My First Ever Race

Sunday 20th May.

I've got to be honest - I hardly slept on Saturday night. I'm absolutely brickin' it!!

I get to Brands about an hour earlier than I really need to but I'm glad. There's lots to sort out - sign on - drivers briefing - get to scrutineering - get wheels balanced - check pressures....

I also take a little walk around the paddock to meet a few fellow competitors. Everyone is very friendly and willing to offer advice. I am put at ease a little by everyone telling me -just enjot it. Good advice I reckon.

Here's a pic of my rig! All ready to go to practice.

So off to practice.

I end up near the front of the queue in my eargerness not to be late. So I'm sitting there in the pit lane with 3 of the most experienced guys in front of me, and the entire field of 25 other cars behind me all ready to swamp me at the first corner!

It wasn't nearly as scary once the green light went on. I even kept up with the leaders for a bit (whilst they warmed their tyres anyway!).

It was great to have someone to follow. I start to get a feel for just how hard I could push.

Only one or two cars overtake me during practice - so I'm thinking this isn't too embarrasing.

I end up having done a best lap of 54.6s.

That's about 1.5s off my best time on Friday. I was well chuffed.

I was also 20th on the grid out of 28.

I'm not last! -even better!

So flushed with a little more confidence I relax a bit more. A chance to watch some of the other racing.

My wife and daughter arrive to watch. No pressure then!

So finally the time comes to assemble for the race. We have to get into 'formation' in the assembly area. At this point I am feeling so nervous again I can hardly breath, but also elated that I am finally going racing.

Onto the grid. I start to think, hang on - I have never done a racing start in the car. I'm not sure I know how to. Do I rev the nuts off it an just dump the clutch, or set off slowly to get some grip and then boot it?

Come the light I try the former. The car immediately behind me comes straight past me like I was standing still - which I was pretty much - in a cloud of tyre smoke. Bugger!

Anyway, turms out it was for the best. I'm on the defensive into the first corner and up front is utter mayhem. A big crash was going on and I thought - ok stay out of trouble - I might do ok out of this. Indeed after Druids I am at least 5 cars further up than I started due to their default rather than my skill - but I'll take what I can get.

Trouble is - the whole race is red flagged. Back to the grid to start again.

Oh well. At least I get to practice my start again.

I will get another chance as it turns out. The race is stopped a second time after more crashes.

This time we are taken off the circuit. We are all marched off to the headmaster's office for a severe bollocking! (nothing to do with, me I'm thinking, I was at the back minding my own business!).

Our race is moved to the end of the day (obviously all they could do in practice but is was a bit like staying back for detention!)

So come the re-run I feel a bit happier with my start technique. I gain a place this time off the start and get into a pack into the first two corners. I try to keep up through Graham Hill bend but that cut out problem is still there and I lose a bit of momentum. I gain down the main straight though as my car has the power advantage over the class c cars up front.

This is fantastic. I have never carried so much speed into Paddock Hill at the end of the straight. I can't beleive that I got away with that. Must go faster next time!

I am really, really enjoying this. I am reaching limits of the car that I don't think I have got near before on track days.

More crashes - I notice that the two leading class A cars have taken each other off at Paddock Hill. Hey! That means I'm definitely not last!

Actually I can see another class A car behind me - the one that came past me at the first start - I feel determined to beat him. I'm also having a bit of a dice with another Westy. He take me into Druids, and then he loses it a bit around Clearways so I take him back and stay ahead down the straight. He get me back at Druids again. Bugger! I must take that quicker next time.

The chequered flag comes out all too soon before I can get that Westy back again. Maybe next time.

I can't tell you how elated I am to have finished at all. To not be last was even better.

My wife and daughter meet me in the paddock. They had a great time watching all the crashes!

And I was definitely not last.

I was asked to come to the presentation at the end. A brief welcome from the championship organiser for me which was nice of him, and then, unbelievably, I was presented with a cup. I had won 3rd in class!

I'm filling up here - 3rd in class in my first ever race - I can't believe it.

Yes, I know there were only 4 left in class A after all the incidents, but hey - if you want to finish first, first you have to finish - as they say, apparently.

