Sportmaxx rounds 7, 8 & 9
I was leading class B going into this meeting and was also positioned 3rd overall in the championship.
International GT?s were at the program so we were using the full track at Donington, which I?d never driven before. Also Paul O?Neil from BTCC was driving the Seat Leon in my class, so I know it was going to be an interesting weekend!
I qualified on pole for race 1, but I should point out that Paul O?Neil couldn?t qualify due to other commitments and was going to start from the back of the grid.
Race 1 was to be frank, a bit boring, I held the class B lead for the first lap but made a mistake which allowed Paul O?Neil to come past, he then pulled away for the rest of the race. The Thorny Motorsport Corsa was proving to be difficult to drive; alternating between over steer and under steer plus I had a lot of brake shudder; however I managed to get it to the finish. Due to the seat not being registered for the championship, I gained the class B win.
When we returned back to the pit garage, my mechanics found that the nearside front wheel was about ready to fall off, so that?s why the car had been handling strangely. We know all the wheels were tightened up before I went out so the conclusion was that because the rims were brand new and the nearside front wheel is the most heavily loaded that the pain and the lacquer around the wheel nuts had allowed them to slacken off.
So to race 2, because I had managed to win the class on a number of occasions, as well as the 45kg of success ballast, the organisers said I had to carry an additional 27kg, plus I had an extra camera in the car weighing 5kg so I had 77kg in total extra weight.
Anyway the race went okay, Paul O?Neil made the better start and got in front of a class A car, which I slotted in behind. It took about ? of a lap before I managed to pass the Class A car, then I set in pursuit of the Leon. I managed to get the gap down to about 4 seconds and my fastest lap was .6 of a second slower than Paul, which on reflection, I was reasonably pleased with because the fast sweeping corners at Donington suited the Leon more than the Corsa and also the fact that Paul is an acknowledged front running BTCC driver.
For race three the organisers put some ballast in the Leon and took some out of my Corsa. From the lights I was glued to the Leon?s back bumper which I managed to maintain for about 2 laps, then traffic intervened and allowed Paul to pull a gap of 3 car lengths.
On about lap 4 coming onto the start/finish straight the Leon slowed, whether Paul missed a gear or just wanted a bit of fun, I wasn?t going to refuse the opportunity of passing him. So for about 2 ? laps he was making me work very hard to keep, his obviously faster car behind, but inevitably he made the move and took the lead again.
For the remaining laps I kept about 4 car lengths behind but as we approached the chequered flag Paul slowed and gave me the win, which was a nice gesture on his part.
After the race Paul gave me some tips as to where I could improve my driving, but also complimented me on my speed and positioning through the fast parts of the track.
So to the future, I?m currently leading the Class B championship and I?m in 2nd place overall with Simon Shaw 9 points in front. Unfortunately, similar to other drivers, my budget has now been exhausted, so unless our efforts pay off and we find a sponsor, that?s me finished for the year.
John Thorne and all the guys at Thorney Motorsport have been fantastic and very supportive to me in getting me this far in the championship, plus my mum and dad who?ve always been there with help and encouragement. Also another big thanks to Mike Oughtred, Mike & Andy at WHF, John Everard at Used Garage Equipment and many more who knows I can get the job done, given the opportunity.
