Matt Cherrington's blog

Really quick update today.

Yesterday I received the call from Steve at Racing Perfection to say I had made it into the Ginetta Scholarship Final!

The event is to be held at Teesside Autodrome again, this coming Friday (12th). The format is a mixture of track assessment and interviews on and off camera, and there maybe a fitness element as well.

As you can imagine I am very pleased and proud to have made it this far, and am now completely focussed on doing as much as I can to win the competition and the season in the Ginetta Challenge.

My next post will be a report on the Final, lets hope it contains news of my success! Wish me luck!

Matt

Hi everyone,

Last time I blogged I talked about general plans for 2010, but some of you may have noticed that it contained little detail on what I am to be driving this year. At the moment that is a bit of an unknown as I have decided to concentrate on the business side of racing with regard to my preparation work, and offer my available Locosts for hire. This leaves me without a permanent drive at the moment, but a while ago I entered a competition that could potentially change that!

Some of you maybe aware that in 2009 I was fortunate enough to be offered a prize drive in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup courtesy of the Dunlop Race Academy. This was an excellent initiative, and ever since I have been on the lookout for similar opportunities. One such opportunity is the Racing Perfection Ginetta Scholarship, which offers the winner a full season in the Ginetta Challenge (formerly known as the Ginetta G20 Championship).
This excellent championship supports the Formula 3 and British GT package, and is well known for the professional standard of teams and drivers alike.

Racing Perfection Ltd have run cars in this championship in the past, and launched the initiative to find a deserving driver to support for 2010, which resulted in myself and about 25 other hopefuls turning up at Teesside Autodrome last week for an initial assessment day. The format was to be fitness tests, media style interviews and the all important track assessment with top british driver coaches and ARDS instructors. Sadly the North East weather did its best to interrupt proceedings and left us with a water-logged track, meaning no running was possible on the day. Disappointing, but the safety of all concerned is paramount and the decision to abort was understandable. Despite this, we were all still able to complete the other aspects, including an interview in front of a camera and a fitness test, thankfully conducted inside, given the weather!

With all that taken care of, we returned today (Thursday) for the postponed track action. This time we were greeted by glorious (if mildly chilly!) clear skies and dry tarmac!

Although my scheduled time on track wasn’t until 11:20, I arrived early to walk the bits of the circuit that had previously been inhabited by local goldfish, and hopefully get a look at some of the other competitors laps in order to pick up some pointers.
Not to be.
In my urgency to be organised, I insisted on trying a car for size (it’s paramount when you’re nudging 6′5!) and as a result found myself strapped in to a brand new, gleaming G20 at about 9:15am, with the words “Well as you’re here, you may as well go out and get it done!” ringing through my closed visor! Right… OK then!

The session was to be split into two 15 minute periods, with the first for learning the car and circuit and gradually picking up speed, and the second for honing the technique and advice offered by Howard, my instructor.
Immediately on the circuit the car felt familiar and comfortable, with its rear wheel drive, front engined layout offering similar characteristics to the Locost I know so well. Through the first session Howard guided me round the circuit, offering advice and encouragement and ironing out the odd rough edge, then it was back in for a detailed chat and debrief, before straight out for session number two! To borrow an excellent cliche, it was all over far too quickly and we were back in for the final debrief. Howard offered me some final advice and answered a couple of questions before issuing me with a sincere congratulations on a marked improvement between sessions. Satisfaction all round then!

The next stage of the competition is a final, to which 15 of the 50-or-so entrants are invited next Friday (12th) at the same location. There is another assessment day tomorrow, so we all face a wait while marks are totalled, merits are discussed and egos are ignored in order to select the finalists. Hopefully the call will come on Sunday…..!

However, if it doesn’t and the competition ends here for me, it would be another superb experience to add to the list I have experienced recently. Steve Bell and everyone at Racing Perfection deserve serious plaudits for the initiative, as do the instructors who offer the benefit of their experience, and if it isn’t me who is chosen as the overall winner, then I have no doubt that whoever it is will receive nothing but the best for their career in 2010 and beyond.

With that said….. Lets hope my next blog is about the experience of the final, and the one after that is about looking forward to a season of Ginetta G20 competition starting in early April…..!

If you’re not aware of Racing Perfection, have a look at their website, which offers further details on the Ginetta Scholarship as well as a database of useful contacts for British motorsport: http://www.racingperfection.co.uk

Until next time,
Matt

Hi Everyone,

It has been a long while since I last blogged, with several reasons that I don’t need to bore you with here!

