me (left) lining up Simon (right) for a pass - yeah its true i didn't finish last...
Having made the 6.5 hour journey down from Manchester, we were welcomed at Pembrey with really crap weather, and a paddock crowded with trucks and camper vans, ended up in outer Mongolia about as far away from the bar as possible. First job was to put the tent up. Managed to find a slight rise in the saturated grass, tent pegs went in easy enough.
Went to bar for something to eat - "finished serving at half past" - into truck and off into Pembrey to find a very obliging landlord and a decent meal. Off to bed early.
Woke at 4 AM with a really bad urge to pee, thought i might as well have a shower to try and warm up... spend a good 30 mins getting warm, got dressed and went back to bed until 7.
Off to scrutineering, no problems, scruit thought it was a modified Elise - he was close. He spotted the towel in the front - soaking up all the water which had collected in the front battery bay.
I noticed that the engine cover is a bit heavy these days with all the extra metalwork.
Qualifying:
not raining - much... managed to remind myself where the track went and set a lap time on 1.19 - same as my race time in 2005 in the dry. qualified 4 from the back, and beat Simon... he had the car set-up all wrong and did a few comedy wobbles in front of me which was a bit scary...
Race 1:
Reasonable weather, stayed on the R888 tyres everyone else had switched to slicks, as able to pootle around quite well, started to find some speed in the VX, on about lap 3 or 4 came blasting up the start finish straight and was able to close 30 or 40 yards on Simon under braking, had him lined up for a pass on the Honda straight, and made it stick, this thing is fast in a straight line, if you can call the series of right handers a straight - flat in 4th, slight dab on brake for approach to start finish straight.
Red flags came out as i watched Matt fly off the track in front of me and smash into the side of the Mondeo of Alvin... nasty...
didn't finish last in class... and managed a 1.12
Race 2:
Qualified on row 9 - highest grid position since Anglesey (championship positions defined that one last year...) had a bit of a mare of a race, windscreen steamed up really badly, and I had a major off at the exit of the hairpin, was trying to drift out of the way of the Cosworth and keep Rich Ellingham behind me but compromised my line into the next corner, whoops, 720° spin, missed the tyre wall - just, and had to wait for about 7 or 8 cars to go past before I re-joined the circuit, no point going like a looney trying to catch up so I did the pootle thing again and went for the points... Was absolutely p**s wet though by the end, best lap 1.28 and still had to pack up in the pouring rain and drive 6 hours home.
Made use of truck's towing ability by pulling Simon Taylor's trailer and race car out of the mud... think he might owe me a beer as Cadwell :-)