CSL Cup Brands Hatch 2009 Race Report - Car 11 (GILL)

Better late than never

Some of you know that this year I'm racing with Team Schirmer in the CSL Cup, and some are already on the Team Schirmer facebook page. As part of this I'm creating a new website for Team Schirmer, and I've been busy writing up my race reports. I'd only written 1 race weekend before (Donington) but its amazing when I start writing how much I can remember!

I thought I'd post up the reports as I write them.

Hope you like it!


QUALIFYING

So the day has finally arrived. My first race ever, and I was starting to feel nervous. Why had I decided to leave the comfort and safety of trackdays despite only having started driving cars on track 4 years ago? I was asking myself the same question as I walked up to race control to sign on, and advise them of my transponder number.

Scrutineering was not long before qualifying, so I tried to get there earlier. Unfortunately, all my fellow competitors had the same idea, and I ended up being seen last. The last thing I needed was being late for qualifying, so I hoped the scrutineers would be quick - how wrong could I be!

The first thing they noticed was that the bottom part of the belt had a different expiry date to the top part - I had swapped them over with the passenger side on a previous track day and forgotten to swap them back. So we had to run back to the paddock to collect a spanner, and fix that. Next I forgot to switch the SMG into neutral before the scrutineer pressed the cut off switch, and the car didn't like that! Then the scrutineers decided they didn't like the fact I was using the standard CSL towing eye, with the X6 towing eye attached at the back. It *did* stick out quite a bit, but I liked that because it meant someone getting too close to my rear would come off worse! Unfortunately the scrutineers didn't agree, and warned me to have them replaced for fabric towing eyes before the next race at Donington.

Finally, as this was my first race I needed to pay £1.50 for a sticker on my helmet, and of course I hadn't brought any money to the scrutineering bay not expecting to have to buy anything!! After running back to the paddock, and running back (why wasn't I allowed to drive my car?) the deal was done and I could return to the paddock. By now of course I was a little stressed, knowing I had to get into my racegear and get up to Parc Ferme before qualifying as soon as possible. As it turned out I did have more than enough time.

Qualifying for the CSL Cup started at 11.30, and I was keen not to be late, so I headed up there a good 15 minutes earlier. It turned out I was the only one there! Soon enough, the rest of the competitors eventually turned up, and at 11.36 I was waved forward from Parc Ferme down the pit lane. So not only was this my first qualifying ever, but I was leading the pack - great!!

For some reason as soon as I got out of the pits I put the foot down, and thankfully I built up a good 1/2 lap lead over the rest of the pack, meaning I could try and concentrate on putting in a few hot laps without the pressure of others behind me. My first few laps were pretty consistent, all just over the 54 seconds mark, the closest was on lap 3 with 54.019 seconds.



I came into the pits where we checked the tyre pressures, and then I headed back out again. Thankfully once more I seemed to come out of the pits into clean air, which was good. I'm not sure what I'd have done had I been trying for a hot lap and discovered another competitor right behind me trying to get past - I wouldn't want to jeopardise my hot lap but annoying other competitors wouldn't be the best move on my first event. Thankfully I didn't have to worry about that, as the rest of the 20 minute session went by without seeing another competitor.



Changing the pressures down a bit seemed to help - my average times slipped just below 54 seconds consistently for the rest of the laps. My fastest lap was to come on my very last lap, with 53.534 seconds. I remember distinctly starting to really enjoy the laps and getting into a rhythm, so I think I could have brought that down slightly closer to 53 seconds with a bit more time. However it wasn't to be, just as I crossed the line to finish that lap the chequered flag was waved. Thank goodness I kept the foot nailed and didn't lift off going over the line!



Coming back into Parc Ferme, I was reasonably happy with my progress, even though at that time I didn't know the results. I expected to be the slowest in the modified class, but I hoped I would be faster than the standard class guys, or at least that was my aim! We lined up on the scales, and discovered I was the 2nd heaviest car on the grid, weighing in at 1425kg! Only John Harrison in the standard class was heavier. Upon returning to the paddock it dawned on me that I'd been that focussed on the qualifying that I'd forgotten to remove the passenger seat!!

After removing the seat, which we reckoned saved in the region of 25kg, Adam arrived with the results. I'd qualified in 6th place, so I was in front of 2 of the standard class guys, but 1 of the standard class cars was in 3rd place! Only later would I find out Nick Foster, the driver, has been racing for years in (amongst other things) a Dodge Viper in GT championships. This made me feel better!

