It had been 18 months since I last
raced at Brands and due to family commitments, there was no chance of
being able to join the many TVR racers who were testing there the day
before the race. Still, I was really looking forward to it and it would
give me the chance to compare my times from here last year to see how I
am progressing.
We had quite a relaxed start to the day, with the circuit only 1.5 hours
away from us and scrutineering not until 9.00a.m. it meant we didn't
need to leave until 7.00a.m. The weather was already mixed. although it
was quite sunny when we left home, by the time we'd got half way to
Brands it was already raining. It was looking like it was going to be
one of those days when you never know what the conditions will be when
you go out on track.
The TVR qualifying session was scheduled for 10.35a.m. and with the car
ready to go, all eyes were on the weather to decide which tyres to use.
It had remained pretty dry since we'd arrived at Brands but the track
would definitely be very green with the amount of rain there had been
and very little rubber would've put down on the circuit by the time we
go out. We decided that slicks would be fine and to take the first lap a
little easy to re-acquaint my self with the Indy circuit and feel how
much grip there was out there. Not vast amounts was the answer and I
needed to get some heat into the tyres quickly so I could get cracking
with some decent lap times.
The Indy circuit is a fast technical track where your line through
Paddock Hill bend and especially through Clearways can make a huge
difference to your lap times. After just a couple of laps, there were
already a few cars spinning off the circuit. By lap 3, I'd got the tyres
up to heat and had put in a reasonable time of 52.8 secs. I wanted to
get down to as close to 51 secs as I could, so I pushed on which was a
little difficult as I was already in traffic and overtaking here is not
straightforward. I ended up qualifying in second place with a time of
52.2 secs. Although I was happy to be second on the grid, I wasn't sure
whether I should be a little disappointed with my time as I was 0.5 secs
slower than when I qualified here last year. The track conditions were
very different though, so it's hard to compare, I'd just have to focus
on the race and try to improve upon this then.
We were due out first after the lunch break, scheduled for 1.05p.m on
track. Needless to say, it poured down from about 12 noon and was still
drizzling a little when we were called to the assembly area. The tyre
choice was going to be really difficult and given just how wet it was
and that the cloud cover was looking very ominous, we decided it would
have to be wets. Sods law, whilst we were waiting in the assembly area,
it stopped raining and the sun appeared. We asked one of the marshals if
there was time to change the tyres but he said no and in fact we were
called straight out. On the green flag lap it was clear that the track
was drying really fast and the wet tyres were going to melt quite
quickly. Andy Holden (who was on pole) decided to take a chance and
pulled off into the pit lane to change his tyres to slicks as we came
around to line up for the race start.
Red lights off and away we went. Mark Hockin got off to another flying
start and was passing me almost before I'd got off the line. The rear
end grip on his Griff is really excellent and would give him a good
advantage in these conditions. Graham Walden was right on my tail and by
lap 2 was trying to find a way to pass me. On the next lap, I left too
much room on my inside going into Clearways and he took his opportunity.
This got me a little cross and I tried to get my position back going
into Paddock Hill bend. He saw me coming and moved across, I'd have to
be patient. Up to Druids and I forced Graham to the outside on the apex
of the bend, giving me the chance to stay in tight; As he pulled across
to take the line for Graham Hill bend I shot up his inside and outbraked
him on the way. Having got my place back, there was no way I'd leave the
door open for him at Clearways this time and I knew he couldn't catch me
on the straight. However, he squeezed me out at Druids this time, taking
the inside line off me and forcing me wide. I knew he'd cover Graham
Hill bend after my previous pass, so I decided to take a bit more speed
off on the entry and get a fast exit on his inside up to Surtees. It
worked, and I was just pulling along side him when he must've given it a
bit too much right foot and he lost the back end just as we were about
to turn right for Clearways.
I backed off quickly not knowing which way
he'd spin towards and I didn't want to get collected. Luckily he kept
his Tuscan over to the right and away I went. During this time, Mark had
been able to break away from us. The only challenge now for me was
whether I could claw back the gap with Mark and whether the tyres would
completely melt in the process. I made a little ground up but not enough
to make a real impression and the last 6 laps or so of the race was all
about trying to keep the car on the black stuff. The tyres had gone way
over and it was like driving with four punctures. It was great fun
though trying to judge how far to slide the car around the bends. I
finished in 2nd place, which I was pleased with although I couldn't help
feeling that this was a race I should've won. However, a good result
with some useful experience gained playing with the melted tyres, if a
little expensive, as indeed the tyres were completely trashed with the
metal coming through the rubber on the nearside front!
It's going to be a long wait before the final race of the season at
Oulton Park in 5 weeks time. I'm looking forward to it already...
My thanks to the Team (Tim, Terry and Tracy of Jet Black Motorsport in
particular) and also to Steve MacDonald and Paul Enticknapp for their
support on the day.
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