Sorry this report is a little late, it's difficult to write especially making sure that my recollection matches the results
Hope you all enjoy but be warned, this is not a story of super stardom . . . more of achievment at the back of the field against all odds
For those that don't know, the 15th March 2009 marked the culmination of nearly 3 years of work stripping a mk2 Ford Escort, welding up a space frame chassis and building a Locost racing car from scratch since this project started when I drove the Escort I bought on eBay up from Sheffield on 15th July 2006. Although I've been doing track days for a couple of years now, first in the Elise and then in the Caterham I've never competed before and this will be my first ever race!
Few projects of this kind of size are completed without the help of others and mine is no exception. There is a long list of relatives and friends, old and new, who have offered tools, parts, materials, their time, knowledge, advice and patience when I lost mine. Without them, I have no doubt that this day would never have come. I won't bother listing them for fear of leaving someone out but you should all know who you are and know that you have my deepest thanks for all your help.
The car was only just finished in time for the race. The last couple of jobs fitting pull cables for the plumbed in fire extinguisher system and a quick oil & filter change to rid the engine of any running in bits were completed the night before loading the car up and heading down to Snetterton. I also managed to break the handbrake mechanism (by testing it) which necessitated a bit of disassembly and welding to sort, what a pain!
Got the car down to Snetterton just fine. I am not the only Scottish competitor, there is another team from Rosewell who were already onsite by the time I arrived and had picked out a place in the paddock for me and my folks who had hauled a caravan down for support. The whole place was a hive of activity, there was even a crowd of Locosters trying to complete another competitor's car to race the next day!
The next day the car was finally finished prior to scrutineering. Stickers on and wing mirrors on and adjusted too. Scrutineering was fairly straightforward. They took the boot and the bonnet off, checked the cut off switch turned off the engine and that the stop/tail/indicator lights at the back of the car worked. All I had to do was put some tape over the battery terminals to get my pass and get a sticker for my helmet.
Practice/Qualifying came up quite quickly, the cars were all noise tested before heading out on the track. I was one of the last cars to go out so some of the people who'd gone out earlier were already coming round to being their second lap. I immediately forgot that blue flags are only for info and moved out of the way for people coming past. Just as I started to get used to things there were a few spinners including a car or two that left the track. Idiots, I thought, this will be easy. All I have to do is stay on the track and I'll qualify on pole. It's not like track days is it? Being passed on corners, without permission! And people drafting close behind you down the straights. 15 minutes later and it was all over.
Annoyingly, all those "idiots" must have put in some fast laps too as I did not qualify on pole. The results were out and I had managed a 1:42.66 and a 1:42.92 which put me last on the grid for race 1 and second last for race 2 out of the cars that had posted a time. Oh well, I was only 1.5 and 0.2 seconds behind the guy in front of me but I was disappointed I hadn't done a bit better.
Race 1
Doesn't time fly when you're nervous? There's no green flag lap, you're stacked up in grid order in the assembly area and drive straight out onto the grid when it's time to start the race. Sitting on the grid with 33 cars in front of me is easily the most wound up I've ever been. Unforgettable sensation of being very aware of your heartbeat, breathing and desire to go to the toilet. A 2 minute, 1 minute, 30 second and 5 second board were shown with no gap at all between them. Red lights on. 4,000rpm, Red lights off and GO!
I actually got off to quite a good start, I made up a few positions and then promptly lost most of them through the first corner but I'd made it through unscathed. This continued for a lap or two until someone lost a wheel and wiped out another car, red flagging the race. We were regridded in starting positions which meant I lost my place and unfortauntely I didn't do so well on the restart. I ended up gunning it out for second last position with car 26 which I lost! Just! I was in the process of drafting and overtaking him just as the chequered flag came out. Last! Argh! But only by 0.14 seconds. May as well have been first and second though it was really exciting to do. Hands shaking with the adrenaline, we both came back in together to parc ferme to have our cars weighed along with everyone elses and had a good natter about what brilliant racers we were. Awesome.
