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27th August (Silverstone Single Header and Stand Alone Class B Race)

Yet again Silverstone was another new circuit for me this year and it seems that sitting at the top of Class Battracted some attention and I had a TV interview and TV cameras installed in my car for the race! Luckily I managed to get some testing in before the race day with some great results. I was just getting my times into 1.14's which I knew if I could pull off again in Qualifying I'd be near the front of the class B's on the grid, especially good for the stand alone Class B race.

Unfortunately though, not everything went to plan. In Qualifying on Sunday morning I spent the first 3 laps with a strong smell of petrol worrying me, then the next few laps worrying that the mechanical failure flag for number 83 was supposed to be 38 (my number), and only once I passed number 83 broken down after Copse, did i start concentrating on what i should be doing - but with 2 yellow flags out i had no chance to get in a good lap and was stuck with a fastest lap in the 1.16's. 12th out of 21 Class B's.

I wasn't happy about the horendous qualifying session, and with Lee Scott qualifying out right for the final I'd said goodbye to my first in class. I was determind to make up as many places as possible in the heat tho to minimise the points difference between us. The rainstorm that pre-empted the heat had other plans in mind! Silverstone is a very slippy circuit in the wet and the race became more of an exercise of how to stay on the circuit! Even though I didn't get a great chance to gain many places, it was great fun to be sliding around the circuit and getting some wet weather driving experience under my belt. I finished 10th in Class.

The Class B stand alone race was great too. It was still such a shame that i didn't get better result in qualifying, I really wanted to be starting the race much nearer the front. Nevertheless I had a storming start and good first lap appearing 8th on the boarafter the first lap. I was hanging on to the the lead cars and looking for an opportunity to gain places while defending from a car behind. I managed to pass another car and attempt to catch up with the front cars but the appearance of the yellow flag at Brooklands that put space between us. I finished 8th, one of the biggest movers on the grid and was lapping mid 1.14's.

31st July - 1st August (Pembrey, South Wales. Double Header Race)

Pembrey was another completely new track for me, having never been I chose to take up a place on the untimed practise session at the start of the weekend. It was a good opportunity to get into race mode and learn the lines before qualifying.

In qualifying I managed a 1.12.56 which was ok. 3rd Class B on the grid but over second away from the 2nd Class B. I had felt that the car wasn't picking up very well on the exits of the corners and worried that the timing was slightly out from our repair job in the paddock at Cadwell, or possibly that my leaky servo was draining power from my engine.

I started Saturdays Heat from row 12 and had a great start, it was all a bit interesting in the first corner and i came out with some war damage down my drivers side, I had a good few corners where the pack was close together, but as the cars spread out I couldn't keep up with the guys I'm normally racing with. This was the first time I've raced and noticably felt like i was being held back by the car, and I only managed a 1.13.76, even so i secured myself 28th, and 3rd in Class, on the grid for the 32 car final.

Saturdays Final, as I was 3rd of 3 Class B's that made it to the final I was guarenteed a top 3 result as long as i finished, I didn't get a chance to have a decent race though as I just couldn't keep up with my normal competition, but i did finish and as one of the other class Bs broke down I came out with 2nd in Class! My fastest lap was now down to a 1.14.10

Sundays Heat I started on Row 13 - I had a pretty good start, getting away well and keeping my positions through the first few corners, until losing the back end at Esses where I spent most of the straight sideways down the grass before saving it in time for Brooklands Hairpin. Unfortunately losing the speed in the slide handed my competitors positions and I didn't have the power to catch up again, I was trying to catch up again, but the race was red flagged on lap 4 after Alan Duly, my main competitor had a substantial crash, although the car ended up shorter than it should be Alan was ok. In 4 laps my fastest lap was only 1.14.90, slower again than the last race. After my slide I didn't have a chance to get places back before the red flag but I qualified for the final - last place on the grid, but still in the final, 4th Class B.

In Sundays Final I had Keith Morgan in sight to get past as I wanted at least 3rd in Class from this race. After the first few laps I realised that it wasn't going to happen, I just couldn't keep up and on lap 5 my car admitted defeat and broke down, I rolled to the outside of the circuit under the last of the power I still had I watched the rest of the race from the side. Diagnoses in the Paddock later confirmed my distributor had given up the ghost.

From the weekend, with Alan's unfortunate results, Lee's very good results and my mixed bag the championship has taken a different stance - I am now only a few points ahead of Lee who is definately challenging my for the championship.

