View source for Willhire 24 Hour

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The '''Willhire 24 Hour''' was an [[endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance race]] for [[production car]]s held at [[Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit]] in [[Norfolk]], [[England]] between [[1980]] and [[1994]]. Over the years, the race included both [[sports car]]s and [[sedan|saloon cars]]. Latterly, it was contested by competitors running in the [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] [[Group N]] specification National Saloon Car Cup. The race has throughout its history has been run by the [[British Racing & Sports Car Club]] (BRSCC), which was also responsible for the aforementioned series.

The race was sponsored by Willhire Vehicles Rentals (now Anglian Willhire, part of [[Northgate PLC]]), a local [[car rental]] company, after its owner Roger Williams was approached to sponsor a motor racing event at the circuit. Roger talked about sponsoring a 6- or 24-hour event, initially as a [[joke]], but the offer was accepted and the [[United Kingdom]]'s first 24-hour race was founded. The [[1989]] event was 25 hours long to mark the 25th anniversary of the Willhire company.

The final event was held in 1994. Its experience in hosting an 24 hour race was proven to be beneficial when subsequently, Snetterton 
became a host of some [[British Touring Car Championship]] night races from [[1999]], but full 24-hour racing did not return until [[2003]], with the introduction of the Snetterton 24-Hour [[Citroën 2CV|2CV]] Race. However, national 24 hour endurance racing would not return until the introduction of the [[Britcar]] 24 Hours in [[2005]], taking place at [[Silverstone Circuit]]. The 2005 Britcar event is sometimes referred to as the Britcar Willhire 24 Hour Race. 

==Winners==
The Willhire 24 Hour was won by a number of drivers who went on to have success in other forms of racing. In 1986, the winning car was co-driven by then [[BBC Radio 1]] [[disc jockey]] [[Mike Smith (television presenter)|Mike Smith]]. The full list of winners is given below.<ref name=MRA/> Other notable drivers who competed in the past other than those listed below include [[Kieth O'dor]], [[Tiff Needell]], [[Steve Soper]], [[John Cleland (racing driver)|John Cleland]], [[James Thompson (racing driver)|James Thompson]] and [[Gerry Marshall]].

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" border=1 cellpadding=3
|- tr BGCOLOR="darkred"
! Year
! Drivers 
! Car 
! Laps 
|-
! 1980
| Pete Hall<br>Phil Dowsett<br>Martin Carroll<br>Syd Fox<br>Hamish Irvine<br>Andrew Jeffrey
| [[Opel Commodore]] GS/E 2.8
| 955
|-
! 1981
| Martin Carroll<br>Pete Hall<br>[[Andy Rouse]]<br>Syd Fox<br>Phil Dowsett
| Opel Commodore GS/E
| 990
|-
! 1982
| Robb Wells<br>Chris Alford<br>Malcolm Paul
| [[Morgan Plus 8]] 3.5
| 970
|-
! 1983
| Tony Dron<br>[[Win Percy]]<br>Andy Rouse<br>Phil Dowsett
| [[Porsche 928|Porsche 928S]] 4.6
| 995
|-
! 1984
| Bill Taylor<br>Paul Edwards<br>Barry Robinson<br>John Lock
| [[Porsche Carrera RS]]   
| 952
|-
! 1985
| Roy Eaton<br>David Oates<br>John Clarke
| [[Ford Capri]] 2.8i
| 970
|-
! 1986
| Mike Smith<br>Lionel Abbott
| [[Ford Escort (Europe)|Ford Escort]] RS Turbo
| 965
|-
! 1987
| [[Robb Gravett]]<br>Graham Hathaway<br>Phil Bullman
| [[Ford Sierra]] RS [[Cosworth]]
| 984
|-
! 1988
| Lionel Abbott<br>Graham Scarborough
| Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
| 1,025
|-
! 1989<br>(25 hours)
| Mark Hales<br>[[Slim Borgudd]]
| Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth
| 1,025
|-
! 1990
| [[Matt Neal]]<br>Dave Wallis<br>Stuart McCrudden
| [[BMW M3]]
| 896
|-
! 1991
| Kurt Luby<br>[[Will Hoy]]<br>[[Ray Bellm]]
| BMW M3
| 909
|-
! 1992
| [[Mike Jordan]]<br>Steve Griffin<br>Graham Coomes
| BMW M3
| 928
|-
! 1993
| Mike Jordan<br>Mike Burtt<br>[[Charlie Cox (racing)|Charlie Cox]]<br>John Morrison
| BMW M3
| 935
|-
! 1994
| Nickie Torregiani<br>Del Delaronde<br>Andrew Jeffrey<br>James Prochowski
| [[Ford Escort RS Cosworth]]
| 939
|}


{{24-hour races}}

[[Category:Auto races]]
[[Category:Motorsport in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sport in Norfolk]]