Managing Director of Hughes Safety Showers, Tony Hughes blogs about taking up a different kind of challenge…on the race track.
Driving’s always been a passion and fast cars really get the adrenalin pumping.
So I’m glad to report that I didn’t disgrace myself at this years Sebring Endurance Challenge in Florida. Co-driver Christian Dick and I finished 2nd in our class and believe me, not blowing any trumpets, but it was against some pretty strong international competition.
I’ve been driving regularly with the Speedworks Motorsport Team based at Sandbach, and last year we won the Ginetta G50 CupTeam Championship. My car was specially upgraded by Speedworks to compete in the Endurance Challenge which takes place on one of America’s most famous race tracks.
It was a fantastic experience racing against so many top race cars which included a Le Mans winner. At our first attempt we were delighted to be on the winners podium – 2nd in our class and 16th overall out of a field of 65. We also took part in a night race and that was a real test of nerves, hitting over 140mph on the straights.
Tony and Christian take to the winners podium after claiming second place in their class
My car, ‘The Hughes Ginetta G50′ is sponsored by the company.
Final preparation of the two Ginetta G50s
In the emergency shower business we’re obviously focused on safety. On the race track we’re always pushing to go faster but safety is still our number one priority.
The Sebring track is the oldest road course in North America. It’s 3.7 miles long and was originally a World War II training air base for B-17 bombers. Many of the great motor racing legends have driven there including Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio as well as show business enthusiasts like Steve McQueen, Gene Hackman and Paul Newman.
Ginetta Cars, the Leeds company that builds the G50, provided us with spares for the trip and Speedworks mechanics, Nick Bailey and Spencer Aldridge came along to make sure the cars performed on the big day.
In fact, the car was so reliable, it ran like a dream. After seven and a half hours of practice laps and intense racing it didn’t require any attention, not even an oil top-up. I reckon that’s pretty good by any standards.
We had a second Ginetta G50 from the team in the Challenge and that was driven by Richard Sykes and co-driver Nick Hull.
It’s great fun racing on some of these famous circuits around the world. I’ve also driven at Le Mans in France and Spa in Belgium as well as some of the top British circuits. Always looking for a new challenge and interested in hearing other people’s experiences as drivers or from the track side.