2009 ended well, but perhaps not as strongly as we would have liked given the form we showed during the season. Ultimately I finished 5th overall in the Locost Championship, which should have been higher, but unfortunately an engine problem stopped me from competing in the last three rounds. This was particularly disappointing given the run of four wins mid season. Despite this, 2009 remains our most successful season to date, with the prize drive in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup being a particular highlight.

Aside from my own achievements, my preparation company, TMC Motorsport oversaw a brilliant debut season from fellow DriverDB blogger Campbell Cassidy, who secured the Highest Placed Novice Award for 2009. Previous winners of this award have gone onto multiple race wins the following season, and with a new car for 2010, Campbell is looking to add to that list.

In 2010 TMC again have cars to hire on an arrive and drive basis, as well as offering a range of services and products aimed at the club level competitor. See http://www.tmcmotorsport.co.uk for more information!

This year we will again be concentrating on the 750 Motor Club Locost Championship, and the season starts at Castle Combe on the 5th April. As the year goes on there will be more regular updates with our progress!

Hi everyone,

Last weekend saw my debut in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup at Castle Combe in a SEAT Leon FR, kindly provided for me by the Dunlop Race Academy and AmD Technik, prepared by the vastly experienced Mardi Gras Motorsport team.
Unfortunately, and despite what some of the other drivers may have thought (yes Abbie… you!) I was not able to test on the Friday, and my first taste of the car, and indeed my first taste of front wheel drive was to be in qualifying on Saturday morning.
Borrowing a majorly overused, yet true racing cliche, Mardi Gras did an excellent job and ensured I was at the front of the queue for qualifying, giving maximum potential track time. This was all very well, and worked perfectly, except I was the victim of nothing short of a deluge of faster Class A cars barrelling past on either side of the circuit heading up to Quarry on the opening lap. Welcome to high end motorsport!
After what seemed like the entire field had got past me on the first lap, I began to settle down and found a consistent pace behind Abbie Eaton in her Corsa. I could see areas where she was quicker, and places I could catch, but felt I could do with a clear lap or two to get my head around the cars capability.
Fortunately midway through the session Abbie pitted and gave me an empty track to play with. Despite one massively lairy moment on the way into Camp corner, the car felt better the harder it was pushed, and my lap times gradually came down, until the team were showing me P1 on the board!
I was very satisfied to be sitting on class pole after my first ever run in the car.

Race One was another learning experience, and although I got a reasonable jump from the line, I was too cautious into Quarry, and allowed a couple of cars that had qualified behind me through, including Abbie’s Corsa. Consoling myself that discretion was the way forward in an unfamiliar grid, I forced myself to take my time and not go charging after her too soon. Qualifying indicated I had the pace to catch her, and to take a class win, but that would count for precisely nothing if I planted the car in the barriers on the opening lap.
As the race grew on things settled down, and I came under pressure from the Fiesta of Mark Weidner. Mark seemed to have greater speed through the chicanes and gave me one or two little encouraging nudges to prove the point. Forunately for me he was unable to pass, and as my confidence grew I gradually increased the gap. At about mid race distance I started to make inroads into Abbie’s lead, and felt confident I knew where I could pass her if the chance came. She seemed to be struggling a little with her front tyres, particularly through Quarry, and I managed to carry more speed on a tidier line, and get a run heading into the Esses. Abbie moved to the middle of the road to defend, and I took to the outside on the brakes, just about stopping the car in time to turn in ahead of her through the chicane.
We stayed in pretty close proximity for the next couple of laps, and just when I thought I may have made a bit of a break, I took too much speed into the same chicane where I had made the pass, and couldn’t keep the car pointing in the right direction. For a moment in the middle I thought I would be able to gather it all up, but then a tyre momentarily dropped onto the grass and this was enough to send me off towards the corn field. I managed to keep everything moving and circumnavigated some marshals who had given up running away in favour of amusing themselves at me, and rejoined. Unfortunately as I rejoined the leaders emerged in my mirrors, and for the first time in something like 3 years I found myself lapped!
I eventually finished 4th in class, with a fastest lap just 2 hundredths off Abbies new class lap record, but as I’m sure you can imagine, this was very little consolation!

