Stuart McLaren had a fantastic race at Silverstone today and brought it home in P5. After a less than optimal start he put some great lap times in especially as he is running on last years tires. There was some elegant cornering with the car being well held. Stuart probably heard his family shouting at the TV as they followed live on YouTube even though they are two counties away! Great effort we are really proud.
After missing Thruxton due to family commitments Stuart was keen to get back into the Coupe Cup series and get some good tarmac time after the truncated Snetterton weekend.
Although Stuart has worked as a Supercar instructor at Mallory Park his most memorable visit was in 2005 for a Suzuki Rizla Bike Track Day. Fantastic tuition from James Hayden, ‘Shakey’ Burns and Nial McKenzie made for an awesome experience. I was supposed to be on photo duty but as the sparks flew from Stuart’s ZX-6R exhaust with his knee down I was stood there with my mouth open and missed nearly every shot.
So let’s get right back to 2021 and Hyundai Coupe Cup. Paid practise turned out to be well worth it and flushed out an issue with the car that was dealt with by the Misty Racing team.
So what was the outcome?
Qually: P11
Race 1: P7
Race 2: P6 – some amazing battles that saw p4-6 swapping several times. Overall a good weekend for Stuart with some close racing.
But it would be remiss not to give our condolences to the marshal who lost his life at Brands Hatch on Saturday 31st July Stuart has many good friends in the Orange Army and knows the passion they have for the job they do. He’s been pulled from cars by marshals and knows when it all goes wrong how quick they get to you with help. McLaren0to60 send their love and prayers to the family at this time of loss.
First race done and Stuart secured an amazing 4th place. Great job for your first Coupe Cup race.
Today is Stuart’s season opener in the Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup at Cadwell Park with Misty Racing The car has had a shakedown but testing for this round was not an option. So it’s straight in to qually at 9:20.
Follow the action: livetiming.tsl-timing.com/211621
6 days until MINI Challenge Round 3 at Rockingham on the ISSC (24th June)
Come and support Stuart and Sam and the Hybrid Tune racing team as they seek some more podium finishes.
The action starts for Am and Pro at 11:20 with qualifying. – Timetable_24_25_June_Rockingham
The final MINI Challenge Cooper race at Silverstone was action packed. Both Stuart and Sam had recovered from a bad day on Saturday and finished 3rd in race 2. The first 5 places were flipped on the grid so they both started in 3rd. The racing was really close and a crash just before the end saw Sam and Stuart in P1 when the red flags came out.
This has been a great weekend for the Hybrid Tune racing team. Well done to Stuart and Sam and a huge thank you to the team (Mattie, Rob, Lee, John) for all their hard work.
Race 2 saw Stuart starting from last place and he made it to a solid 3rd place finish. He sniffed first place in the final lap but locked up at Brooklands. Still its good to be able to brake!
Lost brakes at Brooklands, shame as the car was flying after the straight. Managed to just clip another car and get back on track. Once again very glad Stuart teaches drifting as he sure used his skills today.
Two more races tomorrow – so all is not lost.
Arrived at Silverstone to start testing for Round #2 of MINI Challenge. Tickets for the event are on sale at the gate.
Saturday 3rd June
Qualifying – 9:55am
Race 1 – 1:25pm
Sunday 4th June
Race 2 – 9:40am
Race 3 – 3pm
http://www.minichallenge.co.uk/the-mini-challenge/driver-standings/
The weekend has been amazing and we have three wins under our belt already. Started from pole in Race 1 and Race 2 but a flipped grid for Race 3 meant starting in 6th.
To get three wins out of three races takes a good driver but it also takes the team who have built the car and were awesome this weekend. Thanks to all of you from Hybrid Tune (Sam, Mattie, Jack, Rob, and all the names that I have forgotten) for being the best.
Take a look at Sam Weller’s website to find out more about Hybrid Tune and the services that they offer. Highly recommended.
Stuart McLaren 