Aug
7
Zoe Wenham’s BWRDC Blog – Snetterton
A 6-week summer break was welcomed after a very disappointing round at Brands Hatch, where I failed to stand on the podium. But it is now over and the second half of the season recommenced at Snetterton where the weather left a little to be desired.
The free practise sessions on Saturday morning were fairly straight forward and although we failed to finish FP1 due to a drive shaft failure the times we were heading for were almost as quick as we could have hoped. We knew we could push hard going into FP2 to get to the times we wanted on the run up to qualifying. In FP2 we ended up slower than in the first session and I was slightly agitated that I couldn’t reach the time I had thought I could. A torrential storm came and passed but it was getting late and our qualifying was cancelled. Times from FP1 would be the starting positions for the first race of the day (P4) and likewise FP2 and race 2 (P5) so this wasn’t great for me and Dom.
Race 1 saw me starting and I got a horrendous launch by accidentally selecting semi-neutral gear on the run up to the line, at which point everyone bolted! Despite this I managed to capitalise on the APO Ginetta spinning on the first lap but I was stuck behind one of the Chevron’s until around lap 5 when the Optimum Ginetta started getting away. I made light work of the Chevron when it came to overtaking it and had caught up to the back of P3 within two laps. It took me a while to make it past into 2nd place but I had a fantastic battle where I forced the driver into a mistake when he tried to retake the position and then span. I had clear track to try and catch the car in front and little did I realise when I handed over to Dominic I was actually leading the race. Dom drove a solid stint and although he lost a place back and reported a broken driveshaft a lap before the chequered flag, we finished the race (albeit just) and took the second spot on the podium. The car was slightly alight from the oil dropping out of the driveshaft so it had to be sorted before race 2 and Century did a blistering job to get it ready just in time.
Dom started race 2 and we dropped behind by around 25 seconds due to some contact that had been made on both the front and rear of the car so we were carrying damage. The changeover was also slightly problematic as I couldn’t get the engine started which added 10 seconds to our time in the pitlane. I worked extremely hard to try and catch as many people as possible but I only managed to catch 4th place and I overtook on the run up to the chequered flag. Only being around 10 seconds off 3rd was humbling, though looking back on the situation when I got in the car and it meant my championship position was stronger than it was when we entered the circuit gates.
I cannot thank Geometric Manufacturing, CapMedia and Supagard enough and looking I’m forward to Silverstone and the 3 hour race. It will be a very exciting one!
Thanks,