Up Hill and Down Dale

My latest Formula V adventure took place at the fantastic Cadwell Park Circuit in Linconshire. I expected a tough weekend and I wasn't disappointed!

Cadwell is an old school circuit that is more suited to bikes than cars, as it's very narrow and has loads of big elevation changes - but it's a real challenge and I'm glad I've been there - reminds me of the kind of elevetion changes that Spa has. I have never been to Cadwell Park before, so my expectations were not high, but I really struggled to get on the pace. I'm my own worst critic, and post qualifying, I was extremely fed up with only managing 15th on the grid (1:43.92), and 3 seconds off of my own personal target. This target was set based upon what I'd need to be in the top 8, but it wasn't to be. It wasn't that I was making mistakes, but just that I was still learning the circuit. Alan, who runs the car, put things in perspective by reminding me that 50 laps is no where near enough to to know Cadwell's secrets, let alone the 9 I had just done.

The race 1 start was my worst yet - I was either in 3rd gear, or I just didn't get enough revs, but the car nearly stalled, and I lost 4 places before the first corner. I managed to get 2 of these back before the 2 cars in front of me tangled at the mountain on lap 1 which caused a red flag. This gave me the chance to make ammends for my poor start, but i did it again! Still, I managed to re-pass the cars that got past me at the start and worked my way up to 11th by the end, reducing my lap time by 2.6 seconds to 1:41.21. I still need to find another 1.5-2.0 second a lap to get me up to my 'usual' p(l)ace. Still I have another race tomorrow, so despite the forecast, I hopeed for a dry race (having never driven a V in the wet)

Sunday

So despite the forecast of rain, Sunday was a beautiful day with the cold wind of Saturday thankfully gone. With another 15th place start, I decided just to pass as many cars as I could and work on increasing my pace. Luckily, I managed to make an OK start (not losing any places!) and over the 9 lap race got past 4 cars to get me up to 11th again. I found some more time posting a best of 1:39.90 and 8 of the 9 laps were quicker than my best in race 1, so I was learning the circuit. There's no doubt that ther's at least another 1-2 seconds before I get to my limits, but that will have to wait 'till July's meeting.

If I can keep working (the contract market is tough at the moment) or find a sponsor (you never know!) my plan is to finish the season in the rental car I'm currently driving, and then buy my own new Formula V car and start doing some serious testing with a view to having a real go at it next season.

I'll miss the next FV meeting at Anlgesey (south Wales) but I'll be back for the second Cadwell meeting in July.