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Next Race - Brands Hatch 20th / 21st June

Last Race - Cadwell Park Summary

This was my first outing at Cadwell

The car following Snetterton - March 14th

Autosport International Race Car Show

The 2009 season starts here. We went on the trade day - fast cars and even faster models in every direction. During the day we registered for the championship and purchased a light weight battery.

Despite the credit crunch and impending recession (just the 1 quarter so far), we are pushing ahead with plans for 2009.

Current closed season development includes; engine rebuild, new rear suspension, weight loss (car and me hopefully), light weight battery, general body work tidy.

Next year we intend to concerted effort with 3 cars in the 750 mc Stock Hatch championship. With Carl Swan and Ian White competing with Saxo's in Class A with myself in class B with the XR2i.

Draft championship regulations show us swapping to Yokohama R48's which are close to being slicks and should allow us to being 3 or 4 seconds quicker than the current 539s.

The calender is still some way from finalisation, but we exepct Lydden Hill and Pembrey to be replaced by more popular tracks whilst hopeful that supporting the trucks at Thruxton (10,000 crowd) remains.

The new XR2i on debut June 2008 Brands Hatch

Photo courtesy of snappy photos http://www.snappyracers.com/

please see the news section for more news

Last Year

After a promising 2007 season, 2008 has to be classified as a nightmare. Not only did it seem to rain at every meeting but :

The season started in early March at Mallory park (dry for a change) with reasonable qualifying - however in the race a disaster. The XR2 car very much 2nd in a dispute with the tyre wall - the impact crumpled the roof and sent the car to the graveyard in the sky.

Following a 2 month search a new Fiesta XR2i was purchased. Having been raced just twice in the 2006 season it lacked development but on an initial test it showed potential. On debut at Brands Hatch in June we qualified only 1/2 second slower than with the xr2 and had 2 good finishes. However following races at Thruxton, Donington and Silverstone we called time on the season to start development for the 2009 season.

I'm keen to have as many friends and family at races to please drop me an email if you want tickets to come and support. After the poor weather in 2008, fingers crossed for the sun to be more common in 2009 so we can have a cold beer with the barbecue cooking in the background.

Old Fiesta XR2 at a sunny Silverstone in 2007

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April 2009

Much to my surprise the car was ready for the next meeting at Castle Combe. The only signs of the roll at Snetterton being a new grey roof and a couple of extra dents on the rear panel.

Easter saw wonderful weather, full grids and frantic action. In qualifying despite knowing the circuit I was very careful thus starting the race in 32rd of 42 starters. A good start in the race was ruined when forced to a near stop on the first lap to avoid 2 spun cars. The remainder of the race was great fun catching and over taking slower cars eventually finishing 25th (12th in class).

March 2009

Snetterton

The first race of the 2009 season. This year its even tougher than ever despite my developments we are really up against it - there are no less than 32 saxos.

The car seemed to be going well in qualifying but the lap times didn't seem to reflect this, then my last lap despite traffic was 1min 29sec 0.7 secs quicker than the next best. The first race saw me start 11th - 4th in class.

At the first corner a number of cars spun on cold tyres - moving me up 2 places as I managed to go in between 2 cars. By the end of the race I was classified 11th and 4th in class - my best result.

The 2nd race however saw me make a cardinal sin - I managed to lose the backend of the car on cold tyres. As the car ran wide on to the grass 2 wheels dug in on the mud. This caused the car to roll 3 times finishing on its roof. Thankfully after a trip to the medical centre I was fine but not the car.

February 2009

All the development with the exception of new suspension completed and the engine is run in on a trackday at Mallory Park

October 2008

List of development is underway - loss weight (50 kilos), engine rebuild, new rear suspension, test new tyres

September 2008

We have made the decision to miss Oulton Park to start development for the 2009 season

August 2008

Silverstone

How much rain are we going to have in 2008 - we were racing on the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend. Saturday saw racing in perfect condictions but as the weather men predicted Sunday started wet but it took a couple of hours longer for the sun to show itself.

I qualified in session a on a damp circuit - the car handled well but lacked the straight line speed and left me 25th of the 40 starters in the heat.

I expected a good finish and a place in the final however as I tried to turn in at the first corner the car was all over the place and it was all I could do not to spin and again at the 2nd corner. The car was undrivable so I retired and then with steam coming out of the car it became apparent a hose had split and was pouring water on to the front wheels.

Thruxton

I’m sure a couple of years ago we were being warned of long hot dry summers due to global warming – ever since that message our summer has consisted of 2 dry weeks in May with the odd sunny day in June, July and August (a far cry from the summer of 76). Last weekend we had the rare opportunity to race at Thruxton (5 miles from Andover) – the circuit guide summary said Thruxton is a ballsy circuit and it certainly was. The circuit is the fastest in the UK at 2.3 miles long with 2 heavy braking points, but generally flat out corners waiting to catch out anybody off line. True to form the sun had been replaced by cloud and rain on Saturday morning.

Qualifying conditions were awful with spray making visibility terrible and wet kerbs making racing lines hard to take – my plan to go out after most of the cars backfired as I was held up by a couple of slower cars and when I did find space the session finished.

Due to tight noise restrictions and being a supporting category (to the European Trucks) the heat started at 9am Sunday - despite this there was already a reasonable crowd. My ambition in the heat was just to get through to the midday final without any damage. The initial grey but dry weather changed mid race when the threatening clouds opened - thankfully though I achieved my target of getting into the final.

Again it was wet for the final and after avoiding a 5 car incident on the 1^st lap I enjoyed a battle with another XR2i for the duration of the race – I finished 28^th of the 60, 11^th in class. Overall it was a good weekend, 2 races with reasonable finishes at a great challenging circuit in front of large crowds. However it has become obvious that the engine in the XR2i is in need of a rebuild – despite carrying more speed through the corners, I couldn’t compete on the straights.

July 2008

Donnington Park - the new home of the British Grand Prix

We returned early from holidaying in Spain for this meeting - and yes we had rain there as well.

Qualifying was disappointing - and I'd start 30th. However before we even made it onto the grid matters got worse as the heavens opened with no time to change the car from its dry setting. When we got on to the grid some how the marshalls managed to mess the grid up and I ended up starting back in 36th. I made another good start which together with some fun and games at the first corner allowed me to be 15th by the end of the lap. However my good work was ruined on the 2nd lap as I put two wheels on the kerbs and spun thankfully to the left of the track out of the way.

The remainder of the race was quiet but the engine seemed well down on power