Race Report: CSCC Turbo Tin Tops at Silverstone GP

For the second time in 2026, Team HORNET would take an excursion to the Classic Sports Car Club's Wheeler Properties Turbo Tin Tops series, this time around the iconic Silverstone GP circuit. A combined grid that also included the Co-ordsport Tin Tops and the Trackday Solutions Puma Cup would ensure that, despite the length and width of the Silverstone circuit, there would always still be plenty to keep all of the drivers extremely busy throughout the scheduled 40-minute race.

Qualifying

A bright and sunny morning would set the scene for a 30-minute qualifying session. The #41 car of Team HORNET would be out on the circuit early, but with a brand new pair of front tyres on board, it was planned to take things nice and easy for the first third of the session, gradually bedding in the new rubber. This plan worked a treat, as the anticipated call to the pits for minor pressure adjustments fell just as the safety car was called, with an errant Fiesta stranded between Brooklands and Luffield. With no competitive running time lost, this plan had unexpectedly worked to near-perfection.

Once back out on track and able to push harder, the best time achieved was 2:31.130, a new personal best by 1.8 seconds over the time set back in 2024. This would see the Mégane line up 18th on the combined grid, 9th of the Turbo Tin Tops entries, and 4th in class TA.

Race

A capacity grid of 60 cars barrelling into Copse after the rolling start was always destined to produce drama, and it would certainly not disappoint. Further ahead, the #42 Honda Integra DC2 lost drive just after the apex, being tipped into a spin by the close-following #37 Audi TT. This resulting spin would collect the #501 Volkswagen Scirocco and the #86 Honda Integra DC5. With damaged cars and debris littering the track, the safety car would be deployed, with the race being suspended under the safety car until the wreckage was cleared.

The restart would see an interesting battle between the #41 Team HORNET Mégane and the #6 Abarth 500. The smaller, more nimble Abarth would have advantages in some areas, but the larger, more stable Mégane would be able to draw level on a few occasions, particularly into Village. The battle would be punctuated by the arrival of the Team HORNET Renault into the pit lane to serve its mandatory stop.

That pit stop would prove to be well-timed, dropping the Renault into a pocket of clear track to lay down some consistent lap times, and hopefully gain track position over the opposition. Aside from a couple of close encounters with some of the Puma Cup contenders, this portion of the race would all be about maintaining consistency. This would be the case up until the arrival of the #126 Honda Civic, which would initially show great pace and pull away from the #41 Mégane, forcing the beginning of a race-long chase. Further complications would be found at Village and The Loop, where the #30 Honda Integra DC5 and the #46 Honda Civic had come to blows, with the two cars stranded just off the racing surface and debris littering the track. The chase of the #126, though, would finally bear fruit as the Civic's pace began to slow with just minutes left on the clock, the first opportunity at a passing manoeuvre scuppered at Luffield by the unexpected presence of the #24 Ford Puma, which had seemingly lost a wheel on the exit of the corner. The move against the #126 Civic would finally be completed heading through Becketts. From there, it was a case of bringing the car home.

After an extremely busy race, Team HORNET recorded a result of 12th on the combined grid, 8th in the Turbo Tin Tops and 3rd in Class TA