Forgot to link to this video, it's quite amusing if you want to hear the TV commentators having a go at my amateurish attempts at racing. I've made my excuses for this several times already, it was very wet, I braked too late, locked the wheels and ploughed straight on like a numpty. Yeah, yeah - I know.
Link
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
2008
It's been a long off-season but we're approaching the end of January so we're starting to reel in Springtime, slowly but surely. SMRC events are due to start on March 30th this year, I'd assume the "official" test day will be a couple of weeks beforehand.
My plans for the year are falling into place bit by bit - last season was a lot of fun but extremely expensive (no-one ever said motorsport was cheap though so I've no complaints), I probably couldn't afford to run a full year again, though before I'd had much chance to think about it, Aly Hunter called the three scholarship drivers into a meeting at a cold and windswept Knockhill last month, just before Christmas. Given that all three scholars (myself, Rory Bryant and Gordon Mann) all probably couldn't afford to run ourselves, his proposal was that the three of us share a "team" car over the '08 season, each running at three rounds (should be a nine-round season again) and the other two drivers acting as "support staff" for the car when they aren't driving. To get the "Class of '07" concept going he (with some additional help from the SMRC) was able to offer us a pretty good deal in terms of finances so we should be good for the season. The "team" concept was taking off at the end of last season so there should be lots of cars with multiple drivers. The three of us worked out a deal with regard to how we'd decide who was running when, how damage costs would be paid etc etc and now it's just a case of agreeing the details with Aly and waiting for the season to arrive.
No British Touring Car support round this year sadly - seems the National Championship frankly stole the slot from us having seen how successful the Scottish Series was, but I guess it reflects well on us that we caught their attention. Still a shame to be binned like that. On the plus side, we've got a support slot at the British GT Championship (making a welcome return to Knockhill after a couple of years away) in April so whoever draws that particular round when the three of us get round to doing so will be getting the "prestige" event of the year!
Roll on March.
My plans for the year are falling into place bit by bit - last season was a lot of fun but extremely expensive (no-one ever said motorsport was cheap though so I've no complaints), I probably couldn't afford to run a full year again, though before I'd had much chance to think about it, Aly Hunter called the three scholarship drivers into a meeting at a cold and windswept Knockhill last month, just before Christmas. Given that all three scholars (myself, Rory Bryant and Gordon Mann) all probably couldn't afford to run ourselves, his proposal was that the three of us share a "team" car over the '08 season, each running at three rounds (should be a nine-round season again) and the other two drivers acting as "support staff" for the car when they aren't driving. To get the "Class of '07" concept going he (with some additional help from the SMRC) was able to offer us a pretty good deal in terms of finances so we should be good for the season. The "team" concept was taking off at the end of last season so there should be lots of cars with multiple drivers. The three of us worked out a deal with regard to how we'd decide who was running when, how damage costs would be paid etc etc and now it's just a case of agreeing the details with Aly and waiting for the season to arrive.
No British Touring Car support round this year sadly - seems the National Championship frankly stole the slot from us having seen how successful the Scottish Series was, but I guess it reflects well on us that we caught their attention. Still a shame to be binned like that. On the plus side, we've got a support slot at the British GT Championship (making a welcome return to Knockhill after a couple of years away) in April so whoever draws that particular round when the three of us get round to doing so will be getting the "prestige" event of the year!
Roll on March.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Last bow taken for 2007.
Taken a while to get round to updating this...
So, last week was the last meeting of the season. Like the September meeting, this was a double header again so a very busy day was in the offing.
For the first heat of the morning round, some low cloud had brought some light rain so I'd taken it pretty easy in the warm up. I (terrifyingly) drew pole for this one... When we got underway I mostly tippy-toed my way back through the field as the track was in greasy mode and it was very treacherous. With a handful of laps to go Murray Ford exacted revenge on me for the September crash which lost him a wheel by steaming into the side of me through McIntyres/Scotsman - totally accidental as he'd tried a move and just understeered wide into me. We banged wheels and both spun, me ending up in the gravel and Murray broadside on the track. We both got going again but I finished last having crawled to the finish in case of damage.
