Supporting our Head of IT in competitive car racing

C1 Racing focuses on endurance racing, for motorsport enthusiasts who want to experience the thrill of racing without breaking the bank. The club's calendar features a mix of 3-hour and 24-hour races at various circuits around the UK, and UK teams also compete in Europe. The races are open to teams of two to six drivers, with each team responsible for sourcing and preparing their own car.

3 Spark’s 2022 C1 racing season

3 Spark Racing’s 2022 began in April, when the race car came out of hibernation for a full service and spruce up. Some new regulations were introduced in 2022 including poly bushes to improve the car’s handling under heavy braking, and shaving the club spec tyres, allowing for better thermal degradation, which prevents blistering and delamination under high temperatures, and extends the life of the tyre during a race.

The team has custom-developed its own programme to manipulate the data from the TSL timing website, allowing them to send out audio notifications to the garage mechanics, pit crew and pit wall about their car, giving them a big advantage at the pit stops.  Nobody else is doing this on the grid, which is testament to the IT skills that complement the driving abilities of the team.

First race in 2022 - Snetterton 4-Hour

Snetterton is a fantastic and challenging circuit and a great way for the team to start the season. Each year they learn more about how to get the most out of the car. The preparation includes draining the fuel to the optimum levels, and adjusting the alignment for the circuit.

Qualifying was a challenge, and the grid was very competitive. 3 Spark had a new driver, so the goal was to bank laps and let James Taylor, their fastest driver try and get them up the grid for the race. James managed to bank a 2:45.717, which got 3 Spark to P45 for the race out of 57 cars., and later that day attained P27, after a difficult second stint.

Anglesey Into the Night Race – 4.5 hours

In June, the team competed in its very first night race in Anglesey, which entailed fitting the club spec high beam lights and some of their own lights to make it easier to identify the car in the dark. The team qualified in P11 of 18 cars, gaining crucial night time driving experience for the 24-hour race opportunity later in the year. The car ran perfectly and whilst it finished in P14, it was excellent practice.

Donnington – 3 Hour

The team welcomed back Stephen Dunn to drive in place of James Page, who was unable to drive at the Donnington 3-hour race, which saw some drama. Stephen came into contact with another car during his qualifying lap, causing substantial damage to the boot space and the fuel pump system, meaning the car stopped on track. This was repaired quickly, and the car got back out on the circuit so Stephen could bank his fast lap.

The team managed to fight their way back up to P22 from the issue in qualifying. The car’s structural damage had to be fixed before Snetterton in October.

24 Hour Portimão – Portugal

The team’s friends in the EMAX Motorsport team offered seats in one of its cars to race at the Portimão Formula 1 circuit in Portugal. 24-hour racing is the pinnacle of endurance racing, a true test of the car and driver and without EMAX’s help, would have been unattainable for 3 Spark.

The temperatures in Portimão were reaching almost 40 degrees Celsius during the day which had a big impact on the cars and the drivers. Just unloading the cars and equipment into the Pit Garage was incredibly hard work, with still much preparation to do.

As part of the agreement 3 Spark brought its team members’ IT expertise to the pits to manage the race strategy and driver stints across three cars.

This is a very challenging race, with over 100 cars taking part over five different classes. The test is to succeed in your own class, whilst avoiding cars that are racing much faster than your own. All seven drivers banked their laps, qualifying P30 out of 34 cars in the C1 class. This class contains Belgian, Portuguese, Pro and UK spec cars, with the UK being the slowest of all four specs.

It was an epic battle to the end and every driver gave their all, to attain an unexpected and brilliant result.

The car with 3 Spark drivers 355 finished P12 overall and P2 in the UK sub class, winning a trophy and podium spot. Bring on Portimão 2023!

Second Snetterton Race 2 x 3hour and supporting EMAX at the Belgian SPA 24-hour race

The final race of the season was another visit to Snetterton for a double 3-hour race. Qualifying went well with James Taylor setting a 2.43.080 bringing the car up to P29 out of 55 cars, a great qualifying result considering the size of the grid. However, Nathan Hammond suffered an accident, causing significant damage to the near side front quarter bending the wishbone, snapping the drive shaft and damaging the steering rack.

This put the team out of race one finishing P50, but they did a great job of repairing the car and getting it ready for race two; even with a broken steering rack they attained an amazing P31.

At the close of the season, 3 Spark continued to offer its IT Services to EMAX motorsport at the Belgian SPA 24-hour race.

A look ahead to 2023

The season of 2023 has been a quiet one so far, with car damage in 2022 and the absence of two drivers, the 3 Spark team was busy readying the car and so missed the first few races. They were, however able to support EMAX again, this time at the Silverstone 24 Hour race, ensuring the drivers were prepped and ready for their stints and had the right strategies to maximise their track positions. At one point they looked like winning, finally finishing in P4 in what was an excellent race.

3 Spark is planning to compete at three races this year: Pembrey in September, which is a double 6-hour event; Snetterton in October, a double 3-hour event, and once again racing the 24hour at Portimão in November, where they aim to improve on last year’s success.

Learn more about C1 Racing  at https://c1racing.club/