Mamba Motorsport - Top-Hat Donington Race Report Page

Top Hat 'Best of British' 2006

Class Win for C23R

Author: Rich
Editor: Rich
Date: 20 May 2006

The Top Hat 'Best of British' Race on the May Bank Holiday gave an opportunity for some of the fine British Racing Cars of yesteryear to go hell for leather round Donington Park. In a very competitive 45 minute race Ken Culverwell guided his Mamba Motorsport C23R to a clear class win and fourth overall.

Ken is an experienced driver who has raced classics in SRGTC and other series. Currently campaigning a Mamba Motorsport C23R with factory support, Ken has been a key part of the race car development program.

A typical May weekend. Showers broken by winds and occasional patches of washed out sunlight, not the ideal weather for racing but somehow appropriate for a 'Best of British' event. Top Hat Racing had organised a full program of races over the bank holiday weekend at the Donington Park circuit with the multiclass 'Best of British' scheduled on the Monday afternoon.
Donington Park is an exciting circuit to drive, not just because of the corners and the sudden changes in attitude of the track but also because it is on the flightpath of East Midlands Airport. Doesn't sound that exciting but the aviation fuel makes for a very slippery surface as soon as it gets wet. Practice started at 9.00. It was raining.
Ken was testing a new accelerator setup and had changed suspension settings from the previous outing so probably surprised even himself by guiding the C23R straight into 6th of 25 on the grid. All eyes were heavenwards as the track dried out and talk was of the big V8s stealing a march as the grip returned. It rained.
Classic Saloon racing after lunch was a marvellous spectator race with Lotus Cortinas and MGBs sliding sideways round the track (and sometimes off it). The rain stopped and the V8 Mustangs came into their own on a progressively less greasy track. With a low track temp and a narrow dry line the 'Best of British' was going to start on an even keel with power and handling both coming into play - a good situation for Ken in the C23R.

6th to 4th from the line to the first corner. The DURATEC is definitely making the torque. And then into 3rd halfway round the first lap I get the impression Ken is feeling confident with the handling even in the varied conditions. At the end of the first lap there was already an obvious break forming in the field with the top 4 cars pulling away from the pack. 5 Laps in and the C23R was crawling all over the back of a very wide V8 TVR. From a spectator position at Craner it was obvious that Ken was able to carry more corner speed and it was only a matter of time before he made a move. Then disaster struck...TOP

...for the Piper GT in 4th place but so very nearly for Ken too. Struggling to stay with the pace of the top 3, the Piper was being piloted in manner best described as 'spirited' and lost adhesion on the entrance to Craner bypassing the left-right and passing Ken backwards across the grass. Ken says he saw it a mile off but it looked pretty close from the side netting! The original Lotus 23b of Doyle moved up to a distant 4th.
The near miss put a slight gap between the C23R and the TVR which gave Ken a run at the exhaust of the V8 and saw him go past up the hill on the very next lap, did I mention the TORQUE of the DURATEC already? Running in second place Ken made some fast laps as the track dried further.
At half race distance compulsory pitstops proved the undoing of an outright 2nd on the podium for Ken in the C23R. Entering the pits 2 seconds to the good of the TVR, three laps later as the pit stops worked themselves out it became clear that the TVR had stolen a place to the tune of some 10 seconds. The pit stop involved getting out of the car and strapping back in so maybe Ken should be adding a bit of sprint training in before his next endurance race!
As the track dried the Tannoy system vibrated to the sound of an increasingly excited commentator exclaiming the amazing pace of a works E-Type Jaguar V12. Having come from the back of the field the Jag was reeling the front runners in and the extra capacity of the 5.2L(?) engine, combined with some very skillful driving, was making for a devastating final 5 mins.
At the line the Jaguar stormed through to the win having passed Ken with a couple of minutes to go and the leaders on the very last lap. So a fourth overall for Ken and a comprehensive First in class. An impressive result for a car in its third race by anyone's estimation. And Ken's verdict? Happy but with a list of adjustments already in mind for the next race - the first one being a waterproof cover for the seat - apparently the track dried out but Ken had a personal wet race that he would prefer not to repeat!

Donington again in two weeks with SRGTC should be another exciting race - especially as the Crossle's will be eligible.