Aim going into the weekend was to qualify in higher than I had before and finish higher in the races than I had before.

Anyone that knows Snetterton will understand how important slipstreaming is to qualify well, as there is one huge straight. Due to this we (the JTR team) decided it was best to work as a team, toeing each other round to set our fast laps, however this meant you had to give up 2 laps for 1 quick lap. This didn’t work well for me, with me making mistakes on what should have been my quick laps, I think the pressure got to me. Nearing the end of the session I miss judged my braking into the Esses causing me to run wide on the exit and losing 5 seconds and the slipstream effect from my teammates. I thought that was it my qualifying over, but I pushed on regardless. Somehow this seemed to benefit me, maybe as the pressure was off, and I managed to slowly put faster and faster laps in. As the chequered flag dropped for the end of qualifying I had got up to 7th, my best qualifying of the year so far.

Race 1 came along with the rain. This made an interesting opener to the race, as although there had been wet testing it was only ever damp and drying, not fully wet. Even on the green flag lap a front-runner, Antti Buri, spun off down the start finish straight and into the Armco, putting him out of the race. As the race started I only managed to keep my position unsure of the conditions, with the 2nd year drivers much more confident in these conditions. However as the race went on I gained confidence and closed down on the front pack making a pass for 5th, on the penultimate lap, diving around the outside on the brakes into the Esses, however the move open the gap back up to the next car halting my progress. This equaled my best race finish to date, going all the way back to the 1st round at Oulton Park.

The track had dried when it came to race 2 with me starting 9th on the grid. Straight from the off I was stuck in a 10 car battle for the lead with no one being able to make a break. This continued in the opening laps, until lap 3 when a clumsy attempt by Josh Hill, where he ht my rear wheel flinging him up into the air and out of the race, damaged my suspension. This made the car unpredictable and different round every corner, consequently I dropped of the leading pack managing just to hold my position. Lap 7 and lightning stroke twice as I picked up a puncture from the debris left from Hill’s crash. This forced me to bring the car into the pits for a tyre change. I went back out a lap down but managed on my own to set the 5th fastest lap of the race despite being on my own, with no slipstream effect, and bent suspension wishbone and push rod.

Even with the bad luck of race 2 I still achieved my aims and I am very much looking forward to the race this weekend at Brands Hatch, supporting DTM.

I would like to thank the team, JTR and also my sponsors; Superseal, BG Printers, Mobile Telephone Services and Sue-Sew for all their help and support.

Please feel free to visit my website, www.jamesjtucker.co.uk

Realistically I think fifth in the standings is the best we can hope for with only two races left at Monza less than two weeks from now. After the bad luck we’ve had this season in GP3 though, if we can end the championship in fifth place I’ll be pretty happy.

It’s definitely been a tough year and I thought it was about to get tougher after qualifying at Spa when I went off early in the session. We ran slick tyres from the start on the damp track expecting it to dry – which it did – but the car got away from me at Les Combes and that was the end of my run.

Even though we started at the back of the grid (29th place to be exact!) for the first race, I thought we might have a chance to come through quite well as I expected a few incidents. My start was good and I got to the edge of the top 20 on the first lap but then it all kicked off with a mad downpour.

We did a good job with our pit-stop around the time of the Safety Car and when we came out I was 10th which wasn’t bad at all after only a couple of racing laps from the back of the grid! It was just frustrating we couldn’t make any further progress with the race not re-starting as we had the right tyres for the conditions and I know I’d have been able to pass several of those on slicks ahead.

Some drivers were penalised for overtaking under the Safety Car so that boosted me into the top six after the race which was a pleasant surprise. This meant I started on the second row for the ‘reverse grid’ on Sunday and at the start everything went really well.

I got a good getaway and took second into La Source and then on the run from Eau Rouge I managed to get the lead. As the others battled I was able to pull out quite a good gap pretty quickly but I was a bit too cautious when it started to rain and that did cost me.