I was still 1.8 seconds behind the pole position, which was Geoff Steel. Geoff has also been driving for years, and is an ex BTCC driver. I was 0.7 seconds behind John Thorne, who I decided was my target to aim for, thanks to his results at the previous race at Rockingham, in which he was considerably slower than the rest of the modified cars, qualifying 16 seconds behind the leader. I didn't know at the time that his car wasn't setup in time for Rockingham, but I was soon to find out in the first race that John wasn't going to be easy to catch up to!

John Harrison in standard class was 0.7 seconds behind me, and Darren Humphrey (also in standard class) was 0.7 seconds behind John, so I had my targets for race 1 clear. Keep in front of these two, and try to catch and overtake John Thorne. Race 1 was just under 4 hours away...




RACE 1

So my first race ever was here! It was just after 4 o'clock on a sunny afternoon, and I was thinking to myself what am I doing?!?! Arriving at Parc Ferme, they lined us up against the fence in order of qualifying position, and I was definitely nervous. Others were standing around outside the cars chatting, but I preferred to sit inside my car, belted into place, helmet ready to put on quickly for when they called us forward.

Adam (CSL Cup organiser) popped over with a camera which he mounted to the rollcage. I made a mental note to try and not do anything too stupid, as it was all going to be on camera now! Just before 4.30, they called us. I quickly fitted my helmet, my straps were tightened and then we were off. I stayed back a little from John Thorne so I could see where the marshalls wanted me to line up. As it was, I still cocked it up, and the really nice marshall just told me to move a little further over when we come off our warm up lap.

It seemed like an age before the marshall's boards came up - 3 minutes, 60 seconds, 30 seconds and so on. They made me laugh, as there was no way that it was 2 minutes between the 3 minute and 60 seconds board. However soon the lights were out, and we all formed a line for a warm up lap around the circuit. I noticed a few of the guys in front of me spinning up their tyres on their start positions, leaving some rubber down. Not knowing what I was doing, I just drove away gently - my driver instructor from years ago would have been proud! I then noticed the guys in front weaving from side to side to warm up the tyres. I tried to copy them, but an eternal fear of spinning out on a warm up lap stopped me from really getting any proper heat into them.

Not very long later, we were approaching the start finish straight, and we lined up again in our positions, this time slightly closer to the wall to make the marshall happier. It seemed like an age before the lights went out, I remember not knowing whether to hold my hands on the wheel, or in my lap, or on the gear lever - I think I ended up doing all 3. But then the lights went to red, and then they were out, and we were off!

I remember moving off as quickly as I could, whilst trying to correct the oversteer as the tyres lit up. As I approached the first corner, John Harrison snuck up my inside and jumped in front of me into the first corner! I was that focussed on keeping up I'd failed to defend the inside line and he'd snuck through. (I'm in the white car, John Harrison is in the silver car)





I was cursing myself for this, but thought I best just get on with it, and tried to fake a move up the inside of turn 2, which John blocked whilst I moved to the inside, hoping to get a better exit which I did, but unfortunately it was a short distance to the next corner which made it easy for John to defend.

Going into lap 1 I was 0.2 seconds behind John, but 4.8 seconds behind the leader - which is a lot considering the lap times are around 52/53 seconds.





No matter what I tried, I couldn't get past John until I tried the same move on turn 2 as the first lap, but this time I got a better exit and went down side by side to the next corner with John, making the move stick. So crossing the line into lap 6 I was finally ahead of John Harrison by 1.5 seconds, but 8.1 seconds behind John Thorne in position 4 and 12.2 seconds behind Jamie Martin who was in the lead.



It was not long after passing John Harrison that my paddles on the steering wheel stopped working. They had done this during qualifying, so I knew straight away to change to the gearstick. However, it did knock my confidence. Crossing the line for lap 7 I had only narrowed the gap by 0.1 seconds on John, but for some reason I started to fall off the pace, alarmingly so. By lap 16 I was 22 seconds behind John, and Darren Humphrey was 19 seconds behind me (having also overtaken John Harrison). I think that because there was nobody in close vicinity to chase, and with the gearbox overheating problems on my mind (which both John Thorne and I believed was causing the paddles to stop working) I lost a lot of enthusiasm and I remember thinking it was actually getting quite boring, as I was driving around in circles on my own.

