Snetterton 300 - 1st July 2012 - PBMW rounds 7 & 8

Having competed in the Project 8 races the day before I went into qualifying fairly confident, a few clear laps gave me a best lap of 2:30:508 and 21st out of 34 on the grid for the first race. Slightly disappointed after better qualifying in the previous round at Silverstone, however looking at the times 15th on the grid was within a second.

The first race didn't exactly go to plan, a fairly awful start (might have tried to pull away in third) left me in a position where I was hit by a spinning car before I'd even got to the start line.

Having got through the first couple of corners I thought I'd got away with it and would be able to continue in the race, however at the first left hander it was very apparent that the front wing was fouling the wheel and I'd have to retire. A little hammering the front and rear arches straight enough and far enough away from the wheels to be safe for race 2.

Retiring from race 1 meant I'd have to start race 2 from the back of the grid, not wanting a repeat of race 1 I opted for a conservative run through the first 2 corners, the second corner is a very tight hairpin and a common place for a little contact. Having made it through the first couple of corners I then got on with the job of trying to make up as many places as possible in the 15minute race. Finished in 24th which was quite respectable having started from the back of the grid.

Now just need to sort out a new front wing before Oulton Park on the 21st July

Snetterton 300 - 30th June Project 8 racing saloons

Normally the car is run in Project 8 racing saloons by a friend but as he had other work commitments I took the opportunity for some extra track time. The PBMW cars have there own class within the project 8 Racing Saloons series.

A total of 9 entrants made up this class so I was please to qualify 4th of 9 in class F and 20th/27 overall.

A couple of enjoyable races but frustrating at time when racing with cars that were faster on the straight but slower through the bends, maybe a little more race craft is required on my part. Finished 5th and 6th in class F after a couple of close races.

Silverstone National - 12/13th May 2012 - PBMW rounds 5 &6

It was back to Silverstone for rounds 5 and 6 of the production BMW championship this time on the much shorter National circuit.

As there was only one new corner to learn over the previous rounds on the GP circuit I opted not to test on the Friday, Qualifying took place on a sunny Saturday afternoon, Struggled through qualifying with a very spongy brake pedal and a couple of spins so was happy to have qualified 15th out of 31 which was the furthest up the grid all year.

Sunday morning arrived and with freshly bled brakes we lined up on the for race 1. Managed to get a clean get away and within a few laps was running on my own with the cars of Andy Mac and Brian Jones fighting a few seconds behind and 4 or 5 other cars involved in a close battle a few seconds in front. Despite trying to catch the guys in front I never quite got there making for an uneventful race 1. Finished 15th on the road but was promoted to 14th after another competitor finished under weight.

Started race 2 in the same order as finishing race 1 so 14th on the grid. Another reasonable get away but unfortunately overtaken by Brian Jones.

Had a much more eventful race 2 trying to catch and pass Brian whilst also desperately defending my own position from the ever present cars of Andy Mac and Steve Turtill. This lasted the entire 15 minute race and I was quite content to finish 15th and relieved to finally see the chequered flag. The 4 of us crossed the line within 1.5s. Another great race and most importantly no dents, missing paint or falling out with other competitors

The racing bug has really bitten as the Friday before Silverstone I also picked up a 3.0 BMW E36 M3, looking to build the car to run in the Project 8 racing salons or CTCRC pre '93 touring car series towards the end of 2013.

Silverstone GP - 14/15th April 2012 - PBMW round 3

Rounds three and four of the PBMW championship took place on the Silverstone GP circuit as one of the support races for the Formula 2 event. Having never driven at Silverstone I opted to take part in testing on the 13th

Having run in the test day on the 13th I went into qualifying positive, Qualifying was to take just 15 minutes which isn't many laps of the full GP circuit when you only have 130bhp. Qualified 19th out of 41 competitors in class, on a grid which was to be shared with the faster project 8 racing saloons.

Another positive came when the lights went green and we were off as unlike the 2 previous rounds at brands hatch I made a reasonable start holding on to the pack though the first series of corners, avoiding a substantial accident at Becketts and heading out onto the hanger straight in one piece.

The good luck was a little short lived when on the third lap I turned into the Stowe corner at the end of the Hanger straight and spun.

