I said to someone on Sunday evening: ?I don?t think I?ve ever smiled so much after a race event I didn?t win.?
It sums up my debut in the Toyota Racing Series perfectly.
My family are single seater purists and always have been, but it?s taken me until the grand old age of 21 ? surprisingly the oldest driver in the championship! ? to have my own taste of a wings and slicks racing car.
A car without a roof. A car with this ?downforce? thing I?ve heard so much about.
A car with a new outlook on racing lines. A car that both allows you – and forces you – to drive through a corner, and not out of it.
The last minute nature of my entry into the TRS at Taupo was actually a good thing, as it allowed me to arrive fresh and open minded with no reservations, concerns or worries. I had nothing to lose, so this would be an event as much to enjoy as to further myself as both a driver, and a racer.
I knew immediately that in running with ETEC Motorsport and working directly with Andy Neale, I would have one of the best teachers in the game, and this gave me great confidence. Andy is old school, just like my father, which made for an easy transition.
Thursday testing gave me a chance to familiarise myself with the car, and Friday bought more of the same.
Finding the optimum car setup was irrelevant at this stage, and for most of the weekend; the goal was more to find a balance that I was comfortable with given the style I?ve become accustomed to in a GT car.
Honestly, we didn?t have time to reinvent the wheel.
So with this frame of mind and some subtle changes made by Andy and the ETEC team, we rolled into qualifying on Saturday morning reasonably confident. After a gruelling session I finished up in seventh place. Second on the grid was just half a second up the road, but I was still a bit disappointed that we couldn?t eek out another tenth or two from the new tyres.
I had to keep reminding myself, as did those around me, not to bee too critical of my performance this weekend. But, as any driver will tell you, the top spot is the only end goal we have in sight.
RACE ONE
Race one went really well. Starting off the dirty line with a slipping clutch, I was still able to make a clean getaway and passed my team mate Jamie McNee on the first lap.
I then went about hunting down the next car in the train, and my car got stronger and stronger as the race progressed. This allowed me to apply quite a bit of pressure to Damon Leitch in front, while I had the same being dealt to me from the rear from McNee.
This was how it finished though, and I secured fifth place at the flag.
RACE TWO
With the same grid position for the second race, I made an even better getaway this time and passed Leitch at the first corner. Again, the car was slow to start, but was a rocketship as the race progressed and the tyres settled into a working temperature. I had a race-long battle with Alastair Wootten, and being tucked up under his gearbox gave me the chance to get a feel for using the aero efficiently in traffic, where the front end threatened to wash out on me at every corner.
A hectic last lap with Woots and Nick Cassidy allowed me to slip past the pair of them around the outside of the turn 11 sweeper onto Taupo?s long back straight, and cross the line in fourth position.
This gave me second row start for the reverse top six final race, which was the race of the weekend in my opinion!
RACE THREE
In the first lap shuffle I found myself down in fifth place, but knowing my car would get stronger as the race went on, I set about keeping as close to the leading train as I could, locking into a battle with Nick Foster and McNee. I slipped by McNee with a couple of laps remaining, and pressured Foster until the very last lap where he made a small mistake and I picked up fourth from him also.
With a fifth and two fourth place finished, I finished my first weekend in the TRS in fourth overall. And sitting back now, I must say that yeah, I?m pretty bloody happy with that!
It was definitely a big ask to jump into a totally unfamiliar car and be competitive, but we handled ourselves professionally and worked the weekend to a plan. And in the end, it was all we could have asked for from a ?toe in water? exercise.
The Toyota Racing Series is a terrific championship in all facets of the word. I saw that first hand at Taupo, and I aim to be back for a full crack at the championship in 2012.
People have been right to comment on why I have suddenly decided to take this path, but the honest answer is that my path remains unchanged.
My goal is still to race at Le Mans, and to build a career in endurance racing. And if the Toyota Racing Series provides an affordable summer racing programme for me and my supporters, as well as a platform to learn and develop even more as a driver, then it?s a diversion I am happy to take.
To Barrie Thomlinson and TRM, ETEC Motorsport and my sponsors for the weekend: Radiance ?Supplements for Life?, Gourmet Direct ?100% NZ Grown Meat?, Opti-Flex, Vortex Racewear, Hornet Performance Nutrition and AAA Roofing, I can?t thank each of you enough.
Until next time,
Jono
