We arrived on Thursday night with the car unchanged since the last meeting at Croft, besides straightening some panels and replacing the faulty fuel pump. Qualifying was a case of learning the track again as it was six months since I was last at Silverstone and back then the car was very different! The car still felt very balanced and I qualified 19th, which I was happy with given the grid size.

Race 1, like all the races felt more like karting as it was all about pushing people down the straight to gain places using the slipstream. Whilst driving it was hard to work out exactly how things had panned out because the positions were changing lap by lap. I ended the race in 17th.

The Autumn Championship has a reverse grid for Race 2 and 18th place was drawn to start on pole, which meant I would start 2nd. A great launch off the line put me into the lead for the first corner, and I managed to hold on until half way round the lap until the backward descent begun. This was not a Disney film where I suddenly could go ten times quicker than ever before and I simply didn’t have the pace to maintain my position at the front so I knew it was just a matter of time before I was passed. The race was very close and as enjoyable as the battles were, it meant that the lap times were slow and cars were able to catch our group of cars easily as we continued to swap places. As a consequence, losing 13th place to Rhys by 0.021 seconds on the line was difficult to accept when he started from the back.

It was business as usual in Race 3 with no reverse grids. Looking at the timing sheets you’d see I started 14th and finished 14th, however the racing in between was some of the best I’ve experienced all year. The battles continued right up until the last corner and I’ve never worked so hard for a top 15 finish.

My consistancy throughout the meeting meant that overall we finished quite high up in the points in 12th. I’ve got a lot of things I want to develop over the winter which i’ll document on the website as we progress. It was nice to end the season on a positive note with plenty of ideas that will see us come back with a much stronger car next year. Sadly, despite being scheduled, the TV coverage fell through at the last minute and so the event won’t be televised which is a huge shame as the racing was brilliant.

Qualifying was done on Saturday morning with some corners still slightly damp from the overnight rain. The car was handling great and the setup changes since last time out at Brands Hatch had worked brilliantly. I came in feeling as though I’d missed an opportunity as I couldn’t find myself some clear space and set my fastest lap on the only clear lap I had. So when I picked up the results sheet and found myself in 6th I was quite surprised. It was nice to see my name up there at the top and I’m glad that it’s starting to worry people.

Race one promised so much but made for a horrible end to the racing on Saturday. I started from 6th and was aiming to break away with the lead pack. All looked fine until lap two came around and Rhys tried a move up the inside into the first corner. He didn’t completely commit to it and we both braked very late. Ileft him space on the inside as we turned in, but being off the racing line there was less grip. The car slid wide and as soon as it dropped the back wheel in the gravel I lost the slide and it started to spin. Unfortunately it spun into the path of Rhys and bounced him into a tyre wall and turned me round the wrong way facing the rest of the grid. I was able to rejoin but the wing wasrubbing really badly on the tyre,I finished 16th.

With the thoughts of race one in my mind overnight, I just wanted to secure a solid finish during Sunday. Thankfully race two was much more promising.  A good start saw me hold my position up the front. I found it difficult to pass other cars in this part of the grid as it seemed the engine was easily matched by the others and I was probably being a bit cautious after the incident in race one. Still, after some very close battling and losing my first wing mirror of the year I finished 6th – achieving my best finish of the year.

On the second to last lap of race two the engine had cut out in the hairpin. Concerned that it was a fuel surge issue we put about five more litres of fuel in, but we had never had this issue ever before even when we ran the tank on nearly empty for trackdays. The car just felt slow, and even after a good start to get up to 4th I started slipping back down the order. The engine started cutting out regularly on left handers toward the end of the race. The worst one causing me to clip a tyre wall, as I unexpectedly lost drive. Frustrated, I finished in 12th after losing 11th place on the run to the finish line after another cut out in the hairpin.