Race two on Sunday was held in some seriously wet weather, so the book of new experiences got another new entry; not getting soaked through to the skin, thanks to driving a car with a roof! This was swiftly followed by another, slightly less joyous installment; windscreen misting!
To say visibility on the first lap was poor is a bit like saying the roads in venice are slightly flooded. Racing by braille is the closest description I can offer. Fortunately the driving standards in Sport Maxx are exceptional and everyone gave each other plenty of respect, and just enough racing room. When things started to settle down slightly, I found myself in a class B battle with Mark Weidner in his Fiesta again. Mark seemed to be enjoying the conditions, as he got the Fiesta to some extreme angles through some of the quicker corners, but unfortunately he tried it one too many times, and as the car snapped back the notoriously unforgiving barriers at Tower corner claimed another victim. This left me with a clear track, and the team were showing P2, and +10 seconds to Abbie’s Corsa. However, as a result of Mark’s accident, the Saftey Car was deployed and I was able to close the gap up. All set for a restart and a charge for the win I felt I deserved after Saturday, the pit board suddenly began to show P1 instead…. After a couple of laps my brain started to tick through the permutations of why I was showing as leading, when I could see the back of the Corsa just up the road. Had she been off the circuit and gone a lap down? Had she pitted with a problem? Then as I crossed the start/finish line I noticed the marshals holding out a board with Abbie’s number on, and it twigged that she must have jumped the start and received a 10 second penalty. Through the murk on the inside of the windscreen at the line, I had been able to make out the lights, and the shapes of other cars moving too early, but discerning who was who was beyond me. This meant all I had to do was keep her in sight over the remaining few laps, and I would take my first win in only my second race in the car. Despite Abbie putting in some impressive lap times through the final laps, I was able to cross the line about 6 seconds adrift, meaning I had taken the class win! Some would say it was a win by default, but I was happy to accept, and Abbie was gracious enough to congratulate me afterwards, despite her clearly possessing better pace.

Race three was in similarly wet conditions, and in hindsight I should have made a couple of changes to the car from the earlier race to stabilise it a bit, but this was entirely my call and I decided there was still more time to come from me than the car, so we kept it the same.
Again a tentative start saw me lose places, but after the initial couple of laps everything settled much more quickly in this race than either of the two previous encounters, and I found myself circulating in almost complete solitude. Abbie clearly had a car underneath her that handled exactly the way she liked, and she made the most of it to pull away into an unassailable class lead, picking off a few of the theoretically quicker class A cars in the process. I consolidated a second place finish, making up for the lack of direct competition by experimenting with the handling of a car I was now very comfortable in, and amusing myself with some pretty sideways moments around each lap!

For me, gaining a win and a class second in my first ever drive in the car was better than I could have expected, and if it wasn’t for a momentary, and frankly schoolboy lapse in concentration it could have been two wins.
At present this experience remains a one off, but if there is ever another opportunity to work with Dunlop again, I would not have to give it a moments consideration. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Dunlop and the Race Academy, and AmD Technik for offering me the opportunity in the first place, and despite their modest protestations of “we just prepare the car, its nothing to do with us” the lads from Mardi Gras for giving me the support all weekend, and making the whole experience vastly more relaxed and professional than it would have been if I were left to my own devices.
I’d also like to congratulate Abbie on her season so far, and wish her all the best for the rest of the year.

Next up for me is back to duties in the Locost Championship, and there have been developments in that department too. The organising club have seen fit to impose a weight penalty on our Bio-Ethanol powered car for the reminder of the season. This has increased the minimum weight from 615kg to 645kg. Although I slightly resent the implication that it is just the car that has made the difference this year, (after all it doesn’t drive itself) I am looking forward to the challenge of continuing my four race winning streak at Silverstone in August.
The Silverstone meeting is also the 10th anniversary of the Locost Championship, and should be an excellent weekend. As ever if anyone would like to come along and offer their support I would be extremely pleased to see them.

Matt

Hi everyone,

Last weekend at Cadwell Park was another very successful one for me, taking two wins, both from pole position with one fastest lap into the bargain too.

Both races were quite tough, although I had built a 4 second advantage in the first, it was red flagged and restarted with just four minutes to go, meaning a frantic few laps of defending from last years champion David Bartholomew, and Ed Pither.

The second race followed a similar pattern, but for the full 15 minutes! Dave and Ed both pushed very hard, and the three of us broke away from the main pack. It was only on the last couple of laps when Ed got slightly caught out on half the North Sea’s fossil fuel content around the mountain section that I was able to pull out any sort of gap!

