Race update

[Shaun_E]

I thought I'd just post an update on my 2016 racing activities. Although the hillclimb/sprint calendar has been pretty, busy I managed to fit some more race events in.

The first was an MSVR Allcomers (open race) at Snetterton on Sunday 4th September. This was part of the Supercar Challenge weekend so the paddock was full of huge race transporters and Ferraris. There was a 15 minute practice session available on Saturday evening and given that I had never driven the new "300" circuit I thought that was a good idea. We got there Saturday afternoon to be greeted by pouring rain and a drenched circuit - practice is practice and at least I could work out where the circuit went. There was just me and a Radical out there (the driver of which had also never driven that configuration) and it was all I could do to keep the car in a straight line.  Sunday was dry but the circuit was still damp. Qualifying was early and there was a mix of cars from Caterhams and Radicals to a monster TVR Sagaris GT car. I set off on the first lap and immediately had some problems with gear selection which seemed to improve but by the second or third lap it was clear I had a major problem. With the gear-lever in neutral the car was still moving forwards! Got back to the pits under my own steam but that was game over  We were home by lunchtime, engine/gearbox out by the evening and off to Phil at R&R Monday morning. Phil did an amazing job to turn the gearbox around and I collected it Tuesday evening, back in the car by end of Thursday and out on the Wiscombe park hill on Saturday!!! 

The next outing was an HSCC event at Brands Hatch Saturday 17th September (2 days before we were off on holiday to Majorca!!). This was another "Allcomers" event but when I saw the entry list I felt like I'd brought a gun to a knife fight! It was mostly 70s classics - Mustangs, Mini Cooper, TVR, etc although there was one other Caterham (an R300 race car with a 2.4L Duratec and about 320 bhp!). I qualified 2nd behind the other 7. The race was good fun though and we lapped everything up to 3rd place and some cars twice. Dealing with all the traffic while still keeping the other 7 in my sights was a good learning experience and I finished 2nd - it was great to stand on the podium at Brands.  After race 1 the organisers asked us if we would mind starting at the back "to make it more interesting" and we both agreed. We also got a 10s penalty so the rest of the field was at Druids by the time we got to start. Fighting through the field was another great learning experience and fun too. By lap 6 we were back in the lead and I kept on the tail of the other 7 to finish just 1s behind for another 2nd place and fastest lap. Video of Race 2: 

My final outing was back at Brands again on Saturday 19th October for another MSVR Allcomers.The full 32 car entry was a bit more challenging this time including 2 Radicals and 5 Caterhams who were all sporting slick tyres - I only had my Kumho V70A road legal tyres! There was also a mixed bag of other cars and that proved to make qualifying tricky as it was hard to get a clean lap. In the end I managed to qualify 12th with a best lap of 52.380s. The races were rolling starts - a first for me - and coming round Clearways towards the start the cars started to bunch up and then the red lights went out followed by a manic charge towards Paddock Hill. I dropped a couple of places but by Druids had relaxed enough to start picking off the slower cars that had got past me at the start. The Radicals and slick shod Caterhams were quickly building up a big lead so I settled into a largely un-eventful race working my way up to 10th place and eventually crossing the line neck and neck with a Ginetta G50 which just pipped me to 9th by 0.018s. Starting 10th in the second race, I got a much better start and hung on to the Ginetta which I managed to pass halfway through the first lap. I also quickly caught and passed a Clio Cup car that got the jump on me at the start. Ahead of me now was a Mercedes SL spaceframe Silhouette racer on slicks which I had been lapping more quickly than in Race 1. I soon caught it and after a short battle swapping places at Paddock Hill and Druids and I finally got clearly past at Clearways. I managed to keep ahead and eventually caught a supercharged Caterham CSR on slicks. Trying to get past that, I also had to make sure I didn't lose the place I'd fought so hard to gain. At the chequered flag I had hung onto 8th place  Video of Race 2: 

 This was my best race yet and I now had my 6 signatures I need for next year  

[CheshireCat]

Looks good Shaun but makes me want a big duratec, better start writing my letter to Santa  

[Gloucestershire AR]

Well done Shaun - very nice description and great results. Thanks.