Zener Engineering Services Ltd Sponsored Mini Racing Sept 2023

Since the first Formula Mini Se7en race at Brands Hatch in 1966, the Mini 7 Racing Club has remained a favourite with drivers, race commentators and spectators alike.

The National Mini 7 Championship is for classic Minis which are built to strict regulations and governed by the Mini 7 Racing Club. The championship is contested over 17 races which are held at major racing circuits in the UK and occasionally abroad. The events are extremely popular with drivers and spectators alike, with most races being streamed live.

Rounds 16 and 17 of this year’s championship were held at the Croft Racing Circuit in North Yorkshire, just down the road from the Zener Engineering Services Ltd North East offices at Netpark in Sedgefield, County Durham, United Kingdom. Representatives of Zener Engineering Services Ltd and their guests attended the race weekend.

Here is the racing account of the weekend.

It was an early 5:00 am start for racing driver Graham Penn for his first ever visit to the Croft Racing Circuit near Darlington. It was a long drive from his home, arriving at the circuit at around 7:30 am, Graham was full of confidence, hope and anticipation. The paddock was set up and the Zener Engineering Services Ltd sponsored Mini was prepared for the first free practice session of the day at 10:00 am. The circuit was wet so a change to wet tyres and suspension setup was undertaken by Graham and his team and out the little Mini Se7en went for the first practice.

The first practice session went very well with Graham straight on the pace. By the time of the second practice session at 12:30pm, the rain had passed but the racing track was still damp so Graham made the decision to leave the Mini on wet tyres. Again the Mini and Graham drove well with the track drying all the time. For the final session of the day at 3:30pm the track was fully dry, so Graham, supported by his team of mechanics, changed  the Mini back to fully dry settings and back to dry tyres. During the final session the Mini and Graham drove “ok” but not quite as quick as Graham and his team had hoped.

Overnight the weather took a turn for the worse and it rained all night. The moderate wind had partially dried the circuit: however, the track still looked damp on the Saturday morning. Graham and his team set to work for another tyre change - back to wet tyres which was the consensus of opinion and was deemed the best option. Before the qualifying race, the Minis assembled in the designated area of the track, where it turned out that not everyone had reached the same conclusion, with half of the racing Minis on wet tyres and half on dry tyres.

Qualifying took 20 minutes and Graham finished 11th on the grid. Not too bad considering that this was Graham’s first time at the Croft Racing Circuit. The track was also drying fast and Graham and his team set about yet another tyre change, back to dry tyres.

Race 1: The lights went out and a mix up with the circuit lights resulted in a bad getaway for Graham. ZES are sorry to report that he was initially dead last, but he made up a couple of places on the first corner! A few seconds later while exiting the 80 mph chicane, a part of the rear suspension failed on the Mini, which put the Mini into a high-speed spin and consequently out of the race. Graham was fine due to the excellent safety features built into the Mini and an exceptional racing seat. Replacement parts were fitted by Graham and his team and the Mini was then set up for the second race on Sunday.

Race 2:  The weather was much improved for the final race of the weekend, so a fully dry setup was the obvious choice for the day. Being the first retirement in Race 1 meant that Graham was unfortunately last on the grid. Graham reported that straight away the Mini felt good and he made a great start and got up to 8th position and was challenging the leading cars. Then coming towards the end of the first lap, the car directly in front of Graham suddenly had an oil line fail which spilled a significant amount of oil onto the track. This resulted in yet another spin for Graham and a trip across the grass. Graham managed to get the Mini back on to the circuit but the pack was well in front. Graham and the other racing drivers carried on for a few laps but the whole circuit was covered in oil and eventually the officials decided to throw out the red flag and stop the race.

Not the results Graham was looking for but nevertheless an enjoyable weekend was had by Graham, his team, representatives of Zener Engineering Services Ltd and their guests.

The next race for Graham and his team is the final round of the championship at Silverstone on the 6th and 7th of October 2023.