Silverstone GP - 11th September 2016 - PBMW rounds 13 and 14

There had been some confusion as to whether the Silverstone even would be a points scoring event for PBMW and unfortunately in wasn't  until a few weeks before that it was confirmed. This presented a couple of issues as I'd already committed to entering the revolve 24 hour bike race on the brands hatch GP circuit with 3 friends and as the number f rounds had increased to 16 we would all now drop out 3 worst rounds, reducing the advantage I had due to constancy (although Matt Swaffer had more reason to be upset as he'd effectively won the championship had Silverstone not been included) Unusually the TTRS and PBMW grids would race at the same time with the PBMW's starting 10 seconds behind.

The busy weekend was never going to be the best preparation for Silverstone,In order to not let down the rest of my revolve 24 team I did 4 hours on the push bike around brands hatch between 3pm and 11 on Saturday and then jumped in the truck to drive up to Silverstone, eventually arriving a 2.30am and desperately trying to get some sleep before qualifying. 

Ended up qualifying 11th out of 20 PBMW's with a time of 2:46.493 a little off of the times I was expecting. 

Had a good race 1 battling with Owen Darch  and Paul Beaurain eventually finishing 8th on the road although this will become 7th for championship points as the 4th place finisher Ben Anderson was a guest driver.  Fastest lap had also dropped to 2:45.908 which was a little closer to my expected times. 

Race two was a long battle with Mark Palmer and Rob Cooper, another great clean race where I finished 7th with  my best lap time falling again to a more respectable 2:45.054 unfortunately not quite able to drip into the 2:44's which the car is more than capable of.  

We now have just 2 rounds left at Thruxton in a couple of weeks. When dropped rounds are taken into account Will Davidson and Matt Swaffer will go into the event tied on points and battling for the championship. Harry Goodman lies in 3rd with myself, Mark Palmer and David Graves battling for 4-6th positions in the championship 

Brands Hatch GP - 28th August 2016 - PBMW rounds 11 & 12

After the disappointment of the accidents in the previous days TTRS race in was time to put that behind us and get on with the qualifying session for PBMW. Ended up getting stuck in a bit of traffic in qualifying which was going slightly slower than I'd have liked but not slow enough to make passing easy. Eventually found some space and was able to qualify in a slightly disappointing 12th position with a time of 1:53.391 which is my best ever time around the GP so that was some good news.

Race 1 was non stop close but fair racing with Andy Strong and Gregor Pryor, Ended up finishing 10th o/a my worst result of 2016 although one I'd have been happy with in 2015.

Race 2 didn't really go to plan as I headed into paddock hill side by side with Harry Goodman he locked up and went straight on into the gravel. I think this slightly put me off my line and I ended up loosing the back end, felt like I might get it back but unfortunately in wasn't to be and I to found myself in the Gravel at Paddock Hill, so having rushed back from holiday to make Brands Hatch at the moment neither of the races would count as we all have to drop 2 rounds each year.

Brands Hatch GP - 27th August 2016 - TTRS rounds 11 & 12

As in previous years both TTRS and Production BMW were lucky enough to have the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on the calendar in 2016. Unfortunately there was to be no testing due to holiday commitments.

Headed out for my first run on the GP circuit in a year during the TTRS qualifying session and was please to qualify 2nd of 12 entrants in class F and quite shocked to have out qualified Will Davidson although still a way behind Matt Wileman, best time was a 1:54.257 which was a little off of my best lap times in 2015.

Race 1 saw Matt pull a decent lead (although a brief trip into the gravel nearly ended his race) whilst myself and Ross Stoner battled for 2nd and 3rd. As the chequered flag dropped Ross finished just 1.3 seconds in front of me

Race 2 was a little more eventful, as the start lights went off one of the cars on the 2nd or 3rd row didn't get away, with cars darting left and right there was some unfortunate contact and the race was red flagged. the second start was a lot better and all cars made it off the line cleanly

However on the first run up towards Pilgrims Drop 2 of the front running BMW E36 M3's of Nigel Innes and Steve Pearson had a coming together at substantial speed leaving a trail of carnage and resulting contact well into the mid field as people tried to slow. I think this is the first (and hopefully last) race I've been in where 1/2 the grids had to stop mid circuit because there's no clear route through. It was a real shame to see so many friends with damaged cars.