After getting the car fixed up after Anglesey, the C1 was taken back to Snetterton for a triple header of races in the closing stages of Britain's mega heatwave. It was an exciting weekend, as it would be the first race in which progress could be directly compared to performances in the previous races at Snetterton a few months prior.
The first task would be to regain confidence in the car after the crash at Anglesey and get up to speed as quickly as possible, an extremely important mission given the short 15 minute qualifying session as I once again did not participate in Friday testing. Unfortunately, an unresolved issue from the crash had meant a bumper support was rubbing on a tyre when cornering through right handers (fairly important for a clockwise circuit), and so half of the session was spent in the pits. After getting out on track with 8 minutes to go, my first laps of the weekend were set with a plastic camera mount bouncing around my pedal box and was only good enough for 15th place. We knew that more pace was definitely in the car, enough for some higher positions, so there was some work to do throughout the weekend.
Race 1 can be described as distinctly average. Whilst executing a good launch from the line, cars crowding on the inside of turn one allowed a couple of cars to swoop round the outside of me. It wasn't long before the real pace in the car was demonstrated, and managed to carve my way back up to 12th before a red flag ended the race with four minutes to spare. A car had rolled over after colliding with a sausage curb. Luckily the driver was okay, and miraculously managed to get the car running and ready for the Sunday races with some help from various members of the paddock. The overall feeling after the race is that the pace was in the car to fight well inside the top ten yet battling in a small group allowed the leaders’pack to drop us.
Race 2 was held on Sunday morning and I experienced greater success. An additional free practice session in the morning allowed me to feel much more comfortable in the car from the get-go, which paid off in the race. An inside start again allowed a couple of cars to overtake around the outside due to crowding, but it wasn't long before I was quickly regaining positions, particularly in braking zones where I was already much more confident as the weekend had progressed. This included a highlight overtake of the weekend around the outside of an experienced European NASCAR driver into the Agostini hairpin (turn 4). I finished the race in 8th place, having climbed to the front of the small pack of cars that we found ourselves fighting in. The gap was unfortunately too big out in front to have a chance to catch the rest of the top ten, but my confidence in the car was only growing.
Whilst initially under the impression that race three would be a top ten reverse grid from Race 2 (meaning I would be starting in 3rd position), this was changed to a randomised top ten much to the disappointment of multiple drivers. I got the short straw and would start the race in P9, further back than I had finished the previous race. Only half a lap of racing occurred before the race was red flagged after a serious collision on track causing a car to roll forwards over its bonnet. Once again, the driver was perfectly okay, a testament to the carefully designed safety components in the car, especially the roll cage. Due to lack of time in the day, the race was unfortunately cancelled, and whilst disappointing, the most important thing was that the driver involved in the collision was well.
Overall, Snetterton was a fairly successful weekend. Whilst the results weren't quite as good as what I had managed at Anglesey, more seat time in the car is yielding measureable results, and fighting well inside the top ten is still achievable. There were improvements from the previous outing at Snetterton too, improving on both race results even with the issues we had. I once again walked away as the highest scoring novice, and ready to crack on with preparing for Cadwell Park in August! The aims for Cadwell will be to maximise qualifying - even though out of my control, the qualifying issues at Snetterton meant all the work was left to do in the races just to hit the top ten. Where I had nailed qualifying at Anglesey, I was then fighting for the win in the final race. Aiming for more of the same, onward and upwards!
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