THERE is nothing better than racing at Knockhill in front of your home fans.
So I am delighted to get the chance of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup this weekend.
It is not the first time I have had a go. A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the VIP guest car with Porsche Great Britain. Apart from the thrill of being a VIP, it was a great insight into racing at that level.
It was basically a works Porsche. I got to test on the Friday then had two qualifying sessions and had tyres whenever I wanted. I had a whole team of guys around me and that took a bit of getting used to.
But I went out and got two fifth places behind Tim Harvey. I was delighted with that and it gave me the bug to do as much endurance racing as possible. That was also why I was so keen to do the British GT with Ben Harvey.
This chance is through one of my long-term sponsors, Celtic Speed. They run a Porsche Carrera Cup team and had a spare car.
They thought it would be a good idea to put me in the car in front of my home crowd and see how I get on.
I think I am better prepared than in 2008. I have done longer stints in the car. That sounds silly, because loads of people spend hours in traffic jams on the M8. But the concerted effort of driving the car for over an hour means you learn how to conserve tyres, all about strategy and pacing yourself. Before the 2008 race, I had only done 20-minute races.
It is all about getting the best out of yourself and the car. I aim to do that this weekend. What would be a good result?
It is probably the most competitive year in the Porsche Carrera Cup for the last five or six years, so it will be tough. I would love to do two fifth places again, but breaking into the top eight would be no disgrace. It would be a real thrill to mix it with Tim Harvey and Michael Caine. But if I am a bit down the field, I hope another Scottish hope, Glynn Geddie, can be right at the front.
We want the Saltires flying this weekend.
THERE is nothing better than racing at Knockhill in front of your home fans.
So I am delighted to get the chance of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup this weekend.
It is not the first time I have had a go. A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the VIP guest car with Porsche Great Britain. Apart from the thrill of being a VIP, it was a great insight into racing at that level.
It was basically a works Porsche. I got to test on the Friday then had two qualifying sessions and had tyres whenever I wanted. I had a whole team of guys around me and that took a bit of getting used to.
But I went out and got two fifth places behind Tim Harvey. I was delighted with that and it gave me the bug to do as much endurance racing as possible. That was also why I was so keen to do the British GT with Ben Harvey.
This chance is through one of my long-term sponsors, Celtic Speed. They run a Porsche Carrera Cup team and had a spare car.
They thought it would be a good idea to put me in the car in front of my home crowd and see how I get on.
I think I am better prepared than in 2008. I have done longer stints in the car. The concerted effort of driving the car for over an hour means you learn how to conserve tyres, all about strategy and pacing yourself. Before the 2008 race, I had only done 20-minute races.
It is all about getting the best out of yourself and the car. I aim to do that this weekend. What would be a good result?
It is probably the most competitive year in the Porsche Carrera Cup for the last five or six years, so it will be tough. I would love to do two fifth places again, but breaking into the top eight would be no disgrace. It would be a real thrill to mix it with Tim Harvey and Michael Caine. But if I am a bit down the field, I hope another Scottish hope, Glynn Geddie, can be right at the front.
We want the Saltires flying this weekend.
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SILVERSTONE had a little bit of everything. Great racing. Good and bad luck. Disappointment.
And I got to experience every emotion in a torrid weekend.
It had all started so well. There was a big grid for the GT4 class. There was an even bigger field for the GT3. That meant cars buzzing around all over the place. You certainly had to have your eyes on your mirrors.
And the Silverstone track is simply awesome – very fast in places, very technical in others. It is the perfect circuit.
But the prestigecarleasing.co.uk KTM was in good nick. I was delighted to be behind the wheel as we put it on pole for the class.
There was very little between the top teams, so I felt that was a real result. Ben Harvey and I were seriously looking at nothing less than a podium. We were desperate to get a win.
When the race started, I got in a routine. The radio was buzzing and the team were happy with the way I was building a lead. I felt so comfortable in the zone that I was even tempted to tune the radio into a music station – only joking, boss.
