The new Championship has started, it is late, but we are back up and running!!! Well done to the 750MC and Motorsport UK for enabling us to get back out and enjoy the racing again.
After a rather enjoyable 2019 season I have made a bit of a change. I started racing in the ‘B Class’ with a Spyder chassis in 2017. After purchasing the car and ultimately changing nearly every nut and bolt I finished the 2018 season 3rd in Class and then finished the 2019 season 2nd in Class. To say I was pleased with the 2019 season is an understatement. I ultimately finished 1 point behind the winner (Jack Wilkinson) the closest finish on record, oh so close. The championship came down to the last race of the season. All I had to do was get the car out on track and finish, but due to a totally mullered gearbox that put me out of the first race, I couldn’t make it out. Oh well, it was not meant to be but Jack really deserved the championship. The big change is I have moved to ‘A Class’ after purchasing a new car and will now compete in a Storm chassis. Oh I have also changed my race number to #43.
Snetterton 200
The first race event of the 2020 season started with the long trip to Snetterton. It didn’t take too long now the roadworks have been completed on the A14, but a 5.5 hour trip is still long enough.
We arrived to a rather busy circuit. Testing was underway and the paddock was full. We waited away from everyone in the car park and searched for a place to setup. After wondering around the paddock for a while and identifying there was no place in the ‘Inn’ for us and we couldn’t see that changing, we decided the best call was to setup on a nice little patch of grass above the Assembly Area. This turned out to be quite enjoyable as we were joined by our friends and we managed a very nice socially distanced weekend.
The excitement of being back was building even with the pandemic and some restrictions putting a dampener on a few things. The club and MSVR did a wonderful thing getting us back out with a few changes to signing on and scrutineering we were ready to get going.
Qualifying
A new season, new car, new number, new trailer, new normal, what can go wrong? Well it seems not much. I started the engine, got into the assembly area and waited. A quick blast around the track commenced and with traffic, oil being put down by a few people and a safety car at the end of the session, at least it wasn’t raining. So after coming in and having a look at the times I was really happy.
I qualified 11th for the first race and 12th for the second. The car felt good, the only issue was the brakes felt poor but it could be I am going faster than before?
Race 1
So pulling up to the grid I noticed there was only one marshal assisting us to our spots. I gave good room to the cars in front and then got placed in the allocated grid slot. I looked in my mirrors and saw cars behind were having issues gridding up so I switched my engine off and waited, waited some more and then some more. Maybe 2020 is the year of waiting for things to begin?
Anyway all was a go. Green flag and we were off, I warmed my tyres and brakes and checked the gears and I got around the track and stopped in the grid slot.
GO GO GO!
We are racing in 2020, a good safe start and I managed to stay out of any trouble. I got past a couple of people over the course of a couple of laps and then settled in to try to not lose touch to the car in front whilst getting used to the car and not get past by the people behind. This was working for the majority of the race but after a few dodgy 2nd gears I lost some time which meant Ben Cressey was on my tail. I had a good few laps fighting with him and then kept in front but Pete Belsey was next to battle with me. We had a small contest for a lap or two but then the chequered flag came out and I finished 11th just less than half a second behind. I was happy with that result.
Race 2
In Race 2 I was starting one place back, in 12th. A slightly messy start to the race, I failed to get second gear at the hairpin and with a car in front losing control due to a trapped throttle pedal and other cars joggling for position I lost a few places. The race continued and I made up a few of these places. I lost my nose cone at some point in the race but that didn’t affect the car and I continued on with a slight draft to my toes. I had a good battle with Elliot Mason where we changed places a few times until the race was ended prematurely due to a car stranded on the track in an un-safe place and the red flag came out. It was a disappointment the safety car didn’t come out but maybe due to the limited number of marshals they couldn’t move the car safely and quickly enough. Anyway I finished in 10th place which I was happy with however after a review mid-week the results were amended as they identified that a car had stopped at the side of the track prior to the red flag and this put me up one more place to 9th. Again I was happy with the result.
Overall
So what can I say? The move from a B Class car to an A Class car has been great. You can really feel the difference in the corners with the better suspension and that shows in my data. Will I be competitive at the next event, I am not sure, Brands Hatch is not my favourite track but I will give it my best shot and it will be interesting to see the difference again in the cars.
I can’t state how difficult it must be for the club to organise these events and keep everyone happy and safe during this pandemic. The changes they have made to the signing in process was super easy, barely an inconvenience. A big thank you must be made to the Marshals, if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t make it out. However we must all remember we are still in the middle of a pandemic and we all need to do our part to keep ourselves and others safe. We are back though, we are safe and we are able to do what we enjoy.
Roll on Brands Hatch!