In Attendance:

The last year has been an amazing experience.  As leader of the team undertaking the build project, getting the 2CV to Snetterton every day presented new challenges.

As the Snetterton deadline loomed, time seemed to be running out. Over the last month or so before the Snetterton race I had spent long hours with the tutors and ex-students, striving to achieve the finished product (a complete 2CV).

With the Citroën 2CV built, and its long-awaited journey underway, we followed behind apprehensively.  However, when we arrived it was action stations and all of the important checks were made:

• Tent
• BBQ
• Seating arrangement

These were followed by, of course, preparing the 2CV in readiness for the night’s qualifying. We had a fantastic run into the early hours of the morning and we all went to sleep feeling very hopeful.

After an eager start to Saturday morning, we all saw the 2CV venture out onto the track to begin the shakedown lap and, with that successfully completed, we were ready to begin our race!

With our national flag waved, we were off!  For the rest of the day, with regular changing of our drivers and successful quick pit stops, things were going well and this continued throughout the evening and into the night.

I remember looking across the pit and the clock was showing 4.00 am and our 2CV seemed to be experiencing problems out on the track. Soon enough the 2CV arrived into the pits with our first blown engine – this, it seemed, was our first challenge.

With the next engine almost in place and the timer showing a respectable 20 minutes (the record being 10), the unthinkable happened… the starting motor housing (which is mounted on top of the gearbox) snapped! This left us with no other option but to take out the engine and replace the gearbox.

After some considerable time we had replaced the gearbox and put the completed engine back into our 2CV.  However, as we went to tick over the engine and finalise our checks (confident we would be sending our 2CV back out on to the track) two things happened at once:

Firstly, the gearbox gears would not mesh together (this alone meant that we were unable to change through gears and would have to remove this second gearbox).

Secondly, as this was happening, the engine started to billow out smoke – this was not a good sign.

Despite all the things that were obviously working against us, all members of the pit crew worked relentlessly and did what was necessary to try to rectify the problems we were having. Many other members from the competing teams on the pit lane, moved by our efforts, helped out trying to rectify these issues.

Finally, after almost seven hours of hard work and dedication (three engines and three gearboxes later), we had worked through leaking gaskets, gear misalignments, broken piston rings and snapped starter motor housing. Our last hope of getting across the finish line would be a gearbox leant to us from an opposing team and an engine built from scratch using the three engines that had previously failed to work.

The last lap of the race loomed – we had to finish this race!

And finish we did!!!

As the sun went down on the Sunday evening our Citroën 2CV shuddered to life, came out of the pit lane onto the track and completed the last lap of the 24 hour race. Every member of the crowd and pit lane clapped as we passed the infamous chequered flag.  We had achieved something, which had seemed, to many, impossible.

We celebrated (in style).  Most of us sat down and had a well-deserved break, knowing that we had put in 110% and that it had paid off.