Oulton Park was my first meeting back after my Thruxton crash, and was mostly about getting back into racing after the incident. With a two month gap between Oulton & Snetterton, it was great to get back in the car for Friday testing at the Norfolk circuit. Snetterton is a circuit that has always been kind to me, qualifying 5th for my first ever car race in 2008 and clinching the Superlight R400 championship there last year.

This year however, things didn’t go my way in qualifying as I struggled to get a consistent lap time together meant I lined up a disappointing 15th on the grid, doubly disappointing seeing as I was one of the fastest cars around the first half of the lap. After qualifying I had two races to complete on Saturday, making for a very busy day for us all. Race one took place in dry conditions and I made a new places off the start, but was prevented from moving further up after a safety car on lap 4 scuppered my chances of moving further up the grid. Due to the race only being 11 laps, by the time the incident had been cleared and the safety car had gone in it left me with too few laps to move further up the order.

Rain between race 1 and two meant, for the first time this year, I would be racing the G50 in the wet. Not being used to full on rain tyres (the Caterham’s always ran a treaded tyre, no slicks & wets) I was initially surprised by just how much grip the tyres gave and quickly gained confidence in them as I again climbed up the order, taking advantage of other people’s errors to get my first top ten finish of the year – a solid 9th place.

On Sunday the sun was back out and the crowds were flocking in. Our Sunday race took placein the afternoon in front of a great crowd. The race itself however was short-lived, an accident involving Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey, brought out the safety car for the second time for the weekend. However, a 7th place finish marked my best performance of the year so far.

Moving forward two weeks, I arrived at the home of british motor racing, Silverstone, for rounds 18 & 19 of the G50 Cup. Despite the forecast claiming that we would be in for wet weekend, all the weekends running took place under dry conditions. After some fundamental set-up changes in testing we seemed to unlocked something extra in the car, catapulting to an excellent 5th place on the grid. For the Saturday race, poleman Chris Dittman retired with a broken driveshaft, putting me up to 4th as the lights went out. Through all 22 laps I held my position well, to cross the line a superb 4th, meaning a podium place was insight for the race on Sunday.

After a losing a few places off the start on Sunday I was holding 5th position well, until being turned around by Dittman on the final corner, dropping me to 9th. A disappointing end to an otherwise fantastic weekend.

Unfortunately, budget shortages means that I will be missing the next round at Knockhill but will be out again at my favourite circuit, the re-opened Donington Park, at the end of the next month.

Hope to see you there
Dan

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

This blog is a mixture of happiness and sadness. Happy because after a fantastic season I was crowned champion, but sad as it means another season of motorsport is nearing an end.

Leaving Silverstone a few weeks ago I didn’t know that I’d just wrapped up the driver’s championship. It was fellow competitor Ed Hayes tha t worked it out on Monday morning. A very excited call from my Dad that afternoon marked one of the most incredible moments of my life, though admittedly it didn’t feel quite real.

Snetterton will always be special for me, as it was where I took part in my first ever motor race, on my 17th birthday in June last year. Back then I wouldn’t of imagined that I’d be returning a year later as driver’s champion and two finishes would earn Matt Blyth Motorsport team’s championship.

Testing on Friday took place in dry conditions and we were setting the pace, a couple of tenths up on our rivals. The same could be said the next day however, with damp conditions making for a very tricky qualifying session, where I managed to grab 2nd on the grid, the highest I have qualified since taking pole at Oulton Park back in May.

 Come race 1 later that afternoon, and still the damp conditions persisted. I made a fantastic start to get into the lead on the first corner and was able to pull out a small lead over the first few laps. However, due to the treacherous conditions and the need to finish in order to secure the team’s championship for Matt Blyth Motorsport,  I drove cautiously, perhaps a little too cautiously and ended up dropping back to 4th. However this was enough to mean I could really go for a fantasitc in race 2 and end the season on a high.

Race 2 took place in much more pleasant whether, so the final race of 2009 took place in dry conditions. It was a fantastic end to the 2009 season, with a great battle between me and old rivals Peter Ratcliff and Simon Young. I’ve had some fantastic battles with them this year and so I must thank them both for a great season of clean, hard racing. For this race though I was happily the one who came out on top to win the last race of the season, and take both the driver’s and team’s championships.

So as 2009 draws to a close I would like to thank my team Matt Blyth Motorsport for all the effort they have put in this year as well as my sponsors KM Dastur and Ian Hutcheson & Associates, for without them I wouldn’t be on the grid at all.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading these blogs, take care of yourselves.