We knew the X-Bow had a couple of issues, but we were keeping them under control. The tyres were losing grip but it was not in any scary way. I was able to deal with how the car was performing and my last 30 laps stayed consistent, I was sure Ben would carry on the good work.
But then we got hit by a stop-go penalty. The series chiefs reckoned we had made a refuelling error, but I am not so sure. We fell back to a disappointing fifth.
We have to look at the positives. We had been at the head of a very strong field. We had never looked like getting anything less than a podium. Now we will hope to take that form into the next race.
The drive up the M6 is a lot more exciting with a decent result under your belt.
Well done to Glynn Geddie, for flying the Scottish flag. His overall win with Trackspeed boss David Ashburn was really classy. Glynn has had a dream time since signing for the team – three wins out of three.
I look forward to seeing him at Knockhill next month when he takes part in the Porsche Carrera Cup.
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WE’RE back and I can’t wait to get going. It seems like ages since I was last out in the prestigecarleasing.co.uk car.
I have been getting itchy feet. I am desperate to get back into things.
Of course it was disappointing not to get out for the last round, but I respect the team’s decision. We knew there would be hiccups and missing the last round was just something we have to live with.
It was difficult to watch all the other guys and not be out there.
But now Ben Harvey and I are firmly focused on Silverstone this weekend. For once, I don’t mind driving down the M6!
I can’t wait to get back in the KTM X-Bow. The longer format race at Silverstone promises to be brilliant and we will have the largest GT4 field of the season. There will even be two more X-Bows so we will have to come out on top in the battle of the KTMs.
But a larger field brings its own problems in that we will have more challengers. It also adds more excitement because there will be no let-up. We will be racing from start to finish.
We will be trying to get as many race wins as possible between now and the end of the season. That starts at Silverstone, although we may be doing well just to get on the podium with the added competition..
I really enjoyed the longer race at Spa. I did about an hour and ten minutes in the car in Belgium and that was great.
I enjoy the strategy and team-work that is involved in making us successful. We are still working on the strategy for this weekend. We have a plan, but we are keeping that up our sleeves at the moment.
I’ll let you know how we get on.
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SPA is one of those legendary tracks that you just have to visit, then drive.
It looks like a ski resort as it disappears up into the hills and television just doesn’t tell the story of how steep some of the slopes are.
Famous names like Eau Rouge, Blanchimont, Les Combes and the Bus Stop conjure up great motor racing memories of the past.
But my prestigecarleasing.co.uk team-mate Ben Harvey and I were here hoping to create our own memories.
And we did. Because we continued the steep learning curve we are on. We battled our way to second place in the GT4 class.
There were trials and tribulations. But we expect that. The weekend started on a high when British GT bosses revoked the decision to give us extra ballast.
It meant we could race with the Ginettas.
But then we got a 40-second time penalty on each pitstop because we only have one wheel nut per wheel whereas the Ginettas have five so we can get our wheels off more quickly.
We reckoned the fact that each pitstop had to be 70 seconds would have balanaced that out – but the series chiefs make the decisions. It was just another challenge for us to conquer.
And we gave it a hell of a go. Ben took the first stint and produced a solid performance without managing to rein in Christian Dick and Jamie Stanley.
Then I jumped in for an 80-minute stint. That’s the longest I have been in a race car, but it was probably the most exciting race I’ve had in a few seasons.
I really had a good time. There were a couple of safety cars and about 80 cars out there because were alongside the Belgian Gt series ( Belcar).
That meant having one eye on your mirrors and one eye on the road in front.
It was great getting all the information from the team on the radio and then trying to work out how we were going to pull off a miraculous win. Strategy played a big part over the 2.5 hour race and I have learned from the experience.
It wasn’t to be, and without that penalty we would certainly have given them a better run for their money.
While that was disappointing, I was so pleased to get the chance to race at Spa.
But I do have one major complaint about Spa. Someone has to do something about the walk to the car park. It is like climbing a mountain. Goats would struggle to get up there.
I wanted one of those motorised scooters. Or maybe a Stannah stairlift would be the answer.
