Weekend review - Brands Hatch 24/25 April 2010
The first race!!
I am now going to try and recall the events of my first ever race weekend. This is not as easy as it may sound. With scrutineering successfully out of the way and overwhelmed with excitement, anticipation, fear (of killing pinky) and a million other emotions, remembering my on track action is actually proving quite difficult! Anyway...
Saturday 24 April - Morning practice (Qualifying)
Having never pitted myself against anyone else on track, this was my first opportunity to find out if having a lifelong desire to be a racing driver would actually mean I was any good. On top of this the financial implications of an adventure off the tarmac or a mechanical failure were both niggling away in the back of my mind while sat in the assembly area.
Once on track though, the nerves settled and I was able to get to work, firstly getting 3 laps under my belt to ensure qualification into the race and then slowly building my speed up. Without a lap timer in the car it was difficult to gauge my performance but having passed a couple of cars I figured should at least avoid being bottom of the pile.
An hour or so later, when the times were available I was quite surprised to find that not only had I managed 41/58 overall but more importantly managed 5/14 in Class B with a time of 1:00.37, 1.37s behind the fastest Class B car. This put me 15th on the grid for the heat race. The grid for Sunday was decided from the second fastest lap and with a time of 1:00.75 I would again start 15th on the grid, and 5th fastest in Class B showing good consistency and I managed to stay on track for the full session! Not a bad start to my racing career if I do say so myself.
You can see all the action below.
Saturday 24 April - 2010 Stock Hatch Round 3 - Heat race
Firstly I will apologise for the lack of video. Annoyingly the video recorder ran out of battery just as we pulled away for the green flag lap. Yes i know i should have taken the charger!
Following the excitement and relief of completing the qualifying session in one piece and putting in a respectable time my thoughts turned to getting off the line. Having never attempted a standing start in the XR2 it was going to be a bit of a gamble. A quick chat with fellow XR2 drivers in the assembly area gave me some indication, 3000rpm, half clutch, once going bury it. Sounded like a plan!
Once assembled on the grid i took a good look around for a memorable reference so I didn't embarrass myself getting back into position after the green flag lap, immediately to my right was garage 13, Great!!! It seemed an age but finally the green flag was waved and round we trundled. It was a bit of a trundle and I'm not sure if it heated my tyres but I did ride the brake so at least they should have been a little warm, a bit of oil around Surtees was highlighted by the marshals and made a mental note to avoid that! Back on the grid I lined up with garage 13 on my right, Alan Duly (XR2) in front right and Kirk Dewell (Sport Ka) in front left. Mark Webster (XR2) due to be along side me couldn't make the start which bumped Tom Simpson (VTR) up a few places before the race even started (although for grid assembly prior to the green flag lap the slot was left empty!). The next closest XR2 was Martin Fowdrey just behind in 17th.
So this was it. The countdown boards came out, the lights went Red, revs built and its was GO GO GO. Unfortunately the perfect start I had visualised in my head was not quite the one I performed! Some may say they have seen more acceleration from a snail! Martin from 17th on the other hand shot past me and between Alan and Kirk like a whippet. Ok so the start didn't go great.
Next on my mind was the first corner! Now they say you can't win a race on the first corner but you can definitely loose it and I didn't want to be the first one staying at Costa del Paddock Hill! Now some might say entering into the first corner, of your first race in a 3 way battle perhaps isn't the best idea. However with my incredible start, in had Adam Stokes (started 19th, 106- also first race) and Damian Cottrell (started 22nd, 106) either side of me! I would love to be able to describe how we made it round but the truth is i have no idea!
Prior to the race, I had spoken with Martin Cayzer, a stock hatch veteran, and he advised I should try and get to the outside of Druids as it can turn into a bit of a car park on the first lap. I tried, I couldn't and got a tap in the back from Matthew Stubbington (the coolant leaking from his car in parc Ferme and the blue paint on my bumper identified him as the culprit). The fact that he'd started 24th shows what stunning start I had had.
Graham hill bend was negotiated incident free (for me anyway) and so we headed into Surtees with oil slick which judging by the angle at which he left the track Alan Duly had forgotten about. That was one place back! I negotiated the rest of the lap without incident and ended the lap in 18th, behind Martin, Tom, Adam and Damien, which considering the start wasn't as bad as i thought.
