2000, Rounds 10 & 11, Pembrey
A push to the pits is more dignified than a tow-truck! (last pic)
| Weather | Dry, Cloudy. |
| Qualification result round 10 | 3rd of 38 |
| Qualification result round 11 | 6th of 38 |
| Race length round 10 | 12 laps, 17.47 miles |
| Race length round 11 | 12 laps, 17.47 miles |
| Result round 10 | 4th |
| Result round 11 | 11th |
| Lap | Time | Difference | Ave. speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lap Record (prior to event) | 1:12.79 | 72.01 mph | |
| Pole round 10 | 1:12.72 | -0:00.07 | 72.07 mph |
| My qualification | 1:13.04 | +0:00.25 | 71.76 mph |
| Fastest race lap | 1:13.22 | +0:00.43 | 71.58 mph |
| My fastest race lap | 1:13.92 | +0:01.13 | 70.90 mph |
| Pole round 11 | 1:13.22 | +0:00.43 | 71.58 mph |
| My qualification | 1:13.92 | +0:01.13 | 70.90 mph |
| Fastest race lap | 1:13.20 | +0:00.41 | 71.60 mph |
| My fastest race lap | 1:14.84 | +0:02.05 | 70.03 mph |
|
I went testing the day before these races, and found that I was the fastest man on the track in the wet (according to my army of timekeepers), but as soon as a dry line formed, everyone else sped up and I stayed pretty much the same. My car was cutting out badly on the long left hand bend of Dibeni under the extra g-forces that cornering in the dry gives. I stripped the carb after testing, and this too turned into a drama. My thanks to all who helped, but I still had no idea whether I had cured the problem. In qualifying, I was one of the first on the track, and there were only quick runners ahead, so I thought I wouldn't be held up. In fact I found myself passing them, and that just drove me on. The car was not cutting out, and I have always known it's good in corners, and this circuit has plenty of those. I qualified 3rd overall, with the equal second fastest lap!! I got a good start, but Jay Frost from 6th got an even better one (as usual) and he jumped me for third before the first corner. On about the second lap I managed to outbrake him for the Brookland's hairpin (which isn't really a hairpin), and took third, only to lose it again at the next corner. I got it back at the Hatchett's hairpin with a tighter line, and then stayed in 3rd for about half of the race, until Matt Potter late braked to get from 6th to 5th, and ended screaming past all of us in a puff of smoke, forcing me wide, and allowing Jay back through to 3rd. No more changes, so I finished 4th!!! During the race I had set the 6th fastest lap, so this would be where I would start the second race. I got a reasonable start, but not as good as the previous one, and found myself in 7th after the hairpin which is where I stayed for about half of the race, until one lap, just after rounding the hairpin, I got punted in the rear wing, and pushed all the way round onto the grass, into the path of another car that was already trying to take evasive action. I rejoined in 10th, but the front and rear wheels on the right hand side of the car were both rubbing the wings. Grip slowly dwindled away as the tyres got hotter and more cut up, and I ended up losing another place, finishing 11th. Under the circumstances, that was a good result as well, and I certainly did my championship no harm at all, moving up to 7th overall with 3 races to go. Elsewhere, Tony Scarlett won both races from pole in John Gladman's 1999 championship winning 106, which won both races here last year. Jay Frost meanwhile retakes control at the top with a 3rd and a 4th this weekend. Among the casualties were Steve Powlesland who threw a camshaft in one race and then cooked the engine in the next, Julian Griffin who had an oil fire, and ran his big ends, Andy Elliot who got more than a little damage, Darren Blumson who's re-shelled 205 had an electrical fire before finally coming good in the 2nd race. It justs seems there is no middle ground in Wales, you either have a really bad time or a really good time. I reckon I had a really good time, but with long straights the order of the day at the next 2 races, this may all change again in 3 weeks time. |