As I said at the start, a mixed weekend. There are lots of postitives that can be taken away such as the improved setup and strong qualifying which shows I understand how to get the best from the car now. We need to solve the cutting out issues, which I believe is the fuel pump. Due to the nature of the fault we won’t know if we’ve fixed it until next time out. The damage also needs repairing as seen in the photo at the top of the page (that was just after race one!). TV footage is on Wednesday 21st September on Motors TV, and with all the incidents I was involved in and just being closer to the front I’m sure that I will feature again more frequently. Next race is Silverstone for the Autumn Championship at the end of September.

The weekend started late on Saturday afternoon with qualifying. Brands Hatch is a great circuit but the short lap means that with 35 cars out on track at the same time, getting some clear space for a quick lap proved very difficult. I locked in my quickest time early (lap 5) which had apparently put me in 4th place at one stage as others struggled to match it. By the end of the 15 minute session the order had roughly worked out and 12th place in the qualifying session was my best result all year. The lap time was 59.58, slightly quicker than on Thursday testing but not much. The confusing groups system was then calculated by the series organisers and gave me starting positions of 10th in race 1 and 9th in race 2.

Race 1 was to be my first taste of what racing further up the field was like, and it was all captured on my on board camera in the video below. I got off the line well, but struggled to get across to the inside for Paddock Hill bend, any places I lost were soon made up as I made a move round the outside into the second corner which luckily payed off nicely. The first few laps were full of overtaking which soon settled down and the positions looked set for the rest of the race. The safety car was released on around lap 10 which bunched everybody back up again. For the re-start I stayed close to the car in front but mucking up the change into 3rd gear cost me big time and as we crossed the line I had lost a lot of time. Determined to make up for my error I pushed hard and managed to get myself another place in the closing stages of the race even if it did require a bit of a nudge to follow through the car in front. Taking the chequered flag in 7th was the best finish of the year by far and something that I was keen to repeat in race 2.

For Race 2 I gridded up in 9th with Rhys again directly in front of me. Another good start off the line meant I could secure my position at the end of the first lap. My aim was to try and keep with the group ahead of me and for the first few laps that proved successful. A group of eight cars including myself formed a train of mazda’s at the front of the field. An opportunity presented itself as the car in front of me ran wide out of paddock and I quickly dived up the inside into the hairpin and secured 7th. As the race progressed the field became more strung out and back markers were again a factor during the race. Despite setting my fastest lap of the weekend with a 59.35 I couldn’t hold off the car I passed and dropped back down to 8th. Rhys was working his way through the cars in front and sadly I was only able to watch him getting away as I didn’t have the final few tenths of a second per lap to join him. The remainder of the race was all about making no mistakes but continuing to push on just in case anything happened in front. I crossed the line in 8th and was delighted to of achieved two top 10 finishes in one weekend.

From where we were at the last round, just scraping the top 15 a 7th and 8th place finish was absolutely brilliant and I’m so pleased I was able to get the results I wanted. The racing closer to the front was much more like the British Karting Championships and it felt much more rewarding. This doesn’t mean that I’m just going to leave the car alone though, I will continue to do my research and already have formed a list of changes and improvements that will be made before the next round.  Results are available here – I was in qualifying group 1, and group D of the Ma5da MX5.

Qualifying continued with the same old story of having to learn the track, learn any changes to the car and then attempt to put a quick lap in before the 15 minutes (8 laps) was up. At the start of the session I followed a few cars to get a feel for the lines, and braking points, etc then I managed to get myself some clear space to put a few quick laps in. I timed this slightly badly as on the last lap I caught the group in front of me and decided I would back off for one final quick lap when the chequered flag came out, meaning I didn’t feel I got the quickest time out of the car by about half a second. Still, 24th was not too bad and due to the way Ma5da works with the group systems it meant I would start from 19th and 20th in my two races.

Onto race one and I got a good launch off the line, then missed a gear which was a bit of a shame as a lost a bit of ground. Fortunately I was able to make up for any lost time further round in the lap and moved my way up to 17th. A race long battle for 14th with Matthew Short and Nick Gilfillan proved tough and after a lot of overtaking at various points on the circuit I had to settle for 15th by 0.116 seconds on the line.

