My report:

Brands Hatch on an August Bank Holiday weekend - no better place to be (at least that's what I told the wife!) Unfortunately (unsurprisingly?!) she didn't agree - but fortunately Muzz and the rest of the Muzz race boys did and were there in number to support my efforts, and those of team mate Matt Clarke. They certainly witnessed one of my more bizarre race weekends - and one that  reversed the trend of good start, unfortunate end. This time I went home with a broad smile on my face and the team had some reward for their 3 days of hard work!

Qualifying & Race - Day 1

This race date fell at the end of our family holiday - fortunately we came back on the Saturday and the 2-day 'Bank Holiday' event  didn't start until Sunday. However it did mean I couldn't make testing and so arrived at the track 'cold'. And that was not my only excuse - it had been a long drive back from Devon. Nevertheless I do know this Kent track pretty well and enjoyed a win in the 2006 event. Unfortunately I couldn't repeat this standard in first qualifying and ended up well down the field - 7th in class and nearly last overall.

As we lined up for the start or Race One it looked an awful long way to the first corner at Paddock Hill. However proof that I've got this start thing sorted was that I was passed 3 cars before the first bend and was on the tail of the lead group as we came out of the second corner. However I lost time as I was pushed wide by a carbon car overtaking me and fell further back when another carbon car exited the pit lane just as I was coming up the entry of Paddock Hill bend on lap 2. This allowed Fraser Smart to latch onto my gearbox and I knew I had to up the pace. Unfortunately I started to overdrive and got very ragged coming out of Druids on lap 3. This carried on into Graham Hill bend and I ran onto the kerb at the exit of the corner. As I tried to get back on the black stuff the rear end pitched round and I spun, only coming to rest after having brushed the armco. End of race 1!

Fortunately the damage was really only superficial. The main problem was that one of the mounts that keeps the engine attached to the chassis had fractured. Fortunately I am with the most resourceful team in the paddock and they had a spare sump - the part of the engine that was broken - and challenged themselves to have the engine out before the race was finished... and they made it! This fantastic effort was carried through until they'd finished the job by mid-evening. By that time I was sitting comfortably at home and was most relieved to get a call from Stef telling me all was sorted and I should turn up for Monday's racing.

Qualifying & Race - Day 2

A good night's rest helped my second qualification as I ended up clocking the 5th best time in class, nearly a second quicker than the day before and less than 0.2s behind the 3rd position driver, Heff.

However as we went out for the race I feared my weekend's results were about to get even worse - the clutch was slipping badly. This wasn't too much of a problem at speed but getting started was a different issue! As the lights went green I somehow managed to coax my car off the line - there was plenty of smoke and that horrible clutch smell but I was going... and not too far behind the pack. But after only a couple of laps the red flags came out as someone had spun and the race was stopped. Not good news as this meant another standing start. 

As we sat on the grid Stef came over and gave me some tips on how to get going without completely destroying the clutch... this turned out to be great advice as I managed to get away again. After several laps I was challenging for midfield places. But just as I got round a slowing Iain Morton I seemed to loose al drive. Fearing that my clutch had cried enough I drove into the pit lane - but then the engine fired up again and I was nearly at pit exit when, to my horror, the red flags came out again. The marshal stopped me from rejoining. At this point Stef sprung into action once more and agreed with the marshals that I could start from further up the pit lane so the team could give me a push start. 

When the race eventually re-started I had to wait until they had all filed through into the first corner before I was allowed to make my rather tame getaway. I realised that I needed to finish to pick up some Championship points so I had to drive with my head, unlike yesterday! With only 8 laps to the flag, time was limited on this short circuit but I managed to get at least one rival in my sights. With just two laps to go we both closed on another club competitor who obviously had mechanical problems. This was a fairly straightforward overtake but I was determined to gain a further place. Going into the last lap I still had some ground to make up but managed it with a couple of corners to spare. Amazingly this was enough to secure third place in class because a number of the other club drivers had retired! So even more Championship points and a podium place to boot!! A well received 'gift' that definitely put a smile on the faces of the Muzzrace team.

In conclusion...

What a great way to end the weekend and fantastic that we could give the team some reward for all their efforts over the long weekend. Cheers boys!!

Even the bank holiday traffic wasn't pretty much non-existent and I made it home in good time - clearly smiling all the way for a change!