Nic's Race Report for Pembrey, South Wales 26th & 27th July 2003.
After a fairly uneventful and surprisingly quick trip to Pembrey, which is about 20 minutes north-west of Swansea. B and I arrived about 10.30 and the advanced party had already set up tents in the slightly flooded 'Paddock Two'. In contrast 'Paddock One' which was in the middle of the race track, was closer to Paddy Field than Paddock. It had obviously been raining some, before we got there.I was extremely glad that our tents were set up, so after the obligatory Gin and Tonic, we settled down to sleep. I remember waking up at about 4am to hear the rain falling, then hearing the same about 6, 6.30, 8 and 8.30, by which time I had steeled myself into not caring about the rain.
After a quick walk to Paddock One and signing on at Race Admin, I was beginning to think that it may have been better to bring a small boat rather than a car to the circuit!Luckily our practice time was fairly late and as the weather improved, so did our spirits and our chances of having a vaguely dry surface to race on.Scrutineering passed uneventfully and we chatted with the marshals and other drivers to pass the time. One worrying piece of advice from the marshals had been 'Don't come off on the main straight, it's flooded and you'll find the car sinking two or three foot once it comes to a rest'.
The time to start the practice session came. I felt slightly calmer about this moment than I have the last two times, mostly due to the fact there were only 9 cars racing, rather than the 25 - 30 I've been used to.I headed out gently to get an idea of the track, trying to follow the other cars in front, so I could get an idea of the lines I needed to take. In my care, everybody streamed away from me and I was left following the dry line through the corners to learn where to place myself on the track. My initial issues with a slightly wet track, which had mostly come due to a spin on the second corner at Snetterton, soon gave way to larger and larger amounts of confidence as the track seemed far more grippy than the Norfolk track.As the fast guys started to lap me, I tried to follow them for as far as possible to get more experience. I was beginning to enjoy the track.
All of a sudden the chequered flag was out and it was time to come in and find out how the practice session had gone. Thankfully the exit for the track was after the Start/Finish line so no Donington type mess-ups could be made!About 40 minutes later and I got the results of practice I was about 2 seconds a lap slower Mike Whitby, our nearest competitor. I wasn't unduly worried as I hadn't been trying to go too fast in practice, but I was worried he would slip away from us in the race. I was determined not to let that happen.
The race was starting at about 4.30, so at about 4.10 the 9 racers went to the assembly area to focus on things ahead. We were called round to the start/finish line. In very quick succession, the 2 minute, 1 minute, 30 second and 5 second board were shown. The red lights went on, the revs rose, green light, and we were off. I made a reasonable start and as we headed to the first corner, which was a hairpin, I decided caution was the best bet and slotted in behind Mike, in last place. The track was dry everywhere now which gave me loads more confidence and I decided to stick to Mike's tail and try not to lose him. It turned out he was faster over the straighter sections but I was catching in him in the corners.
On lap three, just after the hairpin, I saw David Whetton facing the wrong way in the grass and thought well that's one place made up. With the yellow flags, I lost a little bit of time to Mike who was still just ahead of me and made a real effort to push on. 2 laps later, I had a good run on Mike onto the fast section and got along side him. With a sharper corner coming up, and not wanting to push Mike off the track (as he wasn't yielding) I left off slightly and he went around the outside. I felt I could do the same again though, and two laps further on, I did the same, but with the same results..All of a sudden the chequered flag appeared and I crossed the line to finish my first race. I was so happy, not only that I had challenged Mike, came in just 0.9 seconds after him, the car hadn't overheated (well, it was fairly cool), I was in 6th place, but mostly due to having actually finished!The results came out later on and I was just 0.01 seconds behind Mike's fastest lap. So there was the challenge for Sunday's race to beat his fastest lap.
Saturday night was spent in Camarthen, a quiet meal and back home early. The outdoor life and excitement had worn us all out.Sunday morning arrived with a clear blue sky and it looked as though the meteorologists were wrong. After a bite to eat at the track cafeteria, it was time to put my romper suit back on and head towards Paddock One where the other guys were lined up.
Unfortunately, one guy had some fairly major problems and was unable to start the day. As we lined up on the grid, we took our grid slots from the result I had two people behind me who hadn't finished Saturday's race. I knew they were much faster than me so I decided to take to the right, let them through and sit on their tails and try and pass Mike (who started 5th) on the run to the first corner.My plan half worked, in the fact I let them by and sat on one of their tails, unfortunately he missed a gear, so I had to swerve to avoid him, losing time.I slotted in behind Mike and so gave him big views of me in the rear view mirror. On lap 3, I tried the same move on Saturday, again without success, but I was getting faster on the section where he was fast and knew I could get by.As we got close to the hairpin there were waved yellow flags and I could see a rather second hand looking Lotus Six in the tyre wall. We slowed down accordingly and by the time we got to the other side of the circuit the 'Safety Car' flags were out. 5 laps were lost just circulating as we could see John, the driver in the Lotus Six get taken away in the ambulance, and the car removed from the tyre barrier. With only two laps left at the end, I never managed to mount a fresh challenge on Mike, especially since the hotter weather meant that the car was running a bit too hot for my liking.I finished the second race 6th as well, and was extremely pleased to have beaten Mike's fastest lap by 0.01 seconds!Hearty congratulations all round, mixed with some concern over John who had had the accident. He was OK but had been taken to hospital for a couple of checks on his chest.We loaded up the car and prayed for a jam-free journey home.
