Hednesford - Round 13 30/08/2010

For once the bank holiday weather was kind and we set off to Hednesford in good time, this was to be a return to the track of my debut meeting so we were hoping for a bit more luck with the car and to see an improvement in lap times.

Also along to spectate were Steve from USA Stock Car (making another herculian effort to get up from Cornwall), Andy and Nicky. All I can say, again, is thanks to everyone who's come and supported me this season - it's really appreciated.

Heat 1 and straight out from pole as there is no practice at Hednesford anymore. My corner and the #17 outside of me got in front, but from my perfect viewpoint I could see he was loose, on cold tyres, and sure enough he spun in front. Luckily I was able to nip round the outside and continue but the stricken car caused problems further down in the pack and the yellows came out. After the restart I felt like the car was pretty much on the pace straight away and, although passed by the quick guys, I had a fun race with some of the other cars lower down the grid. The car was running very hot though, due to having the incorrect gearing for the big Hednesford oval and me revving the tits of it. It was very quick though and the most fun I've had in a race so far I'd say.

Heat 2 and I'd made an adjustment, lowering the tyre pressures which I'd hoped would prevent them rising too much late on in the race. This was to prove a costly mistake, but an excellent lesson nonetheless! The low tyre pressure meant little grip early in the race and I was quickly shuttled to the back of the grid with me struggling to keep the car pointing in the right direction. Off the back I decided to look after the car and not overheat it again so I finished well down.

And so onto the final, and what would prove to be an eventful race! On pole again I let a couple of cars get in front of me on the first lap and then, going into turn 1 of the next lap a checking up in front caused me to go into the back of the #04. I locked the rears trying to get the car slowed and spun 180 degrees, luckily low down on the track so the pack was able to avoid me. No caution came out, allowing me to get the car restarted and turned around so I was able to rejoin, albeit a few laps down. With nothing to play for except a finish I again looked after the car and was able to finish.

So a slightly disappointing end to what started out as a great meeting. But I finished every race, had my first incident and both my car and the #04 suffered no damage from it. Overall it was another enjoyable meeting and another where I felt able to run with some of the other cars on the grid.