I was actually 13th on the track, out of about 20 finishers, and 28 starters. I had done a best lap of 54.4s. Only 0.9 seconds off Oliver's best on Friday. Mind you, all of the top 10 cars are doing better than 53.5 so I have a long way to go.

My daughter, Kristin, getting a feel for it too!

So I'm hooked now. Maybe if I give up holidays I could afford a whole season? What do you think, Darling?

Here are some more pics (taken by Snappyracers.com).

Flamin' eck - is it supposed to do that?

In the thick of it!

Just coming through one of the many 'incidents' of the day.

That's a class A car that I'm in front of!

Thank you fans. Autographs later.

Time to go racing.

If you have read my blog last year I did a few track days and ended up thinking that, whilst I love track days, I feel that I need to move on. The problem is that I have no idea whether I am actually improving my driving because there is no timing allowed or any element of competition.


I think I need an element of comptitiveness to make things more interesting.

So it's time to go racing!




First problem - the cost. How do you go racing with no money?

Well, the short answer is you can't. But I might be able to do a few rounds of a relatively cheap series for the same budget as a season of track days.





Well I am writing this having jumped in at the deep end.


I have done my ARDS test so I have a licence.


I have bought all the gear (suit, helmet etc etc...)


I have had the car sorted out to make sure it holds together.


I have joined the 750 Motor Club and entered the Road Going Bike-Engined car series.


So several thousand pounds poorer, I am ready for my first test day.





I have lots of things not exactly in my favour in this venture - lack of money, talent, spare time to name a few, but I do have one card up my sleeve. My nephew is Oliver Bryant. Unless you read Autosport every week from cover to cover you may not have heard of him but check out his web site - oliverbryant.com. He is only twenty and already in his 2nd season of the British GT series. He is a serious talent and I'm not just saying that because he's family. He will win Le Mans one day you just watch.


Anyway, for some reason Oliver is happy to help his old uncle with a bit of guidance, and if you happen to be reading this Olly, I can't thank you enough.





So Olly agreed to come on a test day at Brands, on Friday (my first race is on Sunday).








So we turn up at Brands. Amazingly the car get through the noise test no problem - I was a bit worried about that - and Olly suggest that I take the car out first to bed in the brakes and find my way round (I have never driven at Brands before).


Olly runs the stopwatch on me.


The brakes are a bit spongy after it had all new disks and pads, and I haven't a clue about the right braking points and how hard I can push it. So I'm not expecting too much to start with.





I do about 10 laps or so, and then Olly takes over.


My best lap was 56.1.


Olly goes straight out and does a 54.


Actually I didn't think that was too bad!





We asked around the paddock. There were a few other cars in the same series as me testing as well. Another Westy with a fireblade engine (900cc and a class below me) was doing 52's! We found out that a good lap for a 'busa should be in the 51's. That put me in my place!





Anyway, Olly rekoned that the brakes were not at all right so we had to bleed them. Of course I didn't have any of the kit to do that, so we started asking around. It has to be said that everyone is so friendly and willing to help out (not that I'm much of a threat to them!).


We also had an electical problem. The starter button fell apart and shorted whilst Olly was driving. He didn't know what had happened exept that there was a cloud of blue smoke, as the car still ran, but as soon as we went to swap drivers we noticed the button hanging off. So we had to borrow some wire and a soldering iron (actually a very kind chap did the repair for us).





I finally got some more laps in with some firmer brakes, but we had developed an odd problem where the engine seemed to cut out under hard left hand corners. Despite checking as many connections as we could, we couldn't find the problem.


Anyway, even with that problem, Olly went out and did a 53.5.


I did most of the last session of the day. I was just starting to get braver with my braking, and work out the lines a bit better. After what I thought must have been some real improvement I came in to see my times. My best of the afternoon was a 55.9.


I was really dissapointed. I thought I would have knoocked at least a second off my earlier times, but in fact it was only about 2 tenths.





Olly talked me through a few areas where I can probably improve.


I reckon in the heat of a race I should be able to improve.


Well we'll see - the race is Sunday. Watch this space!