Andy Winterton caught her along Revett to get in front just before the Esses. Karen kept in touch with Andy, but was again overhauled by another two Mk2’s along the Revett straight! This time it was the #9 car of Rob Horsfield and #33 car of Rowland Wooley, who had both recovered from that incident on lap two. As she chased them through Coram they passed Dan Parker who was rejoining the circuit after some kind of misdemeanour.

By lap seven Karen was busy chasing Nigel Buttfield #34, who’d been passed by the errant Mk2’s. This was interrupted by David Bryant #38 who intervened in his Mk2 just before the Esses. At the beginning of lap nine Karen was forced wide at Riches by Dan Parker #65 who had recovered from his earlier off, so once again her chase of Nigel had been baulked. Dan used his superior power along the Revett straight and Karen gained on the battling Nigel and John.

It was now the tenth and final lap, and again Karen was passed by a Mk2 along Revett. This time it was David Weaving in #89! As she drove through Russell chicane, tight behind Nigel Buttfield to run to the finish line she noticed that Roger Pullan #13 who had been following her for most of the race was now joining the circuit from the grass on the infield and finished ahead of her. He’d cut the final chicane gaining an unfair advantage and was later docked 1 second to correct the result and his racing license was endorsed. Karen was thus classified in 26th position overall, and 12th in her class.

Snetterton Race 1 in-car video here


Image copyright Matthew Holland, reproduced with kind permission

Karen’s hopes were high for a better result from Race 2, given her higher grid position and hopefully less interference from Mk2 cars. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite turn out as she expected…


Image copyright Matthew Holland, reproduced with kind permission

Rob Howes #7 and Hugh Gilmour #98 managed to keep ahead of Karen at the start of Race 2 and she followed them closely through Riches corner. It was halfway to the next corner, when from nowhere; Karen was sideswiped hard by Arron Pullan #26 and was sent spinning off the track!

With the engine still running Karen managed to rejoin the circuit but was pretty incandescent with rage and set about trying to catch up the rest of the field. She’d now been unceremoniously relegated to last place! As she fought to catch up, Karen passed the other lady racer Sarah Wherry #23 who was rejoining from an incident at Russell chicane. It turns out Sarah had also been struck and spun out by another competitor. So both ladies were now struggling to recover.

By the end of the third lap Karen was hunting down the Mk2 of Richard Weaving #86 and Mk1 of Ivan Thomas #59. Karen drove past Ivan out of Russell to get ahead by the beginning of lap six. Richard had powered away and thus Karen was left to catch the Mk1 of Paul Radford #39. Paul’s car got lairy on the exit of Russell and Karen was forced to slow before overtaking him. Sarah meanwhile got a better exit and out dragged them both. She claimed the inside line for Riches corner and slowly and inexorably began to draw away from Karen.

On lap nine, there was a yellow flag on display at Sear corner, which turned out to be for Arron who’d gone wide and was driving back onto the Revett straight. Karen derived a good deal of pleasure driving past that little scene…Coming into the Esses, she also passed a retiring Jorge Calado #24. Rob Horsfield #9 was piloting his Mk2 back onto the track just before Russell chicane and caused Karen a real headache. She overtook him coming out of the chicane and her crew believed she’d overhauled him only to discover he crossed the finish line 1/10th of a second in front of her! A fantastic recovery effort from Karen, finishing 29th overall and 14th in class. A very exciting race, but for all the wrong reasons.


Video copyright Karen Phillips, reproduced with kind permission

A good amount of time was spent in the office of the Clerk of the Course that day. Karen was not at fault in any incident, but she still felt agrieved at having to make formal complaints. Unfortunately, Karen was not alone as there were several serious incidents that day. Here's hoping the driving standards would improve for the final MR2 Challenge meeting at Mallory Park.


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About Karen Phillips

  • Karen races her Impreza WRX in the Classic and Sports Car Club (CSCC) Modern Classics series, with her husband Richard as a 2nd Driver. The races are mini-endurance events involving a driver-swap. Karen has previously raced in the Nippon Challenge, a race series for Japanese and Asian cars. Karen has been racing since 2006, having started in the MR2 Challenge.
  • Please check this site regularly for updates on Karen's progress through the season and developments with her race car.

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