Well after a pretty hectic couple of months in April and May where I had two weekends a month of racing and the start of the GCSE exams, June was pretty quiet in comparison.
The exams went OK, some went better than my previous mocks, others were so much harder than previous papers, I wonder if they wrote the paper with another subject in mind, which does not feel so good!
The last round at Snetterton, a track I really enjoy, I was hoping to pull a win, having had a 3rd in 2017, a 2nd in 2018, a win just seemed right to me. The first race the car just wasn’t 100% a bit tight on the rear and I made a mistake into Angostini trying to make a move for first place- I pulled it off for about 3 seconds so, ended up settling for a third place, where I started.
A few changes for the second race and I felt much more comfortable, with a little more movement from the car, had a good race with fellow competitor real bumper to bumper stuff, took another podium in 2nd place. Not the result I was hoping overall but more points towards the championship.
At the end of June, we took a trip up to Oulton Park, Cheshire to watch the British Touring Cars and support races. I had not been there before, although I had driven it on the sim and loved it, I am really hoping to get the chance soon to race there. It reminded me of Cadwell Park and Brands Hatch all rolled into one, with the narrowness and undulations.
We had arranged to meet up with a few of the Teams, including Team Hard and Richard John Neil who commentates of the footage of the Fiesta Junior races. It was good explain our backgrounds as a family and about my hopes for the future. It can be difficult opening up about what you really hope for in motorsport, as really it all comes down to budget, you might like to race in a certain formula, but the reality is unless funding comes about, its not going to happen. However, as you are all keen listeners and I trust you…. here it is……
I am aiming for JCW Minis, Ginetta G55 and the BTCC all in the next 4 years and have set a pretty high goal, but there you have it, unless you say what you want, you won’t get it- hey???!!!!
With renewed motivation, the following week was almost as exciting. I don’t generally test between rounds, however the chance came up. I spent a few days with my racing crew in Northampton, working on my car, helping the team at the workshop and a little evening run out at Brands Hatch with Alfie and coach, Bobby Thompson. Oh, it was so good to be out again, I do miss it, and the car was mint. Even Andy head engineer was on the phone checking in with me to see if I was happy with set ups and relaying information to Hammy.
In the absence of regular testing and races, I am keeping up the gym work at Evesham Leisure Centre and on my SIM at home daily. Keeps my eyes on the prize……
Olly