10th/11th July (Cadwell Park Double Header Race)

As I had never seen Cadwell Park I booked a test afternoon on Friday 9th to prepare for the weekend. I needed to learn where the track went, pin point some turn in and braking points, and start to get to grips with the best way round! So we arrived early in glorious weather which ended up lasting the whole weekend, set up camp and I signed on. 2 laps into my first session and my head gasket went. I started running on 3 cylinders and had puffs of steam out the back, by the time i'd limped to the paddock I was pouring out steam so cut the engine and with the help of Jack and Ken Adlard diagnosed the head gasket was indeed the issue. Once we sourced a head gasket over 20 miles away mum and I went to get it while Jack, Ken and Dad started taking the engine apart. With fingers crossed that no other problems surfaced during the strip down. We finally arrived back at the Paddock at 7pm and got involved with the repair job. It was all hands on deck to get this unexpected challenge conquered! We couldn't have done it without Jack and Ken, their help was invaluable and by 11pm the car was back together and we squeezed in a quick 10 second test before 'engines off' time.

We were awake early in the morning waiting for someone else to start their engine so we could follow suit and get the engine flushed through. Scruitineering followed shortly after, then I was out, very tentatively, on track for qualifying - I remembered rather rapidly that I had learnt next to nothing in the 2 laps I managed on Friday (I learnt my car was broken, the track is very narrow, and you can't see where you're going!) so I was thrown in the deep end trying to learn the way, while making sure the car was ok and trying to get the quickest times I could in the 20 minute qualifying session.

I qualified with a 1.59.35, i was glad to be under 2 minutes but knowing the fastest people in class were hitting 1.49's I knew I was miles off the pace. I started Saturdays heat 18 out of 28 on row 9. I spent most of the race defending from Mark Webster and Matthew Stubbington, both Class B, I was keeping them at bay until I was a little eager at the Gooseneck and ended up taking the grass option and losing a place to Mark Webster before I returned to the track. The Last Lap board came out that lap and I pushed hard to get back past Mark, then at Mansfield he spun on exit and I slowed to avoid him, giving Matthew Stubbington the opportunity to get through in the process. With DNF's taken into account I finished 4th in Class in the heat (5th in Class when you include Lee Scott from the final!). During Saturdays race I achieved a fastest lap of 1.57.47

On Sunday I started 22nd in the heat, further back than Saturday, as it's the 2nd fastest lap time from qualifying that dictates positions. For the first time this year I had a great start - I gained 3 places even before the start/finish line getting in front of Mark Shears, Mark Wester and Matthew Stubbington, and sitting right on the tail of Alan Duly. I came out of a few corners with great drive where I attempted to pass Alan, but he defended well and kept me behind, Mark was also sticking with us at times but between Alan and I he didn't have the option to get past. Alan and I had a great race and by following Alan I pulled my time up by another 2 seconds to 1.55.54. I finshed 3rd in class in the heat (4th in Class when you include Lee Scott from the final again!)

From the weekend, with only 3 sessions ever on this circuit, I managed to get into a fairly good race pace where I could be competitive. I'm already looking forward to next year and getting my lap times down even more.

My closest competition in the Championship table before Cadwell unluckily had engine problems and didn't have the chance to pick up more points which means the points I scored have kept me at the top of the class B table!

29th/30th May (Anglesey Double Header Race)

After 8 hours door to door we finally arrived in Anglesey, Friday afternoon, in nice weather, we set up camp for the weekend, prepped the car, walked the circuit, then settled in for the night. At 4am the rain started, and it didn't stop until gone lunch time. I was queueing up for scrutineering in the pouring rain with my car steaming up more and more - knowing this would be a massive issue for qualifying I got mum on the case with some rainx antifog! it worked a treat!

Qualifying was in the rain, and having never taken my car on this circuit before, this was an experience that needed a really steep learning curve. I built up my confidence in the circuit and the grip levels and gradually started reducing my lap times. Then braking a little late into Rocket left me on the waterlogged run off area which turned into grass and a slide over the next corner of the circuit and onto the grass on the outside of the circuit. Thankfully no one hit me during my escapade but once I'd restarted the car and rejoined the circuit there was no time left for any more laps. I ended up with a best time of 1:34.75 putting me 21st on the grid for my heat, the 6th class B.

