Sunshine!

Somewhat strangely both the meetings since I updated this blog were held in (at least during all Legends activities) totally dry conditions. With some sunshine!

Especially at the May 31st meeting which, frankly, was uncomfortably hot. Didn't get any practice in the morning as Ross Marshall popped an engine and doused the track but strangely going straight into race one produced my best performance in a while, getting a 64 second lap plus my best time behind the leader at the end of a race for a while (36 seconds). Had a good dice with Tim Nichol all race and managed to stay ahead.

The second heat and the final however weren't up to much at all - in the second race I missed a gear and Tim took off, my pace being a lot worse than in the first race. In the final I was out of it before we really began, going sideways through a gravel trap on the first lap while going by Frank Ogg's stricken car too quickly off line and compromising myself. By the time I got going again I was well down.

At the British GT meeting this weekend the Saturday started with a practice session I'd rather forget - thinking the engine was going as I couldn't get much more than 6500 rpm, I pitted to find the restricter bolt was still attached to the throttle after the car had been used in a track day! On to the race and with a couple of (very eager) national runners starting off the back I soon found myself at the back, watching quite a bit of bumping and off-track moments ahead. Some hot heads afterwards though I suppose all the action kept me closer to the pack.

On the Sunday in the second heat I had a lonely time of it, getting left behind pretty quickly and in the final it was much the same story, though I got my first "more than ten points" finish in 18th after quite a few retirements littered the roadside.

I'm having fun this year but I'm a little disappointed in my performance - the car is obviously a brilliant one but I've been really inconsistent with my dry running laptimes yo-yoing between mid 64 and mid 66 seconds and no real further improvement despite me trying to tidy my lines, brake a little later and carry more speed into the corners. I've noticed I'm pretty nervous in heavy traffic in a way I never used to be, think that's the consequences of last August coming back to haunt me!

Hopefully have some improvement to report at the next SMRC round on June 28th which is my last run until the Touring Cars in August.

Singing In The Rain

Pic by the excellent Power Images at the last round:



Week and a half to round two... not going to be doing the Saturday testing this time out so hoping for good weather on the Sunday and hoping for an improvement in my form!

Rude Awakening

Been away for a bit following the races a couple of weeks back so this is my first chance to update. My first race meeting back wasn't a particularly brilliant one if I'm honest - settled back into the flow in Saturday testing (I was out with the Classic Saloons as the legends session had for some reason been lumped in with the XR2/ST field, the two biggest entries, and was full) and on Sunday morning set a 66 in the warm up which is a couple of seconds behind where I was at the height of my learning process back at the end of '07 but not too bad for my first timed session since August, though it was still a disappointment given how much I like the #68.

It then went a bit downhill - I drew the pole for the "Gentleman's Grid" in the first heat which was around 18th of 26 but at the race start I immediately felt a bit uncomfortable as it was my first time back in crazy traffic since the accident. Fell back pretty quickly and tried to settle but I'm still getting used to the gearbox in the 68 which requires a much firmer hand on the downshift than my old car did and I managed to miss 3rd gear at MacIntyre a couple of times during the day. I then went into the chicane far too quickly and smashed the corner marker to pieces (should look good on TV if they caught it) but was lucky to not lose control or be hit by Tim Nichol who was following on behind. Got the black and white driving standards flag for hitting the bollard (bit unfair - I was clearly out of control at the point I hit it rather than cutting the corner to gain any advantage, but still) so just hung back and completed some "testing" laps to get to the flag and register a finish.

The second race was held just after a downpour at lunch time - nightmare. The spray in the pack was utterly hideous and I could barely see a thing. That was solved by spinning at Clark a couple of laps in with Pat Hynds and Nichol in close attendance, Tim following me round in sympathy. With the car pretty much undriveable as it felt like it was on ice and me being a bit rattled I just tried to learn what I could, doing my best to keep well out of the way of the leaders when they lapped me at the end.

The final was in greasy half-dry conditions and I did my best to hold Tim back but once again missed 3rd into MacIntyre and he nipped by. My confidence in these sorts of conditions is always pretty low but I was way off the pace I should have been and was so determined to just finish that I didn't push the way I should have done and paid for it by coming home stone last.

My pace in the dry (warm-up and race 1) was two seconds per lap off what it should be and I'll be looking to make an improvement at the next round at the end of May as even given my time away from the cockpit I should have been quicker than that.

No excuses next time!

Back On The Horse (as it were)

So, for the first time in almost 9 months I climbed into a legend (three actually) last Thursday and went for a drive.

Aly hasn't decided who's driving what this year so we got a shot in a number of cars to see what we thought of them. First off was the ex David Thorburn #70 which I didn't drive too hard as I wanted to ease back into the way of the cars. Just as well I did as it's a very tail-happy car with a lot of oversteer. Next was the Stevie Coull #37 - very nice car, does what you want it to and doesn't have too much of a mind of it's own. The steering column is a lot further forward than any car I'd driven before so I found I had to stretch too much to try to go too fast as I wasn't all that comfortable.

For my last two sessions of the day I got to go out in the #68 - yup, the car I first drove in the Legends Experience in 2006 and which Carol Brown drove to the Championship last year. It's a little rocketship on rails - feels brilliant and goes like lightning, shame about the driver in this case. One thing I noticed was that the seat was very tight and I was pinned very much in place, I'd never thought much about that before but it made for a much more confident driving position so something I'll have to remember, as obvious as it might seem now I know!