Given the speed at which the car broke away I was slightly concerned that there was a puncher or other issue with the car.

Getting back on the circuit found be back towards the back of the field with some quite bad wheel wobble, still a little concerned about any potential issues with the car I opted to drive at 90% and bring the car home. Finished 30th.

As the Project 8 and PBMW grids had been combined I didn't run in the second race but the car ran in the hands of Ben. following having the front wheels rebalanced and suspension checked it ran well.

Brands Hatch - 24/25th March 2012 - PBMW rounds 1&2

The weekend of the 24th and 25th of March was the first 2 rounds of the Production BMW championship on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. The car was also being run in the Project 8 racing saloons series on the same weekend by Ben Woodcock.

23rd March 2012 - Test day

We took the opportunity to book into the test evening on the 23rd of March as this was the first chance to run the E30 since the Brands Hatch Trackday in December.

Since the trackday the suspension has been changed and the car set up by Jody Halse of Climax motorsport and the tyres changed from the old Toyo R888's to the Marangoni Zeta Linea sport semi slicks as required by the series regulations.

With only an hours running time between us there wasn't a great deal of time to get used to the car but a time of around 61s was looking a lot more positive than the times on the December trackday.

24th March 2012 - Qualifying

Having nervously watched Ben qualify the car in Project 8 Racing Saloons and complete 2 15 minute races without any issues it was now my turn behind the wheel.

For qualifying the total entry of 37 cars was split into 2 groups, I went out in the second group and immediately felt reasonably comfortable in the way the car drove, came in 15 minutes later with no real idea of how I'd got on but with a huge grin on my face.

Expecting to be near the back of the grid I was pleasantly surprised to see that my time of 1:00:887 had left me 11th out of 19 in my group and 22nd out of 37 overall. Pole position was set by Ben Winrow with a time of 58:436.

25th March 2012 - Race Day - Race 1

For the races the total entry was split into 3 groups and then each group ran in 2 of the three races, creating grids of 25 cars. I found myself starting in 15th position on the grid which left me fairly central in the road with far to many cars around me for my first racing start.

Sat on the grid I was starting to feel a bit nervous as first the 1 minute board was held up and then the 30 second board. Shortly after the red lights are lit up, and as they're turned off we all go for it. Far to many revs on my part meant for way to much wheel spin, looking in the mirrors lots of cars behind me are making a better job of getting of the line. Looking in my mirrors also took my attention way from changing into second gear and I hit the rev limiter in first for what felt like several seconds. So from 15th on the grid to what seamed like about 22 or 23 by the entry to Druids. It hadn't been an ideal start but I still has all my paint so it wasn't all bad.

In the first couple of laps had a great battle with another E30 whilst trying to get to grips with racing other cars rather than just the clock, eventually got passed and started to pull away. A mixture of other people spinning an the odd over take meant I was slowly moving up the field.

Over the last few laps had a great battle with Stephen Murphy in car number 144. I seamed to be quicker from druids through to the entry to paddock but he'd always out brake me into paddock and get the place back, Great fun, clean racing with no swapping of paint. I eventually came out in front finishing 18th, rather annoyingly being lapped on the final corner.

Post race I was promoted to 17th as a couple of competitors were disqualified. Best lap of 60.023 was a welcome improvement on the qualifying time.

25th March 2012 - Race Day - Race 2

For race 2 I again started in 15 place on the grid, got a slightly better start but still lost a place or 2 into paddock hill bend, a tentative approach to druids lost me a couple more places but I was expecting this being my first race, It really was quite daunting having so many cars all fighting for the corner.

The race went well, making up a few spaces in the early stages, eventually pulling clear of the two cars behind me. The middle of the race was quite quiet but in the last few laps I noticed I was starting to gain on Brian Jones in car 84 so pushed on a fast as possible, occasionally pushing a little too hard and battling the car to avoid spinning. Through out the last lap I was getting very close and had a run on him coming out of the last corner, a straight drag race down the main straight left me just 0.135s behind as the chequered flag was waved.

Best lap of 1:00:110 wasn't quite as quick as race 1 but on a positive note I finished without being lapped.

All in all had a great weekend, the club and other competitors were all very friendly and the results were better than I had expected.