Lydden 14/15th August 2010

Rain, another spin and fastest time at Lydden all in one weekend.

Another early morning start on the 14th August found me heading off to Lydden looking at a weekend of very mixed weather.

After the usual signing on and drivers briefing we started practice on a wet Lydden circuit, the slippery surface isn't ideal for the S2000 and self preservation kicked in leaving me second in class after pra

ctice with Mitchell Perry out in front in the clio 182.

after a brief spell of torrential rain we were back out for our first runs, a signifiant improvement on the practice time was welcome but as everyone else had also improved I stayed in second place.

By the time second time runs took place the track had dried significantly so I was determined to put in a good lap, unfortunately I went into Pilgrims a little to fast to find a small amount of standing water, just enough to help me spin, oh well something to stick on youtube! as everyone else had improved with the drying track I was now last.

luckily the rain held off of third runs and I was able to put in a reasonable time of 91s, which left me in first in class although I'm not to sure if the third runs will count for all or any of the championship positions.

As this was a double header the second round of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon, the rain had gone and I could concentrate on improving on my previous best time. The second run gave me my first sub 90s, 1 3/4 lap run of lydden and the third run of 89.88s improved on this.

Another successful weekend completed and great trophy for the collection, back to North weald in 2 weeks, somewhere I've struggled in the past so am hoping the recent good form continues

Goodwood 07.08.2010

After nearly a month off it was back to Goodwood at the beginning of August for the Brighton and Hove Motor club Eagle sprint.

First practice run was on a very damp and slippery circuit and whilst entertaining wasn't particularly fast.

Thankfully by the time the first timed runs started the track had dried out and I could try and push the car a little harder, without so much concern over the tyre walls which always seam very close at Goodwood.

First timed run was 105.07 seconds which was an improvement of over a second on my previous fastest time at Goodwood and left me running first in class.

After lunch it was time for the second timed run, a time of 105.6S wasn't quite as good as the first but still better than I'd previously achieved. Unfortunately the competitor in second place after the first run bettered his first run with a time of 104.5 so I ended up second in class but still reasonably happy.

Debden 11.7.2010

Just a day after the last round at Lydden Hill was my first visit to Debden, set on an old RAF airfield in Essex. upon arriving I wasn't sure what to expect or how I'd get on in the S2000. There were 2 quick integra type R's and a couple of Renault sport clio's which always seam to go well around the tighter circuits.

After the two practice runs I was running in the midfield in class behind both of the Integra's and a clio 197 having struggled to find the braking point for the roundabout as the long sweeping left hander before the roundabout is quite blind.

As the day went on my confidence and breaking points improved and the last run of 75.74s was good enough for second in class with the winning clio 197 completing the course in 75.71s so winning by just 0.03s.

Lydden Hill 10.07.2010

Well it was back to Lydden Hill on the 10th of July for the SEMSEC 2 3/4 lap sprint. Fairly uneventful day as there was only myself and Mitchell Perry driving a modified clio 182 in class A2.

In the end it was a welcome class win to add vital points towards the overall all circuits championship.

Lydden Hill 5.6.2010

The 5th of June brought the first visit to Lydden hill of the year, another great day ending up first in class and almost breaking the 90 second barrier for 1 & 3/4 laps of Lydden. Best time was 90.12s

A bit of a break until the next events which will be a trip back to Lydden on the 10th of July and my first visit to Debden on the 11th.

Luckily the 5 week break in sprinting will include a trip to the ring and spa-franicorchamps so at least there will be some track driving.

Snetterton 29.05.2010

First Sprint at Snetterton, First Sprint in the Wet & First Spin.

I had spent the previous week watching the weather report hoping for them to change and show more sunshine but on the morning of 29th May I eventually had to accept there was going to be rain at some point during the day, but hoped it would be fairly light.

Arriving at the circuit it was fairly over cast but did at least stay dry for the first 2 practice runs which were completed with positive results, a best time of 78.37.

However in the hours between the practice and timed runs a fair amount of ran had fallen, So went for a fairly conservative first run , if nothing else this confirmed my suspicions that the Toyo R888's were going to be fairly entertaining on the very wet track surface.

I set off for the second timed run with more confidence, which proved to be a little miss placed as the second corner was exited facing in the wrong direction. Video evidence is here

Having over stepped the levels of grip / my skill levels, I was determined to make the third run a good one and managed a time of 89.17 which gave me 6th place overall out off 52 entrants, being beaten by 2 radicals, a 911 GT3 RS, a formula ford and a caterham.

Overall I was very pleased with the results, as always came home looking forward to the next round, Motorsport is quickly becoming very addictive.

Goodwood 15.05.2010

It was back to Goodwood on the 15th of May for a chance to sort out the early braking, with an aim of a lap time of around 104 seconds.

Another cracking day, dry with bright sunshine always makes getting up at 6a.m. more bearable.

slightly smaller turnout than the previous event with 6 competitors in my class. As with the previous event I went with the aim of second place in class knowing that for the time being first was highly unlikely, also went with the aim of beating my previous best time.

By the end of the day one of my goals was realise with a second place but an improvement of around 3/10th wasn't as much as I was hoping for, I still found myself breaking far too early, maybe changing the existing standard discs and pads for something more appropriate for track use may give me a bit more confidence in the braking zones or maybe more track time, I expect both would help.

Now can't wait for the next event at Snetterton in two weeks for a chance to try a circuit I've never visited before.