Brands Hatch 27-May-06

Leading Alan Wileman through Clearways   [photo Dave Kirby]

• Edited clips of Paddock Hill "moments"
• First lap of the first restart
• First lap of the second restart

Race Report

It's good to be back at Brands. I like it here - the track provides a particularly challenging combination of excitement and frustration. Since the last race I've replaced the brake pads and fluid which ought to sort my long pedal but I've also had to put 20kg of ballast in the car since I've been doing a bit too well at the "power circuits" thus far...

Qualifying is dry but the forecast is for rain at some point during the day. As we head out onto the circuit the car feels pretty good, especially the brakes! After the first few laps I'm feeling good about how things are going but then it seems that the tyres get past their best and get a bit understeery. It could be that I'm pushing harder but I can't break the 60s barrier like I had at the beginning of the session. The session is briefly stopped to recover an errant car from the gravel trap but with 11 laps gone I know I'll only have 1 or 2 more shots when the session resumes. I'm told that I'm sitting in 3rd place which is pleasing and I just hope the tyres cool off a little for some more grip.

In the end I made mistakes on both flying laps and don't go any faster. However, two others did, which bumps me down to 5th position on the grid. I'm a little disappointed with that but it's not a bad place to start from. I then discover that a few cars have been found to be underweight, including Tony Doe in 3rd place. Tony gets penalised by being sent to the back of the grid, promoting me to 4th. An even better place to start from!

After lunch it's looking as if it's going to stay dry but once the early races get underway the rain sets in and the track gets properly wet just before we're called to the assembly area. I soften up the suspension a little and make my way over. Alan Wileman has secured pole position with Nigel Innes' estate alongside him on the front row. I'm in the middle of the track with a resurgent Dean Spurr alongside me, with the inside line. We're given two green flag laps to get a feel for the wet conditions before lining up for the start. It's very wet!

As the red lights go out I get a decent start and clear Dean almost immediately. I have a look round the outside of Nigel on the approach to Paddock but realise that it's not a clever place to be and instead, switch to the inside before the apex and hold the inside line all the way up to the Druids hairpin where I get past Nigel without much bother.

I'm up to second within two corners with Alan a couple of car lengths ahead. I'm confident that I can stay with Alan in these conditions and remind myself that this lap 1 of a 14 lap race and there's plenty of time to try for the lead.

But keeping up with Alan is not as easy as I imagined. He starts to pull away slightly and I push harder to reel him back in. At one point I take Paddock Hill bend a bit too fast and clip the kerb at the bottom of the hill which knocks the car sideways for a short distance up the hill. Fortunately this doesn't seem to cost me any time and I push on. I'm comfortably behind Alan now, and close. This is where I want to be - pushing Alan for a mistake and biding my time. But then, once more down Paddock Hill, I let the car run the kerb and this time it bites me hard [video clip]. The car snaps sideways and I throw on full opposite lock but we're still rotating. I'm facing the marshalls at this point and expecting to meet the armco but the rotation slows and I know we're about to regain rear grip. There's no way I can unwind this much steering lock so I let the wheel go and do my best to grab it at the right point. Got it! There's a small waggle as I get my grip back on the wheel but with disaster avoided I look ahead and can't believe I only lost a couple of car lengths to Alan.

I set about closing the gap, again, but within another lap there are two cars stranded in the gravel traps at Paddock and Druids, resulting in a red flag - race stopped. This is no bad thing. I could do with a chance to calm my nerves and the restart will put me on the front row of the grid with a better chance of beating Alan. Unusually, I've been nervous since I drove onto the circuit and with the prospect of a good result, it's not subsided ever since. And there are still 8 laps left to run!!!

After a long delay we proceed to another green flag lap and I line up alongside Alan. I could really do with a good start now. And bingo - as the lights go out I launch the car off the line as fast as the conditions will allow and manage to get clearly ahead of Alan before the first corner. As we head down the Paddock Hill I know that I'll need a defensive line into Druids just as soon as I can get the car through the compression. As I hit the puddle at the bottom of the hill I lose momentum, which I assume is due to the standing water, but by the time I realise that I'm running the rev limiter in 3rd gear Alan is already alongside me and regaining the lead. Damn! I grab 4th gear and chase after Alan, cursing my stupidity [video clip]. But I'm relieved, when after starting the second lap, I see another car beached in the Paddock gravel and the race is stopped again.

This time we're directed back to the paddock, the race to be restarted if there's enough time left at the end of the day once all the other races have run. There are a lot of anxious faces in the paddock, not least of them my own. The time seems to fly by and before I know it we're called back to the assembly area for our remaining 8 laps.

This time around the green flag lap the track is noticably drier. It's still very wet but at least the standing water has gone. Back on the grid the red lights are held on for ages, my heart beating at double-time, but as they fade I get the car nicely off the line and replay the first restart by getting ahead of Alan by the first corner. But I won't be making the same mistake as last time and snatch 4th gear at the bottom of the hill! A defensive line into Druids ensures Alan stays behind and after a clean run through the tricky Graham Hill Bend the pressure is off a little and I know I can win this one [video clip].

All I have to do is not make a mistake.

What follows is probably the best 8 laps of my racing career. Nothing spectacular, but each lap faster than the last (with one exception when I locked a brake into Druids). Alan is close behind the entire time but fortunately I seem to be quicker through the more important corners which doesn't afford him an overtaking opportunity.

Eventually I look up for the "laps to go" board and am delighted to see it showing just '1'. I've got this in the bag! I take the final corners cautiously, watching Alan for any last minute attempts. He gives me a look up into Paddock and then again on the exit of Druids. But I'm quite happy to take a defensive line with confidence that there's nothing he can do. As I nail the throttle for the last time into Clearways I wind down the window for a victory wave as we cross the line... I've done it!!!

Fantastic... that was a proper drive - and such a surprise after qualifying in 5th. Another race with maximum points now puts me 21 points clear at the top of the championship table. I just hope I can continue to drive like I have today...

fourwheels racing © 30-May-2006