First Win at Silverstone!
It had only been a month since a rather sizeable shunt at Brands Hatch had made our car look rather second hand. The guys at EMC Motorsport had pulled out all the stops to get the car rebuilt so that we could take to the grid for this round on the Silverstone National circuit.
Qualifying
With the car not having turned a wheel in anger since the accident, the session was taken somewhat tentatively so as to make sure that all was as it should be. Needless to say all was well, and the car inspired confidence from the outset. By the end of the session, we had posted the fifth quickest time in class, a touch disappointing, but it did give us something to go for in the race.
Race 1
Our qualification position left us right in the thick of the action at the race start. Following the traumas at our last meeting our emphasis was on getting through the first four laps in one piece rather than making a banzai move for the front. Once we got passed this stage, we started picking our way through the pack and come the last few minutes found ourselves reeling in our team mate Cieran Brewer who was lying in second place. Despite catching him, we were unable to get close enough to make a move on him, so settled for third place and some very welcome championship points.
Race 2
An excellent start saw us pip Chris Dyer off the line and slot in behind Cieran at the first corner. The two of us ran line astern for the early part of the race until we were caught by a hard charging Trevor Lewis. Trevor managed to get a run on me into Brooklands before setting his sights on Cieran. Then a truly awful piece of driving from Trevor saw Cieran rammed at high speed into the wall at the entrance to Copse. The impact was massive and Cieran's car was totally destroyed. The safety car was immediately deployed so that Cieran could be safely attended to. While circulating behind the safety car Trevor suffered a puncture, putting him out of contention. When we were finally released, after five laps, we had a trouble free run to the line to claim our first class win of the season.
Reflection
We came away from the race very much with mixed feelings. Our jubilation at our first race win was somewhat muted by Cieran's terrifying accident, although it was most reassuring to see him out of the car unharmed. It remains to give a big thank you to all at EMC for a fantastic effort in getting both the car and me to a level not expected at this stage in the season. We have a bit of enforced break now, with the next meeting not until the end of July on the Silverstone Historic Grand Prix circuit as part of the Classic Festival.
Qualifying
With the car not having turned a wheel in anger since the accident, the session was taken somewhat tentatively so as to make sure that all was as it should be. Needless to say all was well, and the car inspired confidence from the outset. By the end of the session, we had posted the fifth quickest time in class, a touch disappointing, but it did give us something to go for in the race.
Race 1
Our qualification position left us right in the thick of the action at the race start. Following the traumas at our last meeting our emphasis was on getting through the first four laps in one piece rather than making a banzai move for the front. Once we got passed this stage, we started picking our way through the pack and come the last few minutes found ourselves reeling in our team mate Cieran Brewer who was lying in second place. Despite catching him, we were unable to get close enough to make a move on him, so settled for third place and some very welcome championship points.
Race 2
An excellent start saw us pip Chris Dyer off the line and slot in behind Cieran at the first corner. The two of us ran line astern for the early part of the race until we were caught by a hard charging Trevor Lewis. Trevor managed to get a run on me into Brooklands before setting his sights on Cieran. Then a truly awful piece of driving from Trevor saw Cieran rammed at high speed into the wall at the entrance to Copse. The impact was massive and Cieran's car was totally destroyed. The safety car was immediately deployed so that Cieran could be safely attended to. While circulating behind the safety car Trevor suffered a puncture, putting him out of contention. When we were finally released, after five laps, we had a trouble free run to the line to claim our first class win of the season.
Reflection
We came away from the race very much with mixed feelings. Our jubilation at our first race win was somewhat muted by Cieran's terrifying accident, although it was most reassuring to see him out of the car unharmed. It remains to give a big thank you to all at EMC for a fantastic effort in getting both the car and me to a level not expected at this stage in the season. We have a bit of enforced break now, with the next meeting not until the end of July on the Silverstone Historic Grand Prix circuit as part of the Classic Festival.