Even so, we came back out in second place after pitting for wets but the tyres just didn’t have any grip which was really strange. Still, finishing sixth and fourth wasn’t bad – especially after it all went wrong in qualifying. Thanks, as always, to the Racing Steps Foundation, Tomax and Carlin. Hopefully at Monza we can finish the year on the podium.

www.deansmithracing.com/

About Dean:
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Dean Smith is unquestionably one of the top, young single-seater racers on the globe and in 2010 gets his first taste of true international competition in new FIA Formula One World Championship support category GP3. After just three years in karting, Dean won a scholarship to race in Formula BMW UK in 2004 and went on to win the championship in his second season in the category. Named a BRDC Rising Star in 2007 and receiving his first nomination for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award after becoming Formula Renault UK Vice-Champion, he raced in Eurocup Formula Renault in 2008 before coming back to the UK last year where he won the Formula Renault UK crown with an exceptional campaign. Dean’s graduation to GP3 this year with Carlin has been made possible by the support of the Racing Steps Foundation and Tomax. He is also one of the BRDC’s ‘Superstars’.

Qualifying

Great qualifying, with a cracking lap which put me on pole by seven-tenths of a second from David Sleigh, with Kenneth Brewster in third.

Race 1

Got a great start at the lights, and led into the first corner with David Sleigh right behind.  Good first lap but David was all over the back of me.  He was very late on the brakes going into the hairpin and I had to watch for him in my mirrors as he looked very racey.  The two of us had pulled a few second lead from Vic Covey who had got up to third, but going down Duffus Dip on lap five, Sleigh got into a massive slide and just about went off, allowing me to get the gap that I needed as he dropped back into the clutches of Vic Covey.  I stretched my lead out whilst Sleigh and Covey battled for second, I got the win, and it was Vic Covey behind me, closely followed by David Sleigh in third.

Race 2

Race 2 was a very easy race for me, I have to admit, as I got a great start and a good lead whilst once again Vic Covey and David Sleigh battled with each other for second.  This continued through the whole race, and at the flag it was me with the win, David in second, Vic in third.  Good race for me, and a fastest lap.

Race 3

Last Mini race of the day and reverse grid time.  Got a good start off Grid 5, into fourth place past Kenneth Brewster on lap one at Carlube Corner with a move up his inside.  Bit of a gap then to catch the first three up, but with them all scrapping for position I was on them by half a lap.  Got on the tail of fast newcomer, Chris Smiley, going into the second corner and made a very late-on-the-brakes move up his inside; made it stick and was now on the tail of Vic Covey and David Sleigh.  As I went into the hairpin I made a bit of an ambitious move on Covey and went flying up his inside.  Unfortunately I didn’t pull it off and he got back though, but on the next lap Vic did the same move on David Sleigh and went very wide, allowing me to get past and into second.  One lap to go and on Sleigh’s bumper – he was driving a very wide Mini and on the last corner, last lap, I made the move.  Sleigh, however, was determined not to let me past, and he got a very well-deserved win, with me in second and Vic Covey in third.  Fastest lap for me, which I was very happy with.

A great weekend with two wins and a second, two fastest laps and no damage.  Championship lead stretched, and now looking very good!  And not to forget my additional races in the ST’s today, where I got pole, two wins and two fastest laps.  Thanks very much to Iain Cowie at ICR Motorsport for giving me the chance, and as always, thanks to David Kerr and his team at Tynecastle racing for a great Mini.

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

I’m back from Rallye Deutschland and at M-Sport headquarters today catching up on some emails.  

I’m quite pleased with my result in Germany – we hadn’t done any testing in the [Ford] Focus on asphalt since the last all-tarmac round in Bulgaria in June so I wasn’t sure how it would go.  We had a few ups and downs throughout the weekend, I didn’t have as much experience using the hard compound Pirelli P-Zero tyres compared to the softer tyres so our times suffered a little bit.  It was good to get some practice using them though, especially as we have two further asphalt rounds coming up this season.

Saturday was probably our most difficult day, we had a whole new set of notes for Saturday morning’s stages so that slowed us down and then Kimi Räikkönen, who we had been ahead for most of the rally, started to pull away from us.  It was so frustrating.  However, Sunday was much better and we put in a clear run on the day’s first stage which put us back in the hunt.  Kimi was close on our tail throughout the day though and as the last stage of the rally was a Super Special I was pretty nervous – Kimi had a definite advantage as it was his preferred surface from his Formula One days.  He put in the fastest time but I finished the Super Special second-fastest and secured sixth place ahead of him.  I was pleased to have fought back and it’s been my best result in Germany to date – a good rally all round.