So now there's nothing to do but wait to find out which car I'm driving this year and for the first of my races - SMRC Round 1 on the 26th of April. Can't come soon enough.

Unexpected - maybe, welcome - definitely!

So, despite being pretty sure that I was unlikely to be back in a legend in 2009, things have taken quite a change for the better... having had a chat with Aly Hunter it seems I'm back on for this year and I currently plan to run at the first round of the SMRC Championship on April 26th, the round supporting the British GT Championship on the 13th/14th of June and (most excited by) the double-header round supporting the BTCC in August. That'll be brilliant fun as it was a blast in 2007. If possible (money willing, basically) I'd like to add the double header that's supporting the GT Cup in September but that'll have to wait. Now I just have to wait for the next 7 weeks to the first round to get out of the way!

The official legends test day is the 12th of March so I'll be heading down in the afternoon after work to get reaquainted with a legend - haven't sat in one since the accident last August!

Seeing The Season Out

Forgot to write about the last meeting of the year then wandered off to the States for 3 weeks and forgot to write about it when I got back, so here's a much belated update to finish the season out!

The last round was in mid October and Gordon duly lined up in the car, the three of us pretty determined to have the team finish what had been a very busy year. With Rory having got through the September meeting in one piece, we were hoping for a calm end to the season with no-one doing anything too daft through the field after the chaos the two previous meetings had seen.

Gordon hadn't been in the car for quite a while but still put in a surprise 10th quickest of of the 23 cars on show in the morning familiarisation, though he elected to start in the "gentleman's grid" which starts behind the main field of pros but ahead of the rookies. The weather was very tricky and through the day the rain came and went with it being very cold and windy indeed, making conditions difficult. As it happened, the field was well behaved this time and the races mostly passed without incident, Gordon finishing 21st in the first heat after having to avoid a wild Mervyn Wilson with a stuck throttle then a late spin and 20th in both the second heat and the final. He was then awarded the Driver Of The Day trophy as the driver from the gentleman's grid to have scored the most points. As it turned out these maths were a bit flawed but by then it was a bit late and the trophy was his!



So there you have it. The "Class Of '07" team made it through the year even though it took two cars to manage! We hit the highs with Rory's race win and Gordon's trophy and the lows with the original car being destroyed and my trip to hospital. All told it was a lot of fun despite the down points and the fact we were all still talking to each other at the end of the season can only be a plus! I'll more likely than not write up a story about the year for ScottishClubRacing.co.uk and Wheelspin Magazine at some point in the next few weeks too seeing as the 2007 article proved fairly popular.

The 2009 season looks like being a quiet one for me on financial grounds - I'm sure it's a story everyone's familiar with for their own reasons in the current economic situation. Add to that I'm not 100% sure what's happening with my current job beyond the winter. I'm going to renew my racing licence though so maybe I'll try to get out in one of Aly's cars once or twice depending on various factors. Supporting the BTCC and Brtitish GT Championships in the last few years was fun so maybe I'll try for that. I believe Rory and Gordon will be looking to carry on in some way too.

Couple of shots to finish up for now - Gordon at the last meeting (the light was awful as you can see) and a pic taken of me with the car in August just prior to the very race it was wrecked.

See you in '09.

Mark II hits the track.

First things first, here's the video of the crash in August:



I warn you, it's not pretty. That said, they do gloss over the fact three of us were injured pretty much entirely in that kind of "All's ok!" way club motorsport tends to cling to. Bad things don't happen. And if they do, try not to mention them too much.

Anyway, as far as I'm aware, there was little left of the old car to make into a new one but with it being one of Aly's track cars - we broke it, so we bought it and a new one has been built. It was completed and hit the track for a shakedown this Friday just prior to the next round of the Championship and as Rory was determined to keep going, he hit the track. He did well, especially in the first race where he actually led for a while before dropping back while he got used to the car. Still, three solid results were had and most importantly given recent events he brought it back with no dings... Here's a couple of pics of the new incarnation:





I dunno if I'm expecting too much when I say once again there was a lot of trouble in the races. A gentleman's grid was introduced to have drivers who aren't on the pace of the big boys start in a grid of their own at the back ahead of the newcomers and this saw the potential for slower guys bunching the field reduced. The slower guys are generally the scapegoat even though those standing at Duffus on any given raceday would tell you the problem at the moment is more the aggressive and occasionally kamikaze driving style sometimes on show. Indeed, there were two red flag incidents with Ali Thom's day ending backwards in the wall off the main straight with the roof ripped off and big rear end damage, and Sanford Imrie being flipped onto his roof at Clark. Frank Hynds received a bump on the arm after a big pileup at Clark which saw a number of cars damaged while Rich Crozier had the left side wheels ripped off his car in another first lap crash at the bottom of Duffus. Even father and son Marshall took each other off the road! If you add the national series crash at the BTCC meeting that saw Derek Pierce and another car rolling bigtime, that's massive accidents in the last three outings of Legends at the 'Hill. Hope we have a quiet finale in October.

Last but not least, well done to Carol Brown on winning the Championship with a round to go - great stuff!