Dan

Apologies for the lateness of this blog, but I have been very busy lately due to starting university at Goldsmith’s College, University of London. I still haven’t got my Internet sorted so am currently writing this from my local Internet café.
 
Sine my last blog a lot has happened in the Caterham Superlight R400 Championship with arguably the two most anticipated races of the year: Spa Francorchamps & Silverstone GP.

So onto Spa, and a very exciting occasion for my team Matt Blyth Motorsport, who after months of talk were finally able to use their incredible new lorry – with a nicer interior than my house! Spa itself is simply incredible; there is defiantly a really special atmosphere there that is not present at any other track.

Whilst Spa is notorious for its weather, we had beautiful sunshine all weekend making for a simply unbeatable weekend’s enjoyment. As for the racing itself, we had the biggest entry of the year with an incredible 28 Superlights on track. The nature of the circuit made for some very close racing, with the high-speed layout and tow affect that is so apparent in Caterhams heightened even further to mean that you could enter the Kemmel straight in first, but be in 6th by the end of it. Whilst this encouraged ultra-close racing, it made it very hard to stay in the lead and so led to a very tactical first race, which I judged very well and was able to take my 3rd win in a row, albeit by only 0.078 seconds from championship rival Peter Ratcliff.

The second race was much of the same, however I didn’t judge my ideal position on the final lap meaning I was 4th heading into the bus stop chicane. Fortunately though a spinning car ahead of me gifted me 3rd place and a 9th podium of the year. To add to that, I also collected my first ever lap record, a 2:41 second lap that just added to an already phenomenal weekend.

Two weeks later and back in the UK to go to another magical place, Silverstone. This was my first visit the Grand Prix circuit and I have to say it is an incredible circuit. Like Spa, it encourages close racing because of its high-speed layout. Another strong grid – 23 cars for this meeting and more beautiful weather set the one-day event up to be another thriller.

After struggling to get enough out of the car in qualifying I faced an uphill struggle with my two main championship rivals taking up the front row. Race 1 was very tough with 5 cars fighting for the lead. Whilst I couldn’t take the win, a third place was good damage limitation as my rivals didn’t take too many points out of my championship lead.

For race two I started in a better position and took full advantage of it, by taking my sixth victory of the season and another fastest lap. This means that I now have a 13 point lead in the championship going into the final round at Snetterton in three weeks time. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Take care,

Dan

It was great to be back on the British F3/GT package, and there was a really good atmosphere in the paddock all weekend. Despite the miserable weather, a big crowd turned out to watch all the action.  Furthermore, a strong 20 car grid including reigning champion David Mayes promised some fantastic racing. This surely indicates the benefits of being part of the F3/GT meetings, so hopefully there will be more than one meeting on the package in 2010.

For me, the weekend itself couldn’t have started any worse thanks to an engine failure just 20 minutes into the first practice session on Friday. We still haven’t had any word from engine builders Minister Power as to what has gone on the engine, but we have our fingers crossed it won’t be too expensive.

Thankfully a spare engine was on hand and thanks to great work by Mat Blyth Motorsport, Rob from Tecserv and Simon Lambert for finding an oil filter in a van I was able to get a good run in the car before racing.

So onto the racing. Qualifying presented a tough challenge for me because I am running in a one car team. it would be better to work together with another car to capitalise on the huge performance advantage a tow down the straights can give you in these cars. This meant that whilst I was quickest in clean air, it was championship rival Peter Ratcliff and team mate David Mayes who took the front two positions on the grid, whilst I had to settle for third.

Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon in lovely sunshine and the race itself was defiantly one of the best of the year. Having eight cars fighting for first place underlies why the R400 Superlight championship is so good. As Mayes built up a good advantage at the head of the field I had to deal with all three of my closest championship rivals trying as hard as possible to find a way past me. Luckily, their squabbles meant I was able to break the tow and hunt down Mayes, eventually passing him into Goddards to take the win. It was a great feeling to finally finish in front of him after spending the last three rounds of 2008 coming second best to David.

Race two on Sunday provided challenging conditions, with heavy rain falling minutes before we went out to race. A late tyre change by us proved a great move as, despite losing the lead on the first bend to David, I was back in the lead again by the start of lap two from where I sped off into the distance, winning the race by over 32 seconds.

A really great weekend more than made up for the disappointment at Anglesey and made the hard work of changing engines on Friday very worthwhile.  The fantastic results mean I am now 13 points clear at the head of the driver’s championship with six races left to run. There is a long two month wait until I’m next out, but it should be worth the wait as the next round of the championship is at the awesome Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Many people consider this the best circuit in the world, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Dan

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.

