Jun
9
Dan Denis: On the comeback trail
Hi there
It has been an awfully long time since I last posted here, for reasons I shall explain in a moment. After winning the R400 championship last year, I was looking for a new challenge for 2010.
After a lot of hard work putting together sponsorship deals, we were able to purchase a brand new Ginetta G50, for use in the extremely competitive Ginetta G50 Cup. Due to a number of delays, I wasn’t able to get a run in the car until the championship media day at Silverstone. Whilst we were down on our rivals in terms of seat time, my pace was strong in the on-track sessions only a few tenths shy of the top cars.
Unfortunately, all these efforts came undone at the first meeting of the year at my home track, Thruxton. Despite only living 30 minutes away from the fastest track in the UK, this was the first time I had raced on the circuit. After qualifying well, an incorrect tyre choice for the first race meant that I had to start race two from the back of the pack. After battling though the pack, a mistake coming out of Goodwood corner sent me onto the grass and hitting the grass sound bank at over 120mph, one of the hardest impacts ever taken by a G50 before. After being taken to Winchester hospital I was told I had suffered a broken collarbone and severe muscle damage, and could expect to be out of action for two months.
I would like to thank all of the marshals and paramedics for the excellent job they did that day, and to all the members of the racing community who sent their wishes.
This blog however isn’t all about bad news. For, despite my accident, I was able to rejoin the G50 Cup grid at Oulton Park in Cheshire, for rounds 10 & 11 of the championship. Getting back in the car was fantastic, especially at a circuit as exciting and challenging as Oulton. The car itself is great to drive, yet very different to the Superlight. Being a big GT car, getting used to all that extra weight and way it transfers at various points in the laps is something that I have never experienced before and something that, with more seat time, I will become more accustomed to.
Another thing different on the G50 is the use of racing slicks, as opposed to the treaded tyres used in the Caterham’s. Learning to get the most out of the tyres, especially in qualifying, is something that I will learn with practice. After qualifying 15th, I had a lot of work to do in the races.
Race one took place on Saturday afternoon, and I enjoyed an incredible battle with Phil Broad, with him just beating me across the line meaning I finished 14th. One thing this race taught me was how hard it is to overtake in these cars, compared to the Caterham. Being so wide and at a notoriously narrow Oulton Park circuit, finding a way past Phil proved impossible for me this race, but hopefully I will be able to improve my race craft in the G50 as I gain more race time.
For race 2, my primary objective was to improve on my race 1 result. A great start put me up into 10th by the end of lap two, a position I held for a number of laps until contact with Adam Morgan through Cascades put be back down to 18th. Despite the setback I pushed on eventually recovering to 12th place, rounding off an excellent weekend for my return to the series.
It is now less than two weeks until Croft, a circuit I haven’t been to before but one I have been told is a great circuit to drive. My main objective, seeing as I have not raced there before, is to continue learning as much as I can about the car and how to race it.
Just a quick thank you to Matt Blyth Motorsport and Ginetta Cars for doing such a great job rebuilding my car in time for Oulton, as well as all my sponsors for remaining with me despite the accident.
Cheers
Dan
