Back on track!

Well after a VERY long winter and a bit of an emotional roller coaster a very last minute deal came about last week which has enabled me to compete in the 2011 Ginetta GT supercup racing in a Ginetta G55.

This is similar to the series I won in 2009, only this year the prize is a works drive in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship so there is a lot more at stake!

With only collecting the car 1 day before the first race at Brands Hatch (3/4/11) I knew my work was cut out for me! Getting to know what made the car work well in such a short space was tough but after a successful days testing on the Friday I went out for qualifying on the Saturday and got a very respectable P2 for the grid of the first race.

After getting a good start in the first race I slotted into 2nd place and started pressuring the leader. A lap later, after a mistake by the leader I tried to make the most of the situation – unfortunately it ended up in contact and me in the gravel trap!!!

With the new rules this year you have to start the second race in the order you finished the first, which for me was a bit of a disaster!! Starting 24th I had a good race and carved my way up to 10th place. This put me on grid 10 for Sunday’s televised race.
With 9 extremely tough drivers ahead of me I though the chance of a podium was out of the question! After a good start I was up to 7th straight away. With the race being 26 laps it gave me chance to pick the drivers off one by one and ended the race with a very satisfying 3rd place.

Next round is Donington on the 17th April. I’m looking forward to this with great excitement and expectation. The team will have had chance to get to grips with the car and I will have had a couple of test days in the car and will be fully settled in and ready for some success!

At the minute I’m training hard out on the Verenti most days and getting down the gym as often as possible to make sure I’m as fit as I can be for the race weekends – these cars are very tough to drive and cockpit temperatures can go beyond 50 degrees in the summer so being unfit certainly is not an option!

I would like to thank www.wiggle.co.uk for their support and hope that this season is a successful one for all their customers and athletes!

Cheers,

Nathan