By the end of lap 2 i had made short work of Damian and Adam!! ending the lap in 16th. My next focus was to get in front of Martin as he had an XR2 as well and would prove a good comparison. From Lap 3 to crossing the line we had a great battle swapping positions a number of times. All I can really remember is how much I was loving it! Where and when the overtakes were happening I've no idea. Liam Sargent (No 46, 106 - started 30th due to fuel issues in Quali) joined in the action for a while before squeezing his way past.
Entering the last lap (although at the time I didn't realise it was the last lap), Martin was in front and that was how it stayed until Clearways, he ran a touch wide and I was just able to get on his inside. he moved over to cover his line leaving me with a choice of backing off or putting my offside wheels onto the grass. The choice was obvious, I was already committed, foot to the floor and that's how it stayed. Yes it was exciting, Yes the pit wall was rather close, Yes i did cross the line ahead to finish 14th and 4th in class, 1st XR2 (just - 0.14s was the gap!). What a great way to start my racing career!
Lap Chart
| Lap | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
| Position at lap end (Class B) | 18 (5) |
16 (5) |
16 (5) |
16 (5) |
16 (5) |
16 (5) |
15 (5) |
14 (4) |
14 (5) |
15 (5) |
14 (4) |
| Lap time | 1.09:22 |
1.01:66 |
1.00:51 |
1.02:11 |
1.01:81 |
1.00:83 |
1.00:67 |
1.00:56 |
1.01:87 |
1.01:53 |
1:01.37 |
Sunday 25 April - 2010 Stock Hatch Round 4 - Heat race
Waking up at 4am to the sound of rain hitting the tent wasn't the start to my second day of racing I was hoping for! Strangely though, upon exiting the tent a few hours later the ground was dry! Apparently i hadn't imagined it and just to make sure around 9:30 the heavens opened and for the next 30/40mins it lashed it down! With a race start due for 11:40, I knew the conditions, even if it didn't rain again would prove trickier than saturday. In the end it didn't rain again before the start of the race but the track wasn't completely dry so I opted to add a few psi to the tyres to help get the heat into them. Starting to sound like an expert hey!!
As mentioned above the grid for Sunday was decided from the second fastest lap times from Saturday qualifying and again I started 15th. This was good as i now knew where to line up on the grid, taking a little bit of the anxiety away. This relaxed state didn't last long as it started to spit with rain during the green flag lap. With the reduced grip, I decided the first lap would be taken easy while i got a feel for the grip, while trying to maintain track position. A good start would help. The start I managed was much like Saturdays and again saw a number of cars starting down the grid, ahead or alongside heading into Paddock hill.
The first lap proved to be quite eventful for a number of the guys on track, notably saturdays Class B winner, Lee Scott, took a trip across the grass at Clearways and for a short while i was a head of him. Unfortunately it didn't last. i ended lap 1 in 16th, a slight improvement on Saturdays position. As the track began to dry and my confidence increased, I was able to start picking my way through the field. On lap 5 I came up behind Damian Cottrell (No. 93, 106) and although together we made progress through the field I just could not get past. It was clear that through paddock hill ( at times i was braking mid corner) and Graham hill i had a speed advantage but the 106 was just strong enough to stay ahead and a desperate lunge down the inside wouldn't have been the smartest idea in my second race.
Heading into Druids on the last lap trying to go round the outside of Damian, I left the door a little to open to John Gudgeon (No. 50, 106) and with a slow car in Graham hill bend he was able to take the position from me. Damian also got past Martin to finish 11th, Martin crossed the line 0.64s ahead in 12th (3rd in Class B), John 0.38s ahead in 13th and I crossed the line 14th, 4th in Class B . All in all I considered it a great result for my first weekend of racing and cannot wait for Anglesey! Hope to be in the final there!
Lap Chart
| Lap | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
| Position at lap end (Class B) | 16 (6) | 16 (6) | 16 (6) | 16 (5) | 13 (5) | 14 (5) | 14 (5) | 14 (5) | 14 (5) | 14 (5) | 14 (4) |
| Lap time | 1.12:65 | 1.07:29 | 1.05:25 | 1.09:48 | 1.04:24 | 1.02:92 | 1.01:66 | 1.01:83 | 1.00:26 | 1.00:87 | 1.01:03 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
13 (4) |
13 (4) |
14 (4) |
| 1.01:65 | 1.00:89 |
1.02:26 |
Check the photos from the weekend here.
Some extra clips from the weekend
Saturday Heat. Keep your eye out for Pinky and also Adam Stokes's (106 No.84) trip into the Gravel (4min 40s)
Sunday Final - pleased it wasn't pinky!