This weekend saw a stunning two days of racing action in the UK for Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama. Not only was Yokohama on track with the first round of the BRDC Formula 4 series, as control tyre, it was also present across the Sports 2000 series and the first round of the 2014 Ariel Atom Cup.
Practice day on Friday was a wet affair at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix. Using the full GP circuit, the F4 field used the ADVAN A006 full wet tyres for the majority of the day.
Qualifying on Saturday morning was damp, with no actual rain falling but the surface wet from the previous day's deluge. Raoul Hyman from South Africa claimed the pole position and in the first of the weekend's three races, converted this into the first win of the year, having held off team-mate Sennan Fielding in the second part of the race. Third was Diego Menchaca with Dane Nicolas Beer fourth and former kart winner George Russell fifth.
Sunday consisted of two races, the first of which was early in the day and while light drizzle appeared towards the end of the race, it remained dry enough for ADVAN A005 slicks throughout the field.
The grid was the top eight from the previous race reversed, so Arjun Maini started from pole but was leap-frogged by Gustavo Lima on the first lap, the pair followed by Fielding and Russell. Russell got past both Fielding and Maini on the second lap and on lap three, showed how he claimed multiple kart titles, by overhauling Lima and winning his first car race with a margin of almost four seconds.
He repeated the feat in the second and final race of the day, despite starting from sixth on the grid. Again, he claimed two positions on the second lap and by the third, was in the lead, winning with a gap of just over three seconds.
The results mean Russell is the early championship leader, with 79 points from Menchaca with 66 and Hyman with 64.
Also in action on Saturday and Sunday was the Atom Cup, created for race versions of Ariel's Honda VTEC-engined supercar. The series provided a superb spectacle on the Silverstone circuit. Pole-sitter Andrew Smith converted his qualifying performance into the first win of the year, from Martin James and Paul Donkin. The second race grid was a reverse of the winning order and Smith scythed his way through the pack to the front, only to lose the lead on the final lap to Nick Whitehead. However, a late penalty demoted him to third, with Danny Kerle assuming second to Whitehead.
The Sports 2000 field was also out in force, with more than 40 cars taking the start of the three-class race, including cars powered by the Ford Duratec engine, the Ford Pinto engine and historic cars, all competing on the track together.
Eventual winner Patrick Sherington lead from the start and put in a dominant performance in his Duratec car, winning the race with a margin of almost two seconds to Tom Stoten with Nick Bates in third. Class winners included John Owen, Alaric Gordon and Phillip Ledger.
Commenting, Head of Motorsport at UK distributor Yokohama HPT Ltd, Mark Evans, said; "This weekend was a fantastic demonstration of motorsport at Silverstone, using Yokohama tyres. The weather was dreadful on Friday but gradually improved over the course of the weekend and I am delighted that the tyres provided not only grip but also consistency across all conditions.
"The BRDC F4 series showed exactly the kind of racing we have come to expect; close, clean and exciting. All the drivers put in excellent performances and it looks as if this will be a fascinating season.
"Both the Atom Cup and the Sports 2000 races were excellent. I am delighted to see the Atom Cup grids increasing by such a margin over last year and they also showed great racing and action.
"Sports 2000 remains one of the UK's great motorsport success stories; grids of more than 40 cars is an incredible spectacle and I am proud that we have supported the series for decades."
Yokohama provided tyre technicians for the weekend and was supported by motorsport dealers Adams & Page for F4 and Atom Cup and Polley Motorsports for Sports 2000.