Then something happened! Mark Steward, driving the other standard class car (Mark, like Nick Foster, had a lot of racing experience including drives in the Radical Cup) locked up his rear wheels going into turn 1, ending up buried into the gravel! As I approached the scene, this was my first yellow flag so I wasn't really sure how much I had to slow down.



I slowed down way too much was the answer, because after the next lap John was now 39 seconds ahead of me! Do these guys have no respect for the marshalls ;-) However, on the next time I past Mark's beached car, the safety car suddenly pulled out onto the track in front of me! What do I do now? I vaguely remember from the ARDS training that he should be in front of the leader of the pack, so why has he pulled out in front of me? Has he mistaken me for Dan Stringfellow, whose car at cursorly glance looks similar? Anyway, I tuck in behind him imagining all scenarios in my head, including the leader tucking in behind me - could I sneak a win here ;-) However on the pit straight, I suddenly notice the safety car swerve to the pit wall and a body is half hanging out of the side window, waving at me frantically to go past. Question answered! I speed up to catch up with the pack of the pack, now they are travelling very slowly behind the safety car.

I close the gap so I'm sitting 1.3 seconds behind John, and we do a few laps in formation. I'm not sure if it was the heat, or the lack of experience, but I was caught napping when the safety car came in. The 4 cars ahead of me shot away, and despite speeding up I had lost them - crossing the finishing line 3.9 seconds behind John Thorne, and 5.4 seconds behind the leader.

It was quite a feeling to pour myself out of the car in Parc Ferme. Despite having fallen right off the pace, I had enjoyed myself, although I was very hot - it was only after the race you realise just how hot it gets inside the car. I was disappointed with the gearbox though, and hoped that we could come up with a solution for it before the next race. There was some consolation though, when I was on the pace just after passing John Harrison, I posted my best time of the race which was almost a second faster than qualifying, at 52.6 seconds. I was pleased with that, and it was only 1.2 seconds slower than the fastest lap of the race set by Geoff Steel, who won the race. So overall I couldn't complain!

Video (low def): http://vimeo.com/5073315

RACE 2 - SUNDAY

When I woke up this morning it was pouring with rain. A grin spread over my face, I like driving in the wet! However our race wasn't until 3.30pm, so there was a lot of time for the weather to change. And sure enough, although it was changeable through the day, the track was completely dry by the time we were called to line up just after 3 o'clock.

This time I was closest to the pit wall on the start, and John Harrison was right behind me. This time I was going to make sure I defended my line! Darren Humphrey was alongside me, and Dan Stringfellow directly in front. Geoff Steel, having won the last race at the restart of race 1, was on pole.

The lights went off, and I got a slightly better start this time. Not great, but better! I was shooting forward, keeping up with the guys in front, when suddenly I noticed a black car in front that was going a lot slower than the rest of us - it was Geoff Steel! He'd obviously completely missed the start, and was struggling to get grip trying to catch up. I was the last car to go past him into turn 1, and he slotted in straight behind me. Great! The race has just started and now I've got the leader of the first race right behind me trying to get past. To say I was bricking it doesn't come close!



I suspect my naivety saved me. I just drove as I would normally on a track day, but perhaps at a slightly faster pace keeping up with the guys in front of me. You can see from the photo sequence below how close we actually were - because I didn't know better I just took the ideal line, and thankfully although Geoff tried to dive up the inside he didn't actually cut in because we would have made contact! Taking the ideal line meant I had a good run up the next straight, which I think was partly the reason I was able to hold off Geoff for a few laps!





At the end of lap 1, John Thorne was 1.2 seconds in front, and I was still (just) in front of Geoff, who was 0.3 seconds behind me.



At the end of lap 2 John Thorne was pulling away from me - 2.6 seconds now. Geoff was still right behind me, 0.3 seconds to be exact. At the beginning of lap 2 he made his move (photo sequence below) and I backed off, letting him through - although it was a bit close! I'd enjoyed the encounter and was proud of myself for holding an ex BTCC driver off, if only for 2 laps!









2 laps later I was just over 2 seconds behind Geoff, although consistently - he wasn't pulling away. I was however 9 seconds behind the leader, and we were only 4 laps in. Not good.