The second heat was mostly me checking that the car was ok (we'd had a look to check the rear half-shaft was ok and so on) and there were no heroics to speak of. Car felt fine though so I was ready for the final, which I was on pole for again!
The final wasn't my finest hour. I was down at the back from the fourth lap onwards and I just drifted backwards, well over a second a lap slower than the next cars. As Dave Newsham had taken off at the start of the race he had an easy run and set ten quick laps, lapping me on the last lap which gave me a kick in the head a bit to pick it up in the afternoon.
The first heat of the afternoon round wasn't anything much to write home about, though I did have a fun battle to the end with Sandford Imrie and Murray, actually managing what was apparently (I was told from trackside) a grandstand overtaking manouver on Murray at the hairpin. Turned out he had a few issues with his steering and so on but I claim the victory. :p Most important, in this race the track was finally bone-dry and so the line was fully available for quick laps. I finally got my 64 second lap in this race with a best of 64.624!
The second heat was fairly uneventful, after ending up towards the back again I had another fight with Murray, passing him before being repassed myself then we both got by Chris Hynds when he spun late on.
The final was the best race of the year by far as agreed by almost everyone. The entire field was involved in some sort of battle and the lead fight towards the end was apparently breathtaking (I'll have to wait for the Motors TV coverage to see it!)
For my own part, I was involved in a fantastic fight with five or six other cars for most of the race but I'll come to that after mentioning the start... I had finished lowest of the "regular" runners in the the first two heats so was on pole again alongside Mark Spiers who was back after a while away. Indeed, the really quick guys were quite far back. So when the lights went out to signal the start, I just thought "Last race to make an impression" and utterly went for it. Sure enough, I managed to get the inside line into Duffus and led down the hill! Mark jinked out to the right and got me into McIntyres but I floored it as best I could on the line and managed to get through the chicane (I think) in second - apparently the circuit commentator thought this was a really bizarre turn of events... By memory I think Jason Ogg got me into Clark with Ben Mason and Ali Gauld on the run down to and through the hairpin with Rory Bryant getting by on the pit straight but I finished the lap in 6th. Lost my nerve slightly on the next lap and lost a few spots to cross the line in 14th, followed by 16th the next time by. By this time the big fight I mentioned was underway - Chris Hynds and James Willis ahead of me, Frank Ogg, Scott Hynds, Rich Crozier, Imrie and Ford behind me. Hynds and Willis collided with James going off and I was slightly held up behind Chris as he blocked the line with his slightly damaged car, losing a handful of places myself. The group fought like tigers for the next few laps and although I ended up at the back of the bunch, it was amazing fun all the way.
Results
So it was a fantastic day's racing. Somewhat bizarrely it was probably the worst set of results I've had, despite being a good bit quicker! Think it shows the quality of the field in the series... After the presentations of race and Championship awards, Gordon Mann, Rory and myself all stepped forward to present Aly with a bottle of whisky with the label I've attached a picture of below to say thanks for the scholarship. Gordon had also written some comedy Burns-style poetry!
I'll write some final thoughts on my year here later, along with early predictions of what I may be doing next season!
So, last week was the last meeting of the season. Like the September meeting, this was a double header again so a very busy day was in the offing.
For the first heat of the morning round, some low cloud had brought some light rain so I'd taken it pretty easy in the warm up. I (terrifyingly) drew pole for this one... When we got underway I mostly tippy-toed my way back through the field as the track was in greasy mode and it was very treacherous. With a handful of laps to go Murray Ford exacted revenge on me for the September crash which lost him a wheel by steaming into the side of me through McIntyres/Scotsman - totally accidental as he'd tried a move and just understeered wide into me. We banged wheels and both spun, me ending up in the gravel and Murray broadside on the track. We both got going again but I finished last having crawled to the finish in case of damage.
The second heat was mostly me checking that the car was ok (we'd had a look to check the rear half-shaft was ok and so on) and there were no heroics to speak of. Car felt fine though so I was ready for the final, which I was on pole for again!
The final wasn't my finest hour. I was down at the back from the fourth lap onwards and I just drifted backwards, well over a second a lap slower than the next cars. As Dave Newsham had taken off at the start of the race he had an easy run and set ten quick laps, lapping me on the last lap which gave me a kick in the head a bit to pick it up in the afternoon.
