Round 1 - Silverstone GP
Well here we go, 2 Car, 4 Drivers (2 of them new to Idola) and a pretty wet forecast !!
The new improved look at Idola Motorsport takes their first racing steps in 2023 at the full Silverstone GP circuit. Joined in Car 18 by Ruben Stanislaus - fresh from the BBC documentary, and his new team mate Rodolfo “Speedy” Gonzalez - multiple single seater champion and ex-F1 test driver. Bringing experience and youth to create an exciting team combination. In Car 14 - previously known as Everest - Chris Bridle returns and is joined by Will Stowell fresh from the Porsche Carrera Cup.
Testing on Friday was a mix of wet and dry conditions and the drivers got busy blowing the cobwebs away with great lap times improving throughout the day.
Saturday qualifying report
With only 30 minutes to share between drivers on a drying track it was going to be a busy session. Ruben took car 18 out for the start of the session on new slicks so that he could get some heat in them ready for pro driver Rodolfo to push as hard as he could. Within the final few laps Rodolfo was lighting up with purple sectors and took provisional pole before being narrowly edged out by the Mittel car on the last lap. Car 18 would line up on the front row for race 1.
Chris took car 14 for this pairings qualifying, with Will taking over in the latter stages. A great push from the pairing saw them achieve a 2nd row starting position for race 1.
Sunday race 1 report
Sunday was looking to be pretty hectic with 2 x 25 minute sprint races and a 50 minute endurance race to round out the day, and on top of that the rain had been coming down for most of the night. Race 1 would be started by the fastest qualifying drivers and so for Idola this meant Rodolfo and Chris. A really exciting battel for 1st place emerged between Charles Hall in the Mittel car - who was leading from pole, and the hard charging Rodolfo in car 18. Rodolfo kept his powder dry and gradually caught Charles - but biding his time until Charles made an error at Luffield allowing Rodolfo past and into the lead where he remained - taking the win for the first race of the season, and Rodolfo’s first win in a Praga!!! Chris Bridle was not far behind and came in with a solid 4th position.
Sunday race 2 report
….and it’s still raining…… As car 18 won race 1, this set the grid for race 2 and saw Ruben taking his first pole start. The race settled down pretty quickly and the order remained fairly static for the 25 minute race. Pro driver Shane Kelly took the win for the UWE team, with Idola cars 18 and 14 coming in 4th and 5th
Sunday race 3 report
The last race of the weekend would see a 2 driver 50 minute race - so the added element of pit stop and driver change. The grid was set by the race 2 finishing positions so Ruben would take his first rolling start from pole. It was a pretty hectic start and Ruben dropped down to mid-pack, unfortunately an electrical issue would curtail his race before he had chance to pass the reins to Rodolfo. Car 14 with Chris and Will faired much better and it really was a race for the finish with 2nd, 3rd and 4th cars only a few seconds apart after 50 minutes racing. Chris and Will did fantastically well and finished on the podium in 3rd position, with Chris posting personal best after personal best towards the end of the race.
Next round……Brands Hatch - April 22nd/23rd
