After having attracted the biggest Rallycross entry of the year, the final round at Croft on November 5th was set to be a good day. The organisers and marshalls, including Craig, Kerry, Bill, Kath and John had worked hard to get every aspect, but there was one thing which they couldn’t control – the weather.
With a frequently changing forecast on the run-up to the event which promised either rain or snow, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy event, but as the rain began to pour on Sunday morning with David commenting that it was worst conditions he’d raced in over the last 12 years, the nerves began to build. This was only enhanced by the looming presentation of mums memorial trophy, ‘The Spirit of Rallycross’ award in the lunch-break to the most deserving person; Malcolm Forbes.
With the weather dampening spirits, literally, the day got off to a sorry start as David didn’t start heat one whilst he worked to have the tyres cut to suit the weather, and the 2000cc FWD of mine died on the dummy grid. Two push starts later, and we’re off! This is until the battery dies for a third time when switching the wipers on.
By the time heat two came around, we were both ready for our races with any issues ironed out. David was first, whilst I watched and waited from the dummy grids. Despite the weather he worked his way from the back of the grid to 5th position setting a fastest lap time of 1:00.109; amazingly only 8 seconds slower than his quicker lap times at Croft just two weeks previous in almost perfect conditions. I started on the third row of the grid for the 2nd heat, and didn’t quite get the start right resulting in chasing the field from the back right from the go! A couple of spins meant that I finished the race in 7th position, with a fastest lap time of 1:14.331 – some 14.2 seconds slower than David!
The third heats took an unexpected turn for the worse. David and I started this heat alongside each other on the front row of the grid, and to my surprise my start was actually ok and the others didn’t seem to get by too quickly. David was flying away ahead of me, as I tried to keep focused on what I was doing. Coming onto the second set of loose on the first lap, I missed a change into third gear and a few cars (that I didn’t realise were behind me) overtook on the inside. Determined to catch up, I flew down and into the corner, when a little too much speed and water on the track sent me spinning into the Armco – queue a race stop and a trip to the medical centre. The restart saw David spin after the finish and end up stuck on the grass.
Luckily, after being given the fit to race, David and I waited in anticipation for the B final as the rain continued to pour. David started a couple of rows in front of me, and as with heat 2, my start wasn’t quite what it should have been. With extra nerves following the previous race, I headed into the first corner with caution only to be met by David sideways across the track. Some quick thinking meant that I managed to avoid him and continued with the race. In no time at all, David had caught up and was past! Coming around again however, I met David sideways across the track for a second time and managed to avoid him. Again, he caught up and was heading past on the second set of loose when he went a little wide after his car jumped out of fifth gear, which allowed me to get through in front of him on to the last lap and this way the way it stayed across the finish line! The final result was 2nd and 3rd in class – a fantastic achievement given the testing conditions.
A big thank you to David for lending me the car, Stuart and Peter for fixing them and keeping us going and to all the marshalls who stood out in the horrid weather allowing us to have a bit of fun.
With a frequently changing forecast on the run-up to the event which promised either rain or snow, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy event, but as the rain began to pour on Sunday morning with David commenting that it was worst conditions he’d raced in over the last 12 years, the nerves began to build. This was only enhanced by the looming presentation of mums memorial trophy, ‘The Spirit of Rallycross’ award in the lunch-break to the most deserving person; Malcolm Forbes.
With the weather dampening spirits, literally, the day got off to a sorry start as David didn’t start heat one whilst he worked to have the tyres cut to suit the weather, and the 2000cc FWD of mine died on the dummy grid. Two push starts later, and we’re off! This is until the battery dies for a third time when switching the wipers on.
By the time heat two came around, we were both ready for our races with any issues ironed out. David was first, whilst I watched and waited from the dummy grids. Despite the weather he worked his way from the back of the grid to 5th position setting a fastest lap time of 1:00.109; amazingly only 8 seconds slower than his quicker lap times at Croft just two weeks previous in almost perfect conditions. I started on the third row of the grid for the 2nd heat, and didn’t quite get the start right resulting in chasing the field from the back right from the go! A couple of spins meant that I finished the race in 7th position, with a fastest lap time of 1:14.331 – some 14.2 seconds slower than David!
The third heats took an unexpected turn for the worse. David and I started this heat alongside each other on the front row of the grid, and to my surprise my start was actually ok and the others didn’t seem to get by too quickly. David was flying away ahead of me, as I tried to keep focused on what I was doing. Coming onto the second set of loose on the first lap, I missed a change into third gear and a few cars (that I didn’t realise were behind me) overtook on the inside. Determined to catch up, I flew down and into the corner, when a little too much speed and water on the track sent me spinning into the Armco – queue a race stop and a trip to the medical centre. The restart saw David spin after the finish and end up stuck on the grass.
Luckily, after being given the fit to race, David and I waited in anticipation for the B final as the rain continued to pour. David started a couple of rows in front of me, and as with heat 2, my start wasn’t quite what it should have been. With extra nerves following the previous race, I headed into the first corner with caution only to be met by David sideways across the track. Some quick thinking meant that I managed to avoid him and continued with the race. In no time at all, David had caught up and was past! Coming around again however, I met David sideways across the track for a second time and managed to avoid him. Again, he caught up and was heading past on the second set of loose when he went a little wide after his car jumped out of fifth gear, which allowed me to get through in front of him on to the last lap and this way the way it stayed across the finish line! The final result was 2nd and 3rd in class – a fantastic achievement given the testing conditions.
A big thank you to David for lending me the car, Stuart and Peter for fixing them and keeping us going and to all the marshalls who stood out in the horrid weather allowing us to have a bit of fun.