A slightly tongue-in-cheek suggestion by Roger Williamson, proprietor of Willhire Vehicle Rentals in Norfolk, resulted in the arrival on the club motor racing scene of the Willhire 24 Hours, an endurance race for production cars and Britain’s first 24-hour motor race.

The event was staged every year between 1980 and 1994 at Snetterton Circuit, becoming known simply as 'The Willhire', and there can’t be many drivers at club and national level during those years that didn’t get involved at least once.

Many Willhire winners went on to enjoy success in other forms of motor sport and we are proud to mention that our own Lionel Abbott won the race twice, firstly in 1986 with Mike Smith (the first two-driver team to win the race) and in 1988 with Graham Scarborough.

It was initially assumed that a production car being hammered around Snetterton for 24 hours would self-destruct and so, for the first two years, it was a team event with up to four cars used, however the survival rate was sur...