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KNOCKHILL. Home advantage. Easy points. Don’t you believe it. I knew it was going to be just as tough in Fife as it had been at Oulton and as it will be at every other round. That is the British GT. It is a strong competition with drivers who have been around the block. They were always going to get to grips with Knockhill very quickly — and they did. I had one journalist ask me last week how much I would enjoy winning in front of my home crowd. Winning? We hadn’t even qualified. I am sorry, but I was only interested in points. I know it’s what everyone says, but I didn’t want any extra pressure and I didn’t want to fire up my rivals by saying something silly. Of course it was a buzz. We went from a two day test at the legendary Spa circuit to my home track. It was my chance to show how well as a team we were doing, but it was never going to be a stroll to two wins. The only advantage I had was knowing where the best takeaways are, where to get a good pub lunch, the cheapest petrol and how to beat the traffic jams.
In the end, we came away with a DNF and a second place. We were gutted not to finish race one because consistency is the key to any championship challenge. But every team will have a problem at some point. Hopefully, that is our hiccup out of the way. We have to look at the positives. Ben did a good job in qualifying and I stuck it on second for the second race — that shows we still have pace in the car despite getting 85kilos in ballast. The organisers reckon it will slow the KTM X-Bow down. It certainly does that, and that doesn’t fill us with joy. But we see it is another challenge to overcome. There is no point moaning about it, we have to find a different way of getting performance from the car. The weight does hurt our straight-line speed, but give us some space and we can still fight. However, a mechanical fault ended our race. In the second race it was a bit messy and I even got a stop-go penalty. But my prestigecarleasing.co.uk team-mate Ben Harvey was in great form. He held everything together in a performance that earned us second place and those valuable points. Ben has come on in leaps and bounds. We spent a lot of time together at Spa and then at Knockhill. We have got to know each other, both in and out of the car, and we are determined to have a laugh. But we are also gelling. Ben is making so much progress and has never been closer to my laps times. And I expect him to keep improving. We will keep working hard as a team. The next round is at Spa. The week before that we will be at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit for a test. We are determined to grab back some of our pace. We have some things that we think will work. Then it will be down to consistent driving, having fun and getting Ben to pay for the takeaway.
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WHAT a buzz! The first British GT meeting of the season at Oulton Park and we have come home with a win and a second place.
We know we have a lot more work to do, but it is great to know that the effort Ben Harvey, me and the ABG Motorsports/Prestigecarleasing.co.uk team have put in has already reaped rewards.
We thought the Ginettas would be favourite at Oulton, but we kept our heads down and the season is looking very bright already.
GT racing is hard work, that is the longest stint I have spent in the car at one time. You have to have eyes in the back of your head because the GT3 cars are so quick. They lap nine seconds quicker than our KTM X-Bow, so you are almost looking in your mirrors as much as out front and you still have to plan your race strategy as you are going along.
Pit stops are something else. You spend what feels like ages waiting for your team-mate to come in, then you have to get the helmet on and just stand in the pit box. There are Ferraris, Porsches and Audi R8’s whizzing in and you are just looking for your car and hoping it all goes to plan. That all the practice has been worthwhile. The adrenalin is pumping and you know you have to be on the pace from the moment you exit pit lane. It was amazing.
It is almost a relief to get in the car and just drive!
Then the talking starts. I am not talking back-seat passenger here! The radio is going into meltdown with messages about how fast you are going, how fast you need to go, where the GT3 cars are, if they are coming up behind, where the next G4 car is.
Then it was what you wanted from the Indian takeaway and could I pick up four people from the station. Only joking, but it seemed like I was getting every radio message in a 50-mile radius.
And all I wanted to do was go quickly and concentrate on getting each lap better than the one before. But you have to be careful when you know there is a £400,000 Ferrari steaming up behind you. It keeps you on your toes.
In open practice we laid down a marker. Ben was fastest in the wet. Great effort from him – that was awesome because he is one of the least experienced on the road. But he is learning so quickly.
Then I was quickest in the dry. Ben qualified third for the first race and I put it on pole for the second.
