Lydden Hill Circuit, Bemsee ACU 7th Race Meet: Clubman Minitwins – Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June 2007

Race 1: 13? Unlucky for some…
Practice on the Wednesday was a bit wet towards the end and only Steve Tibbs and I managed to stay out there. I really enjoyed that last session and felt like things were starting to come together. Friday, we sunbathed, shopped and attempted to go to the beach but a downpour happened just as we got there, which was odd as it was beaming in Lydden.
In qualifying, I made 50.55, which I thought was pants but hey I wasn't last. That put me 20th on the grid, just behind Steve. Unfortunately Yvonne Baird crashed and I think it was this race where Paul Martin crashed and looked like he was out for a while. He was up and about later, but we were all worried there for a minute.
The great thing about this race was that I managed to get in front of Steve, who had been doing really well all season. I guess he had been helping me a bit too much, but he wasn't happy about my position! I guess his comment to Rich that he would be the first one back into the tent came back to bite him.
Race 2: Lap times improving!
Steve and I had a real battle here and he held out his hand to me at the end of the race, glad that we'd had fun. Wed be over or undertaking each other at almost every other corner so it was fun! This pushed our laptimes up somehow, but he got in front of me on the penultimate lap and I guess when he saw the last lap flag come out, that was it. I was really happy with this race – it had everything: good lap times, overtaking people usually way in front of me, a little competitiveness with a mate and still a good result. Oh and no crashing!
Race 3: As I say, unlucky for some…
This one I didn't start so well. Id had a track walk with Mark Hill in the morning and this had helped a little with my confusion at my lack of exit speed on paddock. I was also thinking more about racecraft and about how I needed to defend certain corners. I think Im really starting to get this (but the more I get the more I realise there is so so SO far to go!).
Unfortunately, Steve crashed on this one. He was involved in a crash with Adrian Livesey, where Adrian had had a bit of a moment, thought he had saved it and then flipped off in front of Steve. It transpired that Adrian broke his ankle and Steve had numerous fractures, exacerbating an injury that he gained at Snetterton. I spent the next couple of hours trying to help them both organise getting home. Lap times slightly slower following the restart, possibly due to the fact that my fairing KEPT scraping on the ground round some of the right-handers. No matter how much Rich cut out, it kept making that noise that I fear only too well from my road experiences.
Race 4: The only way is up
This last race I felt wasn't what it should have been. I was still thinking about the boys and how I was going to get them home. This was enough for Mick West to overtake me, almost on the last lap. Well I guess everyone has had time to improve as well as me! He was flying! Congrats!
Overall, though, a good weekend. Rich thinks it's the start of my new racing career stage. Well that would be nice!
Stats:
Race 1: dry, 20 (start grid pos) 49.304s (best lap, lap 3), 73.016 (best speed), 16 (result pos)
Race 2: dry, 16 (start grid pos) 48.758s (best lap, lap 7), 73.834 (best speed), 17 (result pos)
Race 3: dry, 17 (start grid pos) 49.269s (best lap, lap 3), 73.068 (best speed), 16 (result pos)
Race 4: dry, 16 (start grid pos) 49.720s (best lap, lap 7), 72.405 (best speed), 16 (result pos)
Non budgeted costs of race:
Nil – I kept my non crashing streak going!
Next race: Snetterton, 7th & 8th July (VIP!).
Next race prep required:
Mentally – This round was a lot better than previous ones. I think I have reached a point where my technical expertise needs to catch up with my mindset!
Physically – My fitness is good. No real tiredness issues, aside from immediately post race. Will keep on with my plan, which includes incremental improvement.
Bike – My fairing was delayed by a combination of cash flow problem and logistics due to my van not being available. So fairing will go on before Snetterton. Sponsors stickers also need to be made as our supplier is currently unavailable.