1999, Rounds 4 & 5, Pembrey

When the race came, it was VERY wet. It was not raining, at the time, but the track was still VERY wet from the earlier rain. From 12th on the grid I got a good start, and by the end of the first corner I was 11th. At the start of lap 2 I was 10th, and then it all went wrong. Going into the second half of Dibeni, a long fast left hand curve, the 9th place car ahead of me lost control, and despite trying to avoid him I was faced with nowhere to go but into his side, which deflected me into a spin across the grass. I rejoined the race last by a long way. The car I had hit had rejoined several cars ahead.

I knew that all my hard work in qualifying was blown, but I also knew that the fastest lap from this race dictates grid positions for the Sunday race, so I decided to treat this as a qualifying session, and set myself a fast lap if possible

Before I knew what was going on, I was catching the pack, and making my way past several cars again, when it happened all over again. This time, under braking for the hatchets hairpin, the car in front left his braking too late and locked up and appeared to be heading up the escape road, so I headed for the inside line for the corner. Unfortunately the car in front did have a go at the turn, and for the second time in this race I was faced with a view of the side of another car. This time the car was slightly more damaged, and by half way through that lap, I had to retire as the car body was FULL of tyre smoke. The car I had made contact with had stalled, and his starter motor did not work, so he had to retire too.

As the race continued, the track continued to dry, and lap times continued to fall, but despite this, my fastest race lap was still good enough for 23rd on the grid for Sundays race, as long as we could get the car back in one piece.

After the race, both drivers I had contact with were very friendly, and although I felt very disappointed at a missed opportunity for a good result, I felt I was the innocent victim of other peoples accidents.

Into the afternoon and evening, several other drivers and non drivers alike started to help me with the car. I was given an indicator, and someone went off to see if the marshalls had found my bumper. Eventually by Sunday morning, we had the car looking good enough to be re-scrutineered, which it passed, and I could take the 23rd place on the grid for Sunday race. I am very grateful to all those who helped, too numerous to name.

Sunday's race came, and again I was going to be looking for a good start. It wasn't as bad as some I have had in the past, I lost one place, so I was down to 24th, but I already knew that I was fast enough to be higher up the field, so over the next couple of laps I started moving up. I think I was in about 17th place by midway through the race when it all went wrong again. This time, under braking for the hatchets hairpin, the two cars in front were fighting for position. One moved to the inside for a possible late braking pass, and the other moved across to defend. This left the normal racing line empty, and that is where I decided to go. Unfortunately one of the cars in front moved back across to the racing line, and I had insufficient time to slow down before making contact. I retired on the spot, the car was badly damaged, and the radiator had split.

The driver of the other car was not very happy, and has a different view of the events that led to this contact.

I still believe that no driver out there could have avoided the impact given the same circumstances, but what I can perhaps see with hindsight is that a more experienced driver may have better predicted what the other drivers would do, and would not have been there in the first place, so I still have something to learn from this weekend. I am disappointed that I failed to turn a fabulous qualifying opportunity into a good finish, and I am even more disappointed that there was some friction between myself and another driver. I am however, very heartened by the friendly approach of lots of other drivers, and the help they provided in getting me back on the track for Sundays race. I feel really happy to be among people who are prepared to help out a fellow competitor, whether or not they are faster or slower when race time comes.

What I need to take away from this weekend is the fact that I know I can be up there near the top, and it is now only a matter of time before I get a good top 16 finish and some decent championship points, but to do that I MUST finish. I have to learn to predict other drivers actions better, I cannot afford to get caught up in incidents, regardless of how they develop. Unfortunately, I have no money left, and a damaged car. It will be very difficult to get out for the next race.