The rain just stopped in time for the heat but there was no sign of a dry line appearing on the circuit, and with marshalls informing us that 'there is oil everywhere' just before leaving the assembly area I was fairly prepared for a slippy race. With no green flag lap we didn't even have the opportunity to see what grip there was out there before racing, so not having the confidence that people weren't going to be sliding into me I surrendered a lot of passing opportunities that looking back I should have taken. Wanting my car in one piece for the rest of the weekend I was playing it safe. As I had suspected, the 2 cars I had been following closely for a good part of the race, very closely in fact, as I was wheel to wheel with Liam Sargent's Class A Peugeot 106 at one point, did in fact take each other out, leaving me with free track, but unfortunately not enough time left to make up any places. I ended up 22nd overall and 7th in class. Not the result I wanted but not surprising as I hadn't raced at Anglesey before, I haven't had much experience on a wet circuit and I wasn't really 'in the zone' during this race.

We woke up on Sunday to a gloriously sunny day, the complete opposite to Saturday, so we changed the tyres over and prepared for the heat. I had loads more confidence for this race but I was worrying about having enough fuel to get through the whole thing - the majority of 750MC Stock Hatch races are 13 minutes + 1 lap, but this Sunday's was 18 minutes + 1 lap with a green flag lap. As I wasn't able to use wet race fuel consumption as any sort of benchmark I just had to wait and see if my tank held enough to get me through at this race.

As soon as the red lights went out the race was on, and it was a great one, I had some close racing with Alan Duly (Class B) and spent a few laps side by side with Trevor Gregory. As the race progressed there was still plenty of close racing, in the last few laps I passed Dan Gibson (Class B) and caught up with Kirk Dewell and Andrew Lightfoot (Class B). Kirk Passed Andrew leaving him next in my sights and over a couple of laps I managed to gain on Andrew, achieving my best lap time of 1:25.69 , and on the way out of Church I took my opportunity to pass. At the end of that lap I saw the last lap board, and a lap later, the chequered flag. The whole race was great fun, I finished 17th overall and 4th in Class. Second reserve for the final.

May 2010 (repairs)

From the damage sustained at Brands Hatch we had a repair job on our hands, after repairing as much of my car as we could we admitted defeat and contacted Just GTI's/Broadbridge Heath Garage in West Sussex who worked magic on pulling the front of the car out again ready for Anglesey.

The TV coverage of the Brands Hatch Race meeting was aired on Motors TV, including when I crashed into Steve noble

24th/25th April (Brands Hatch Double Header Race)

The second race meeting, and 3rd and 4th races of the calendar, took place on 24th and 25th of April at Brands Hatch, racing on the Indy circuit, with 61 signed on competitors.

Sarah had a superb qualifying achieving a 59.47 second lap, meaning she was on row 4 (P7) for the heat, ahead of her usual compeition on the grid. A fairly unsuccessful start though ment she lost a few places early on, but fought back and finished 7th. Due to the small grids and number of competitors entered to race at this meeting, this result made her 2nd reserve for the final, but wasn’t called up. Even so, she finished th day third in class.

Sunday’s heat wasn’t so successful; A good start from row 5 on the grid kept her well in the front group of cars racing on the wet and greasy Indy circuit, 3 abreast around Graham Hill Bend on lap 1 resulted in some contact and losing a wing mirror. Then a few laps further on, some evasive driving from a competitor in front put him into a spin leaving Sarah fighting to take a tight line to avoid him, but on the greasy surface the traction ran out and she hit him, leaving them both with front quarter damage and taking them both out of the race.

At this point in the race season, even with the DNF, Sarah is leading the Class B Championship.

Sarah would like to thank Jordans Car Storage, RMA Track Days and Camberley Auto Factors for all their support.
Next up - fix it, then Anglesey.

13th/14th March (Snetterton Double Header Race - first race of the season)

A fantastic weekend resulting in a 1st and 2nd in class over the 2 races of the weekend...

Friday morning I headed off to collect the car from Jordans Car Storage with Mum and Dad, we spent a couple of hours doing a little more preparation before loading it onto the trailer and heading off to Snetterton. Once we arrived and unloaded I looked in my car and, as if there was a great big flashing arrow, the expiry date on my fire extinguisher shone out clear as day - 6th March 2010. Couldn't believe it - an instant fail in scrutineering and no racing if I couldn't get it serviced. Luckily Bill Gregory, the Stock Hatch representative, knew there were fire extinguisher servicing people coming along (exactly for people like me!) and put me in touch that evening. So with the fire extinguisher serviced and the car wrapped up for the evening it was off for dinner.

