ROCKINGHAM RACE WEEKEND

Sunday race day

After qualifying on Saturday not going the way I wanted it to, today I really wanted to push hard in the races to get some solid finishes, progress from my starting position and challenge for a podium position.

The team ( Academy Motorsport) were still changing the set up on the car to make it better as I was using a different car this weekend. Not having the time to test it properly it meant overnight changes to the set up to help improve lap times.
The changes meant I had a car with a different set up to what I had been driving the day before, so it was all different again for the first race where I was starting from 9th.

I got a good start off the line gaining a few places, but the most important thing was that I stayed out of trouble on the first lap because there where some bumps and bangs.

As the race progressed I had made my way up to 4th with 5th right behind me, unfortunately he managed to get passed but I stayed right behind him and together we chased down 3rd place.

We caught 3rd and was close behind him but there just wasn't enough laps left in the race to make an attack and I had to settle for 5th position right behind both 4th and 3rd.

The changes we had made over night to the car for the first race had made the car better and I was able to push hard, so I decided to leave the car alone for the second race.

This meant that I was more familiar with how the car was going to handle which would mean that I knew the limits of the car more for the second race of the day. For this race I was starting from 8th on the grid and again I got a great start gaining a few places before the first corner.

Throughout the race I managed to climb up to 6th position with 5th right in front of me. We where having a little battle but still working together to catch 4th and 3rd place every lap.

As we caught up to them in the race I had managed to gain 5th position with 6th place right behind me, but the lap I took 5th place on the same lap one of the leaders had spun out and when he came to re-join the track it was right in front of me which meant I had to brake hard meaning 4th and 3rd place gained a gap again.

I was now running in 4th place but when the person who was leading, but spun out dived down the inside of me he pushed me wide, meaning the car a was having a little battle with also got passed me. This meant I was back down to 6th position and left me frustrated because I had no choice but to avoid the car diving down the inside, otherwise he would have bumped me off the track.

A lap later a crash resulted in a red flag meaning the race had been stopped early, meaning I unfortunately had to settle for 6th place.

Even though I hadn't got a podium place I still took away that in both races I was able to catch up to 3rd position and battle for the position; so even though I didn't achieve what I wanted to, I can still take away more confidence to the next race

So at the next round at Knockhill (13th-14th June) I can battle for a podium and with some more luck be able to get onto the podium.

I'm really enjoying racing in the Ginetta G20 championship.

I would like to thank the team for getting the car ready to race at this weekend and I would also like to thank Mark Wania for letting me use the car, plus a huge thank you to all the people that came to the circuit and also the people back at home who have been supporting me.

ROCKINGHAM RACE WEEKEND

Saturday qualifying

Today I had qualifying for tomorrow's two races at Rockingham, but it didn't go as I had hoped.

I ended up qualifying ninth in the first race, which is at 12.20pm, and eighth in the second race, which is later on in the day at 4.10pm.

I was really hoping to push hard and have a good qualifying session this weekend especially after the first and second round at Oulton Park, but I have been trying to get to grips with a different car and different set-up due to my car being damaged from the test session at the track last weekend.

It proved difficult but I'm glad to be able to show my abilities with two top ten finishes. Anything can happen in the races and I just have to push hard and keep out of trouble.

Hopefully tomorrow the races will be a different story and I can get onto the podium in one of the races. The team have put a lot of effort into getting the car ready for this weekend and I want to give them a good result to show for all there hard work.

I will keep you posted how the races go on tomorrow.

BUILD UP TO THE SECOND RACE WEEKEND

Build up to the Rockingham race weekend

This weekend (30th-31st May) is the third and fourth rounds of the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship at Rockingham.

I'm really excited to get back onto the track racing again, I took a lot of confidence from the first two rounds at Oulton Park; getting the fastest lap of the day in the second race, proved I have the pace to compete for a podium place in my first year of car racing.

I'm at the track from Thursday night till Sunday night and the weekend should be very entertaining. The weather is going to be great, so the spectators should have a fantastic day watching the racers under the sun.

There is a bound to be a terrific atmosphere!

The team has put a lot of work into getting the car ready for the weekend and I'm determined not to them down when it comes to the races. I'm going to push as hard as I can to get a podium place.

The team gives me a lot of support and guidance when it comes to the testing and competing of a race weekend and I have confidence in the work they do on the car to make it faster and keep me safe.

My family and some friends will also be supporting me at the race weekend; when my family come to watch and support I feel more relaxed and calm throughout the weekend.