The results showed me in a much better light, however. I'd finished 20th of 33 starters. I'd managed a 1:36.40 lap, 6.26 seconds faster than my best in qualifying. I'd also actually finished the race, which put me in front (in both race position and championship points) of the 13 not-classified starters behind me.
Race 2
And, there was another race! With just long enough to refill with petrol and attempt, unsuccessfully, to fix the issue of my car idling at 2,200rpm (obviously this would work against me under braking and was the reason I came in last ;o) ) it was time to go back down to the assembly area. This time I was 2nd last on the grid and my nemesis from race 1, car 26, was behind me. Off we go again, another decent start and I make up a couple of positions. Car 26 gets past me again but I decide to have a go at passing him on a corner. Heh, that's obviously not how you do it as I realise he will not let me past and I lockup and hit his rear right wing with my front left. My car has lost its shine and I cracked a grin under my visor. I ended up settling down to a race with car 31.
Incredibly exciting for me, I tried to draft and pass up the start/finish straight but didn't quite manage to complete it before the first (Riches) corner. Nervous of contact I yielded a little to ensure we both made it round and followed them to Sear. We passed each other several times on each lap round the circuit but always with me behind on the start/finish straight. I was very worried that nobody watching at the start/finish line would believe all the overtaking I was doing.
The second race was longer than the first and the front runners eventually caught up with us at the back. I did not expect this and got collected between Riches and Sear by another car coming round to lap us. I got such a fright I have no idea what number or even colour the car was as my car ran wide as I was pushed off the circuit. I managed to keep control of the car and rejoined the track before Sear. Even though I was convinced he'd taken half the car off a quick look around confirmed the car still had wings and it made it round the corner without the handling being noticeably affected. Nice! I hadn't yet lost car 31 so was able to resume racing. After letting through a few more front runners at the end of the Revett straight I got back on line chasing car 31.
Still not quite managing to complete a pass on the start/finish straight I made a mental note that I could carry much more speed, even offline, than they were around Sear. Forcing my leg to keep the throttle down and staying much closer behind around Coram curve, I was already drafting from the exit of Russel bend up the start/finish straight. Nipping past, I managed to complete the overtake before the the first corner at Riches and blitzed through Sear. Car 31 was now much smaller in my rear view than at this point in previous laps, much too far to draft me up Revett straight, and I managed to keep them behind me as I braked for the Esses, round the Bomb Hole (that's Bomb Hole), Coram Curve and Russel Bend to pass the start/finish line in front. Awesome, but keeping them there was knackering. I was pouring with sweat now constantly checking behind me and dieing for the chequered flag to come out.
A few more laps and there was the chequered flag. I'd "won," punched the air and everything. I finished 19th out of 23 classified finishers and 27 starters. I'd done a 1:34.98 best lap, another 1.42 seconds faster than my best in race 1. The damage from being collected wasn't bad at all. A dent in the rear aluminium panel, a scuff on the rear wing and the powder coating skimmed from the two right hand wheels. It looked like it could do with the steering geometry reset but was otherwise intact. What a result!
The car more or less survived and I joined in the hahas (Percy) at whoever's car had ejected a starter motor between Riches and Sear corner. Only at the end of the evening when it was time to load up my car, when it wouldn't start, did I realise that this was actually my car
Oh well, that obviously happened when I was collected and not a shoddy build. Nevermind, the new one is spring washered and threadlocked in as are a bunch of other engine bolts that looked like they'd worked loose.
Of course I can't finish without thanking my support team who came all the way to Snetterton to cheer me on. My folks dragged a caravan all the way to Snetterton and produced champagne and cupcakes after the second race even though I could barely hold a glass. Thanks also to Graeme and Victoria for coming along and taking tons of photos, Mac and Mandy for the last minute help and for coming down to Snetterton and of course Teresa for organising me and letting me do this in the first place!
Stay tuned for the Mallory Park report . . .
Simon
Just what were you saying to that guy? he looks rather scared 