We also had some new team-mates in Germany – Francois Duval and Denis Giraudet.  I hadn’t worked with Francois for a couple of years and it was nice to see him back in a rally car after several months away from the WRC. Scott [Martin] and I were impressed by how fast he was, especially on Saturday before he had his big crash.  We were behind him on the stage and saw what had happened before everybody else – Francois was standing outside the car which was on its roof and waved us on but I couldn’t see Denis.  We were both concerned as we hadn’t seen Denis and thought maybe something had happened to him but we later found out he was OK – it was a huge relief.  The guys were lucky in a sense – the hinkelsteins that are littered at the side of that stage are designed to stop tanks as the area used to be a military zone, if they’d impacted directly on a hinkelstein instead of just beside it then it could have been much, much worse. 

I’m going to London tomorrow for a couple of days with my family but then I’ll be back at the end of this week to prepare for Japan.  Japan is an interesting place – it’s so different culturally.  I’ve got a bit of a love-hate relationship with the country, it’s great initially because it’s so different but after I’ve been there for a week I’m ready to come home again. We’ve got a good track record over there – I finished fourth there a few years ago so hopefully we can do well again there this year.  I can’t believe there’s only four WRC rounds remaining – this year has gone so quickly, I’m aiming for another top five before the end of the season.

MW

Free practice on Saturday went according to plan, with all three drivers putting in competitive times and getting comfortable with the car round the tight and twisty Hungaroring circuit without any untoward incidents in glorious sunshine with temperatures of around 26 degrees – it felt like the perfect weekend!

Come Sunday and our preparations continued without any hitches, with Warren Hughes putting the car a creditable 8th in class in qualifying despite failing to find a gap in the traffic when the tyres were at their best. I then had a few laps in the warm-up session in preparation to start the race and despite some nervousness about my ability to keep out of trouble on the first two corners, I was thinking ‘bring it on!’

The first two corners went ok and although I dropped a couple of places I’d recovered them by the end of lap two. The car felt good, I’d settled my nerves, and I was all set for my two hours at the wheel, when I made the mistake of overestimating the grip in the tyres (despite air temperature of a blistering 32 degrees I’d started on cold tyres and they need a good 3 laps to heat through – the surface of the tyres heats fairly rapidly giving the impression you have plenty of grip, but untill they’re heated right through they tend to be unpredictable) the result was a spin on turn 2 at the start of lap 3 and the frustration of having to watch the whole field pass before tthe track was clear for me to restart.

The race then settled down and I was making my way through the slower GT cars when the engine started to cut out due to an oil pressure problem, apparently due to the temperature. Unfortunately for me, when it cut out on the apex of the hairpin at turn 1 I was left momentarily stranded and was collected by one of the Ferarri’s I’d just passed. The result was an unscheduled pitstop of over twenty minutes to repair the minor damage and sort the oil pressure problem. So frustrating!

The rest of the race went without major incident with all 3 drivers putting in consistently competitive times and gradually hauling ourselves up to a creditable 8th in class and 18th overall, so I guess we feel it’s the one that got away.

Perhaps the consolation is that the Silverstone 6 hour race is only 3 weeks away, so we don’t have to wait too long to build on what we’ve achieved.

Barry

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I know it has been over a week since the race meeting at Silverstone, on the 14^th and 15^th of August, but this has been the first chance I have had to sit down and write up a blog.

My aim going into the weekend was to qualify in the top 10 for all 3 races and have 3 top 10 finishes.

Qualifying started very well with me running in the top 6 for the first 3 flying laps, but as the session progressed people started toeing each other around down hanger straight, this gave them around a 3 tenth of a second advantage. As this happened I dropped down to 9^th quickest by the end of the session, with 3 very consistent laps, this gave me 2 9^th place qualifications and 1 8^th. This was my highest qualification so far this year; with all being in the top 10 my first aim was complete.

Race 1 was perfect conditions for me, with a damp track that was to dry for wets. Due to my confidence in these condition, from practice in similar on the Thursday test sessions, I called slicks very early in the assembly area, leaving many other drivers panicking about tyre choice right up to the formation lap. This perhaps meant I was a lot calmer than the other drivers at the start and I capitalised on this by driving through from 9^th to 4^th on the 1^st lap. A few laps later and I had passed Josh Hill, at Abby for 3^rd and pulled an advantage. Unfortunately, just 2 laps from the end of the race, the conditions that gave me this opportunity for my first podium caught me out, at Vale I slid wide onto a damp patch causing me to go wide onto the wet astro turf at Club instantly diminishing my gap and I was swallowed up by the pack, dropping back down to 6^th.

Race 2 never really got going due to an early safety car that took up over half of the race. I had managed to get up to 7^th before the safety car period, but an error on the restart caused me to drop 3 places into 10^th.

