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SMRC Sports & Saloons Round 5 & 6- Oulton Park 31 May 2014
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Rounds 5 and 6 of the SMRC Sports and Saloons Championship were hosted at Oulton Park, the only away round of the series. I have competed at the circuit a few times with Time Attack (albeit a different circuit layout and a few years ago) so it was not a completely new kettle of fish. I booked on to the testing the day before to re-learn the circuit, but unfortunately the sessions were hampered with boost and drive-by noise issues. I did manage to get in a few clear laps and remind myself where I'm going, which was the main aim of the day - I just needed to make sure I did it a lot faster on race day. Back to the hotel for a bit of data geeking, some very helpful advice from Stephen Darley and Paul Blamire to clarify the boost issue, out for dinner and an early night. QUALIFYING It was an early start but luckily the car went straight through scrutineering (for a change) and we were out to qualify at 8.30. Adam had set me a target time of 1:55 (knocking 4seconds off my lap times from the testing). It was a dry morning so the slicks were on and I headed out to see what I could do I clocked in a 1:56 on my 2nd lap followed by a 1:53 on my 3rd lap, beating my target time, and called it a day at that. Coming in to the pits I was sitting 3rd on the grid, but there was still 10 minutes left of the session so I knew it was up for challenge. Fortunately, the session ended with me still sitting in 3rd, behind Graham Davidson and Cameron Purdie on the front line, next to Paul Rankin (also in Class A1) and just ahead of Andrew Morrison.
RACE 1 Unfortunately for Graham, his day of racing was over early and he didn't make it out on to the grid, despite setting the quickest time in qualifying. This did play in my favour though as it meant that I had clear space ahead of me on the grid. The start seemed to take forever and my water temperature peaked at 99deg when the lights went out. I got a good start and was close behind Cameron for the first lap or two. Paul Rankin closed the gap behind me after the first few laps so I had to turn my focus to defending rather than chasing Cameron. Paul's car definitely had me on the straights but, much to my surprise, I had learned to defend and managed to keep him at bay. After a few laps of battle, Paul took his chance at coming up the inside on the approach to Island Bend, but got a wheel on the slippy grass (I would know, I've done the same at Oulton) which caused him to spin and ended his race early. Being out of the danger zone, I decided to slow the pace down a bit to let the car cool down. After a few cool laps I spotted Andrew Morrison's yellow Seat in my mirrors - time to pick up the pace a bit, I was not going to let him passed me this time! We had a few laps neck and neck, with different parts of the circuit playing to each of our advantage. He definitely had the quicker pace round the first and last part of the lap but the 4 wheel drive helped pull me out of the corners in the middle section a bit quicker. I was praying for the 'last lap' board to come out every time I passed the start finish straight and the relief when it eventually was displayed was only beaten by the relief of the checkered flag. I finished the race 2nd overall (Cameron in 1st place and Andrew in 3rd) and 1st in class. Over the moon with that result, and with my two trophies!
RACE 2 It was a long wait to the second race of the day and the sun was shining and temperatures rising. I needed to make sure the car stayed cool enough for the 20 minute race. I was starting on the front line of the grid, alongside Cameron in his Caterham. The lights went out and I got a great start, putting me in to first place for the first corner, with Cameron close behind. We spent the next few laps close together, me putting my newly found defending skills to use. On the third lap, I had a 'moment' coming out of Lodge Corner which allowed Cameron to close in and get passed along the pit straight. I considered chasing him down again, but by this point my temperatures were already quite high so I decided to settle down and focus on keeping my position. Another few laps in and Andrew's Seat started approaching again. I picked up the pace to try to keep him at a distance and on approaching a corner (I couldn't even tell you which one now) my brake pedal went straight to the floor (SH*****T!). All thoughts of keeping up a quick pace went out the window and, when Andrew closed in, any chance of defending had vanished. My focus now was on just simply getting the car across the finish line. I thought I was desperate for the 'last lap' board in the first race - this was a whole new level! By the time the checkered flag appeared, I had conceded another few places (to Ali Robertson in his Ginetta and the two Arrowpak competitors who had joined our race), but managed to bring the car home, in one piece, still 1st in class and 4th in our championship. On a quick inspection, it transpired that the cross-over pipe on the front driver side calliper was leaking fluid. In hindsight, my 'moment' at Lodge Corner may have been a blessing in disguise - had I continued to battle for first place for much longer, with my brakes pretty much disappearing, it could have been a very different story.
An awesome weekend of racing, two exhausting but great 20 minutes of racing and home with three very cherished trophies. I'm a very happy girl! Huge thanks to….
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