Nic's Race Report for Donington 11th May 2003.
We woke up at 4.45 Sunday morning to a cloudless sky and hoped it would stay that way. By the time we'd sorted out the trailer and Special it was 5.45 and time to head to Donington Park. The journey was uneventful and thankfully shorter than expected at just on 3 hours.
I left Paul and Beatriz to sign on at Race Control and have my 'first time at the circuit' briefing. This consisted mostly of 'pray it doesn't rain as the circuit is covered in kerosene from the nearby East Midlands Airport and it'll be really slippery'. I left praying it wasn't going to rain.After the car was unpacked and given a little bit of warm up time, it was off to scrutineering, where a very friendly official looked the car over and after a few pleasantries, advised me to be very careful if it rained. A sense of portent was rising, as the wind got stronger and the clouds got darker. 11.15, I lined up for practice with the other 750 Trophy cars and a mean bunch of 1960's Formula 3 cars, that made so much noise at times I had to look at the rev counter to check my engine was still running.
Donington is quite an impressive track with an impressive height change as the circuit passes through a natural bowl, wiggling on it's way down there and wiggling just as much on the way back. I was gently learning the track and getting faster each lap. On lap 5, I noticed steam pouring out the side of the engine eased back and cruised round to the pits.
A leisurely lunch was digested whilst we contemplated the problem, as we diagnosed a water pipe was leaking and also that the engine had been dangerously close to running out of water. After a run around the paddock, some useful advice and offers of different pieces of hose from our fellow competitors we used the racing staple - tank tape - to wrap around the hose. A short test on the public roads made us confident that we could get through the race OK. The rain clouds gathered ominously but as a general rule passed to the east of the circuit, I kept praying..At 4.15 I was getting nervous again which meant it was time to don helmet and line up in the assembly area. I was to be last but one on the grid, which was good in one way - I only had to look forward on the grid!
A sensible start was had and I lined up behind Mike Whitby's Austin 7 special for the first corner. I followed his line at a sensible distance to gauge how he was doing and whether my lines in practice were better. I found I was stronger up the hills than he was but he had a higher top speed on the straights. By lap 2, I was feeling confident, when I looked over my shoulder to see if any of the fast F3 cars were coming round, they weren't but I noticed spots of water on the roll bar. It wasn't rain but the hose that we had fixed with tape leaking again. Checking the water temperature gauge which was rising, I decided to use 4th gear instead of third, to keep the revs low and consequently the engine cooler. This had an effect on performance and gradually Mike kept pulling away.I had fun circulating on my own (until the F3 cars came whizzing by) seeing how late I could brake into corners and generally getting a good feeling for the car. All of a sudden I come round the last corner to see the two cars that had just overtaken me pull in the pits and the chequered flag was out. I instinctively followed them into the pits, thinking I don't remember seeing the chequered flag last time round.. Then it occurred to me that maybe they were finishing their warm down lap before I had crossed the finish line.. Doh!!
So I went to get my racing licence back and after a little appeal to the Clerk of the Course I came away with a DNF (Did not finish) as I missed the chequered flag by 100 yards...Mildly upsetting but I'll get over it.There's always next time..
We woke up at 4.45 Sunday morning to a cloudless sky and hoped it would stay that way. By the time we'd sorted out the trailer and Special it was 5.45 and time to head to Donington Park. The journey was uneventful and thankfully shorter than expected at just on 3 hours.
I left Paul and Beatriz to sign on at Race Control and have my 'first time at the circuit' briefing. This consisted mostly of 'pray it doesn't rain as the circuit is covered in kerosene from the nearby East Midlands Airport and it'll be really slippery'. I left praying it wasn't going to rain.After the car was unpacked and given a little bit of warm up time, it was off to scrutineering, where a very friendly official looked the car over and after a few pleasantries, advised me to be very careful if it rained. A sense of portent was rising, as the wind got stronger and the clouds got darker. 11.15, I lined up for practice with the other 750 Trophy cars and a mean bunch of 1960's Formula 3 cars, that made so much noise at times I had to look at the rev counter to check my engine was still running.
Donington is quite an impressive track with an impressive height change as the circuit passes through a natural bowl, wiggling on it's way down there and wiggling just as much on the way back. I was gently learning the track and getting faster each lap. On lap 5, I noticed steam pouring out the side of the engine eased back and cruised round to the pits.
A leisurely lunch was digested whilst we contemplated the problem, as we diagnosed a water pipe was leaking and also that the engine had been dangerously close to running out of water. After a run around the paddock, some useful advice and offers of different pieces of hose from our fellow competitors we used the racing staple - tank tape - to wrap around the hose. A short test on the public roads made us confident that we could get through the race OK. The rain clouds gathered ominously but as a general rule passed to the east of the circuit, I kept praying..At 4.15 I was getting nervous again which meant it was time to don helmet and line up in the assembly area. I was to be last but one on the grid, which was good in one way - I only had to look forward on the grid!
A sensible start was had and I lined up behind Mike Whitby's Austin 7 special for the first corner. I followed his line at a sensible distance to gauge how he was doing and whether my lines in practice were better. I found I was stronger up the hills than he was but he had a higher top speed on the straights. By lap 2, I was feeling confident, when I looked over my shoulder to see if any of the fast F3 cars were coming round, they weren't but I noticed spots of water on the roll bar. It wasn't rain but the hose that we had fixed with tape leaking again. Checking the water temperature gauge which was rising, I decided to use 4th gear instead of third, to keep the revs low and consequently the engine cooler. This had an effect on performance and gradually Mike kept pulling away.I had fun circulating on my own (until the F3 cars came whizzing by) seeing how late I could brake into corners and generally getting a good feeling for the car. All of a sudden I come round the last corner to see the two cars that had just overtaken me pull in the pits and the chequered flag was out. I instinctively followed them into the pits, thinking I don't remember seeing the chequered flag last time round.. Then it occurred to me that maybe they were finishing their warm down lap before I had crossed the finish line.. Doh!!
So I went to get my racing licence back and after a little appeal to the Clerk of the Course I came away with a DNF (Did not finish) as I missed the chequered flag by 100 yards...Mildly upsetting but I'll get over it.There's always next time..
Long distance shot of the start/finish straight.