Lydden Hill 05-Jun-2004

Could be any lap at Devils Elbow   [photo Autosport]

As much as I had been praying for more rain, it was good to have a warm and sunny weather forecast for this race. It's not been much fun for the spectators up until now and it's about time we had fair weather for a change. In the five weeks between the last race and this I have hardly touched the BMW which makes a pleasant change. I had a quick squint at the brake pads and rear bushes which are both on the way out but *should* last another race. The rear diff mount is looking very dodgy indeed but the car's getting a wash and that's all!

Towing the BMW is never a relaxing experience but I've just about figured out where to position it on the trailer in order to achieve a safe yet respectable cruising speed. The drive down to Lydden was almost enjoyable this time. Things were going pretty smoothly up until scrutineering. The guy went to test the battery master switch and pulled the T-handle. After some resistance he gave it a good tug and ended up with 50cm of cable above the car with the engine still running. I leaned over and quietly mentioned, "that's the fire extinguisher". I knew that the locking pin was still in place so no harm done but all of a sudden I was dealing with a very sheepish scrutineer. Andrew Walsh kindly re-attached the cable stop for me as I was incapable!

I've got to the point with the car setup that I think I understand what's going on and what will happen if I make a change. I tried a very slightly different setup for qualifying and the car felt better than ever. It's the happiest I've been with things during qualifying and I also managed to get a good number of clear laps in. I was pleased to find myself second on the grid, with my fastest time so far of 53.293. What I didn't expect was to have Jez beside me on the front row, with a pole time of 53.034.

With Jez a quarter of a second faster than me I knew it would be all but impossible to get by him during the race. I had to concentrate on getting a good start and hope to be able to make a pass in the first couple of corners. I was on the outside line for the first corner but was on the racing line so had the clean side of the track. With higher temperatures I tried more revs than usual as we set off on the green flag lap and it seemed to work well. Waiting for the red lights to go out, I added another couple of hundred RPM and bingo - a terriffic start with just enough wheelspin. As we approached the first corner I couldn't see Jez in my side window so assumed I was clear enough to turn in. I did and after taking a very defensive line into Devils Elbow I felt confident that I could keep ahead. All I had to do was not throw it away...

What I had forgotten was that Jez had been somewhat quicker than me in qualifying and he was all over me! It was tough - Jez trying to dive up the inside at every opportunity and forcing me into mistakes, usually braking too late and compromising my corner speed. But Jez was making mistakes too. Sometimes we would make the same mistakes at the same time, I recall sliding round Chessons and checking my mirror to see Jez doing the same! Once I realised that I could drive quicker I was able to be more consistent and make less mistakes. Nonetheless, Jez's extra power meant that he was a real threat into Pilgrims and Devils Elbow and I had to maintain defensive lines in those places.

Towards the end of the race I managed to put in a couple of clean laps in and pull out a small lead of 1-2 car lengths. It was frustrating to be making so many mistakes and it made me realise that I've got a lot to learn about race driving and dealing with a car that's applying pressure. Thankfully my small lead was enough to put Jez under pressure from Guy in third place. At this point my lead stretched to 5-6 car lengths as Jez has to start taking defensive lines. Still, I had to check my mirrors when heading for Pilgrims as Jez's extra speed down Canterbury Straight was worrying. My timing wasn't that great as I was checking my mirror when I passed the last lap board. Next time round I checked my mirror again to be shocked at the sight of Jez travelling way too fast on the exit of Paddock Bend, then onto the gravel and BANG! Into the tyre wall and rolling the car more than once before I had to concentrate on the road ahead. My heart sank and I dropped my speed immediately, expecting to see red flags, not aware that I had actually passed the chequered flag to win the race.

My heart sank but I was soon relieved to see Jez standing by his car which was resting on its side. It was a shocking accident and very sobering. I wasn't very chatty for the winner's interview! Later it was good to see that Jez's car, although a write-off, was well protected. Jez seemed unhurt and the roll cage had done an excellent job of maintaining the integrity of the passenger compartment. See Jez's site for more details on the crash damage and subsequent rebuild.

So another win with a great battle and lessons learnt. I've a few things planned for the car between now and the next race to help with the lap times. I hope to be able to race with Jez again soon!

fourwheels racing © 08-Jun-2004