For once I arrived at a race circuit in good time and unflustered.  Vince had got there just before me and bagged us a garage so all I had to do was reverse the trailer up to the entrance and unload the car, easy.  I went and signed on, got my information pack, left my license upgrade card (the novice cross might be gone before the end of the season!!) and meandered back to the car soaking in the atmosphere.  It might sound strange but a test day is very differant in feel to a race meeting and I was looking forward to it.

The format of the day was to be two 25 minute test sessions, one 20 minute test session, one 10 minute practice/qualifying session and then two ten minute races.

I won’t go into all the little changes I made to the car during the test sessions but I learnt a lot about the tyre pressures, the tyre temperatures, what was an easier shock absorber set-up to drive with and what was actually a quicker set-up.  I bedded in the brakes, learnt the track a bit more, got confident with some left-foot braking and finally discovered what the fumes in the cockpit problem was; a tiny hole in the fuel tank that was leaking and suffocating me!!

Race 1 - I got a great start and into Copse managed to get past a couple of people around the outside, which then put me on the outside line going down to Maggotts/Becketts.  I had to leave some room on the inside as I didn’t have the straight line advantage and as we came onto the club straight I managed to keep in from of the MGB and then concentrated on keeping it smooth and tidy and I thought from practice I had a slight straight-line advantage but he seemed quite good on the brakes and could take a tighter line and let his LSD give him better traction out of the corners.  We had a great battle for five laps, I was able to out brake him into Copse, stay in front until coming through Brooklands and Luffield, where he would then get better traction (I was having terrible understeer) and then catch him down the start/finish straight.

Every lap he gave me room until about the 6^th lap, I hadn’t quite got close enough to him so I thought I’d give him the room and then try and out drag him on the run down to Becketts and if I couldn’t get him there then on the run up the club straight.  Unfortunately I just didn’t have the oomph and I tried as hard as I could for the last couple of laps but couldn’t quite get close enough to out brake him again, as much as I tried bit I was really struggling with understeer through the complex, the one place I felt tat my quickest.  I finished 11^th but it has been a great battle with Alasdair and I had gone quicker than earlier in the day and my previous visit and that was with the tyres really going off at the end.

I had quite a few things to do between races, put some more fuel in the car, buy another litre of oil (seems to be using a hell of a lot) and also work out how to cure the understeer.  I had been happy with the car in the second, second half of the third test sessions and also in qualifying but I think the tyres had had enough.  I softened the front up a little hoping that would help, fingers crossed.

Race 2 - There was a twenty minute delay to the start of the second race due to the Formula Ford boys taking each other off, so by the time we lined up on the grid it was pretty cold (good for the tyres!!) and dark.  The second race was a reverse grid, pole position at last!!  I was a bit concerned with the start, as I had now done five starts, two brilliant, two absolute rubbish and no matter what I try it doesn’t seem to help, the engine either bogs down or the clutch slips and won’t engage gear.  Oh well, I thought I’d just do the same as the first race and we should be okay.  The lights went from Red to Green, I did exactly the same and the engine bogged down again!!  Luckily the MGB did the same so I was happy(ish) and as I went to change into second this blue Exocet missile went straight between me and the MGB so I moved slightly to my right to give him some room and then saw a white Lotus Cortina, so thought I best stay where I am and let them go round me.

On the run down to Maggotts and Becketts everyone just had so much more straight-line speed than me that I had to fall into line and then concentrate on where I was quicker and see if I could hold on or make up some places.  As we came into the complex for the first time it was brilliant, it was getting quite dusk and stands were pretty full and lots of flashbulbs going off, fantastic.

On the second lap I managed to close up on the BMW1800 TI of Jean Francois Decaux (who incidentally had a fabulous brand new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano!!) and on the 3^rd lap I saw my chance, as I got a great run on the Club straight and coming into Brooklands I managed to out brake him and get in front until the start/finish straight, when he out dragged me but left the inside of Copse open so I dived down the inside and lead him round until we got back to the club straight, where he out powered me down the straight but left the inside to Brooklands open so I did the same thing as the previous lap.  This carried on for four laps, me going down the inside of Copse, keeping a tight line into Becketts and then when he out accelerated me down the club straight keeping close enough to go down the inside into Brooklands, keeping him behind me onto the start/finish straight, watching him sail by and then out braking him into Copse and the process all over again!!

On the seventh lap of the race he realised what I was doing and it was holding him up (his fastest lap in race one was two and a half seconds quicker than mine!!) and on the run down the Club straight into Brooklands he kept the inside line, so I thought right, let’s try the outside line of Brooklands.  As I was going a bit deeper and knew I was on for a hiding to nothing I slammed the brakes on and as I did say the oil pressure late came on, no problem I thought, I’m passed him, so I turned in and just managed to get in front but I had lost my concentration a little and the back started to come round but I thought I’ve got to keep my foot in to keep ahead, held the first slide, fish-tailed the other way, held it, then came back the other way and by now I was at Luffield and I just ran out of the little talent I have and did a 180 degree spin, damn, the BMW got past.  To make matters worse I knew all my family and friends were sitting on the outside of Luffield!! 

I straightened myself out and pointed in the right direction to finish the last two laps.  Unfortunately, under braking and hard cornering the oil pressure light would come on but then go off along the straight, so I didn’t push too hard for the last two laps and came in in 9^th place, best lap of 1:16.283, which considering the tyres had gone off, I had run out of oil and I had spent most of the race defending my line I was very pleased with.

For the television schedule click here.

Postscript – September 1st – Saturday

I managed to pinpoint the hole in the fuel tank, it is just on the vertical weld on the rear off side corner.  I’ve taken all the foam out, “carbon monoxided” the insides and am now trying to find someone who can weld it back up. 

The front tyres are very blue around the outer edges and that shows that they have definitely over-heated.  As the tyres are directional I have swapped each opposite corner, which should be okay.

I also drained what little oil was left in the car, which was about two litres.  The oil that did come out was dark black and was absolutely burnt to a crisp but there weren’t any little bits of metal in it.  I filled the engine back up with oil, ran it up to temperature and all seems okay, it looks like the engine just ran so hot that it burnt the oil up.  Vince and I have measured up all the bits we need for an oil cooler, next job!!