So, we’re rapidly approaching the first race weekend of 2016 for Supersport. We’re heading to Brands Hatch on the 9th and 10th April for what’s surely going to be a fantastic and chaotic weekends racing.
The Supersport grid is over-subscribed for racing at Brands, so we’re having to run a split grid format. That means there will be plenty of Supersport action on track, with 2 qualification sessions and 4 races. Each driver will be part of one qualification session and one race on Saturday and one race on Sunday. The exact races I’ll be in will not be known until after quali and race 1.
Qualification: Sat 9th April 0950 – 1005 Race 1: Sat 9th April 12:00 – 12:30 / 13:45 – 14:15 Race 2: Sun 10th April 12:10 – 12:40 / 16:35 – 17:05
The racing on Sunday is being recorded for TV and will air on Motors TV – normally the week following the race meeting.
There are a lot of variables this year, with plenty of extremely competitive drivers – some new to our grid and many who’ll be familiar. Who’ll come out on top? We’ll soon find out.
Ahead of the weekend, I was worried about my lack of running at Brands. I had turned some laps earlier in the year, however, it was icy at the time, so not really any benefit for the perfect conditions we were faced with over the weekend.
Henry managed to pip me to pole though by a few thousandths of a second. Jack was only a few thousandths further back as well. Unbelievably close.
On the Friday I tried to find a nice balance and rhythm around the track and figure out where I was strong and weak. With such a busy test session on such a short track, I had thought that it was going to be hard to achieve. However, it was great and we only had a couple of Red flags that interrupted the sessions later in the day.
Quali took place early doors on Saturday morning. The track was still damp early on but with the sun already blazing down, it only took a short while for the racing line to dry out. I was amazed on finishing the session to see I’d managed to drop in a 54.79s lap. I hadn’t managed a 54 bracket lap at all in testing. Henry managed to pip me to pole though by a few thousandths of a second. Jack was only a few thousandths further back as well. Unbelievably close.
My start for race 1 was not at all bad. I challenged around turn 1 for the lead before tucking in behind Henry into Druids. However, the conservative approach left the outside open to Dan and he passed me down into Graham Hill. That also left the door open for Jack to stick his nose in and, although I managed to hold him off into Surtees, I couldn’t stop him on the run down to Paddock. I had thought the inside line was shut out but clearly I’d left one car width available – which Jack duly stuck his car into.
At that point, it wasn’t looking too promising. 2nd down to 4th. However, the lead pack would stick together as a 4 for the remainder of the race, with Will and Lee joining in the fun briefly after the safety car which came out for a stranded car.
Towards the end of the race, Henry was really struggling for rear tyre grip and I was able to find a gap and squeeze past. Some defending saw Henry fade slightly and over the last two laps I tried everything to close the gap to Dan but only managed to get to within 4 10ths at the line.
3rd place was a welcome result – especially as we weren’t racing with a split grid. However, Jack finishing 1st wasn’t ideal! He’s on such a fantastic run of form at the moment. I managed to pick up a new lap record, which helped limit the point damage slightly and Will’s lack of pace left him in 6th position at the flag.
I snuck around the outside of Paddock – which isn’t something you can say every day.
Race 2 was slightly marred by 2 safety car periods so battles never fully matured. Oil down at Druids caused a number of incidents, including contact between Henry, Dan and myself. However, even though the battles didn’t get a chance to fully play out, they were intense and extremely hard fought.
On the penultimate lap, I finally managed to get around Jack Sales for the lead. I snuck around the outside of Paddock – which isn’t something you can say every day. I held him until Paddock the next time round but he returned the favour and took me around the outside.
I should have been good for second at that point. However, bad defending left me exposed to an on form Dan and he took his chance with a great side by side moment through Surtees. I almost got the run back at him across the line but ended up 3rd once more, by only thousandths of a second.
Dan’s racing all weekend had moved up a notch and he was rightly pleased with his results. A pleasure to race with him. Jack’s mid season run continues with impeccable race craft backed up with raw speed. Henry’s rollercoaster season continues but racing with him is always a highlight and, although I didn’t get to play with him a lot on track, Will rescued a weekend and his championship by pushing his car higher up the points than it seemed to want to go.