During lap 7, John Harrison's suspension strut broke just opposite the start finish, and the safety car once again was called out. I closed the gap to 1.6 seconds behind Geoff (I now know I should have been closer!!) and 4.9 seconds behind Nick Foster in first place. Once the safety car came in, the cars in front started to pull away once again, an average of a second faster a lap than I was. I could see it from the drivers seat, at the same point each lap I'd know where Geoff's black car was and as it got further and further away each lap it definitely knocked my confidence. However it didn't really matter, after what was about to happen next.

On lap 13 (lucky for some!!) my gearbox overheated and shut down - in limp home mode. I desperately free wheeled down to the half way point, trying to re-engage gear. I failed to notice the marshalls waving at me to pull into the service slip road (where the safety car was sitting) and once I realised the car was going nowhere, I pulled onto the grass alongside a marshalls post. I switched off the car, and jumped out and over the barrier. I was tempted to restart the car to see if it would work again (as it had done this in the past) but was too scared in case I got in big trouble for stopping and starting again on the circuit. The marshall came over, and I explained that it had happened before, and if I switch off the car and on again it should be OK - so he radioed to the head marshall who said No, I wasn't allowed to return to the car and that my race was over. At that point I kind of wished I'd just restarted it to see if it would go again. However when the marshall asked me I realised I'd not switched off the engine cut off switch, so the junior marshall jumped over and reached to press the button - when he put his hand over the red button.

It reminded me of a hollywood movie, where in your mind you're shouting NOOOOOOOO but nothing comes out of your mouth, and everything is in slow motion. The junior marshall was about to hit the fire extinguisher button by mistake, which would in a single button press cost me at least £300. Thankfully, before he could press it, he hesitated, and moved his hand over to press the blue, and correct, button.

So my race was over. All I could do was sit by the guardrail and watch the others go past. After what seemed like forever, the race finished and a tow truck was called over to me. I explained again about restarting the car, and asked permission to try before the car was towed away. The marshall agreed, and sure enough the car fired up straight away and engaged gear. I was able to drive myself back to Parc Ferme, where to be honest I was more concerned about John Harrison's car because I knew he'd driven it to the circuit, and was supposed to be driving onto Europe on holiday after the race. Thankfully, Thorney Motorsport and KW managed to source another suspension and fitted it for him there and then, meaning at least he could drive home safely.

So mixed fortunes from my first race weekend. I enjoyed it immensely, but was annoyed at the car after having recently spent so much money on a brand new SMG gearbox. Speaking to Dan Stringfellow, he advised me it might have been caused by my race clutch and flywheel, which I'd kept from the previous gearbox. Dan advised me to go back to OEM clutch and flywheel, which might help - after all, Dan, John Harrison and John Thorne were all driving SMG without the problems I was having. It was something to think about during the 8 hour drive home!

[_Nathan_]

Great stuff steve, thanks for posting.

[mattCSLnut]

Fantastic write up Steve ... really enjoyed reading that. Beter luck with your next race

[Dan]

Great write up Steve, enjoyed reading that, sounds overall like you did well mate!

[Bounce]

Well done Steve,good read.

[Thorney]

I thought this was a repost at first........bloody ages ago that mate

[shimmy]

enjoyed that Steve

interesting how in one race weekend you were close to all the cars in both classes!

Originally Posted by _Nathan_

Great stuff steve, thanks for posting.

Originally Posted by mattCSLnut

Fantastic write up Steve ... really enjoyed reading that. Beter luck with your next race

Originally Posted by Dan

Great write up Steve, enjoyed reading that, sounds overall like you did well mate!

Originally Posted by BOUNCE

Well done Steve,good read.

Thanks guys

I can't remember if I've locked my door 15 seconds after doing it, yet I can remember almost a year ago - weird

Originally Posted by Thorney

I thought this was a repost at first........bloody ages ago that mate

Struggling to make out the words at your old age mate?

I'm trying to catch up as I want to keep a record of the race weekends. I'm working on Castle Combe next. Don't worry, you'll be getting a special mention ("sex pest Thorne kept trying to kiss me on track in the rain" LOL)

Originally Posted by shimmy

enjoyed that Steve

interesting how in one race weekend you were close to all the cars in both classes!

Do you mean compared to other races Shimmy? That bar steward Curly overtook me at Donington as well