The first heat of the afternoon round wasn't anything much to write home about, though I did have a fun battle to the end with Sandford Imrie and Murray, actually managing what was apparently (I was told from trackside) a grandstand overtaking manouver on Murray at the hairpin. Turned out he had a few issues with his steering and so on but I claim the victory. :p Most important, in this race the track was finally bone-dry and so the line was fully available for quick laps. I finally got my 64 second lap in this race with a best of 64.624!
The second heat was fairly uneventful, after ending up towards the back again I had another fight with Murray, passing him before being repassed myself then we both got by Chris Hynds when he spun late on.
The final was the best race of the year by far as agreed by almost everyone. The entire field was involved in some sort of battle and the lead fight towards the end was apparently breathtaking (I'll have to wait for the Motors TV coverage to see it!)
For my own part, I was involved in a fantastic fight with five or six other cars for most of the race but I'll come to that after mentioning the start... I had finished lowest of the "regular" runners in the the first two heats so was on pole again alongside Mark Spiers who was back after a while away. Indeed, the really quick guys were quite far back. So when the lights went out to signal the start, I just thought "Last race to make an impression" and utterly went for it. Sure enough, I managed to get the inside line into Duffus and led down the hill! Mark jinked out to the right and got me into McIntyres but I floored it as best I could on the line and managed to get through the chicane (I think) in second - apparently the circuit commentator thought this was a really bizarre turn of events... By memory I think Jason Ogg got me into Clark with Ben Mason and Ali Gauld on the run down to and through the hairpin with Rory Bryant getting by on the pit straight but I finished the lap in 6th. Lost my nerve slightly on the next lap and lost a few spots to cross the line in 14th, followed by 16th the next time by. By this time the big fight I mentioned was underway - Chris Hynds and James Willis ahead of me, Frank Ogg, Scott Hynds, Rich Crozier, Imrie and Ford behind me. Hynds and Willis collided with James going off and I was slightly held up behind Chris as he blocked the line with his slightly damaged car, losing a handful of places myself. The group fought like tigers for the next few laps and although I ended up at the back of the bunch, it was amazing fun all the way.
Results
So it was a fantastic day's racing. Somewhat bizarrely it was probably the worst set of results I've had, despite being a good bit quicker! Think it shows the quality of the field in the series... After the presentations of race and Championship awards, Gordon Mann, Rory and myself all stepped forward to present Aly with a bottle of whisky with the label I've attached a picture of below to say thanks for the scholarship. Gordon had also written some comedy Burns-style poetry!
I'll write some final thoughts on my year here later, along with early predictions of what I may be doing next season!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Testing, testing...
Had a good Saturday test - the car is 100% in the handling department again after the prang last time out and I was feeling very much end-of-term like in my pushing the limits even further than I have before and really enjoying the sessions. It was cloudy, dry and cool, perfect conditions for having a proper go and I felt pretty quick - there's still more time for me to be found through the corners.
Lost the clutch right at the end which was a lowlight but it's not too expensive to get sorted and it was well on the way to being fixed when I left the track. Hoping for a dry track tomorrow so I can have some fun during the six races rather than just fear for my life like in September! With the low 65 second laps being accomplished at the BTCC meeting, conditions should hopefully be right for me to get that 64.xxx lap I set myself as a target at the start of the season - a low 64 would be a great way to finish the year.
Lost the clutch right at the end which was a lowlight but it's not too expensive to get sorted and it was well on the way to being fixed when I left the track. Hoping for a dry track tomorrow so I can have some fun during the six races rather than just fear for my life like in September! With the low 65 second laps being accomplished at the BTCC meeting, conditions should hopefully be right for me to get that 64.xxx lap I set myself as a target at the start of the season - a low 64 would be a great way to finish the year.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Curtain Falls.....
This weekend sees the end of the season. It's a double header as in September, but I'm happy to say that the weather forecast is (fingers crossed) for a generally bright and breezy day. I don't mind it being cold but I'd like for it to be dry this time!!
