Combe
For the second round of the Combe GTs we made a few
small changes to the car to try and get a bit more speed down the main straight and a bit more corner speed.
The weather was bright, sunny and warm, perfect for
a day’s racing! Qualifying was the usual busy session; the challenge is to make enough space for a quick lap without
coming on too many of the slower cars from other classes. It took right until the lap
6 of the session to get a a clear track then until the last lap to get another
clean run but it was worth the wait as we finished with P1 for the second time this year, Andrew Shanley was second so we
would be on the front row together again.
After my poor start on the first race I was determined
not to waste the opportunity to head the field this time. Waiting for the red
lights Andrew decided to leave long before the lights went out , he jumped the start so much that I was sitting there watching
him drive off in to the distance trying to resist the urge to go after him. After what seemed and age the lights were out
and we were off. This time I got a better start and headed the rest of the field into Quarry.
Up to the Esses for the first time I had to take a defensive line to hold off Mark Funnel in his staggeringly fast
Lotus. Once I was round old paddock I had pulled out a gap and could set off after Mr
Shanley. It took me 9 laps to make up the gap he had opened out on the
start. For the next couple of laps we were nose to tail. Coming up to the Esses
on lap 13 there was a gaggle of slower cars who had lifted off for a yellow flag caused by the rescue vehicle on the infield.
I lifted off to avoid passing the slower cars under yellow, after we got through the chicane the gap was back up to 3 seconds…
That’s
where we finished at lap 15.
I had hoped that there would have been some time penalty
for the jump start but had not seen the black flag being shown to Andrew so it was a real surprise when I got awarded a winners
garland and was told that Andrew had got a 10 second penalty.
This was the team’s first outright win at Combe
– It took a long time but it was worth it!!!
As Andrew got fastest lap this time we are joint leaders
of the championship, it’s going to be a fun season J
Brands
Our week end BESCR meeting at Brands was shortened to
a single day so we were going to be busy. Having got a good set up sorted for the car at the BESCR meeting at Brands in October
we were reasonably confident of a good qualifying position. Out on the track
the car felt strange with a stiffness to the steering that was a bit worrying. After a couple of laps to get the temps up
on the tyres and the engine I started to push a bit and was met with huge under steer
at Druids and Clearways. Horrible! All you can do is wait for the car to get round the corner before you get on the
throttle. Despite this I managed a best lap that was good enough for pole ahead
of the Speads by 3/10ths.
The front NS tyre was shot, it looked like an over inflation
problem but the pressures was OK, so we made a change to the rear wing angle as well as the front suspension to try and dial
out some of the understeer
The first race was a 15 min sprint that decided the
grid positions for the 30 min race later in the day. A rolling start meant trying
to keep the field bunched up at the same time as not allowing the second place car past – It nearly worked but I had
to give at Paddock or miss my braking point. By the end of lap one I knew the
changes we made had worked – too well, I now had lots of oversteer on every corner. On the run up to Druids on Lap 2
it all got too much and the car swapped ends before I could catch it. Luckily everyone else missed my stricken car and I restarted
in last place. Time to get some serious lappery done! By minute 13 I had caught and passed JP Ivey to regain second place only to spin out again at Clearways,
unable to start the car I was stuck on the infield for the end of the race. The only consolations were the fun of trying to
catch up and a fastest lap.
Back at the pit garage the guys set about getting all
the grass and other debris off the tyres ready for the 30 min race. I set about changing the wing back to it’s original
setting and then we were ready for the start of the second race. I was starting from the back of the grid so I had to get
back in touch with the leading cars quickly to stand an chance of a good finish. From the rolling start I made up several
places on the run up to Paddock and caught and passed JP Ivey for second place by lap 12.
After the issues with the pit stop timing at Silverstone we made extra
sure that all went ok, I had even fitted a speedo to the car to make sure we did not break the pit lane speed limit. We continued in 2nd place and were promoted to 3rd with the
retirement of the leading Speads. With a comfortable lead all was looking good until I saw the drive through penalty board.
I came in, drove through, and left, still in the lead. A few laps later I saw a Stop/Go penalty board so I came in again.
By the time I rejoined I had dropped to 3rd place and that’s how the race ended. To say I was somewhat disappointed
would be an understatement. I was then summoned to see the clerk of the Course.
There I was told that I had exceeded the pit lane speed limit, twice. Once during the pit stop the once more when I came in
for my drive through penalty.
It transpired that several of the competitors had been
misinformed that the pit lane speed limit was 100kph when it was in actual fact 60kph. To quote the X Flies “ ...Trust no one, the truth is out there…”
Despite this we finished 3rd and got fastest
lap, again – not too bad considering
