Mallory test 8th September

I am testing tomorrow at Mallory in Leicester ahead of the final race on Sunday 19th September. It looks like the weather will be variable so hopefully I will get both wet and dry conditions in preparation for the race.

On the way home I will be going to see the guys at Caterham Midlands to pick up a replacement Oil pressure sender which failed at Brands Hatch.

Brands Hatch - Bitter Sweet Victory

Testing at Brands Hatch did not go well on Friday. I shared a Garage with Kurt Brady who is a strong contender in Group 2, who was really doing well.

Since my last visit to Brands Hatch they have resurfaced a large portion of the track, which seemed to drive completely differently. I suffered with under steer during the day and could not get the car to run true around most of the circuit. I decided to raise the back of the car which would normally rectify this but it only made slight improvements to my times during the day. I was about 0.3 seconds off the pace and with lap times expected of 57.10 seconds this would be a real issue during the race. I went home a little deflated that evening hoping that by studying my data and video footage I could find some way of improving my times. That evening David Rowe of DPR Motorsport asked how I got on and suggested making further changes to the car, some of which I had never considered beforehand.

Saturday afternoon I was back at Brands Hatch for qualifying. I decided to make the changes that David at DPR suggested because I couldn’t risk being mid pack for the start of the race. The changes I made gave me better steering and I qualified 3rd on the grid. This was very positive because it gave me the inside line into the first corner which I planned would give me both an aggressive and defensive opportunity. Mike Hart was again the one to beat with Merlin who qualified 2nd.

Race day I lowered the car back down which brought the adjustments back into line because some of the changes I made assumed it would be raining. I was also planning to purchase new tyres if the track was very wet, which as it turned out was not required.

The race started and I was demoted to 5th by the second corner due to Mike Hart holding a defensive position and both Jon Mortimer and Blaize Rhodes getting a flying start. I battled my way back from 5th to 2nd where I pursued Mike Hart in 1st following his incident with Merlin which proved to change the result at the end of the race.

I battled with Mike to gain first place and but my position at the front was short lived. Mike overtook me on the last lap into Druids, which later was adjudged to be an optimistic yet illegal pass.

Having finished a close second in the race, in fact less than two tenths behind Mike the Clerk of the course asked to see my video footage following his overtaking move. Unfortunately he was dealt with a very hard penalty by being excluded from the race, which promoted me to 1st. During the race however I did managed to set the fastest lap, which was also fast enough to break the lap recor by almost 0.4 of a second at 56.962 something I am very proud of.

This result puts me in 1st in the Championship with only one round to go, however the exclusion for Mike is somewhat of a bitter result for the good of the season. Whilst I do feel that Mike did not deserve to win, his punishment did not fit the crime.

The next race is on 19th September and it should be a great finale to the season.

Snetterton - POLE and RACE WIN!

Snetterton was my first race win. I Qualified 1st and went on to win the race holding P1 from start to finish.

I made a clean start, aided by Jon Mortimer of P2 missing second gear off the start line, however getting the clean break was essential knowing that Snetterton has the the fastest and longest straight in the country. This enables those following to get a tow, so to follow is a significant advantage.

I built up a lead that stretched over 7 seconds during the race but I had to slow down on the last 2 laps for fear of running out of petrol, a calculation that I realised I was too close to comfort whilst on the warm up lap.

The race behind was not without drama, which enabled me to build up the lead that I did whilst posting some of the fastest and most consistent times of the weekend.

I am now only two points behind the Championship leader with 2 races to go so its all to play for. Thanks to Brads for his help at the weekend and those who travelled to see the race. Next race is at Brands Hatch on 22nd August.

Snetterton Race 2 - 25th July

Sunday 25th July is race 2 of the Caterham Academy 2010.

The race starts at 13:50 where entry also entitles you to watch the other races which include the Porsche GT3 Cup and the Alfa Romeo series.

Those wishing to attend should contact me via this blog or via email.

http://ticket.motorsportvision.co.uk/media/1269350/britcar%20sn%202425%2007%202010.pdf

Rockingham - RACE 1

Rockingham was a great weekend and a big learning curve for the years that follow.

The qualifying was over in a flash and when it finished I immediately knew that I messed it up completely. Having had excellent tuition from David Rowe of DPR Motorsport and Fulvio Mussi, a racing driver currently racing in Clio Cups, I understood the importance of getting a tow from other participants during a qualifying session. However, I took this to the extreme during our qualifying session where in 15 minutes I abandoned 4 of my laps to concentrate on the perfect tow - which didnt happen. I also didn’t realise that we would only get 8 laps in total and this included navigating through a crowded pack of drivers to get a decent lap.