Saturday morning we got down to checking fuel and pressures, sticking the championship stickers on the car, setting up the camera and getting down to scrutineering. Bizarrely the car cut out in the queue, but seemed to start ok again, and I thought nothing more of it. After passing scrutineering I prepared for my first qualifying session since August last year.

This race meeting was arranged so the 56 signed on competitors (of which 15 were Class B cars) were split over 2 qualifying sessions - the times from these sessions went to creating the grids for the 2 respective heats - then the top 19 finishers from the 2 heats would go onto the 38 car final.

Qualilfying felt like it went fantastically, I had some clear track and felt like I got some good times in, my lap timer wasn't picking up the sender signal though so I had no idea how I was doing. Turns out I was terrible. 3 seconds slower than last year's qualifying and leaving me 21st out of the 27 in my qualifying group, putting me 21st on the grid of my heat, behind 4 other Class B cars.

Back in the paddock we prepared the car for the heat and as the first call went out for competitors to go to the assembly area I jumped in the car ready to go and it wouldn't start. It wasn't battery, or any electrics and after fiddling around for ages I thought I wasn't going to get out. The fisrt group's heat was red flagged and the cars were being held on the grid for a restart and just as they went again my car started and stayed on. I shot down to the assembly area with seconds to go before the other heat was red flagged again and the cars returned to the pits - then it was our heat.

It was a good heat, fairly neat and tidy for SH with only a couple of car casualties that I was aware of. I had some close racing, and for the last few laps I had as found myself moving up the pack. I finished my heat in 18th position which qualified me for the final!!

My brakes had started feeling a little worse for wear and with only an hour or so before the final we decided to try and sort them out but one thing after another seemed to be going wrong and I ended up going out down to the final with a brake pedal which was nearly on the floor.

For the final I was on row 18, in 35th position, next to Trevor Gregory, I had 4 Class B cars in front of me. First corner carnage ensued and avoiding the mess became a priority, this took a few cars from up front out and the race was red flagged. We came around and lined up again and a few reserves joined the back of the pack. The race was restarted. I had some close racing with some of the fiestas, and other 205 and a KA, including a very satisfying '2 in 1' pass where I got past the KA and 205 down Senna Straight then drove like a bat out of hell to get away but had Mark Webster's Fiesta filling up my mirror for the last couple of laps. Luckily I made up ground on the straights and around Coram Curve but with my brake pedal so low I was losing time at the corners and it was a case of making my car as wide as it could be to try and defend and I crossed the chequered flag with Mark still behind me.

When the results were published I had finished 28th - and First in Class! I couldn't believe it! trophy and everything! and to think I was seconds away from not even making it to the heat - I was very very happy and surprised with my results for the day.

Sunday morning we made the decision to get an early start on the car and sort out the brakes, with the first heat not starting until 12.30, (we use the 2nd best lap times from Saturday's qualifying for our grid positions) there was plenty of time to get working, so we did, and we fixed them!

On Sunday the heats were split on the timetable so there was one before and one after lunch, which gave the rare opportunity to watch the other heat as a spectator, Stock Hatch racers are nuts! it's great to watch, then slightly bizarre to think i'm out there too, but i wouldn't have it any other way!

Sunday's heat saw me starting from 21st again, I gained a few then lost a few places up to and around the first corner. One of the guys in front had a moment coming out of the Esses which held up another Fiesta and I gained a couple of positions there, then it was fairly plain sailing til the chequered flag securing me my second place in a final that weekend, this time on Row 16.

The final saw me starting next to Trevor Gregory again but a couple of rows further up the grid. I didn't get a great start and lost a few positions early on, there were no crashes in the first lap which meant the pack was still fairly close together and there were lots of position changes all around me. I sneaked through past Mark Webster at Riches where there were 3 of us going into the corner side by side, and was looking for an opportunity to get around Matthew Stubbington's 205 but going for 5th instead of 3rd out of the Bomb Hole lost me another place to the KA and left me contending with the 205 and KA again for the next few laps, we changed places over and over and there was some seriously close driving, I did manage to get a decent move and pass them both again with space to get away a little but screwed up Russell Bend which gave Steve Noble in the KA the perfect chance to get past again. We passed the chequered flag shortly after that but the KA being in Class A meant I still walked away with 2nd in Class, trophy number two and a weekend without a scratch to the race car - can't ask for more than that!

And at the moment, with a 1st and a 2nd in class for the 1st two races of the season i'm currently leading the Class B Championship!