Can't believe it's almost the end of the season already - still remember the day I received the scholarship letter. The car should be back to fighting fitness, had a word with Aly a couple of weeks ago and he gave me the rundown of the work needing done - could have been a lot worse, if I'd been hit about 8 inches further back we could have been looking at three times the cost and damage!
No real expectations from the weekend - just looking to enjoy what may well be my last meeting in the car (can't see how I'll manage to bring the funds to the table for 2008) and have some fun. If it is indeed dry I'll go all out to try and get some decent lap times to sign off with.
Can't believe it's almost the end of the season already - still remember the day I received the scholarship letter. The car should be back to fighting fitness, had a word with Aly a couple of weeks ago and he gave me the rundown of the work needing done - could have been a lot worse, if I'd been hit about 8 inches further back we could have been looking at three times the cost and damage!
No real expectations from the weekend - just looking to enjoy what may well be my last meeting in the car (can't see how I'll manage to bring the funds to the table for 2008) and have some fun. If it is indeed dry I'll go all out to try and get some decent lap times to sign off with.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Six races, one disaster.
Sadly the weather forecast for yesterday turned out to be accurate - heaving rain! Familiarisation session was sodden so I didn't go for any lap times, just saw what you could get away with at various corners.
The first heat of the first round started with me in mid-pack. Went ok on the first lap as the fast guys streamed by and on the second lap I found myself in amongst the guys I tend to be close to. One of the new Hynds came up the inside of me into Clark which was fine but he had gone in too hard and got sideways on the exit. As I was right behind him I had to react and lost it a little myself, catching it but getting spat out to the right where Frank Ogg was. We banged wheels and both spun to the left, right into the path of Murray Ford who couldn't see a thing in the spray. Huge impact and the next thing I knew my car was stuttering to a stalled halt half on, half off the track. Having been pinballed around a bit I was a little dazed when the marshalls came over and with three cars off the road (Murray's missing his left front where he hit me) they red flagged it. I'd hit my arm off the door during the crash so they decided to err on the side of caution and give me a quick ride in the ambulance to the medical centre but all was ok. The accident was just one of those chain-reaction racing incidents and thankfully no-one was too badly hurt and Murray's car was fixed in time for the third race (Frank's suffered no damage!) so we all got to continue the day.
The car amazingly stood up well and after some hammering and new bits Aly and Co managed to get me out for the second heat but the steering was all over the place so I dropped right to the back and wandered around feeling it out to try and explain the problem as best I could. More tracking work and so on but it turned out the steering column was bent so I just had to make the best of it.
Felt a bit better for the final, indeed I went for it a lot more once my confidence in the altered steering was restored! The rain by this time was absolutely torrential and the car was squirming on the pit straight over the bumps. Add to that you just couldn't see anything at all in the spray and I'm amazed that everyone mostly made it round ok to the end. Had a good fight with the guys at the back and managed to pass Sandford Imrie on the last lap to pick up a spot.
With talk of the meeting being abandoned as the track was so sodden the water wasn't draining anymore, we were helped by the weather starting to turn from the lunch-break onwards. Drew second for this race and went for it as best I could, all going quite well until I utterly stuffed up my braking at the hairpin and ploughed straight on, getting beached. The marshalls gave me a shove and I got on my way but I was a lap down by then.
The second heat went pretty well, even though I had to start towards the back. Lost a spot late on to Sandford after holding him off for a couple of laps but was quite pleased with 17th of 22 starters at the end as it was still treacherous. Indeed, the rain had mostly stopped by then so it was starting to get greasy.
The final started in bright sunshine! The track was very greasy by now as I discovered when (starting from pole for the first time!) I went straight on at Duffus, bouncing down the hill and rejoining near the back. Mark Lees had spun into the gravel behind me though so the red flag came out and we had a full restart so I got a chance to try again....
...and I did the exact same thing!! When we got underway I could see Colin Atkinson looking up the outside and I maybe had too much of my mind on him as I didn't brake enough and went bounding through the trap again. Rejoined dead last and stayed there to the end.
Easily my most eventful race meeting so far!! Just hoping that the October meeting (which is also a double-header) is in better conditions! As for my war-wounds, most of my left-side hurts the day after - neck, shoulder, big bruise from my elbow to my armpit, knee and ankle but still, can't complain too much given that it could have been a lot worse!