After a fairly uneventful and surprisingly quick trip to Pembrey, which is about 20 minutes north-west of Swansea. B and I arrived about 10.30 and the advanced party had already set up tents in the slightly flooded 'Paddock Two'. In contrast 'Paddock One' which was in the middle of the race track, was closer to Paddy Field than Paddock. It had obviously been raining some, before we got there.I was extremely glad that our tents were set up, so after the obligatory Gin and Tonic, we settled down to sleep. I remember waking up at about 4am to hear the rain falling, then hearing the same about 6, 6.30, 8 and 8.30, by which time I had steeled myself into not caring about the rain.
After a quick walk to Paddock One and signing on at Race Admin, I was beginning to think that it may have been better to bring a small boat rather than a car to the circuit!Luckily our practice time was fairly late and as the weather improved, so did our spirits and our chances of having a vaguely dry surface to race on.Scrutineering passed uneventfully and we chatted with the marshals and other drivers to pass the time. One worrying piece of advice from the marshals had been 'Don't come off on the main straight, it's flooded and you'll find the car sinking two or three foot once it comes to a rest'.
The time to start the practice session came. I felt slightly calmer about this moment than I have the last two times, mostly due to the fact there were only 9 cars racing, rather than the 25 - 30 I've been used to.I headed out gently to get an idea of the track, trying to follow the other cars in front, so I could get an idea of the lines I needed to take. In my care, everybody streamed away from me and I was left following the dry line through the corners to learn where to place myself on the track. My initial issues with a slightly wet track, which had mostly come due to a spin on the second corner at Snetterton, soon gave way to larger and larger amounts of confidence as the track seemed far more grippy than the Norfolk track.As the fast guys started to lap me, I tried to follow them for as far as possible to get more experience. I was beginning to enjoy the track.
All of a sudden the chequered flag was out and it was time to come in and find out how the practice session had gone. Thankfully the exit for the track was after the Start/Finish line so no Donington type mess-ups could be made!About 40 minutes later and I got the results of practice I was about 2 seconds a lap slower Mike Whitby, our nearest competitor. I wasn't unduly worried as I hadn't been trying to go too fast in practice, but I was worried he would slip away from us in the race. I was determined not to let that happen.
The race was starting at about 4.30, so at about 4.10 the 9 racers went to the assembly area to focus on things ahead. We were called round to the start/finish line. In very quick succession, the 2 minute, 1 minute, 30 second and 5 second board were shown. The red lights went on, the revs rose, green light, and we were off. I made a reasonable start and as we headed to the first corner, which was a hairpin, I decided caution was the best bet and slotted in behind Mike, in last place. The track was dry everywhere now which gave me loads more confidence and I decided to stick to Mike's tail and try not to lose him. It turned out he was faster over the straighter sections but I was catching in him in the corners.
On lap three, just after the hairpin, I saw David Whetton facing the wrong way in the grass and thought well that's one place made up. With the yellow flags, I lost a little bit of time to Mike who was still just ahead of me and made a real effort to push on. 2 laps later, I had a good run on Mike onto the fast section and got along side him. With a sharper corner coming up, and not wanting to push Mike off the track (as he wasn't yielding) I left off slightly and he went around the outside. I felt I could do the same again though, and two laps further on, I did the same, but with the same results..All of a sudden the chequered flag appeared and I crossed the line to finish my first race. I was so happy, not only that I had challenged Mike, came in just 0.9 seconds after him, the car hadn't overheated (well, it was fairly cool), I was in 6th place, but mostly due to having actually finished!The results came out later on and I was just 0.01 seconds behind Mike's fastest lap. So there was the challenge for Sunday's race to beat his fastest lap.
Saturday night was spent in Camarthen, a quiet meal and back home early. The outdoor life and excitement had worn us all out.Sunday morning arrived with a clear blue sky and it looked as though the meteorologists were wrong. After a bite to eat at the track cafeteria, it was time to put my romper suit back on and head towards Paddock One where the other guys were lined up.
Unfortunately, one guy had some fairly major problems and was unable to start the day. As we lined up on the grid, we took our grid slots from the result I had two people behind me who hadn't finished Saturday's race. I knew they were much faster than me so I decided to take to the right, let them through and sit on their tails and try and pass Mike (who started 5th) on the run to the first corner.My plan half worked, in the fact I let them by and sat on one of their tails, unfortunately he missed a gear, so I had to swerve to avoid him, losing time.I slotted in behind Mike and so gave him big views of me in the rear view mirror. On lap 3, I tried the same move on Saturday, again without success, but I was getting faster on the section where he was fast and knew I could get by.As we got close to the hairpin there were waved yellow flags and I could see a rather second hand looking Lotus Six in the tyre wall. We slowed down accordingly and by the time we got to the other side of the circuit the 'Safety Car' flags were out. 5 laps were lost just circulating as we could see John, the driver in the Lotus Six get taken away in the ambulance, and the car removed from the tyre barrier. With only two laps left at the end, I never managed to mount a fresh challenge on Mike, especially since the hotter weather meant that the car was running a bit too hot for my liking.I finished the second race 6th as well, and was extremely pleased to have beaten Mike's fastest lap by 0.01 seconds!Hearty congratulations all round, mixed with some concern over John who had had the accident. He was OK but had been taken to hospital for a couple of checks on his chest.We loaded up the car and prayed for a jam-free journey home.