Brands Hatch - Race 2

After Saturdays traumas, the car was thoroughly checked over before Sunday afternoons race (or so we thought!).

Mother nature again smiled on us and I took my 7th place on the grid in bright sunshine. My start was OK - nowhere near as good as yesterdays, but I held position. The dramas started near the end of lap one when I got a gentle tap on the entry to Clearways which lost me momentum as I gathered up the resulting slide, and I lost 2 places on the entry to Paddock Hill bend. It got worse a lap later when the front top panel came loose ( both clips on the bodywork right in front of me popped open). I took me another 2 laps to work out that it wasn't getting any worse, so I could now concentrate on catching the train of 4 cars that were a couple of seconds up the track.

Over the next 4-5 laps I managed to pass 3 of them and caught up with Declan McDonnell who was in 5th place. Try as I might he defended hard (but fair) and as I saw the last lap board the plan was made. I had almost got past him at the end of the cooper straight, as the preceding corner, Graham Hill bend, has always been my best at Brands. So, on the way up to Druids hairpin I fainted to the inside and sure enough, he covered it, which compromised his exit. This gave me the advantage on the way down to GHB, but I pushed a wee bit to hard and lost the back of the car as I got on the gas just before the apex. I managed to keep on full power but bounced over the kerb and with that loss of momentum, Jenny Anderson, who had qualified 4th, got back past me. So 7th at the finish, which was OK - I'd rather lose a place trying to gain one than to just sit there and not challenge.

I'm still not aggressive enough on the first couple of laps - too many years doing endurance racing! - Something I need to work on!

Gethin seems to be OK following his huge crash - He was in heat 1 which had been red flagged, but somehow, he didn't see the flags and smashed into a couple of stationary cars on the grid - When a red flag is shown drivers must stop racing and proceed at a slow pace to the starting grid. His car, and a couple of others sustained 'write off' levels of damage, but fortunately, no injuries.

So, the next 2 races are at Cadwell Park, a circuit I have never been to, so I'm not placing any expectations on myself. I'm sure a good few of my competitors will be testing on the Friday before the race weekend, so if I can make the top 10, it'll be a good result.

Championship wise, it looks like Martin Farmer is the current favourite - He's another ex-karter and is consistently fast. I'm leading the masters Class, but that's not why I'm there - I want to get closer to the front, but without a test day or two, that's going to be a tough challenge. But a fun one!