Yes, I’m a bit late at writing the report. But not as late as I have been of late, so this is an improvement. If only I was as quick at writing reports as I am at thinking of excuses why I didn’t write the report earlier…

Anyway, Mallory Park… A double header weekend in the paddock that resembles Beruit on a particularly bad day, but we did get to camp next to one of three lakes situated inside the circuit. No swan attacks or even mosquito plagues, which is always a good thing.  We arrived on Saturday evening, and whilst Martin, Andrew and I unloaded the car, awning and equipment ready for Sunday and Monday, Emma found a suitable spot for the tents and put them up. Before we knew it the car was safely in bed in the awning, and we were clambering into our tents hoping for some luck and some nice weather.

I awoke, as usual, quite a long time after the rest of the team, to the smell of frying bacon (and the taunts about mine going into the lake), and once fed and watered we got ready for scrutineering and signing on, both of which were fairly uneventful.  At signing on we we asked to supply either £5 or a chocolate bar for a Marshals Fund, and as I didn’t happen to have chocolate on me had to cough up the fiver. At which point there was some entrepreneurial discussions about buying Mars Bars for 80p from the burger stands and selling them to unwitting competitors in the signing on queue for £4, thus making a healthy profit (a rarity in club motorsport).  Sadly, none of us had the gumption (or the initial capital) to set up this business, which was a shame.

Anyway, we were soon called to the assembly area for first practice. As I went out onto the track and started to warm everything up the daunting prospect of navigating Mallory with such a huge entry became a reality. Effectively there was no space for a clear lap – everyone was passing or being passed on every lap. This problem was compounded when I discovered that our carburettor upgrades (you may recall that I complained about a hesitation/misfire on right hand bends at Snetterton, so we got various goodies to fit that would, apparently, fix it) didn’t work. Not only didn’t they work, but they turned the irritating hesitation into a complete absence of power for several seconds at a time – this wasn’t good!

Things went from bad to worse after about a dozen laps when I was attempting to pass Doug McLay into the hairpin. I’ve been told that Doug has a bit of a reputation for not using his mirrors, and it turns out that it’s deserved. He chopped across my nose, and only a frantic pounding at the brake pedal stopped us from colliding. Sadly, the same reaction also stalled my engine, and I was stuck on the apex. Cranking the engine did little other than introduce fuel into the exhaust where it caught fire, and started to melt some of the bodywork. Further cranking eventually ‘blew’ it out, but I was still stuck. Red flag. Game over. I was turned around and rolled (without the engine running) down the hill towards the paddock entrance, where I coasted in trying to keep a low profile. The saving grace was that the traffic slowed everyone else (and the fact that our car is actually quite good in most aspects) gifting us 2nd place on the grid. Neil Harrison in his equally well prepared (or possibly better, but you’ll find out why when I get to Sundays result) Dallara was on pole, whilst Jeremy Timms was in 3rd.  JT wasn’t going any further though, as a conrod had popped out of the side of his block to say hello, taking with it the piston, sump and probably the crank bearing journals.  Who knows if he’ll be able to get it fixed before Donington?

Amnon Needham was fourth (3rd after Jeremy’s engine woes), the same chap who spectacularly destroyed the Dallara we now own. Twice!

In an effort to cure the misfire we reverted the carburettors to the settings we used at Snetterton. If it didn’t work, at least we’d have an idea of which direction to take with the settings. At the start Neil and I stayed in formation down to the first corner, leaving a gap to Amnon before we even turned into Gerrards. Fortunately the misfire, although still there, was much reduced. I was only losing about 3 tenths in Gerrards, which I could just about make back up again in the Esses. But there was no chance of passing Neil as we were too evenly matched over a lap.

That was until the traffic came into play. After about  laps the 1800 and slower 2000 cars eased into view, which meant a variety of lines and braking points needed to be used. As lapping is a lot harder for the lead car – the lappee wakes up a bit when the leader comes past – I could get very close to Neil several times, particularly braking for the hairpin. The first pass came when I braked late on the outside, switched back to the inside and got on the power early, outdragging Neil to the start line.  This was made slightly easier by the fact that Neil saw some yellow flags as we were going through the Esses and eased off a fraction.  Sadly, for him, the yellows were actually for the final turn, Devil’s Elbox, but which are visible from the Esses.  There was some doubt therefore whether I had passed before or during the yellow flag section – a trip to the Clerk of the Course established that no report of passing under yellows had been received and no action would be taken. Back to the racing – my lead did not last long. In Gerrards I had to move to the outside and lift slightly to pass Yunus Amiere’s 1800, and by doing so made the misfire even worse. Neil’s response was to simply drive around the outside of me, and I was back into second.  Not one to give up, I tried the same move down the outside, but found there wasn’t enough room – braking from 120mph with two wheels on the grass is not to be recommended, but I managed it. The resulting quarter spin that the grass caused left me pointing in the right direction (and in the right gear), so it was just a case of flooring it. Neil and I left the hairpin line astern once again, with me trailing him over the line.