As a result of my success, I have been offered a drive in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup, courtesy of Dunlop and the Race Academy. This is just a one-off, to take place at Castle Combe on the 18th and 19th July, however hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things!

Dunlop have offered me the use of a Mardi Gras Motorsport SEAT Leon FR for the weekend, which will take some adapting to from the Locost, but I’m hoping for a strong showing!

I’ll post up a report after the weekend!

Until then,
Matt

Hi everyone,

First of all, apologies for the lack of updates in the past couple of months. We have been exceptionally busy on the development of the Bio-Ethanol car, and this has left little time for anything else! Hopefully as you read on you will see it has all been worth it…

The season started way back in March at Snetterton, and although we showed strong pace in testing it became apparent that everyone else had a made a step forward as well, leaving me floundering on the outskirts of the top ten. A couple of errors later and the best I could manage from a difficult weekend was 11th place. Not exactly the debut we had in mind for the Bio-Ethanol power!

Mallory Park in April brought some reliability gremlins in qualifying and the race, a broken clutch cable limiting me to one flying lap in the morning, and a distributor failure stopping my race after just 4 laps!

Next up was the first visit to Brands Hatch, and with no major performance gains apparent, getting into the top ten was still proving to be a struggle! A mistake in qualifying saw me starting from the back of the grid, and although creditable, 12th place at the chequered flag was still not where we wanted to be!

After Brands there was a 5 week break in the racing before Anglesey, which allowed us to begin to resolve some of the problems inherent in the car. Thanks to some excellent work by TMC Motorsport (www.tmcmotorsport.co.uk) and a dyno session, the car was looking in better shape.

Qualifying at Anglesey was damp, and in a car now handling the way I enjoyed I was able to put in times good enough for front row starts for both races; 2nd for race one, and the first ever pole position for an alternatively powered car in UK Club Motorsport for race two!

Conditions were less than ideal for the first race, with a huge amount of standing water and spray, even when in the lead. Eventually the race became a survival exercise and I was able to keep things pointing moderately in the right direction to secure 2nd overall, the first podium for the alternatively fuelled machine!
Race two was thankfully held in drier weather, and although the car suffered a little from brake fade I was able to again stand on the podium, albeit this time on the lower step in 3rd. Not exactly what we had in mind after qualifying on pole, but a massive improvement over the early season form.

With the momentum from Anglesey, and several more performance upgrades on the car, we arrived at Brands Hatch last weekend in very confident mood. Qualifying was again cut short thanks to a slight oil leak, and overheating rear tyres, but before they passed their best, times were set which would give me second row starts, in 4th for race one, and 3rd for race two.

Both races were incredibly tight, with 6 cars all capable of winning. However, the Bio-Ethanol power gives very strong mid-range torque, and this means I didnt have to push as hard through the slower corners as the petrol equivalents, to maintain momentum. In turn this meant that while they overheated their tyres, particularly the backs, I was able to preserve mine and ensure I had an advantage going into the last couple of laps. This proved to be the case on both occasions as I moved into the lead with a handful of laps remaining and held on all the way to the flag! 2 out of 2 for the weekend!
This implies it was easy, but I was definitely made to work, particularly in the second race where I crossed the line just 0.03s ahead of the second place car, and less than 6.5s covered the entire top ten!

Needless to say we are all delighted with the results achieved recently, and it proves that alternative fuel can be successful against petrol equivalents. Next up is Cadwell Park on the weekend of 10th – 12th July, where we will be bringing a further improved car, and hopefully the success can be continued!

Until then,
Matt

Hi everyone,

We have just returned from a successful weekend’s testing at Snetterton with the Bio-ethanol powered car I am competing in for the first part of the year. The morning was spent running in the new engine and working on settings, and increased the pace in the afternoon. We conducted a full race distance in the final session and I was consistently within 3 tenths of the lap record for the Locost Championship! Particularly pleasing is the fact that this was achieved without any aerodynamic assistance from other cars, which can take anything up to 1.5 seconds off the lap time!

The first race of the season is next weekend (15th March) at the same circuit, and I see no reason why we can’t be imediately challenging for race wins, proving the environmentally friendly power plant can be as competitive as petrol equivalents.