As the dust settles, I’m back at the top of the championship. Jack is one point back and Will a further point behind Jack. However, that doesn’t give the whole picture and I need some more great results to keep in with a shout at the title.
I shall continue to push hard at Croft. As ever, I can’t wait to get back on track. It would be nice to get back that winning feeling again :)
As part of the Academy season, you’re encouraged (and bribed just a bit) to volunteer to be a marshal for a day. For your efforts, you’re given an additional upgrade signature on your race licence and also issued 5 bonus points in the overall championship at the end of the season.
Both these factors mean that most people who are going to continue on racing after year 1 duly sign up and take part.
It appears that most years, Jenny at Caterham will arrange one of your meetings to take place on just one day of the weekend. That leaves the other open to do your marshalling. However, I had already arranged my day ahead of learning we could have done it over our Brands Hatch race weekend. This turned out to be a bit of a blessing however! For a start, the Saturday of our race weekend was absolutely baking hot. Lots of those taking part came back cooked medium rare.
Secondly, I’d chosen a top notch race meet to attend, with F3, British GT and also the Caterham R300’s all racing on the GP circuit. This meant a busy weekend on track.
Lastly, as there were far fewer drivers marshalling at this meeting, it felt a bit more special and unique. I wasn’t on a post with another Academy driver so I really had to get stuck in.
On arrival, I handned over my upgrade card, signed on and was issued with a voucher for a free cooked breakfast! Not a bad start to the day. I was allocated my post (no.5) which was up on the entry to Druids.
I was already set up on post as everyone else was arriving. I got chatting away and soon felt pretty happy that I wasn’t going to be left bored or feeling like a spare part! As soon as you let slip you’re a driver, the marshals all light up – safe in the knowledge that their day can be spent taking the piss out of you!
I think I just about held my own. It was great being able to bounce off each other as well chatting about how difficult it is for a marshal to report every incident that happens or to catch every track limits altercation etc. Having been given the opportunity to flag one of the races, I can confirm that it’s a pretty nerve wracking experience for the novice. It’s a hard job to keep up with the race and know who’s in a battle and who’s overtaking for position.
Having now experienced it first hand, it’s hard to justify ever getting annoyed that blue flags aren’t being shown to back-markers! As a driver, it’s also a skill to learn how to race and pay full attention to the flags. A day on the banks working with the team who are there to help keep you safe brings it home just how important a job this is for a driver.
The day was largely uneventful with respect to incidents at druids. There were a few bumps and scrapes, but all involved recovered back into their races. That was, until the F3 race right at the end of the day. I was just chatting to one of the recovery marshals who was saying that sometimes, days just go like this – with nothing much happening. But just as he was saying this, there was a nasty crunching sound behind and I turned to whitness an F3 car flying high through the air, tilting to 90 degrees before landing on its side, and, luckily, back on it’s wheels before heading into the barrier at high speed.
Luckily, the driver was OK and was able to get out of the car under his own steam. The snatch vehicle was sent to retrieve the car and, once the race was over, I was able to help pulling out what remained of the front wing of the car (which had managed to go completely under the tyre barrier) and generally tidy up things ready for the last race of the day.
It was quite shocking to see such a large accident up close. It was all recorded for TV by one very brave camera woman. Apparently, she never budged and the accident was coming straight for her at frightening speed. There was also no barrier to protect her had the car not landed back on the ground. Can’t wait to see the footage on TV next weekend to see if it’s as I remember it!
I’m extremely glad that I got the opportunity to work with the marshals. They do a fantastic, unpaid and often silent job all to enable us drivers to do what we love. We can’t do it without them and I hope I never forget that. A simple wave is all that’s needed as thanks at the end of a race in return – and it’s amazing how many drivers don’t even manage that.
I’ve set myself the target of volunteering to marshal at least one event every year that I race. I hope that resolution is followed better than my new years ones!
