Friday practice
I had a steady start and concentrated on getting a feel for the circuit; with its size and speed there is a huge difference in the approach due to most of the corners being? wide and it being a very fast course.? I ended the day being at the front half of the pack which was great. The favourite part of the circuit for me was the Maggotts and Becketts complex with the car all twitching and on edge.
Saturday qualifying was a bit of a struggle as I could only manage 8th place; ?I was told it was a good effort for my 2nd weekend on slicks. But like any Racing Driver you always want to progress further up the field.
Race 1 – Saturday
I had a good start off the line and quickly moved up to 7th; halfway on the 1st lap yellow flags were out and as we came round onto the start line the safety car was deployed so I knew something had happened.? As I approached Stowe corner I saw John Jaw?s car was heavily damaged.? Eventually the mess was cleaned up and the car was recovered from the circuit.? The safety car came in and we carried on racing despite the crash.? The pack closed up again and gave me a good chance to catch up and get in some good racing.? Luckily John was fine!? Managed to move up a few places and was now in 5th but after a few more laps into the race the safety car was deployed again!? There had been a crash at the Maggots and Becketts complex and the next lap round I noticed it was my team mate James Blythe.?? We followed the safety car for a few more laps after the medics were released onto the circuit and with James still not appearing from the car, we were showed a red flag and the race ended early and I finished in 5th place.? Eventually we found out James was ok but the car was too badly damaged for racing on Sunday, so a disappointing end for him, but overall I was happy with the race and the progress I had made; definitely an eventful race!
Race 2 ? Sunday
I started in 5th and got away off the line well.? Managed to maintain my position and a few laps in Stefan Hodgetts retired from the race with a broken hub so now I was running in 4th and I could see Charlie Butler-Henderson in the distance.? I had a good battle with Paul Smith who unsuccessfully tried to pass me, but I kept my head down and focused on the track ahead of me and trying to close the gap between me and Charlie.? Chased him right to the end and finished 7/10s behind him!? Slightly disappointed because I didn?t realise I was racing for 3rd as Stefan had retired, but overall a really good weekend of racing.