Race Results
The first heat of the first round started with me in mid-pack. Went ok on the first lap as the fast guys streamed by and on the second lap I found myself in amongst the guys I tend to be close to. One of the new Hynds came up the inside of me into Clark which was fine but he had gone in too hard and got sideways on the exit. As I was right behind him I had to react and lost it a little myself, catching it but getting spat out to the right where Frank Ogg was. We banged wheels and both spun to the left, right into the path of Murray Ford who couldn't see a thing in the spray. Huge impact and the next thing I knew my car was stuttering to a stalled halt half on, half off the track. Having been pinballed around a bit I was a little dazed when the marshalls came over and with three cars off the road (Murray's missing his left front where he hit me) they red flagged it. I'd hit my arm off the door during the crash so they decided to err on the side of caution and give me a quick ride in the ambulance to the medical centre but all was ok. The accident was just one of those chain-reaction racing incidents and thankfully no-one was too badly hurt and Murray's car was fixed in time for the third race (Frank's suffered no damage!) so we all got to continue the day.
The car amazingly stood up well and after some hammering and new bits Aly and Co managed to get me out for the second heat but the steering was all over the place so I dropped right to the back and wandered around feeling it out to try and explain the problem as best I could. More tracking work and so on but it turned out the steering column was bent so I just had to make the best of it.
Felt a bit better for the final, indeed I went for it a lot more once my confidence in the altered steering was restored! The rain by this time was absolutely torrential and the car was squirming on the pit straight over the bumps. Add to that you just couldn't see anything at all in the spray and I'm amazed that everyone mostly made it round ok to the end. Had a good fight with the guys at the back and managed to pass Sandford Imrie on the last lap to pick up a spot.
With talk of the meeting being abandoned as the track was so sodden the water wasn't draining anymore, we were helped by the weather starting to turn from the lunch-break onwards. Drew second for this race and went for it as best I could, all going quite well until I utterly stuffed up my braking at the hairpin and ploughed straight on, getting beached. The marshalls gave me a shove and I got on my way but I was a lap down by then.
The second heat went pretty well, even though I had to start towards the back. Lost a spot late on to Sandford after holding him off for a couple of laps but was quite pleased with 17th of 22 starters at the end as it was still treacherous. Indeed, the rain had mostly stopped by then so it was starting to get greasy.
The final started in bright sunshine! The track was very greasy by now as I discovered when (starting from pole for the first time!) I went straight on at Duffus, bouncing down the hill and rejoining near the back. Mark Lees had spun into the gravel behind me though so the red flag came out and we had a full restart so I got a chance to try again....
...and I did the exact same thing!! When we got underway I could see Colin Atkinson looking up the outside and I maybe had too much of my mind on him as I didn't brake enough and went bounding through the trap again. Rejoined dead last and stayed there to the end.
Easily my most eventful race meeting so far!! Just hoping that the October meeting (which is also a double-header) is in better conditions! As for my war-wounds, most of my left-side hurts the day after - neck, shoulder, big bruise from my elbow to my armpit, knee and ankle but still, can't complain too much given that it could have been a lot worse!
Race Results
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Loooooooong day coming up.
Tested at the track today - forecast was for it to be wet but as it turned out the track was almost dry for the first session and bone dry for the second. Definitely feels like Autumn now - there's a chill in the air.
Six races tomorrow! We're every third race on track so it's going to be busy-busy... really need to hope for no damage or races will be missed cos Aly is running 18 cars! Forecast is very dodgy too so it looks like it'll be excitement all round!
Made the mistake of mentioning that I'd taped the live races at the BTCC and got several requests for copies! Running off a few now, but I doubt I'll have enough for everyone who wanted them...
Six races tomorrow! We're every third race on track so it's going to be busy-busy... really need to hope for no damage or races will be missed cos Aly is running 18 cars! Forecast is very dodgy too so it looks like it'll be excitement all round!
Made the mistake of mentioning that I'd taped the live races at the BTCC and got several requests for copies! Running off a few now, but I doubt I'll have enough for everyone who wanted them...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
