Qualifying – 14th
Qualifying 2nd fastest
Our first GT5 qualifying, in the wet!! Realised we had some sort of engine issue causing a lack of pace and slight overheating. Left us starting 17th for race 1 and race 2, lots of work to do.
Race 1
From starting 17th finished lap 1 in 19th then a tremendous fight back to finish 7th on a damp track on slicks, excellent recovery and excellent pace. Felt the engine still wasn’t quite right but a big smile on Harleys’ face as he was able to show his driving skill.
Race 2
Track had dried and showed the lack of straight-line speed, the engine problem still there, but drove really well in his first race weekend to finish 14th in race 2.
A really good debut weekend, the only novice in the Pro class.
Qualifying 2nd fastest time
Engine had been attended to so we had some decent pace. Qualified 8th for race 1 and 6th for race 2. Race 2 finishing position determines start place for race 3.
Race 1
Fantastic race fighting over 5th place for most of the race but a slight ‘excursion’ on the last lap meant a lower finish position of 15th but we were fast.
Race 2
Even better in race 2, very fast and competitive, superb 5th place and 5th fastest.
Race video here
In car video here
Race 3
Good start and really fast pace, catching the leaders and only a safety car incident stopped more progress, 6th place an excellent result with 3rd fastest lap.
See YouTube video of the race here
Saturday practice
We took part in the optional practice session and were fastest.
Qualifying 2nd fastest time
Pretty good qualifying but we lost our fastest lap due to track limits. 6th for race 1 and 9th for race 2.
Race 1
Another steep learning curve, making sure not to lose the tow was tricky but what a race, second fastest lap, excellent 5th place finish.
Race video here
Race 2
Another fantastic race, fighting in the top 5 all the way until a late 360 spin cost us 4 seconds, but very fast and fastest lap, excellent progress again to finish 7th.
Race video here
Qualifying 2nd fastest
Trying a different qualifying strategy, using 3 cars to tow!! Never tried it before and it didn’t work for us. Race 1 position good in 5th but race 2 position was a disappointing 12th.
Race 1
Good race and 4th fastest lap to finish 6th.
Race 2
Good pace again, 4th fastest lap but our only DNF of the year
Race video here
Race 3
Starting 14th was a tall order but at one stage we were battling for 5th but slight contact ended up 9th. We wanted more from the weekend but we were still 6th fastest.
Race video here
Qualifying 2nd fastest
Fantastic result qualifying 4th for both races, the best of the year.
Race 1
Very competitive race to finish 4th, fastest lap and the only driver in the 2.08 bracket, but pushing out a lot of very blue smoke!
Race video here
Race 2
Another fantastic race, again fastest lap and the only one in the 2.08 bracket, could have been 3rd but the rear bumper broke and was dangling behind us so finished 7th!! Blue smoke has stopped now after change of engine component.
Race video here
Race 3
Was looking for better but a spin on the wet track exiting the bridge delayed us to finish 10th, first real wet weather race for us but seemed to lack straight line again.
Race video here
Qualifying 2nd fastest
We came to Croft after being quite ill with Covid, 1 day after isolation finished with no testing, still weak so didn’t expect much but a sterling performance netted 7th place for both races.
Race 1
After a good start got ‘helped’ wide and dropped way down the order and managed a good recovery to 17th place but we were lacking pace.
Race 2
Another tough race but battled on to come home 9th again lacking pace, only 8th fastest.
Considering no testing and feeling the effects of Covid did pretty well.
Qualifying 2nd fastest
Only qualified 9th for race 1 and 10th for race 2 due to a red flag when we were on pole, we did have 1 lap removed for exceeding track limits.
Race 1
A tough race to 7th place and 4th quickest.
Race 2
Another tough race to finish 6th in the wet
Race video here
Race 3
Battling race up to 5th at one stage, a couple of incidents delayed us to finish 14th in the last race of the year
Race video here
Our first year in car racing was exciting and memorable.
With the help of Elite Motorsport and all the technical/engineering staff we had a really good year.
Very steep learning curve and special mention for Kurt, Rich, Adam, Chris, Stefan, Sean, Harry and Jody.
A real team effort.
Cheers