It was another couple of laps before a gap opening again, this time on the inside and not caused, for once, by traffic. I dived into it, the car yawing and sliding left and right as I tried to slow it down without hitting either Neil or the wall. I’ve been told that there was a puff of dust as my rear tyre brushed the wall (!), but I got it slowed on the apex and was through again.  Having been passed before I didn’t want to be passed again, and set off to build a lead if I could.  I had bargained without the input of Doug McLay again (though this was not a lack of awareness on his part, and more a racing circumstance) who was merrily sliding his 1800 through the Esses. I had to lift, and Neil scampered through the tiny gap I left open like a ferret up a trouser leg.  In doing so he also skilfully managed to box me in a bit behind Doug, cementing his position of the lead – for the time being.

By now it was late in the race, but how many laps we were going to run was a mystery. Every second counted if I wanted to pass him again. I couldn’t get close enough into Gerrards or the Esses, and even if I had it wouldn’t have been enough if he’d got me again into the Hairpin.  I had to pass at the hairpin to lead over the line.  Lady Luck smiled on me, and Neil left another Dallara sized gap on this inside again, and I was able to neatly (for once) brake down the inside and take the position.  The flag didn’t actually come out for another couple of laps, but the traffic situation, plus fading brakes on Neil’s car, meant that he didn’t go for another pass.  I crossed the line just 0.5 seconds ahead of Neil to take my first Mono2000 win, and my first outright win since April 2008 in the Reynard.

It was easily the best race I’d ever had, and was also the most tiring. 15 minutes of extreme concentration and driving on the limit (plus a bit) was plenty enough for both of us, and we welcomed the opportunity to have an ice-cream to recuperate. Having said that, whilst we were still racing neither of us felt tired, so I don’t think it’s a lack of fitness, more the relief of having won and being able to relax again.

Neil, and his father Nick, were gracious in defeat, and I hope they both enjoyed the race as much as I did, if not the final outcome. It was so traffic related that he could have got the lead back at any moment, so he can’t be too disappointed.  The crowd, meanwhile, loved it, and were cheering and groaning as we arrived back at their corner in a different order so many times.

I did make one error though – and this is a nice parallel to Jenson Button’s current form in F1! – nobody told me that the winner drives passed the paddock entrance and back to the startline to give an interview with the commentator. I blindly returned to the paddock, and was only told when it was too late. Shame…

I’m very pleased to have won a Mono2000 race on my third attempt in the Dallara, and I’m hopeful of even more this season. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get the car to this condition (and some educated guesswork on the setup to make it handle so nicely). To that end I have to thank my father, Martin.  His assistance with the funding (or rather his funding with which I assist), plus his time in the workshop has been invaluable, and I wouldn’t be able to do this without that. So thank you Dad!

Monday 25th June 2009

With our first Mono2000 win under our belts we were full of confidence for the following day. A further tweak to the carburettors was made to reduce the misfire even further, but as we weren’t totally confident of it being the right move we made sure the gauge and tools were in the pitlane should I decide to come in for a tweak.

The traffic, yet again, was appaling. I got one clear lap in straightaway, but as I was still warming up the engine, brakes and tyres it was a mediocre 45.5 seconds.  For the next 12 laps or so I didn’t get within two seconds off that having to overtake slower cars. But, almost without any warning, I found a clear bit of track. I went for it, and managed to do a 44.142, good enough for pole by 1.8 seconds, and just 0.007 seconds off Jeremy Timms’ lap record from 2008.  Job done.  To save wearing out the car (tyres, brakes, engine etc), and to reduce the risk of an accident I called it a day and came into the pits, on the basis that if Neil could beat that time he was welcome to pole.  Neil, however, was struggling with traffic and bent valves following an overrev the previous day, so was not able to match my time.

The misfire was pretty much totally gone, so we left that alone and made sure we were ready for the race. My start was poor, and Neil jumped into the lead (never one to miss an opportunity).  But with my new speed in Gerrards with no misfire I was able to track him all the way through the corner on the second lap and outbrake him into the Esses. At this moment Jeremy Goodman was hit into a spin at the hairpin, so the yellow flags came out and we all eased off.  After two laps of the marshals trying to clear the car under yellows it was decided to release the safety car.  We were only behind it for two laps though, and at the restart I stayed in front, with Neil, Amnon and a quick Nick Anstruther in close succession before a large gap back to Graham Read.

I started to press on, and my lead started to increase – 1 second, 1.3 seconds… and then on the 8th lap (I think it was) as I was flat in the Esses I lost drive. Instantly I knew what it was, as the throttle pedal wouldn’t come back up, hinting at a broken cable or link. Sure enough, once I’d coasted into the escape road at the hairpin, I got out and found it was indeed broken.  Game over.  Neil coasted to an easy victory, and left me with just one point for fastest lap.

As such, Neil now leads the championship by 26 points from Jeremy Timms and 30 over me. It’s all to play for, but I need to win as many races as I can, and hope that Jeremy either doesn’t return to the grids or, if he does, takes points away from Neil.  I’m not giving up yet, and I’m already deep in preparation for Donington, which takes place on Sunday 7th June – only a few days away.  A new throttle cable is on order, and so are a few things to improve the clutch.  But we will be there, and I intend to fight for victory.