A pretty good weekend on all accounts!

February 2010 (pre-season)

After I had the car back from Xsport and the paint shop, it was time to get back out on track and make sure everything was still doing what it should; it wasn't.

A track day, at the fairly local RAF Odiham - thanks to RMA Trackdays, luckily gave me the opportunity to discover a few little problems the car had developed that needed attention. Trouble with the steering, rubbing wheels and power failure all played their part. Some quick diagosing lead us to believe the alternator had given up the ghost which seriously wrote off the rest of the day. Xsport Racing then pinpointed the steering problem was down to a bent front suspension strut and that the rubbing wheels was down to part of the inner arch needing slightly more adjusting. An alternator from Camberley Auto Factors and some man power from Xsport meant the car was ready before the end of the week, and more importantly ready for my track day at Snetterton on the 26th February.

On Friday 26th February, full of anticipation, I convinced my parents (pitcrew and catering!) that they wanted to get up at 4.30am and hit the road in good time to secure us a pit garage when we arrived at Snetterton. With the sky the colour of rain this was a popular choice. The track day was superb, I felt like I had my car back again and managed to get loads of time on track. I have a huge lack of experience of track driving in the wet as nearly every race and track day I have been on the track has been dry, so getting a day of rain and sitting water was just the sort of practise I need.

Bring on the race.

Winter 2009/2010

Managed to get my car on a jig and get it untwisted! so now knowing my car is still straight I'm getting a move on with getting it ready for new year. Xsport Racing in Basingstoke has sorted out the chassis and bodywork panels, off to the paint shop next...

The 2009 season is already over and its been a bit of a rollercoaster. From the off I needed to be sensible with which races I entered, purely from a financial point of view, which destroyed my hopes of competing in a full season fairly rapidly. It was even more of a disappointment when after the first 3 races I was sitting Fifth in class with some of my best finishes so far. So after missing out on a few races I tumbled down the points table and it was down to taking each race as the race and nothing more. The times I was out I had a fantastic time, with some great races and good finishes but it was Mallory in August which ended up writing off the rest of the season. After being taken out on the last corner by a fellow competitor the car needed quite a bit of attention to get it back up to scratch, unfortunately not something I had the time or money to. Anyone looking to start in motorsport needs to have a back up fund of money they can effectivly throw away because 1 accident can ruin your fun otherwise. I had really hoped to get back out again before the end of the year but one thing rolls into another and before you know it all the opportunities are gone and you are out of time. Fingers crossed for next year!

September 2009

Ebay strikes again... I found a promising sounding 205 with a rebuilt race engine in it so won the auction with the plan of combining the 2 cars to create some kind of hybrid 205 race car for next year. I have taken it for a test drive at Snetterton and Brands Hatch GP circuit with RMA track days (it was great to be out on track again), the engine has a fairly substantial oil leak but shows potential. So now I have the task of getting the 2 cars into one with as little financial burden as possible!

11th September 2009

Feeling fairly annoyed with myself for not being able to get my car sorted, I bit the bullet and cancelled my Snetterton race entry. Looking back i'm gutted i've missed so much of the season. It will be a concerted effort now to get the car running as it should and try to find some money for some testing over winter.

Sunday 2nd August 2009 - Mallory Race Meeting

I have never been to Mallory in my race car before, only been there once in a MX5 for a track day, so apart from knowing the way the circuit went I had a lot to learn in my 15min practise/qualifying. Predictably I qualified a little further back than normal starting 22nd out of 30 on the grid for my heat, but with a fairly good start I was hoping to make up some places. First corner had a few cars off, inevitably causing me to slow down, leaving the opportunity for a few people behind to get past on the inside. Once first corner was conquered the pack settled down and I was sitting right behind Toby Harris in the white Fiesta he shares with Lisa Selby. The rest of the race I was watching the track through his windscreen as we were so close, and with a nudge up at Shaw’s Hairpin and getting my nose in front at The John Cooper Esses, before having to brake for the Hairpin, I was eager to get past, at Shaw’s again on the last lap, Toby ran into the Nova that was near us, giving me the perfect opportunity to get out of the Hairpin just in front. We came down from Shaw’s mirror to mirror, all around Devil’s Elbow wheel to wheel, for a drag race to the end…

Shame that wasn’t the case, Toby pushed me wide, right off the track onto the grass towards the entrance of the pits, bouncing over the grass and access roads, I did everything I could, and luckily achieved, to make sure I didn’t hit the end of pit wall, as we must have been coming out the corner at around 70, it was a fight to get the car back on track, I passed the finish line sideways, ending up backwards, side swiping the Armco on the left with my drivers side and coming to a stand still on the track, facing the way I came, at the exit to the pit lane. But I finished, I passed the line and finished 15th, Toby 16th. (Unexpectedly this put me as 5th reserve for the final!)

