Back to Donington again. This time for the second race weekend of the 2015 season.
Testing was positive and my speed carried through to qualifying with the second pole of the year. This time by a margin of nearly 0.5secs. Head winds meant tow was all important down the back straights and I lucked in.
Race 1 had 3 distinct phases. There was an early ‘sorting out’ phase. Some great battling with the lead pack. Around 10 mins into the race, Henry and I managed to break clear of the pack and worked together to build a gap over the rest of the field.
Unfortunately, all hell broke lose elsewhere on the track causing retirements, trips to the gravel and parts of Caterham strewn all over the track. This lead to a safety car period and the lead that Henry and I had built, evaporated.
The final phase of the race began at the restart and didn’t relent until the flag. Unfortunately, I found myself in the wrong place at several times, suffering from the mistakes of others. This saw me slide from the lead, right back to 8th place.
An accident caused by a, frankly ridiculous, move by Cedric into the final corner saw Dan taken out of the race and I had to fight to avoid being involved – I missed by millimeters… However, Max McDonagh was able to sneak past on my inside and I crossed the line in 5th.
A last minute brake pad change on Sunday morning, just ahead of the race, focused my mind and got the adrenaline pumping.
Another race of 3 phases. A similar shorting out phase at the beginning of proceedings with jostling throughout the lead pack. Again, Henry and I managed to just sneak a lead over the chasing pack as Mike Evans, Jack Sales and Dan Gore made amazing progress to the lead group from the back of the grid. The pre-safety car period the day before had been a good rehearsal and Henry and I built on our lead for the next 15-20mins of the race.
A couple of silly errors on the early parts of the final lap saw me drop away from Henry a little too much and make my attempt for the lead a little more difficult than it needed to be. I gave it a good shot but ultimately crossed the line second.
That top step remains elusive. But taking silverware home and getting to stand on the podium again is brilliant and the feeling will never grow old. I said ahead of the season that these podiums would prove much harder to pick up. However that makes the achievement all the more sweet.
As ever, thanks to all my friends and family for their support and help over the weekend. I hope I repaid that just a little :)