Finally it was here Race 3, my highest ever grid position. I got a great start from the inside of the grid, the slippy side; this allowed me to gain 2 places straight away. At the end of the 1^st lap the safety car boards had been put out due to a first corner incident. The restart and straight away Emi Bernstorff, Silverstone lap record holder, made his way past me followed by Finish driver Anti Burri. The race for me was very much a case of follow the leader from then on for me until the last lap. On the last lap the pack was split by contact between the 2 championship leaders, I thought this was my time to strike but I was only able to re pass Burri into Bridge, however investigation into the last lap are still on going.

This meant that I had achieved my 2 goals, with 9,9,8 in Qualifying and 6^th, 7th, 10th in the races.

I would like to thank the team, JTR and also my sponsors; Superseal, BG Printers, Mobile Telephone Services and Sue-Sew for all their help and support.

Please feel free to visit my website, www.jamesjtucker.co.uk

The Thruxton event a couple of weeks ago was one of my best of the year, I really enjoyed it and we raced strongly against a lot of the A Class cars. Unfortunately I’ve lost quite a lot of points over the course of the season with a few non-finishes but on pace, we’ve definitely been very strong and we’ve still taken plenty of wins.

At Silverstone, last weekend, I was really pleased with my performance in the last race where I finished around half a minute ahead of my class points rival James Cole. It was a good way to finish the event as the other two races didn’t quite go as planned. Again though, we were fast all weekend.

We’ve only got six rounds left but I’m only nine points behind the National Class lead so we’ve still got a great chance to win the title. It’s going to be really important to make sure I finish all six of the rounds. If we do then I think we have a good opportunity to take the fight down to the wire.

Everything’s going brilliantly with the guys at T-Sport. I’m learning so much each time I’m in the car and I’m really enjoying the racing – my engineer, Nick, is doing a fantastic job for me and we’re working really well together. It’s definitely been my most enjoyable season since I started racing.

So it all comes down to Snetterton, over Bank Holiday weekend, and then Brands Hatch towards the end of September. I can’t wait for the last six races, whatever happens it’s going to be good fun!

 www.menashehidafar.com

 About Menasheh:

Menasheh Idafar is a 19-year-old racing driver with dual British and Bahraini nationality. After making his UK race debut in the club-level Formula Renault BARC Championship in 2007, Menasheh went on to finish fourth overall in the category during his second season, taking five podiums and four pole positions along the way. Stepping-up to the national Formula Renault UK series in 2009, he returned to the podium during the four-round Winter Championship. In 2010, Menasheh is competing in the National Class of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series with T-Sport at the wheel of a Mugen-Honda powered Dallara F307.

Saturday’s practice in Formula Palmer Audi went very well as we had the car set up for the track. The pace of the other drivers was very close but i was very confident with my lap’s and was in the top 6 in both practices.

Qualifying wasn’t so smooth as traffic became a big problem and as it was only 20 minutes for Qualifying it would be difficult to do a pit stop to do tyre pressures and to make a gap within traffic. We were lying close to last on the grid but a few laps to the end i had a bit of clear air and put in three fast laps – good enough for 8th spot for both races.

Race 1 went underway! A good start made me jump two places but lost one under braking into the first corner. The field was very close and any mistake would cost you the race. Still on the first lap heading up to Druids a late move on the inside of me dropped me back to 8th but I quickly used my first boost to try and retake 7th but the driver in front was pushing me off the circuit whilst I was on the inside. This resulted me taking a trip along the very bumpy grass on the inside and high speed. Amazingly heading up to Lodge i didn’t lose any positions due to lose of speed and momentum. I did however lose another spot due to dirty tyres and lack of traction. Throughout the race I made up 2 positions! A great move round the outside of the chicane and a late move on the inside of Lodge put me back to 7th. I was then 3 seconds down on the driver ahead but by the checked flag it came down to 0.6 of a second with just 3 seconds seperating me from 2nd place.

Race 2 started wet and the clark of the course made it the drivers decision to ether go onto wet or slick tyres. We had 20mins to decide and everyone went to wet tyres but it didn’t seem wet enough and clear sky was looming in the ackground so i was the only driver to go out on the slick tyres! Driving up the grid it just about stop raining but i knew it was going to be very slippery for the first few laps.