So off to medical centre, even though I was angry that it felt like he pushed me off, I saw Toby and asked if he was alright as in the event he managed to take himself out too. Turns out with the outside video and interviews by Clark of the Course, Toby was in fact found to have pushed me off the circuit, meaning all of this was avoidable, 2 crashed cars, 2 bruised bodies (thank goodness it wasn’t more), 2 empty wallets, and points on Toby’s license.

It didn't stop at the medical centre for me unfortunately, because of my symptoms the medics wanted to be on the safe side and transferred me to Leicester Royal Infirmary to be kept under observation for liver damage. I spent the rest of the day there before coming back to the circuit, where some other stock hatchers had loaded my car onto my trailer - thank you!! and i could see the damage for the first time. I knew then it wouldn't be a quick return to the circuit.

To be honest the drag to the line would have been in Toby’s favour, I didn’t have the power yesterday as my exhaust repair blew out in qualifying leaving a hole I could get my hand through on my silencer so I didn’t have the power I needed to get away from him so he would have finished ahead of me.

Going back and looking at all the skid marks, gouges in the grass and dents in the Armco told the story really, especially the skid 6 inches away from the end of the pit wall.   

So I will probably be out of action for a bit now while diagnosing all the problems with the car and then getting on the quest to get it all fixed again.

July 2009

One of my sponsors; RMA Track Days supported Help for Heroes and other charities by hosting the Odiham Extravaganza in July. Have a look at the photographs of the day and the photoshoot with the RAF Chinook

Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st June 2009

Brands Hatch again!! A double-header over the Summer Solstice weekend. I had been hoping to get near 1 minute lap times as from looking through old results I thought this would be fairly respectable considering i was doing 1.05's last year, the new tyres only take 2 seconds off so knowing the track a bit more and with knowing the car a bit better now I was hoping to lose those extra seconds. Qualifying on Saturday morning (after a massive delay in getting the times) brought fairly good news. My fastest lap was 1.00.06 not quite under a minute but fairly close! Talking of close the qualifying times of the first 61 cars in our series were separated by less than 4 seconds!

For Saturday my qualifying time set me up in 13th position on the grid of a full heat of 32 and second best times for Sunday had me starting in the same place. There was some close racing from the off and I managed to avoid the crashes before the first red flag, then after the restart I gained and lost and gained some places again before settling down in 9th position hunting down the next group of cars, the rest of the race was just about not making mistakes as I tried to catch them, but then chequered flag was out and i finished a happy 9th (which made me 11th in class overall).

Sunday was a little tidier; there were no major crashes although there was some contact between other competitors and some fairly close racing on my part squeezing through gaps which weren't really as wide as my car and going around the outside of no85 at Clearways towards the beginning of the race and I was fairly disappointed when I was over taken under a yellow flag after a couple of others cars had come off, anyway I broke away from the cars behind me and started to gain the next group over the next few laps and if the race was a little longer I would have been fighting for positions but chequered flag came out and I walked away with 11th place (which for Sunday made me 9th in class overall).

Monday 13th April 2009

Castle Combe Race - Fantastic weather for Easter Monday and the Castle Combe Circuit hosted race meeting. We took to the track about 9 am for a split session of qualifying, I had a rubbish session feeling really slow and not getting a chance to find a rhythm before the chequered flag. So I was surprised to see that i had qualified 23rd in a 42 car heat.

The heat ran just after lunch and for the first time i avoided the first corner carnage without losing places. After a scattering of cars around the circuit the safety car was deployed for 4 or 5 of the 10 laps we were allocated, once it pulled in I was on the defensive for the remaining part of the race finishing 18th (5th in class) fixing myself with postion 35 out of a full 42 car grid in the final.

