Well I was hoping to have some more positive news for this blog but unfortunately that is not the case. Things seem to have turned full circle and I am now back to square one or virtually exactly the same position I was in this time last year. But I have to remain optimistic that something good will happen.
A year ago things looked pretty bleak. Funding was not forthcoming despite a very successful 2010 and it looked as though I may not be racing. But then I had the opportunity to return to British Formula Ford with the Jamun Racing Services Team and as you know we enjoyed unprecedented success together, breaking many records and culminating with me receiving a second consecutive nomination for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award. Things were looking pretty good just before Christmas. I performed well at the FIA Formula Two test at Barcelona and to be honest we looked set to secure a deal to run in that championship this year. But nothing is ever certain in motorsport and unfortunately we lost that deal through circumstances entirely beyond our control. We did everything in our power to save the deal but in the end we just weren’t able to.
So as you can imagine it is incredibly frustrating to find myself in this position once again after what I achieved last year and after all of the success I have had in my relatively short motor racing career. I suppose what makes it worse is when I see drivers that have achieved far less than me able to progress without having to put any effort in because they come from far more fortunate circumstances. Please don’t get me wrong, I really don’t begrudge anyone else their chance but surely it is wrong when proven talent (& I know I am sadly not the only one in this position) cannot progress and I plead with the motorsport governing bodies, manufacturers, teams and championship co-ordinators to do everything in their power to redress this situation.
Derek Warwick, the President of the BRDC, made the point on stage at the Autosport International show, when all six McLaren Autosport BRDC finalists were called up, that all six of us were winners and I applaud him very much for saying so. He rightly stated that being selected as a finalist for the award, in my case two years in a row, should be capitalised on when seeking partners and investors and believe you me I do but we are going through such austere times at the moment that even with this to back you up its very difficult to convert it into tangible help.
However difficult times or not I’m certainly not sitting around feeling sorry for myself. In fact since the turn of the year I’ve barely had a day off. There is lots to do with the kart team, as I’ve said before karting doesn’t really have an off season, and of course I had four very busy but enjoyable days at the Autosport Show in Birmingham where I was part of the show in the All Action Arena, appearing on the main stage with the other five McLaren AUTOPSORT BRDC Award finalists and took part in the charity kart race and of course did lots of networking.
I have some good friends and partners who are working hard on my behalf at the moment to try and create opportunities for me and I can’t thank them enough for their faith in me and their efforts. I sincerely hope I have some better news to report next time around.
All the best
Scott
2012 looks likely to be the year when I tick another of those ‘must do before I die’ boxes, having been granted an entry for the 2012 Le Mans Classic in my Series 1 Lotus Elan.
We have had the car for some 6 years, but unfortunately the restoration kept getting put on the backburner whilst we concentrated on others. Eventually, in late 2009, we made a concerted effort to complete it ready for 2010. We had an eventful first season with her, David and I sharing the driving, which ended at the Spa Six Hours Race when we were disqualified for retrieving the car and fixing it (clearly a heinous crime) at one third distance.
Anyway, 2011 was to be a much better year, starting at Barcelona where we won our class. We then went on to Porto where a broken wishbone ended the race 1 lap prematurely, but only after securing fastest lap in our class. Later in the year I did a couple of races sharing with good friend Greg Caton, firstly at a very wet Croft and then at Spa in the 2 hour Gentleman Drivers Race. At Spa we took second in class and fastest lap, so rounding off a pretty good year.
Now looking forward – I entered the Elan in the Le Mans Classic back in October and hardly dared dream of an entry, there are so many Elans competing at present, why would the organisers choose me over any others? Well, for some 12 years now I have been an active member of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club (BWRDC) and have found their support and encouragement overwhelming. When I told Club PR Officer Georgie Shaw of my intention to enter my Elan into the Le Mans Classic she suggested the Club endorse my entry.
Now as luck would have it 2012 is the 50th Anniversary of the Lotus Elan, it is also the 50th Anniversary of the BWRDC. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a member competing at Le Mans, and even better if we could get some of the Club’s members to help run the car at the event also. With this in mind the entry was submitted and now I have a confirmed entry all I need is a second driver and team of mechanics. Actually, I don’t think either will be a problem: the BWRDC has a wealth of experience both on and off the track.