Red lights went out and despite it being very wet i got a flying start and got up to 6th by the first corner and was fighting to car for grip but the advantage of the wet tyres soon took over coming out of the slower corner the other drivers just drove past. Defending and trying to get heat into the tyres was very difficult but i was maintaining my postion until it started to rain again! The tyres weren’t getting any heat and the grip level was at the minimum, best i could do was try and finish. A few laps to the end a dry line appeard and i was getting much fast but by this time i was in 12th spot and no hope on improving as the cars in front where much further down the road. By the end we got home in 12th with an damage free weekend and experience of driving the car in the wet on slick tyres.

Volkswagen Cup (Silverstone GP 2010) – 14/15th August

Our second outing in the VW cup was set to be at Silverstone as our confidence from my first win in racing was to carry me to Silverstone GP.

Practice on the Friday was going to be a wet one and not doing a single lap of Silverstone sence FPA last year but even then i got taken out in the first race and not being able to start the second race i was going in blind. Having never driving the Golf mk5 in the wet i wasn’t to shore what to expect but i soon found my feet and got in the top 8 in Practice.

Qualifying the next day was cold but dry so i could finally do some quick laps – traffic was a big problem again just like it was at Oulton Park for FPA. There was 28 other drivers and i couldn’t get the gap i needed so i was mid pack close to the end of Quailfying and i knew i had one more lap and it had to be fast. So far it was going well but on the last few corners i court up and a slower driver who was unaware that i was right behind him blow my lap. But luckly enough it was good enough for 8th on the grid.

Race 1 from 8th came underway very well. Jumping two drivers to the first corner but the faster 4 wheel drive machine alongside got away better. I was 6th leading up the Hanger straight but just before it i got a tap from the rear sending the car a bit sideways making me loose speed and mometiom down the straight and causing me to lose 1 spot. But more bad luck was on its way when i lost 4th gear on the first lap and then 3rd on the four lap, it was set to be a very difficult and frustrating race. 6 laps down and i was forced to retire due to gearbox problems.

Havung got a DNF in race 1 meant that for Race 2 I was starting near the back of the grid in 24th. I got off to a flying start and had made up 6 places by the end of lap one. I then set about making steady progress and only being slightly hampered by a road gear box made up a further 6 spots by the end of the racing coming home in 12th

Next outing is FPA at Rockingham on 28th August – see you there.

I haven’t taken the starter’s lights for a motor race in close to 18 months. That’s a long time for someone who’s used to being in a race car every other weekend, and the invitation from Porsche Motorsport to compete in the Mobil 1 Supercup in support of the Formula One, for their final round at Monza, came at the right time.

Without it, there was a good chance we would do as so many young drivers are forced to do, and ‘throw in the towel’. You can only slave away with no return for so long, and when I found myself without a sponsor after my Hamilton 400 win in April last year, we knew we were in a spot of bother. Since then, without a word of a lie, the efforts behind the scenes by myself, my family and my support team have been non-stop. It gets really hard to keep motivated when for every hundred proposals, meetings and contacts you come across, only two or three show any interest, and they end up faltering anyway. But we did.

It’s been an exciting year and a half though. There’s been lots of travel, networking in Europe and the Middle East, a bit of testing up there also, track time locally in the Juno sports car and a few Japanese tuners, and I’ve met some incredible people who have offered to help me through what has been a difficult dry patch.

The time out of the seat and the motorsport ‘spotlight’ has given me time to reflect. To reflect on myself, my attitude, my approach to my racing; to analyse my strengths and maintain them; to recognise my weaknesses and put the processes in place to fix them. I’ve experimented with all kinds of new fitness regimes and found a routine that I feel fits perfectly with GT racing in all its forms. More importantly, I’ve found the confidence within myself that I’ve always been lacking in my career to date.

That’s the clincher.

Monza will mean many things to me, but really it’s just a tremendous opportunity that I know I am privileged to receive. Winning the Porsche Motorsport Talent Scholarship in February has definitely helped my credibility, and this is my reward.

Between my father Richard and I we have a plan in our minds. We have a set of goals we want to achieve up there. They are optimistic but realistic – we’re under no illusions of the level of competition in the Supercup. We also know the racing style in Europe will be a shock to the system – it’s kill or be killed on that grid.

And if that’s the way it’s got to be, then that’s how we will have to adapt.

Just sitting here writing this is making my fingers quiver. It’s so damn exciting!

What comes next is still up in the air. I’m working hard on a deal for the New Zealand season with some key people whom I believe will help me get things over the line.

And if I do, expect a different Jono Lester to the one you’ve seen previously.

So, roll on Monza, and roll on the future!

Jono