After the not so successful Brands Hatch event with oil on the track (sorry track on the oil!) where my confidence was shot and I had a horrible spin in my second race, I was looking forward to travelling to Croft to a circuit that I really enjoyed last year (minus the brake failure in race 1). I was keen to prove to myself that I can race with people and not just do good starts and let people re-pass me.
The weather for the race weekend was perfect, not too hot which was great as I struggled with the heat at Brands, resulting in me looking like I had come off the set of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy after having to put a wet towel over my head before the second race!
Sadly Matt #47 was not able to make it to Croft due to his shiny new steering rack not being made, delivered and fitted on time, so it was down to myself and Francis #88 to represent TJT Racing.
After arriving at the paddock in good time on Friday, I decided to get through scrutineering. All was fine until the brand new rain light which, when tested at home worked fine, decided to blow a fuse for the scrutineers. After a few hours of working out what was wrong (shorting wire on the bracket), it was fixed that evening ready for a quick check by the scrutineers in the morning. The scrutineering ticket was given and racing was set. A big thanks to Sam Engineer for his big brain helping pin point the problem and to Chris Wilsher for some new connectors.
Qualifying
Well it started ok, I got on the track and remembered the layout which is good. I then recalled the bumpiness of the track and remembered I have an appointment with the dentist next month so hopefully the fillings and crown will remain in situ!
I found myself behind Dave Wallis #22 in his fully repaired ‘Petpals’ car for the majority of qualifying. Dave had a very big accident at Brands Hatch and the car has had a few new nuts and bolts between then and now!!
For the first couple of laps I went around the track trying to see if the car felt better than last year and build up my confidence. All felt good so I started to push but I found I got caught up behind some slower cars. I stupidly didn’t overtake and when I fell back to get a clear run I found even more cars, so when I got back to the paddock I was very angry with myself and saw the times were not what I wanted to see. 25th for Race 1 and 23rd for Race 2 (exactly the same lap times which at least proves I am consistent). I knew the car and myself could go faster around the track but the main thing was I was all set for the race.
Race 1
I had a good start and managed to get past Richard Rainbow #20 and then passed Martin Snarey #31 coming into the chicane and I settled into the first lap behind Dave Wallis.
Realising that the whole point of this sport is to race I thought I best try, so I passed Dave coming into Tower and then headed off after the rest of the pack. I caught up with Neil Aldridge #36 and took him at Sunny In on the following lap and then started to chase down the next group.
I caught up with Ian Rea #14 and passed him at Tower and then kept pushing until I was on the back of the group with Bill Garner #10, David Leniewski #62, Sam Engineer #28, Mark Egan #75 and James Cater #18. I kept on the back of the group for a couple of laps until, when braking for Sunny In my brakes seemed to fade. I was forced to ease into the braking for the last few laps coming into Cleraux, Tower & Sunny In which annoyed me as I watched the group in front drive off knowing that just a lap or two before I was matching them and I could’ve been in contention for a couple more places (well I could’ve you never know!). I knew I had to keep pushing to the end as I could see Ian Rea was in my mirrors and on the last lap I managed to finish in 17th with a fastest lap of 1:42.28 which was 4 seconds faster than my qualifying.
At the end of the race I had a nice smile on my face and was pleased with my finish and drive but disappointed that a small technical issue had caused me to have to back off, but hey that’s racing on a budget!
Race 2
Well after a good race on the Saturday and a review of the data logger and videos overnight I went into the Sunday with a tweak of the brakes (so I now had some!) and a feeling of optimism.
I started 23rd and had a good start. I managed to get past Martin Snarey and Francis Twyman #88 by the Chicane and followed Neil Aldridge towards Tower but then Dave Wallis passed me coming into Tower. At the Complex I saw Christian Goller #56 in my mirrors. I knew he was quick and above my league so I didn’t try and fight. I was wheel to wheel with Richard Rainbow #20 on the pit straight but as I was not too sure of the brakes, I braked early and he entered Cleraux first. I decided that the best place to see if the brakes worked would be at Tower, so after being happy with that, I started to increase the speed and get back to trying to race.
By the Complex I was on Richards Gearbox. I passed Christian at the Hairpin (he was having gearbox problems) and Richard on the straight so I was now chasing Neil and Ian again just like Race 1. Christian flew by me through the Esses but I managed to pass Neil at Sunny In. I was then behind Ian Rea and remained behind him going into Tower. I feigned left and then took him on the inside and started to chase down Sam. I passed Christian at the hairpin again due to his gearbox issue and managed to get behind Sam, but then just coming into the Complex the red flag appeared and the race was over.
I drove back to the paddock with a very big smile on my face. I finished in 16th with a best lap of 1:41.27. I also felt like I was racing!!!
TJT Racing can’t make Mondello due to work and family commitments so the next race will be Silverstone. Let’s hope for a few more places.