So now the next chapter begins. Who will share the driving? Who will look after the car? Who will look after the team? What spares should we take? What additional lighting should we fit for the night stint? Is my race kit in date? My word, so much to do…
Lorraine Gathercole
One of the many benefits of being selected to join the Motor Sports Association’s elite MSA Academy Squad is that we get to spend a training day with Red Bull Racing Formula One star Mark Webber.
So here we are: the day I’ve been looking forward to for so long is finally here. It’s a quick 40 minute drive from my house to the Porsche Human Performance Centre and wow, what a sight! The building is a state of the art facility towering high above numerous good looking Porsches such as the 911, the turbo and some Carrera GT’s. Inside it’s an amazing open space where I practiced Yoga for 45 minutes with their breathing specialist – it’s much harder than it looks!
After lunch, we listened to an insightful interview between Mark and Andy Blow, a sports scientist who has trained top drivers including Mark, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button amongst others. More recently he has co-authored the book ‘The Motorsport Fitness Manual’ with Dr. Raj Jutley. As an athlete, Andy represented the Great Britain elite team in triathlon and duathlon at World Championship level and recorded several top 10 international Ironman finishes. What a guy!
Then the floor was opened up for a few minutes for us to ask our questions. So what was it like to spend some time with Mark Webber? Anyone who’s watched his interviews will know that he’s well known and admired for his “Aussie Grit” – his Twitter name – and his honest, say-like-it-is approach, and that’s just how he was. He talked about a whole range of things to help us, such as advising us to always strive to be better in every aspect. Mark gave us an example that he was always the first to the door of his local gym, beating even the owner! His favourite saying, from a fellow Aussie racer, is: “Mate, it’s a long way back home with your tail between your legs!” He told us to maximise everything we’ve got and never give up.
I only had one question slot, so despite having many questions I asked Mark how he prepared mentally and physically for a qualifying session to extract the best out of himself and the car when the pressure is at its highest. Mark answered my question with 100% honesty and the words of advice he told me will stay with me throughout my racing career. But I’m not going to share that with you!
I shook Mark’s hand whilst he quizzed me on my racing career and future plans, I told him I plan to dominate InterSteps Championship this year and then see you next year in GP3! (Mark owns a team in the series with Red Bull boss Christian Horner, MW Arden).
We were then ferried off to the iZone Driver Performance Centre. For many of my colleagues this was a daunting first time, but for me I was returning to the place I do most of my training. Faced with the option of driving the simulator of either karting KF3 or the Carrera GT, I opted for the karting simulator. Seeing the leader board for the day, many established drivers had set quick times already. So, armed with the advice from Mark, I set about putting those words into practice and was immediately quick, eventually getting down to setting the fastest time that nobody got within 0.2 of. This earned me a prize, a signed hat from Webber himself and it’s safe to say I was chuffed to bits! All racing drivers want to win at everything.
After this was a quick session in iZone’s new ‘Grid Fit’ challenges and learned probably the most important lesson of the day regarding fitness: how to train the neck muscles under the guidance of Gareth Evans, an expert in strength conditioning. Neck muscles are of course a vital group to a racing driver, and he gave me loads of tips and techniques to train my neck, so it is great that I have left the day with that knowledge.
Other vital areas of the day were the ‘Importance of Nutrition’ seminar with Andy Blow, which taught me new key aspects of nutrition and hydration. The whole day was very educational and has given me a look at how importance all aspects of fitness really are and has given me a more serious outlook on it. Thanks to Mark, Porsche and all the team at iZone for a great day! See you all soon.
James
Hello folks, my name’s James Peace. I’m a 17-year-old racing driver and desperate for the new season to start. But that’s not until March, so how can I keep myself firing on all cylinders until then?!