The final was second to last race of the day, and due to other incidents with previous championships the race was cut to 7 laps. I had a good start from my grid position on the bend of Camp Corner gaining a few places and staying tight in with the group. All 42 cars were close through the first few corners but incident free before the pack started to spread out. A substantial crash from a front runner led to the safety car coming out on lap 3 until lap 6 leaving us with one lap and a frantic dash to the finish line. I finished 34th overall, 5th in class and 2nd Peugeot 205

14th/15th March 2009

First race meeting of 2009 - Snetterton Double header... Very brief highlights would be... qualified in the middle (19th) for saturdays heat and 23rd for sundays heat (out of 38)

Saturdays race - I got tied up in first corner carnage spinning the car along with another 5 or so other competitors then the car took a few tries to restart leaving me right at the back. By the end of the first lap I'd caught up and gained a place back and was hunting down the next cars when the race was redflagged. The grid reformed for a 7 minute race but was redflagged again before I was even past the gantry giving us a total of less than 4 laps. Lots of crashing in the final too everyone complained about not being given a green flag lap to warm our new tyres up before we race, so they decided to introduce it from now on (why didn’t they listen first!!! Before all the damage).

Sunday was better, after the problems with the first corner on Saturday, in the heat and the final, 750MC introduced a green flag lap to give us a chance to warm up the tyres. This helped hugely with the whole pack making it through the first corner!I stayed pretty neutral off the grid then lost a couple of places around the second corner, but got into a rhythm and fought my way back. I had a good, fairly close race, actually ‘encouraged’ someone around a corner at Bomb Hole, breaking my indicator, bending my wing and breaking my bumper! Managed some good overtakes, and finished 16th, 7th overall in my class. This made me 3rd reserve for the final which I think is closest so far.

February/March 2009

Winter prep has been going well, managed some testing at Brands Hatch and Snetterton, where I got some practice on the new tyres. Really looking forward to the Snetterton race next week.

January 2009

New Year, new season, new calendar. Updated website and the car's looking gorgeous again - huge thanks to Jordans Car Storage for arranging the bodywork repairs - no more Dame shaped dent in the side!!

I've come out of the 2008 season with first hand experiences that I can really work on and develop for next year. I've been through a variety of challenges through the 2008 season with having so much to learn - the car, the circuits, the racing line, defensive driving, (I'm working on the aggressive driving), close contact, grid starts, and much more, all on top of having a pretty substantial crash - luckily no injuries to me although the car came of a bit bruised, then being disqualified from another race for being underweight.

Thank you again to all my 2008 sponsors for making it possible to get out on track; BCMS Corporate have been the backbone of my season, RMA Track Days have proven to be invaluable, Jordans Car Storage is fantastic with flexibility. Motoringinwestberkshire.co.uk, Guildford Tyre Company and TRS have all been brilliant too. Please show your support by visiting their websites on my sponsors page. And a big Thank You also goes to my mum, dad, brother and Sam for their continuing support - I really couldn't do it without you.

Winter 2008

It's currently time to get the car feeling and looking lovely again! I am also hunting for sponsors to keep me going through the 2009 season. I'll be trying to get out on track for some test days over the winter season hopefully with the new tyres

28th September 2008

The Snetterton race is all done and dusted - a great day with new experiences again Snetterton was wicked, we had a 4 day break camping there! which was brilliant, the weather was great, the only bit of summer we've seen this year! The Race was great, I didn't qualify as well as i expected though, getting a 1.35 and sitting 30th out of 38 cars on the grid but i had a great start, made up about 6 places off the start line, was wheel to wheel (literally) with another up to the first corner and was making really good progress. unfortunately tho in the race before a car had dropped oil around the whole circuit on the perfect racing line and the marshalls put cement dust on it to stop it being slippy - which is great - until there is so much dust being kicked up by the 20 cars in front of you that you can't see anything, glimpsing brake lights I decided to let off through fear of crashing full pelt into other compeitors at the end of the straight, so I lost 4 places there but worked my way back up again finishing 22 out of 38 and it was so much fun.

August/September 2008

I really want to say how fantastic RMA Track Days have been to me, i am eternally greatful for all the help they have given me, so a big thank you to Graham and Leyton, track time really is the key to improving on the track and having the opportunity to visit tracks such as silverstone GP circuit and Brands Hatch GP circuit have been very special.

Thank you also goes to Jordans Car Storage for being so flexible with collecting and dropping off my car.

