Snetterton - last weekend of the season and the best yet.
Snetterton is the track I know best having done a few track days before, but to race here is very exciting. The day starts with intermittent rain but as usual my race is one of the last on the programme and by the time we go out for qualifying the rain has stopped and the track is dry.
I get out for qualifying up front. I am thinking that I will let a few cars go past and then I can pick one to follow to learn something. It is really useful to learn the braking points, especially after Snetterton's very long straight. This is one of the few circuits where I can be absolutely flat out for a good length of time. That means about 140mph, and a very tight 'S' bend at the end of it. I watch the brake lights of some of the quick cars. I would instinctively look to brake at about 150 yards. That makes me a big girls blouse as far as most other cars. Make that 50 yards!
I can't wait to see my time after practice. I reckon I have done ok.
I remember from track days last year that I was doing roughly 1m 26 sec laps. My best time in qualifying was 1:21.9. That gets me 15th place on the grid (out of 29). So midfield again. Ho hum! The lead cars are doing 1:15s. Unbelievable, but then those cars are aerodynamic. Mine is not. Oh yes, and those guys have a few year's experience and can drive!
By the way, I have been trying to work out how much fuel I am using. I don't have a fuel gauge, so I use a dip-stick to test the level in the tank. It's a bit of a rough guess but I reckon I am using about 1 litre per minute - that works out at about 4 miles per gallon! Yes 4!! Well I never claimed it was an environmentally friendly hobby!
So Saturday's race is thankfully dry. I am not nearly as nervous as I was in my first couple of races. I think it helps that there are a few people who have done fewer races than me now.
The start is proving to be my big weakness. I am still learning how best to get a quick start and am still not getting it right. As the lights went out I had 3 cars come straight past me like I was standing still. Fortunately I have the pace down the straight to get them back and I take them on the first lap. Trouble was that put me just out of range of the next class A car which I should be able to beat, but now I'm playing catch up. So after a few laps I manage to catch and take a couple of the other class c cars, which gets me up to 13th. I then notice that my nearest rival class A car has had a bit of a moment on the grass and I am past him. So now I'm really excited, I might be up for a class placing here if any of the leaders fall off!
As if to put me firmly back in my place I push just a tad too hard at Corum, which is a very fast right hander before the chicane. I go off onto the grass. Now, as we are often told by the extremely witty track officials in the briefings, the green bits are not as grippy as the black bits so you lose control if you go on it. Well you know what, they are not joking! Apart from the complete lack of control, it is also a bit bumpy and I hit a bump and take off. I have no idea how high the car went, but when I came back down my seat broke!
I get out for qualifying up front. I am thinking that I will let a few cars go past and then I can pick one to follow to learn something. It is really useful to learn the braking points, especially after Snetterton's very long straight. This is one of the few circuits where I can be absolutely flat out for a good length of time. That means about 140mph, and a very tight 'S' bend at the end of it. I watch the brake lights of some of the quick cars. I would instinctively look to brake at about 150 yards. That makes me a big girls blouse as far as most other cars. Make that 50 yards!
I can't wait to see my time after practice. I reckon I have done ok.
I remember from track days last year that I was doing roughly 1m 26 sec laps. My best time in qualifying was 1:21.9. That gets me 15th place on the grid (out of 29). So midfield again. Ho hum! The lead cars are doing 1:15s. Unbelievable, but then those cars are aerodynamic. Mine is not. Oh yes, and those guys have a few year's experience and can drive!
By the way, I have been trying to work out how much fuel I am using. I don't have a fuel gauge, so I use a dip-stick to test the level in the tank. It's a bit of a rough guess but I reckon I am using about 1 litre per minute - that works out at about 4 miles per gallon! Yes 4!! Well I never claimed it was an environmentally friendly hobby!
So Saturday's race is thankfully dry. I am not nearly as nervous as I was in my first couple of races. I think it helps that there are a few people who have done fewer races than me now.
The start is proving to be my big weakness. I am still learning how best to get a quick start and am still not getting it right. As the lights went out I had 3 cars come straight past me like I was standing still. Fortunately I have the pace down the straight to get them back and I take them on the first lap. Trouble was that put me just out of range of the next class A car which I should be able to beat, but now I'm playing catch up. So after a few laps I manage to catch and take a couple of the other class c cars, which gets me up to 13th. I then notice that my nearest rival class A car has had a bit of a moment on the grass and I am past him. So now I'm really excited, I might be up for a class placing here if any of the leaders fall off!
