Time, money and work meant no testing this weekend, but it turned out to be a good decision as the test day was sopping wet and there were lots of red flags and some big offs, including one of our newer recruits Steve M in his red MNR. Unfortunately Steve spent 36hrs in hospital, but has no posted he is fine other than bruises and stiffness and will be back soon.
Friday evening was enjoyable as Paul and Della put on some drinks and nibbles in aid of their 25th wedding anniversary, which seems confusing as looking at them i'm sure they must have been married off in some arranged nuptials by their parents in their early teens, maybe its a strange Norfolk tradition ;-)
The sensibly timed walk back to the bus to get a reasonably early night with not too much beer consumed ready for the early start got sabotaged by Dave Watson and crew in their MNR gazebo, where i ended up being "force fed" Carlsberg until the early hours. At least i fell asleep quickly when i crawled into my bunk........
As usual the adrenalin of a race weekend meant i woke as fresh(ish) as a daisy on saturday morning and got myself and the car already for qualifying at 9.40. Qualifying was damp, with the final 2 laps suddenly drying out, although there were still some tricky little wet patches, especially around Woodcote. Woodcote is a nothing bend in a RGB car in the dry, but in the wet its nasty. You accelerate all the way through it from Luffield, in the dry fine, but when its wet the car is constantly trying to spin up the back wheels as you approach it and as you hit the apex the back can step out very easily and very quickly. This is where Steve had his incident on Friday, and demand serious respect in wet conditions. I qualified 3rd in class and 10th overall, but more importantly not far behind Al, although Derek had pulled out a good distance on both of us.
The day stayed dry up until the race before RGB, when it absolutely poured down. RGB and silverstone means wet, very wet, for the past 3 years (sice i started) it has rained everytime we have been there, including the birkett, and usually just before the RGB race. I softened off the suspension by 3 clicks all round and we all waited until the last minute to go to the holding area, not wanting to sit in the tropical storm. The track was soaked, puddles and standing water everywhere, so we got a green flag lap so we could all at least see how bad it was. It was terrible, there was no grip anywhere, and viability in the spray was horrific. The only good thing was that i do always seem to do OK in the damp, so i was quite looking forward to getting off the line. The start went well, i got a good start with not too much wheel spin and managed to make up a couple of places, including getting passed Al, but soon lost out to him at maggots where Tim P spun infront of me, leaving me no where to go, i tried to go inside but the car wouldn't turn due to lack of grip, i tried to go to the left of him but he was still travelling that way, so ended up just hitting the anchors and praying we didn't collide, luckily we didn't and i managed to turn in, but this allowed Al past. On the next lap Derek and Paul came together at the front, moving me up to 2nd, and hot on the heels of Al. Al managed to get past Rich wise in the Sabre and for few laps we all grappled for grip trying to find a way past. Derek suddenly appeared in my mirrors and got by me at Luffied, but i wasn't too bothered as i knew it would then mean him and Al holding each other up, something i could hopefully capitalise on, unfortunately a lap later little bit of over excitement on the loud peddle sent me into a long drift and slow motion spin as i came past the pit lane entry. Bugger! I didn't lose a place, but was now too far back to make up a position, and with no one in sight behind me i decided to finish of the race at sensible pace, not risking an off or a loss of points, happy to take 3rd, which i knew would move me above Matt into 5th overall in the championship. And thats how it finished, 3rd in class, 7th overall, and my highest ever finish in RGB. It was a shame i spun and couldn't have kept the pressure on for 2nd in class, but again i feel like i've made a step forward.
I'missing Oulton due to a relatives 90th birthday, but will be back for more at Pembrey, and i promise to keep upto date with the blog now, and even add some development or bus news.
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