The Dunlop Race Academy is nearing the closing date for entries, so it is now I need the support of Driverdb.com readers! Please go to http://www.driversknow.co.uk/raceAcademy2009/ and take a look at my video, leave comments and ratings, preferably of 5 stars!

I’ll post again after the race next weekend, when hopefully I will be able to bring news of a successful debut for the Coventry University/TMC Motorsport Bio-ethanol project!

Until then,
Matt

Hi everyone,

Just a follow up to my previous post with regards to the Dunlop Race Academy.

My entry video is now up online and can be viewed, rated and commented on at the Dunlop Drivers Club Website.

I am not sure when the voting stages begin for the competition, but I will keep you posted.

On a side note, we are commencing a programme of testing this week for the new season, so I will keep you updated with the progress.

Link to the Dunlop video:
http://tinyurl.com/b2×636

Matt

Hi everyone, and happy new year!

2009 has arrived and my preparations for the new season are continuing.

It seems impossible to escape the financial crisis at the moment, with new stories breaking daily about corporations in dire straits, and no doubt this will have a large knock-on effect in motorsport. Personally I have analysed my budget for the coming season and things are perhaps not as bright as they should be. Despite this I am still concentrating on my own performance improvement in the gym, and spending as much of my spare time preparing the car as possible.
Fortunately for me, the 750 Motor Club have launched a new initiative within the Locost Championship, allowing 2 drivers to share 1 car and accumulate points towards a team championship. At the moment this is looking like the most likely option for the coming season, but we will see what develops in the next couple of months.

On a separate note, my race preparation company TMC Motorsport has a new website, you can check it out at http://www.tmcmotorsport.co.uk
There’s plenty more to come on there in the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back as often as you can!
Similarly, my own personal website http://www.mattcherrington.com is on the way, and will hopefully be up and working within the next couple of weeks!

In the meantime the preparations continue with Autosport International at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend, and I will have an update for you after we return from that. If anyone is going along please drop me a line on info@tmcmotorsport.co.uk and maybe we’ll see you there!

Until then,
Matt

Hello again,
Today has made quite a difference to how I am looking at the future of my driving career. I visited the London Motorsport show incorporating Race Car Live with the intention of sampling a single seater for the first time around Brands Hatch. Unfortunately this did not materialise, but in its place came the opportunity to drive two very interesting sports cars.

As I am looking at progressing out of the Locost Championship in the next couple of seasons I was keen to drive a car that would be considered a step up in terms of performance and stature. The 750 Motor Club are currently looking at launching a new championship based around the highly successful Raw Striker kit car chassis, powered by a sealed 2 litre Zetec engine. Thanks to the generosity of the Raw people, I was allowed out for a short session in the factory demonstrator car. My immediate impressions were very good, with the car being direct and predictable, and the combination of 160bhp and lightweight chassis providing plenty of acceleration which seemed to carry the length of the straights. Unfortunately my time in the car was limited to a few laps as the session soon ended, but it generated another idea for the future, and I will certainly be keeping a close eye on the progression of the new championship.

Following this I was due to drive a Sports 2000 Duratec car built and prepared by MCR Racecars Ltd. Despite several years experience I have never sampled the effects of slick tyres and aerodynamics, so that would be a first, as would the sequential gearbox.

Immediately the car felt familiar and comfortable and although I was well within its capabilities, it gave a sense of confidence that I would not be caught out if I pushed on a little harder. After a couple of laps I was able to pick the points where the aerodynamics were most effective, and therefore carry more speed to maximise the effect. Initially an odd concept, I soon warmed to the idea of going faster to achieve more grip, however always remaining mindful that I was driving someone else’s race car!

Unfortunately the track time was quite limited and after 6 laps I returned to the pits with a whole new idea of where to take my career!

The next stage is to research the championship further and perhaps organise a longer, more formal test when I can explore the capabilities of the car and assess my performance against the established competitors.

In the meantime my days are going to be spent researching methods of generating the funding needed to make Sports 2000 a serious consideration for the future.

With this in mind I shall be looking for sponsors and backing, so if anyone reading this would like to discuss how we can be of mutual assistance, please get in touch!

Finally, I would just like to publicly thank the people from Raw and MCR Racecars for the opportunities to drive the cars today. More information on the two companies can be found by visiting the sites below.

http://www.rawengineering.co.uk

http://www.mcrracecars.co.uk

My next post will be more about the 2009 season, and the preparation of the Locost, as well as my personal preparation over the winter.

Until then…
Matt