This resulted in me qualifying 5th on the grid which was disappointing. The only saving grace was that it put me on the inside line for the first corner, which at Rockingham is a must due to it being a Hairpin. If I am completely honest I would never have gained pole position because Mike Hart the Championship leader was on fire once again but my practice times the day before were more than half a second faster than during qualifying.

Having completed my warm up lap, making sure the tyres and brakes were up to the job, the race started. I got great traction in 1st gear, which propelled me up to the next row of the grid, only to miss second gear (and having watched other competitors videos - included REVERSE). By the first corner I was back to my starting position of 5th, chasing Blaize Rhodes hard who qualified 4th.

Mike Hart was overtaken by Blaize who also made a poor start early in the race where I then put pressure on Mike. Mike passed Blaize into 3rd and then I followed into 4th.

Merlin Edwards, who qualified 2nd, spun on the second lap which propelled me into 3rd, however Balize was keen to make me fight for it. Blaize continued to put pressure on me, which enabled Mike and John (the race leader) to create a gap of approximately 25 metres.

After a further two laps, I managed to shake off the challenges of Blaize before catching the front two (Mike and John). I caught 2nd place Mike in the infield and passed him into second, before he passed under braking into the next corner. At this time my door was flapping open, creating a blind side on the right hand side of my car where the wing mirror had also fallen down, which was now pointing towards the floor (less than ideal!).

I became very conscious of the blind side of my car and was unable to see across the right hand side of the car to make any reasonable lunges and defensive moves on Mike who was watching my every move behind him.

The 5-minute board came out at the start finish line, which was then followed by the last lap board which I missed on the following lap. I continued to press Mike on the lap that followed but I did not realise it was the last lap and did not make the aggressive moves that would have been taken had I known.

I finished 3rd in the race, my first race ever in a race car and something that I guess I should be proud of, however there are may things that I have learned during qualifying and during the race that makes me think that I could have done much better. I am not saying that I would have improved my position, just that I could have given a better account of myself during the race.

During qualifying and the race I also practised the ‘heel and toe’ technique, which is used by racing drivers to stabilise the car under heavy braking into slower corners. This is something that I initially found odd and uncomfortable, however it should be something that improves my race results in the future.

Well done to John and Mike for finishing 1st and 2nd. They drove really well and it was a pleasure to be part of the first Caterham Academy race of 2010.

Next race is 25th July at Snetterton.

Next Event 4th July

The first race and next event is Sunday 4th July at Rockingham, Corby, Northants.

http://www.rockingham.co.uk/about/gettingto.asp

My Race starts at 10:55am. Those wishing to attend should be at the track for 10am. The rest of the day will include other Caterham races, including the mighty Caterham R300 cars. Fingers crossed for good weather, because I understand it could be a real challenge if its wet!

2nd at Snetterton Sprint

Snetterton was the final sprint of the 2010 Caterham Academy season where the whole field turned out in glorious sunshine to test the cars to the limit.

Unfortunately I suffered yet more brake problems and my near side rear brake calliper had to be replaced after the practice sessions in the morning. In the afternoon the heavens opened but not before Richard Grimes of Sidelines automotive made yet another long trip to assist in making the brakes reasonable. This however, caused another problem where on my first timed run I locked the newly efficient brakes at the second corner, sending me straight off onto the grass causing me to fail on my first run.

The second run I posted a time that gave me 7th position, however I knew this was not going to be enough to keep a serious position in the championship.

I knew I had to push harder, my performance so far did not give me a benchmark so it was all or nothing. The last run was two seconds faster, which secured second place overall however this obviously was not enough to get 1st place. One of the problems was the way I drove the circuit, it was very Karting Esq. turning in late, staying off the racing line, which apparently was the way to drive the circuit in the wet - but my runs were not aggressive enough!

I don’t want to sound ungrateful for my second place, however this is the third consecutive 2nd place where I now hope that a 1st place is not too far away. If I want to pose a serious challenge to the leader I will need to go one better in the races which start on 4th July at Rockingham. I will be getting tuition at both Brands Hatch on 8th June and Rockingham on 12th June where I hope to find more time on the track to go faster.

I hope to improve this year but there are now many drivers that are capable of winning races. Anyone wishing to attend at Rockingham should let me know beforehand because it is likely to be a great weekend.