3rd August 2008

I throughly enjoyed Thruxton, overall it was a pretty scary weekend, it was my first ever time on a wet track and i was convinced i had totally screwed up qualifying, I had major issues with the car steaming up on the inside, and had to find my feet on the wet track so i was surprised to find myself on the 13 row of the grid with another 12 cars behind me. I had high hopes for the race, the weather forecast looked good and the car was happy with a dry set up, i had a great start gaining a few places off the line but was sent way off line avoiding the usual first corner carnage, which lost me about 10 places. A couple of laps in the rain started but I was 'in the zone' so it didn't bother me. I really enjoyed the race i had some close dicing with a few other cars and managed to finish 26 out of 38 - 2 positions short of qualifying for the final, sad to have missed out but happy with the race as a whole and happy that i have a wet race under my belt.

July 2008

Donington Park - a lovely track and I was very happy to finally feel at home again in the car and on the track, my car is great, I'm pleased to say I am getting better and better results everytime I compete. I fully intend it to continue and as i learn more tracks and take advantage of more track time I can see myself really improving.

June 2008

Brands Hatch double header; first time i've been back on track since being on my roof at Brands Hatch in April. It took some time to get back into it, but i did it, and I finished. I'll be uploading some pictures and videos soon. 2 chequered flags! Very happy. I managed to get to the end of 2 races on all 4 wheels, definately an improvement from the last outing. unfortunately though I was disqualified from saturdays heat for being underweight. but I did manage my personal best laptime.

May 2008

The car is gradually getting back into shape, I miss it! and i want to get back out there. Good luck to you all racing at Pembrey this weekend.

20th April 2008

After a Saturday of checks and maintenence we were set for Brands Hatch on Sunday. Sunday was a day of more new experiences. I had a rubbish practise but managed to qualify 4th from the back on the grid. The heat was a messy one with cars coming off all over the place and red flag came out for a restart. The second grid start was great, I gained a few places and stuck with the pack until another competitor crashed into me sending me off the track and onto my roof.

I would like to say sorry to mum, dad and Sam for the worry caused. and thank you to TRS for there awesome harness (yes you do land on your head when you undo a harness upside down), Safety Devices for making a very effective roll cage, the marshalls for helping me out of the car and the medics for being so lovely, picking me up, checking me over, giving me the all clear and showing me pictures of the whole event.

5th & 6th April 2008

I did it, my first racing experience, 2 races started and 2 races finished. no spinning, no crashing, 2 signitures on my licence, a couple of good starts and a really good taste of things to come (I hope!)

Late March 2008

I spent the last weekend before the Lydden race tweeking this and that and getting the car prepared, it was all hands on deck getting the car sorted with Mum, Dad, my Brother and boyfriend Sam all helping out tonnes.

Early March 2008

Preparing for the start of the season, my licence has arrived, I now have a trailer and my new harness - thanks to TRS. I've decided to make my first race Lydden as I haven't had a chance to practice at Mallory. I have some track time booked soon to get the car set up and then the last minute bits and pieces to make sure the car is up to scratch and stickers are on order as well as some other bits and pieces.

Feburary 2008

All sorted, Medical signed off and ARD's passed, another step closer. New harness ordered through TRS but still looking for a trailer.

January 2008

My ARDs and medical are booked, now I'm on a serious hunt for a 11ft twin axle trailer (if you know of a second hand one available email me!!)

Winter 2007

The old stickers came off, and now i'm dedicating spaces for my new sponsors.
Fitted new boot springs to the boot to adhere to the new regulations.

October 2007

My first sponsors came through. Newbury Weekly News/motoringinwestberkshire.co.uk and BCMS Corporate.

September 2007

Sam and I spend evenings and weekends working on a sponsor information pack so we could get some sponsors backing the season. There is no way I will be able to compete through the year without financial backing.

August 2007

We collected my new car. It took up residence in Mum and Dad's garage while they were out!

July 2007

Watched NSH at Brands Hatch and after seeing how amazing it was we decided to go ahead and get the car. Massive thank you goes to Mum and Dad who bought it for me.

Spring 2007

I started to research racing clubs and formulaes with the help of my boyfriend Sam, and he encouraged me to take my first steps my buying me my Go Racing pack. We decided on National Stock Hatch with 750MC, one of the most affordable ways to race. As I had a 205 GTI which even as standard was a great car on the track, It seemed a good car to start stock hatch in. Sam found a great example of an x-stock hatch racer for sale and it shot straight to the top of my wish list!

2000 - 2007

Once i passed my driving test i realsied the road wasn't the place to play, I craved the chance to put my foot down without the fear of oncoming traffic, I did experience days and track days whenever i could and spent many of my weekends at car shows with my modified civic and the car club I founded, BadBoy Performance. But I was missing the track too much.