Hopefully the weekend will be a successful one with me getting a podium place in one of the two races, or even both. I will keep you updated on how qualifying and the races went.

ROCKINGHAM TESTING

Rockingham test session

Even though the Rockingham track I tested on was a different layout to the one I will be racing on for the 3rd and 4th round of the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship on the 30th-31st May, it was a great day for testing with the sun shining and the circuit bone dry.

Rockingham race circuit is very different to most tracks in the UK because the perimeter of the circuit is a big oval with an infield section inside the oval.

The circuit is also anti-clockwise whereas most of the circuits in this country are all clockwise.

I tested on a track using half of the oval, then part of the infield section. It was a completely different type and layout of circuit I had ever drove on before, but I was excited to see what it was like to drive on an oval.

I went out onto track early morning to firstly check the car was all good from the first race weekend of the season at Oulton Park and secondly to learn and get to grips with the track.

Later on in the day once I had learnt the track I started to push hard to find the level of grip the car had around the track, I was getting quicker and quicker throughout the whole day.

Driving on the oval was an experience because there is a wall literally next to you and as you enter the oval you can feel the wind moving the car around pushing it closer to the wall then pulling it away again. Even thought it was scary in parts when there was a big gust of wind, it was good fun to get to have the experience.

I'm now really looking forward to another test session and then the two races on the 30th and 31st May.

FIRST RACE WEEKEND

Oulton Park

Well what an introduction to car racing after a decade in karts. Mechanical failure, a bonnet blowing off and a fastest lap meant an interesting baptism to the UK Ginetta G20 Championship at Oulton Park over Easter weekend.

After practising to get used to the car during the winter months the racing began with some good times and I qualified a respectable fifth on the grid for the first race and seventh for the second race.

I was excited and nervous as family and friends gathered at my team awning, Academy Motorsport, to wish me luck for the first race.

My Mum and Dad who've been very supportive throughout my career were walking around waiting for the time when I would be off to the assembly area to line up for the first race.

The voice on the tannoy at midday made my heart rate fly as I entered the cockpit and started the engine.

Engaging first gear my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest; I knew this was the moment I'd been waiting over three years for.

The next ten minutes seemed to take forever as we lined up in fifth place out of 18 cars in the assembly area. A few words of encouragement from my manager, Matt Nichol-Jones, and I was off to join the race circuit and the first of two parade laps.

I swerved the car from side to side, warming the tyres and accelerated then brake to give the brakes maximum temperature. The laps seemed to take forever but finally I was lined up for the first race and it was down to me; no-one else could help.

My heart pounded as I waited for the red lights and then it was go! A good start was hindered by missing 2nd gear and be Old Hall corner I was down to 8th place. Not the best of starts but I knew I had the speed to make up for lost ground.

The first couple of laps saw lots of bumping ahead of me and by creating extra speed into some corners I was able to jump up to 4th. My racing head was firmly in place and two more laps later and I was second and fighting for the lead.

A few more laps and my speed would surely get me leading the race. Then disaster as I made my way across a kerb at the far end of the circuit. I had the power but not much control and I knew something was seriously wrong.

After losing a couple of places and with steering control almost non-existent my brief moment of excitement in the anticipation of leading the race had gone, along with a steering rack. I tried to keep in the race but with only one front wheel connected and steering me in the right direction I was soon to retire in a gravel trap.

Not exactly the best start to the season and really disappointing considering my speed and position in the race. Still with everyone cheering my return to the awning I was glad to have extinguished the burning butterflies in my stomach and couldn't wait for the second race; just a five-hour wait!

The car was fixed and after discussions with my Dad and Matt, some food and a rest I was ready for the second race. The wait this time was much longer and I was in determined mood when we finally arrived on the grid for the lights.

A better start still left me two places down as I tried to avoid trouble at the first corner. It worked and with good speed and a few calculated moves I was up to sixth and closing on the top five.

I took my time before catching fifth showing patience is not a bad thing in racing. We both closed in on fourth place and with two laps left fifth went for a dive down the inside and I followed.

Unfortunately he backed out suddenly and I was unable to anticipate this. I nudged the back of his car and we both spun.

Luckily we'd pulled enough of a gap from seventh and we both continued in place.The crowd wowed as my bonnet flew off on the next lap, settling on the track to be picked up by my Dad after the race had finished.

So sixth place it was and a very entertaining and learning experience in the first foray into car racing.

The welcome from the awning and about 60 friends and family was brilliant and I'm really looking forward to using my knowledge in the next round at Rockingham on 31st May.