Starting from 20th this time for race two meant that i’d have to push extra hard in order to make the top 15. I didn’t make any places off the start, but then again I didn’t lose any! Each lap I was able to work my way further up the grid, and by lap 5 I had got myself into the target 15th position. It was becoming more difficult to pass as the difference in lap times was quite small amongst the people in these positions. The slipstream affect was also a real factor at Snetterton and being able to get away once i’d passed somebody was proving tricky on the long straights especially when battling with Chris Lovett. It took two or three laps before I could secure my position. On lap 7 the red flags were bought out due to a serious incident were a car rolled and the race was declared despite the fact that only 50% of race distance had been completed. When races are stopped like this, the results are counted back one lap to the last fully completed racing lap. Luckily I maintained my 14th position, as I couldn’t remember on which lap leading up to the flag that i’d got past Chris. Had the race of continued further then I may of been able to make up more places as I was fast closing in on the five car battle for 9th.

So to summarise, we’ve had the strongest race weekend yet. I feel comfortable pushing the car although I need to try and eliminate the understeer which has developed, and this is where we need some time to do testing and not just turn up on race days expecting to be quicker. Another second a lap would put us firmly in the top 10 when combined with a better qualifying, and given my progress up until now then I hope that by the end of the season this is acheivable. Race results are available here. I appear under Ma5da MX5 Championship – Qualifying Group 1, Race 2 & Race 3.

It seemed as though the setup changes we had made produced a very well balanced car that improved my confidence when pushing it. Sorting out the front brakes also added to the pleasure of driving it! The conditions were dry for my two races, unlike some of the other races during the day  which got caught out by a sudden heavy shower.

I moved forwards from my starting position in race 1 and in race 2 which is always good. I finished in 16th in the first race, and was disapointed to have just missed out on the top 15 but from 25th on the grid I guess I can’t complain! Race 2 was very similar, gradually working my way through the field. I gained seven places in this race and that was enough to receive the best improver award (the person who gains the most places).

Overall, not a bad weekend. No damage and a car that feels like it handles better than ever before. Perhaps the wet conditions from Castle Combe last time out slightly disguised the power of the engine as it seems as though it’s still a bit down compared to the others. In reality we are chasing two seconds a lap to put us firmly into the top 10. At the moment we are a consistant mid-field runner but with some more changes hopefully i’ll look forward to finishing higher up for the rest of the season.

For the first time this year I can offer an onboard view after buying a camera during the week. The video is of my quickest lap in qualifying. The chicanes were very slippery and so I was trying to apply karting logic of staying off the racing line but in reality this did not work in such a fast corner and compromised my lap time. I corrected this for the race. I qualified 22nd out of the 37 in that group.

Race 1 saw me start from 21st and I got a good start and moved up to 17th by the end of the first lap. As the race continued I managed to work my way further through the field and got up to 14th in the closing stages. My lap times were faster than in qualifying as I was getting more familiar with the track. I was not getting overtaken in a straight line anymore like in past races – in fact it was quite the opposite! On the last lap I couldn’t quite manage to hold on to my position and after a close race had to settle for 15th.

Race 2 in contrast was much more disapointing. I got a good launch off the line but then had my progress slowed when someone came back onto the track from the grass in front of me. This lost me a few places and mixed me in with cars that I had out-qualified. I was able to make my way back through this group and things were going well until the car I was following got out of shape coming out of the corner, it looked as though it was going one way and so I went the other. Unfortunately for me it flicked back in the direction I had chosen and we made contact putting me into the armco barrier. The car seemed ok and I was able to continue to the end of the race but I’d lost so much time that I only just managed to catch up the group ahead before the chequered flag. Luckily for me I avoided being caught on camera, but looking at the video below it seems as though the Mazda’s provided some great entertainment for the spectators as always;

I feel I should just mention that although Race 2 was not as planned, Race 1 gave the best finish so far this year and showed great potential in the engine performance. It was a wet weekend and we weren’t running wet tyres. The car needs some setup changes and I’ve got a long list of things that I want to try out! I feel more positive because I feel we have something that we can work with now and make it competitive, it’s a shame it’s taken so long to get to this stage but I’m prepared to be patient if the results come eventually.