As if to put me firmly back in my place I push just a tad too hard at Corum, which is a very fast right hander before the chicane. I go off onto the grass. Now, as we are often told by the extremely witty track officials in the briefings, the green bits are not as grippy as the black bits so you lose control if you go on it. Well you know what, they are not joking! Apart from the complete lack of control, it is also a bit bumpy and I hit a bump and take off. I have no idea how high the car went, but when I came back down my seat broke!
On reflection I'm rather glad it did because had it not it might have been me that broke. Anyway, I somehow managed to get the car back on the black stuff and break for the chicane. Remarkably my little bit of off-roading didn't cost me a position at the time, but I was then driving a car with a wobbly seat. Trying to corner hard with no support was a bit scary. Needless to say, there was no way I was going to keep up my earlier pace. I might as well have been driving by remote control! So I was reasonably resigned when 2 cars came past me on the last lap.
So I end up 16th on the track, and 5th in class. I still beat my nearest class A rival so all was not lost. Also I did a best lap of 1:19.7. I am really pleased with that. That's over 2 seconds off my qualifying time. At that pace I would have qualified in 6th place, and it was the 10th quickest lap of the race! Mind you, the leaders were down in the 1:14s, just to remind me how far I have to go. I reckon my car could do 1:17s in the right hands and that next 2 seconds will probably take me years!
Anyway, I have to fix the seat so I just swap the passenger seat over (thanks to Gordon for lending me his drill). This is not ideal as I can't get the position quite right, but it'll do.
Quick check to see if my bump has damaged anything. It would appear not.
One slightly wonky, but fixed seat!
So off to a B&B for the night and ready for Sunday's race.
I'm 18th on the grid this time but in front of my nearest class A rival (no 28).
Again I mess up the start. No 28 gets past me. I hold back a little from the bun fight into the first two bends and by half a lap I'm about 4 cars down from my start position. Mind you it was a good job. The end of the straight is carnage. I can't work out who it is but I reckon about 4 cars have taken each other off. As I feed through I'm thinking 4 down, 12 to go!
I easily take a couple of the class c cars that got me at the start, and can see no 28 just ahead. After one lap I am right with him. This turns into the best race I have had so far. I am obviously faster than 28 but I can't get past. Each lap I'm thinking about how I can get past. My plan is to get close enough into the straight and then get him down the straight, but it's not working. I'm not brave enough to out brake him on the straight, or into the chicane so I resign myself to hassling him, staying as close as I can, and hope that he makes a mistake. And guess what, he did! At the chicane he gets it wrong and runs across the grass. He pops back on just in front of me, but he has lost momentum and I get him accelerating out of the chicane.
I can't describe how excited I was. This is what it's all about!
I then pulled away. My lap times show that I was pulling away by at least 1 second a lap. It feels harder though to lead rather than chase, but I'm pleased that my times improved.
Anyway, it's not over yet. I get the 'last lap' board and I think great, I can easily keep this position. I then notice a bit of an odd smell. The oil temperature is off the gauge. I have been too busy to notice (not that it would have made any difference!). But now I'm in front of 28 I think I can back off a little to save the engine from boiling.
Coming up to the last corner I come up behind a back marker who I am lapping. No point in risking anything to get past into the chicane so I tuck in behind. Big mistake! No 28 is suddenly there in my mirrors. Oh **** he's going for it. He's going to take me on the line!
I pull left of the back marker, thinking that 28 won't have room to go right of him. It works for a moment but he's past just after me. 100 yards to the line. I just hold my breath an keep my right foot planted.
I cross the line 2 seconds ahead. Phew!
I just doesn't get more exciting than that. I doesn't matter that I wasn't racing for the lead. I beat my nearest rival in a fair fight. 'nough said!
Another picture just for the sake of it!
I was 13th in the race. 5th in class (again). My best lap was 1.19.8. Actually slightly slower than Saturday's race, but a million times more exciting!
Oh yes, and I did win something. I won the prize draw for a new set of tyres. I have really finished the season on a high!
At the prize giving there was a rousing speech about the camaraderie of everyone in the series. I really felt part of that, and it felt great.
So that was my first motor-racing season.
I ended up 24th in the championship (out of 48), having done 5 out of 14 races. I was 8th in class (out of 10). I have worked out that, at my average points per race, if I had done all the races, I would have been 6th in class and15th overall.
When I started writing this blog I didn't expect much and just wanted to have a go. Having done 5 races I am really pleased with myself, and feel inspired to do more. It's a very steep learning curve for me and I really want to see how far I can go. I am well over budget, but hopefully I can do about the same next year. We'll see.
Thanks to all my friends for taking an interest, to Larry at PDQ, Steve and Kingsley at Spirit, and all at the 750 Motor Club. OK I'm filling up now, See you next year!
posted by Unknown at 9:33 pm
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