Last year was my rookie ‘slicks and wings’ campaign, racing in the in the British Automobile Racing Club’s Dunlop
InterSteps Championship, (previously known as Formula BMW) from March through September. Despite severely restricted testing (I’d been in the car just twice compared to rival drivers, who had 10+ days testing) I notched up two wins, 11 podiums, two poles, and three fastest laps. My mind is now set on doing what it takes to be InterSteps Champion 2012, and progressing to GP3 in 2013.
But with the new season still 10 weeks away I’ve been chomping at the bit to get back in the car. Being out-of-season is like being in limbo: we use the time to get ourselves as fit as we can mentally and physically, and in my case I’ve also been revising for and taking my AS levels and furthering my courses for A Level exams later in the year, but it is a real frustration when all you want is to be out there racing.
So it was a major boost for me in the new year to learn that I had been chosen – for the second year running – by the Motor Sports Association to join its select MSA Academy Squad. This prestigious invite-only group sits within the MSA’s Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme (AASE), a government-funded, performance-enhancing course for 20 young drivers that aims to develop the most talented young competitors into elite athletes.
The benefits of this are immediate: this Saturday 21st January, I will be training with F1 Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber at the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone. I’m thrilled to be meeting him and I’ll be asking him all sorts of things, from mental preparation to what he eats for breakfast!
Last weekend I was at the Autosport International Show at the NEC, and there was definitely a new season buzz about it.
I was a host at the MSA Academy stand, but I also got time to meet some great people, such as 1964 Formula One World Champion John Surtees, who is taking the plight of grassroots motorsport very seriously, and is lobbying the FIA for funding for young drivers. Getting funding and sponsorship is really difficult for most of us, and we more than welcome all the help we can get, morally as well as financially.
I also caught up with triple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx. The Priaulx’s have a charity – Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation, inspired by the fact that both of their children were born prematurely – as was I, five weeks before I was due, so it is a cause close to my heart.
So I’m keeping busy, but I can’t wait for March. And my exam results…
James
Well, it’s Monday morning and back to reality working in the NHS today, but what a fabulous weekend I’ve had at Autosport. Apart from winning races I can’t think of many better weekends.
As a nominee for the BWRDC Goldstars club award (there is also an Elite award) I was nervously hoping for the best on Friday morning when the announcement was to be made on the MSA stand by racing legend John Surtees OBE. Judge Ian Titchmarsh had made his decision after considering each of the nominee’s achievements in the previous season and in front of a Motors TV crew and many of the UK racing press the gold envelope revealed my name.
Wow! The last time I smiled so much was when I had a double win at Donington Park last year. What a great feeling, and many thanks to the BWRDC for creating such a great initiative for women in motorsport; thanks also to the various sponsors, including Donington Park (test day), Piers Dowell (bespoke helmet design), Stand 21 (flame proof bra – yes that’s correct!) Millers Oil (205 litres of oil), GPR (cash voucher), IWI (stopwatch), Lucas oil (cleaning products), Izone (simulator time) and not least Twenty-four seven who will be redesigning my web page.
On top of all that, highly successful ALMS racer Liz Halliday will be my mentor for the next twelve months. Could it get much better?
Well actually the weekend continued in a similar vein. At the Jaguar drivers awards dinner on Saturday my regular and valued sponsor, Jaguar Classic Parts, confirmed their support for next season competing in my classic Jaguar XJ-S and XJ saloon. In addition, back at ASI David Price of System Store Solutions (bespoke garage and storage design) also came on board and Jaguar World Monthly confirmed that my writing skills would be used again in 2012. That means I will certainly be competing on track this year and several other deals are still in negotiation so watch this space.
I can now concentrate of raising funds to compete in the GT Cup, where I can test my skills in some more modern machinery in what is a highly competitive and well supported series, covered by Motors TV. This is now my main goal and being such an affordable and sensibly priced series, GT Cup offers a great opportunity for companies to expand their media and brand presence, entertain clients, create incentives for employees and have a lot of fun in the process working with one of the UK’s most successful female racers.
In the meantime the V12 engine will be going back into the XJ-S and a bit of weight loss for the XJ saloon, and me, is in order.
Finally I would also like to congratulate Sarah Reader, my co-Goldstars winner, who took the Elite award for her exploits in Europe last year.
Gail Hill