Full race results can be found here. I will try to record the races with the onboard camera next time.

Final set-up changes

Friday testing showed that we were improving in terms of lap time compared to the others, but speed in straight line seemed to still be a big issue. Round the corners I was not losing any ground but as soon as I had exited the corner i’d be overtaken. It’s so frustrating because no matter how much i’m told to ‘carry more speed through corners’ by other people I know the car is on the limit and it’s just an engine thing. The issue is not being able to find the root of the problem. Concentrating on working with what we had was the only option so we made some refinements to the handling and the car felt really good through corners.

Changing the ride height improved things

Saturday was a different day altogether, heavy rain overnight meant that it was wet for qualifying which didn’t bother me too much as I always liked the rain in karting. The same principles were needed in cars – stay off the racing line and keep it in a straight line when powering out of corners. Again, the car felt good, it was just let down by it’s lack of straight line speed. The result from qualifying meant that I would start 17th and 18th respectively in the two races.

Qualifying in the wet

Race 1 was perhaps the most frustrating race I have ever competed in. I got off the line ok and then got boxed in on the approach to the first corner so lost a few places by being slowed up on the inside line. Despite my efforts to make up places on the twistier bits of the circuit, as soon as I got to a straight it was the same old story. And just when things couldn’t get more frustrating I was lapped on lap 13 as if I was standing still. Something has to change, because that hasn’t happened in over eight years! The car is just not right still.

Race 2 was a final chance to give it my all and see what happened. The start was better and I launched it round the outside and was into 15th as I exited the first corner. As the race developed I dropped back down the order a bit to finally finish in 18th. Overall, I did acheive my goal of finishing in the top 20 so we are moving forwards, but I can’t help but think that there is a big problem that we are yet to find and when we do then things will pick up massively. Keep checking back to the site and i’ll post on here any developments.

TV coverage is scheduled for Wednesday 1st June on Motors TV (Sky channel 413).

Enough of the background, and on with the racing. Qualifying was the first opportunity to learn the track and test the car. I qualified 29th and I felt as though the changes had given me more confidence in the car, which was a good starting point. Race 1 saw me involved in a few battles which made the racing much more enjoyable than at Silverstone. I finished 23rd, and improved my lap time by 0.5 seconds.

In Race 2, the lights did not work so there was a brief pause until the race got started using the flag instead. I didn’t get the best of starts, which I put down to not having it at optimal revs due to the pause. Thankfully I dodged round an accident that was hidden under a big colud of dust but in the process I had dropped down to nearly last. Still, I was able to make up quite a lot of places during the race to finish in 21st. I really enjoyed the racing and my lap time further improved by 0.8 seconds, which is a good positive sign as we are narrowing the gap between myself and those infront.

Things are starting to look more positive!

The changes we made have inspired more confidence in the car, improved the lap times and offer great potential for future races. Reliability is strong and the problems with the engine not starting appear to have been eliminated. However, we are still a long way off the lap times at the front of the grid and it’s difficult to see what to change next.

Afer the weekend I read up about engine ignition timing and decided to check ours. I was suprised to find that it was set at around 6 degrees. Stock timing should be about 10 degrees and advancing it further to 14 degrees can offer around an extra 10 bhp over the stock position. It may sound technical to some, but in the position it was set we would be extremely under powered. Suddenly things started to make sense; being slow off the line; the engine pulling only at high revs; slow exiting tight corners. We won’t know until we test it again at Donington Park in three weeks however just from driving it up and down the drive the engine feels so much more powerful and alive. I hope that this was our issue and that we can look forward to competing further up the grid where I feel we should be. I just wish we had checked it earlier! There are more changes to come before Donongton Park in May; overhaul the steering rack and tie rod ends, replace the cracked exhaust manifold. Finally, some extra stickers and racing stripes should see us on the podium in no time :)

Full race results here. TV coverage will be shown on Wednesday 4th May on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413). Photos taken by Jonathan Elsey

We successfully got through scrutineering and arrived on the grid for qualifying. I was not allowed to go out on track as the pin had been left in the fire extinguisher, so I sprinted back to the van and cut the cable tie off which was holding the pin in place and managed to just get out before the end of the session. Two laps was all I had time for on a track i’d never driven before. Unsuprisingly I qualified 38th of 45 cars.