By the start of race one we knew we had the pace for two wins, so we were disappointed to get second. I took the lead past Christian Dick, but I made a mistake and went wide into the final corner and he went through. I knew I had lost my chance at a win, the Ginetta G50 is superior in a straight line but lacks the KTMs corner speed, Christian then just blocked and blocked leaving no way past. It was really smart driving, I would have done the same my self!
In race two, I knew I had to get away quickly or we would have the same problem. I got a good start and built up a strong lead over our nearest G4 rival, then handed over to Ben and he did a great job to stay consistent and bring it home. Our first win and the championship lead! Awesome.
Now we look forward. We have some more tests planned leading up to round 2 at my home circuit Knockhill. Hopefully, we will make even more progress.
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I HAVE been on a high for days – and, to be honest, I hope this feeling never goes away.
I was delighted to sign the deal to join Ben Harvey at ABG Motorsport/Prestigecarleasing.co.uk and tackle the British GT Championship for the first time.
The euphoria over the deal lasted a couple of days then the hard work started. Ben and I knew we had a lot to do to make sure the KTM X-Bow is competitive when the action starts at Oulton Park.
A major part of the appeal of the deal was that we had a committed programme of testing. We have now completed that and we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were this time last month.
Ben and I have put serious miles on the car and we have found improvements. I am far more confident behind the wheel, and that will help us when the season kicks off in just over a week.
We tested at Oulton, Knockhill and Silverstone GP.
At Oulton, we had two separate days. We really got to grips with the car, but we targeted a lot of areas where we thought the KTM needed development.
At Knockhill I knew we would face a challenge and I wasn’t disappointed. I am sure the circuit has its own weather system. We had monsoon rain, sunshine, fog that reduced visibility down to 20 metres, freezing cold and strong winds. But that meant Ben and I learned so much about the car and each other.
Ben learned that my hair doesn’t move in the wind. He’ll probably be ordering in the gel as I speak. I found that miles in the car really helped him. We tried a couple of things and he closed the gap in lap times. I am delighted with the progress he has made and I feel we make a strong driver duo.
I also got a chance to speak to Robin Liddell, the Grand-Am star with Stevenson Motorsports. He has had two excellent results so far this year, but it was great just to see his attention to detail as he was doing some testing. And he’s a really nice guy too.
Then it was back down the M6 to Silverstone for the British GT media day and a 3 hour open test. I think I am going to get a service station named after me if I have to do it many more times. But that is a small price to pay because we were the fastest G4 car out there!
It was a dry circuit and we lapped consistently quickly. That is such a buzz because, between Oulton and Silverstone, there has been a massive change. I am more confident in what the car can do, I am more confident in the tyres and we are making little changes that suit my driving style.
The other big plus point has been that we have had time to gel as a team. They are getting used to me and I now know how they work. It has been a great laugh, but we are working hard and they have made me feel part of the family.
The only negative has been that we were also due to test at Spa in Belgium for two days, which would have been awesome. But that fell through at the last minute because of a problem at the track.
So that is testing over. Now I just have to wait for the first race at Oulton Park on April 5. The circuit will suit the Ginetta so it is going to be extremely tough. Consistency will play a big part in what will be a long year!
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The deal is done. The contracts are all signed and I can tell you that I will be tackling the B
ritish GT Championship this season.
I have joined former British GT champions ABG Motorsport and will be driving a stunning KTM X-Bow along with Ben Harvey.
The chance really came out of the blue, but I was ready to grab it with both hands.
I had done some coaching with Ben at Knockhill last year before the Gt Cup round and it was great fun. His Porsche 996 broke down and we ended up hiring a Chevy Matiz from Dunfermline.
He didn’t hold that against me and we maintained contact. Then, at New Year, Ben got in touch to say he was stepping up to the British Gt Championship with a KTM X-bow and wanted to give me a shot at the drive.
Ben’s prestigecarleasing.co.uk firm is the major backer and it was a tremendous opportunity, especially as we are looking at doing some European rounds as well.
Don’t forget to check out his site — I might even ask him for commission if he gets a load of hits!
