Archive: MY BEST RACE WEEKEND EVER
Location: Whilton Mill Date: August 2016 Class: Senior X30
August 2016 marked Round 8 of my first year in Senior X30, and first year with AIR Motorsport. We weren't really expecting much from this year, just get used to the class and the team. Round 8 had 25 drivers, and I hoped for a good result. What I got, I could never have predicted...
Practice was good, with decent pace. We thought that we would have a decent race day because of this.
Practice was good, with decent pace. We thought that we would have a decent race day because of this.
HEAT 1
In the first heat, I started 7th, and quickly despatched of the slower drivers that started ahead. Before long, I found myself in 2nd position, with some very quick drivers behind, and every few laps I looked behind, expecting them to catch and pass me like in previous races when I was less experienced, but they never came, and I held on to my best finishing position yet. I had finished 3rd in many heats before now in lower classes, so it was good to finally go one position higher. I was incredibly happy with this result, not really thinking about the rest of the day because I was so happy with this result.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 2ND /25 (+5) LAPTIME: 45.85 (3RD, +0.20) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
In the first heat, I started 7th, and quickly despatched of the slower drivers that started ahead. Before long, I found myself in 2nd position, with some very quick drivers behind, and every few laps I looked behind, expecting them to catch and pass me like in previous races when I was less experienced, but they never came, and I held on to my best finishing position yet. I had finished 3rd in many heats before now in lower classes, so it was good to finally go one position higher. I was incredibly happy with this result, not really thinking about the rest of the day because I was so happy with this result.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 2ND /25 (+5) LAPTIME: 45.85 (3RD, +0.20) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
HEAT 2
The second heat started badly, as I started 18th, but my row on the rolling start dramatically slowed, and I could not avoid making hard contact with the driver in front (this driver is now one of my team mates and good friends, and we now laugh about this). This caused one of my track rods to be bent, meaning that my steering wheel was facing a different direction to where I was going. This meant I had to be turned down straights so I was going forwards, and overturning through left handers, barely turning at all through right handers because it was always leaning to the right. As you can imagine, this was quite difficult to judge, and despite me losing positions at the start because of this and being a lot slower than the front pack, I still managed to claw my way back to 14th. This was a great damage limitation drive.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 14TH /25 (+4) LAPTIME: 46.17 (8TH, +0.45) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
The second heat started badly, as I started 18th, but my row on the rolling start dramatically slowed, and I could not avoid making hard contact with the driver in front (this driver is now one of my team mates and good friends, and we now laugh about this). This caused one of my track rods to be bent, meaning that my steering wheel was facing a different direction to where I was going. This meant I had to be turned down straights so I was going forwards, and overturning through left handers, barely turning at all through right handers because it was always leaning to the right. As you can imagine, this was quite difficult to judge, and despite me losing positions at the start because of this and being a lot slower than the front pack, I still managed to claw my way back to 14th. This was a great damage limitation drive.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 14TH /25 (+4) LAPTIME: 46.17 (8TH, +0.45) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
HEAT 3
In the third heat, the track rods were reset and I looked to move forward from my starting position of 12th. I made good progress throughout the race, and was behind a pack of top quality drivers, when they collided in front of me, with both going off and I had to slow down dramatically to avoid them. I went past, but had lost momentum and fell behind another fast driver who started behind me. I followed them through for the remaining laps, and we caught right up to the back of the leader, but ran out of time and I finished 3rd, perhaps a few more laps and I could've won, but I did not care about this because I had had a fantastic race yet again. I was also quickest in the middle sector in this race, earning a satisfying purple sector on the time sheet.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 3RD /25 (+9) LAPTIME: 46.07 (5TH, +0.27) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
In the third heat, the track rods were reset and I looked to move forward from my starting position of 12th. I made good progress throughout the race, and was behind a pack of top quality drivers, when they collided in front of me, with both going off and I had to slow down dramatically to avoid them. I went past, but had lost momentum and fell behind another fast driver who started behind me. I followed them through for the remaining laps, and we caught right up to the back of the leader, but ran out of time and I finished 3rd, perhaps a few more laps and I could've won, but I did not care about this because I had had a fantastic race yet again. I was also quickest in the middle sector in this race, earning a satisfying purple sector on the time sheet.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 3RD /25 (+9) LAPTIME: 46.07 (5TH, +0.27) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
FINAL
I lined up 5th for the final, feeling confident after the heats that I could get my first ever trophy (top 3). I made a good get away, getting into 4th off the line, before briefly taking 3rd and then dropping back down to 4th. I then had a long stage of the race in 4th, before catching the driver in 3rd, biding my time and passing them. I held my nerve for the final few laps and took my first ever trophy in 3rd position. I was ecstatic as it had been such a long time coming.
CLICK HERE FOR FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 3RD /25 (+2) LAPTIME: 46.02 (3RD, +0.15) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
I lined up 5th for the final, feeling confident after the heats that I could get my first ever trophy (top 3). I made a good get away, getting into 4th off the line, before briefly taking 3rd and then dropping back down to 4th. I then had a long stage of the race in 4th, before catching the driver in 3rd, biding my time and passing them. I held my nerve for the final few laps and took my first ever trophy in 3rd position. I was ecstatic as it had been such a long time coming.
CLICK HERE FOR FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 3RD /25 (+2) LAPTIME: 46.02 (3RD, +0.15) PERSONAL SCORE: 10/10
I couldn't help but think about if I didn't bend my track rod in heat 2, I may have finished higher, giving me a better starting position for the final and giving me the possibility of winning the final, but it was the first time I had been in this position, so 3rd was good enough. To date, I have not yet had another trophy due to one thing or another, but I will keep going until I do, because I believe I have it in me to do it again.