The races were split into A, B, C and D grids due to the number of cars; I was placed into group D. Normally during the lunch break there is a drivers parade with the MX5 owners club, so I saw this as an ideal opportunity to get to learn that track at a slower pace.  I jumped in the car, hit the button, and the engine refused to start. I could forget about the drivers parade, but more importantly my first race was immediately after the lunch break. Finally the engine started but we are still not completely sure of the problem it had. I drove straight to the grid and the cars had already left for the race. We literally just made it in time… not the smoothest build up to the first race!

During the race I made up three places however it was obvious we didn’t have the speed of the other cars. The car just seemed incapable of holding the road like the others and I was losing out big time. Still, there was race two to go and decided that reagrdless of any issues I just needed to get my head down and make the most of it. I made up a few more places before the red flag appeared on lap three. The race was not restarted due to the severity of the accident and I wish those two people a quick recovery.

From my point of view I was disapointed, Rhys and Michael in their first race were a long way up the road, even if they didn’t suffer the same problems in qualifying as me. I began to question everything, including my own ability to drive a car. I had been able to drive Rhys’ car earlier in the week and it felt so much more responsive and grippy. I beleive that it was the car that was the issue, although i’m not denying that I will also be a factor. We now have some decisions to make and some work to do before the next round at Rockingham.

Full race results here. TV coverage will be shown on Wednesday 13th April on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413).

The TKM Festival is one of the most competitve races on the 2010 calendar, the event is fully televised and can be viewed on Motors TV or at the bottom of this page! In the build up to this years event I would say that we stood a good chance of winning it; we had performed well against the competition in all the races we had done and a lot of the time came out on top.

We found very good speed on Friday and were one of the fastest, putting in lap times that were consistantly below my official lap record from last year. This was encouraging because qualifying was critical at the Festival as it determined where you start the first heat. Qualifying was done on Saturday and we came 5th. This was a solid start and we just needed consistant finishes in the heats and generally speaking I got them; 5th, 9th, 5th, 6th.

I started the Pre-Final from 5th and hoped that I could improve my starting position for the final (the grid positions in the final are determined by the finishing place in the pre-final). This was easier said than done, and it started to become obvious that although I had been racing regularly, I had not been competing in the British Championship this year and my race craft had suffered slightly as a result. Simple things like covering corners were not as well practiced as they once had been and as a result I finished again in 5th.

Back to the van and we found that part of the chassis had cracked as it connects to the floor tray. Although it’s not a massive thing, all the flex in the kart goes through the floor tray and without it connected in places the kart would now be very soft. The start of the Final was not my best (again a lack of racing in Super 1 this year), but the pace in the kart was just not there. I was able to make up a few places to get myself back to 6th, and just needed to push to catch the group ahead; it was an ideal opportunity with a gap in front and behind. The pace just wasn’t in the kart and my lap times were 0.5 seconds a lap slower than in the pre final. Frustrated, I could just do no more and had to just push to the end in case something happened at the front.

Last lap and the group at the front had bunched right up battling. I still had a gap to make up but was closing in should anything happen and I could pick up the pieces. The video shows the last lap better than I could ever describe it! Michael Rich took the win, and it was well deserved, he had a perfect weekend apart from not defending on the last lap he had driven faultlesssly. In the video I am always there, but just in the background. I felt as though I had raced hard this weekend and the result of 8th in the Final was not a fair trade for the effort that I had put in, but thats the way things go sometimes. Perhaps if the kart was 100% the result would of been more like what I hoped for.

I’ve included the TV coverage below and some photos too, which were taken from Facebook so credit has to be given to Gary K. Mann, Glenn Guest, and Jamie Hunnisett. Cheers, this has been a bit of a long report!