Curtain Call (For Now)

So that's it for the time being. Due to the costs of racing and the fact I got engaged recently and may be moving, I probably wont be back in a racing car for a while. I've enjoyed my time racing a legend immensely as it's a purebred racing machince that even when driven a few seconds off the pace is still a huge amount of fun and one of the ultimate adrenaline rushes. I'll always have a number of fond memories racing them, especially in my rookie season in '07 when I seemed to be much closer to the pace and had some great battles.

The only regret I have is the accident in August last year - my return in '09 has been somewhat blighted by this as I've been a bit more restrained in my driving style to the point that even though I've felt I've been flat-out, I've been quite some way slower than I once was which has been a little disappointing. Still, it's always been fun!

So it's farewell for now but maybe I'll be able to put on a racesuit and gloves in something else at some point in the future, wherever I end up!

The Last Two

Forgot to update this recently, had a lot to think about.

The June 28th meeting went reasonably well with red flags in both of the first two heats keeping me closer to the field, especially the second race as the restart was run over 5 laps in the wet allowing me to keep up with Mark Lees and match his times, though I think he was just holding back given the conditions. The final was held in the dry and I managed to hold on to the lead lap with a decent enough (if a couple of seconds off) lap time.

Then followed a big break up until what is likely to have been my final legends race - the double header at the BTCC meeting in August. On the Saturday I was absolutely nowhere on pace which was disheartening. The field was huge and I found myself struggling to stay on the lead lap with Jon Jon Higgins and Ross Marshall creating a stellar pace at the front matched with my inability to go any quicker than 67 seconds a lap... in the final I think I possibly created a bit of excitement by trying my best not to get lapped at the end and racing JJ and Ross into and out of the hairpin at the last gasp.



On the Sunday we started in wet conditions and I had my best race of the weekend, dropping to the back but hanging on to Stevie Coull and Mark Lees for most of the race and setting comparable laptimes which I was happy with but in the second race I dropped to the back and had a spin at McIntyre/Scotsman when I missed third gear. Just avoided being lapped but then the engine died on the slowdown lap requiring a tow back behind the recovery discovery. The car fired when we got back to the pits so there didn't seem to be a problem, must have just been a blip or me hitting the electrical cutoff with my elbow or something similar - never did find out for sure. The final was pretty poor by me, got lapped towards the end by Jon Jon and was a long way off the pace, but still enjoyed the whole weekend hugely as ever.

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!