Jul
1
Hi all. Has been a while since my last update due to a four-week break between races. Rounds 5 & 6 of the 2009 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight R400 Championship took place at the Anglesey circuit, in North Wales and using the full International GP configuration. This is a circuit that before the announcement of the calendar I didn’t know existed so was a nice surprise to find that, despite the long travel distance, it really is a great circuit with some interesting sections, ample overtaking opportunities and with the mountains of Snowdonia in the distance, it couldn’t be in a more beautiful location.
So onto the racing itself, and it was a weekend where we really struggled to get onto the pace in the dry. Unfortunately dry testing time was cut short by showers in the afternoon. In the wet we were the pace setters, but it wasn’t the weekend to be quick in the wet with glorious sunshine basking over the circuit on Saturday and Sunday.
For qualifying, horrendous understeer combined with not being able to pick up that all-important tow up the long straights meant I was confined to my lowest qualifying position of the season, 7th place. For race one, I was engulfed in a furious five way battle for 3rd place. All five of us had the same chance of crossing the line to take the final podium position – the honour eventually falling to Grahame Tilley. I eventually finished 6th, throwing away 5th place by way of an overoptimistic move on my part on the final corner, which resulted in a 360 spin and my lowest finishing position since Brands Hatch last July.
Saturday night saw Caterham Motorsport team up with the people at the Ma5da MX5 Cup to enjoy a very pleasant evening at the circuit, featuring Hog Roast and live band, a truly great way to spend the evening and was great to socialise with the rest of the racers at the circuit.
A long wait for our race on Sunday was made easier by the gorgeous weather, though our race took place at probably the hottest time of the day. The team at Matt Blyth Motorsport did an excellent job improving the set-up and some of my race lines meaning I went into the second race with much more confidence than I did on Saturday. The changes really made a difference as I quickly shot up the order and raced hard with Bill Addision and Grahame Tilley for 3rd place. The great battle was cut short y mechanical problems for both Bill and Grahame, Bill suffering a coolant leak and gearbox troubles for Grahame meant that I inherited a very pleasing 3rd place. It was a great feeling to get on the podium in what had been a difficult weekend.
Despite the tough weekend, I still have the lead in the drivers’ championship and Matt Blyth Motorsport still top the teams’ championship. What’s better, our next round of the championship takes place at Donington Park, a circuit I really enjoy racing at and one where I always seem to go well – I collected my first ever win in a car there last year in the Caterham Eurocup. Donny has had a lot of problems recently and I really hope it pulls though as it is such a great circuit.
It is also great to get back on the British F3/GT package at Donington. It is a real shame that we only have the one race with them this year, as it is a great package put together by SRO and is where I feel the R400 Superlight Championship is best suited.
Finally, whilst the R400 championship has suffered with patchy grid numbers this year Anglesey once again showed that it provides some of the best racing around, despite the low numbers. At all three rounds this year there has been fantastic racing throughout the pack making it fantastic to compete in and, according to my family and friends, awesome to watch both live and on Motors TV. Combine this and the fact that 2009 is one of the most competitive R400 championships in recent years (4 different winners from 6 races) should in itself act as great advertising for a fantastic series.