He has a great vision for what he wants to achieve — and I was delighted to be asked to be part of it.
But, amazingly, I did have to think twice. I had already had a test and had a chance to compete in the Benelux Formula Ford championship with Geva Racing.
The guys had been brilliant and I was sorry when I had to phone to say I wasn’t going to be able to join them.
But I knew chances like the one Ben was offering don’t come along every day.
And my mind was made up after we tested at Oulton Park. The car has the potential to be really quick. I loved driving it and I feel there is more to come as I get used to the X-Bow and the team get used to me.
It may be a new project but the team has already done a great job. The X-Bow has excellent aero grip – that makes it very stable through the fast stuff. In fact, it feels very familiar to what I have driven the last three years so that helped me settle in more quickly.
The carbon fibre tub is built by the single-seater manufacturer, Dallara, and it only weighs 700kg. We aren’t giving away any secrets by saying we have a reliable 2.0 turbo Audi engine with bags of torque.
So it basically feels like a single seater-sports car combo and that suits me just fine. It is the perfect start for me in such a prestigious series as the British GT.
So I am glad I know what I will be doing. This is the series where Andrew Kirkaldy made a massive impact. It is full of famous names like Ferrari, Mosler and Ginetta.
It will be a big step up, but I am really looking forward to the challenge.
I know I will have to raise my game, but that is what I am in it for.
We know we have plenty to work on before the opening race, so I will keep you posted!
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I have seriously had it with sliding up and down the nation’s roads.
But it had to be done because I want to get everything sorted for this year.
It looks like being a really exciting year — but unfortunately I can’t talk about it just yet.
We are so close but some final details need to be sorted before I can let the cat out of the bag. However, if it all works out as I hope, 2010 is set to be a massive year.
I can say that I have had a few tests in both Duratec Formula Ford and British GT— and they went really well.
I have a couple of options and, given the financial state at the moment and the uncertainty surrounding a lot of drivers, I’m happy to settle for that when we are still in February.
I have been working hard in the gym – well, I did until I tweaked my back. Not very clever, but the magical hands of the physio put me right.
Elsewhere wasn’t it great to see the Saltire flying in Florida after Ryan Dalziel won the Rolex 24-Hour race at Daytona?
It is brilliant to see the Scots doing well across the globe and one hell of an achievement for Ryan and the guys on the team’s first competitive outing.
It is no secret that I would love to tackle the Le Mans 24-hour race, but Daytona looks like an awesome place to go racing. The stands hold 150,000 and hitting that famous banking would be a real buzz.
I’ll have to add that to my list of ambitions. I’d love to talk to Ryan about how he prepared for it, and how he saw the whole race.
In the meantime, I have to put the finishing touches to my own commitments. I just hope I don’t have to do any more driving in the snow!
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The season finished on a massive high last weekend with the Scottish Motor Racing Club awards at the Sheraton in Edinburgh.
As well as the annual prize-giving, there were a host of star names – proving what a huge motor racing heritage we have in this country.
David Coulthard and Dario Franchitti were joined by Paul di Resta, fresh from his test with Formula One team Force India. It would be great if he could add his name to the list of Scots on the F1 grid.
The highlight of the night was DC “interviewing” Paul, Dario and SMRC president Allan McNish. It was hilarious, but very little of it can be repeated here or they may sue me.
At least I now know why DC thinks driving an F1 car is better than sex!
On a personal note, it was great to get my hands on the Scottish Formula Ford title trophy. I have waited a long time to get a championship, although going up to receive it was more nerve-wracking than driving the car.
But I also won the Ecurie Ecosse Hub Cap – what an honour. It is presented to an up-and-coming young driver who has started their racing career in Scotland and shown enormous potential.
After winning the Brands Hatch festival and the CRS Formula Renault test, this capped a stunning season. But I had to make a short speech. Not so much fun. I was just desperate not to miss anyone out – sorry, dad!
Well done to all those who won trophies on the night.
Now it’s all about sorting out my plans for 2010.
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THERE is nothing better than racing at Knockhill in front of your home fans.