Hi all,

I’m Dan Denis and this year I am competing in the Caterham Superlight R400 Championship, Caterham’s premier motorsport championship. All the cars are identical, featuring a monstrous 220bhp Cosworth engine and Quaife 6-speed sequential gearbox. Having all this power in a car that only weighs 600kg makes for some very fast speeds and having no aerodynamic aids, makes the racing extremely close and exciting to both watch and drive.

This is only my second season of car racing, having come out of karts at the start of 2008. After a busy few months trying to raise the money, I contested 5 of the 6 rounds of the Caterham R400 Superlight championship, where I had 4 consecutive podiums and one win, in the Caterham Eurocup.

For 2009, I have a different car and great support from sponsors KM Dastur & Co Ltd, Ian Hutcheson & Associates and The Haywaggon Inn, Heartfield. For a second season I will be running with Matt Blyth Motorsport, who will be providing driver coaching and car preparation throughout the year.

The championship got underway on Easter Weekend at the Silverstone International circuit, my least favourite track on the calendar. We arrived at the circuit Thursday night in foul conditions that didn’t disappear throughout the weekend, contrary to all the weather forecasts! This probably helps explain why there wasn’t a single soul in the grandstands for the whole weekend, which added to a very dull atmosphere. Friday was the wettest day of the weekend, and in free practice we showed good pace though it proved difficult to see our true pace because the seemingly endless string of slower Roadsport & R300 cars that we had out with us during the practice made it near impossible to get a clear lap.

For Qualifying the track was drier but was incredibly greasy meaning that grip was lower than in Practice. The conditions weren’t like anything I had raced on before and they quickly became my least favourite conditions. The lack of grip meant that, despite the best efforts of the team, there was seemingly constant understeer into the corners that was balanced out by a heap of oversteer on the exit. The challenging conditions caught me out on my first flying lap, almost binning it in the graveltrap at Abbey. Despite my best efforts we could only manage 4th on the grid.

Some setup tweaks for Race 1 made a noticeable difference to the car giving me much more confidence under brakes and through the corners. This allowed me to battle race long with the leaders only just missing out on the win, but got the fastest lap.

For Race 2 on the Sunday, conditions were a slight improvement with a dry line appearing for our race. I knew I had to get the lead early on as overtaking would be almost impossible given the treacherous conditions off line. I was able to get a fantastic start to put me into the lead, one I held for the whole duration of the race despite being put under immense pressure. I just stayed on line which meant no one could get past without seriously compromising their exit speed. Overall a very successful, if wet, opening weekend.

Round 2 at Oulton Park couldn’t have had more different conditions. Glorious sunshine basked over the track all day and a good crowd led to a very nice atmosphere. It was a real treat to race on the full international circuit (and a surprise for some who had mistakenly tested on the shorter Island circuit). The twisty, technical nature of the circuit really appealed to me and it has shot up to the top of my list of favourite tracks.

Using the same setup we developed in testing earlier in the month, I was confident of showing good pace despite my relative lack of experience and I was able to grab pole by two tenths of a second. Qualifying for this meeting presented a new challenge I have not experienced before. Due to the meeting being one day, the decision was made to combine our R400 qualifying with the qualifying of the slower R300 cars. This led to quite a busy track and made it hard to put in a fast lap that wasn’t compromised by being stuck behind the R300’s.

For race 1, my start was disappointing and knocked me back to fourth. However I was able to gain all these places back in the first two laps to retake the lead. From here I was able to break the tow on the fierce battle for second behind and pull out a good gap. An excellent setup by Matt Blyth Motorsport meant the car didn’t go off at all and I was able to take the win by over 9 seconds.

For race 2 I got a much better start and led into the first corner but this time couldn’t shake off the pursuers, and I engaged in a race long battle for the lead which eventually went the way of Simon Young by only a few hundredths of a second, with me in 2nd.

Losing by such a small margin is always tough to take, but me and Simon both raced extremely well and I didn’t feel disappointed at all, as having two very strong, consistent point scoring weekends gives me a 10 point lead at the head of the drivers’ championship and Matt Blyth Motorsport enjoying a comfortable lead in the teams’ championship.

We have a four week break until round 3 at Anglesey, a circuit I didn’t even know existed until a few months ago. It is a circuit very few in the series have raced on before and the first time me, or any of the official Caterham championships, have visited the circuit. Being a new circuit to most of the competitors, it should make for a very level playing field and some fantastic racing. From those I’ve spoken to who have raced there before, opinions are mixed. Some say it’s fantastic, others say it’s dull. I guess we’ll all find out on the 27th-28th June.