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MG Car Club Championship (MGCC) contender, Sean Peters, is being sponsored for the 2005 season by King of Shaves. Sean also competed in the 2004 season with support from King of Shaves.
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Sean hopes to be challenging for overall podium positions by the end of the season. The cars run with sealed engines, gearboxes and differentials to allow costs to be kept low and the only thing which determines who wins is driver ability. Sean’s season starts at Silverstone on 9th April and finishes at Silverstone on the 25th September.
Reports on the 2005 and 2004 seasons are featured below:
2005 Season
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“The season finished where it began back in April on the Silverstone National circuit in Northamptonshire. We managed to qualify 8/18, which we were pleased with, especially as I had out qualified the reigning champion (9th). The race started well and I managed to maintain may position going into lap 2. I was tucked up with the pack and was in 7th place when the number 1 car nudged me into a spin, an action which left me down in 14th and behind some of the slower TFs. The red mist descended and I set off in pursuit I managed to pass two of the cars after they too had a coming together, I was able to pass the next car going back into the stadium section and a lap later his team mate at the same place.
That was the last car I was able to pass as the accident had flat spotted my two front tyres and I ended the first race 10/18. Another case of what might have been, but not a lot you can do when you get pushed off. Race 2 was far less eventful, the grid for this race was determined from the second fastest lap in qualifying and I again started 8th. The car which pushed me in the first race was able to pass me fairly this time and I ended the race 9/18.
So the year has been an interesting one, we finished the championship 16/32. Next seasons championship will see a rule change, which will eliminate the classes, meaning the TF’s and ZR’s will be competing for one set of points, this will see us rise up the points considerably as 5 of the cars in front of me this season have been TF’s which I am often much quicker than.
The 2006 season will also be the first seaon since 2002, which I will start in the same car as I finished the previous season, and I was champion that year. I will make sure we conduct considerably more testing than we did last year as this was an area we fell drastically short on last year and it cost us dearly. I will also be furthering my technical knowledge and fitness in the close season, as it has become apparent, these are two areas I am short of as a driver.
We have made great progress this year, I have learnt a new driving style and the team have had to update their technical knowledge by 30 years. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me this year, Mike, John, Andy, Nicola and Jonathan and of course everyone at King of Shaves.”
Round 10: Cadwell Park 11th September - Sean's Report
“For round 10 of the MG Trophy we visited the very challenging Cadwell Park, long fast straights combined with tight, twisty undulating sections make it a real driver challenge and my favourite circuit in the UK. This was also to prove as a perfect example of how close this championship is.
Qualifying saw us line up 9/15 overall, a position I was a little disappointed with. The start finish straight is very tight, meaning it is difficult to see the lights at the start. The start was good and I stuck with the pack, entering the penultimate corner on lap 1 the car in front of me ran wide onto the grass.
The driver in question was a novice and his driving has been called into question on several occasions this season I thought he may keep his foot down meaning his car would spear across the track and collect me so I lifted, his car did not spear across the track, but he did spin on the next corner due to hi dirty tyres, unfortunately, on doing this he blocked most of the track meaning I was about 8 seconds behind the car in front.
I set about using my knowledge of the track to claw back this time. On lap 7, the number 96 car left the track after contact and I was able to pick up another place, all the while eating time out of the number 83 car, I was consistently 0.6 seconds faster than him but it was too great a gap to close and I finished 8/15. Despite the finishing position I was pleased with my drive, I felt it was my best of the past two seasons and with my fastest lap only 0.6 seconds off the winner’s, it was a day of leaps forward.”
Round 9: Mallory Park 29th August - Sean's Report
“The August bank holiday saw the MGCC MG Trophy competitors at the very short Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire. We had recently tested at the circuit with instruction from a fellow competitor who instructs there.
The circuit has never been my strongest and I wasn’t expecting great things. Qualifying was certainly one to forget as I lined up 12th overall on a 15 car grid an enormous 1.7seconds off pole, so there was some serious soul searching to do. During the build up to the race we made some adjustments to tyre pressures and suspension settings as we thought the suspension was a little soft.
As we approached the start, I managed to stay close to the cars in front and got the best start I have had all season and was able to thread the car through the middle of the two cars in front. As I came out of turn 1 for the first time I was overtaken by one of the drivers who normally trails at the back of the field, I followed him for two laps trying to over take at every corner, but he was persistently weaving across the track and as well as being dangerous is against the rules.
I finally managed to pass him on lap three but was about 1.5 seconds behind the 8th place car, I set off in pursuit and managed to latch onto the back of him by lap 9 but I locked up going into the hairpin 2 laps later and missed a gear on the exit losing me a total of 0.5 seconds, a gap I was unable to close up for the remainder of the race and I finished 9/15 and a little disappointed with my performance.”
Rounds 7 & 8 Silverstone International 23rd July 2005 - Sean's Report
“The MGCC meeting at Silverstone in July is the second largest after the British GP attracting 50,000 MG enthusiasts over two days, as a result the atmosphere is always electric. The weekend would be characterised by contrasting weather conditions, Saturday saw glorious sun shine where as Sunday was some of the worst conditions I have experienced in 7 years. The circuit had to under go a rigorous inspection before it was declared safe to race at all, albeit at shortened race distances of 6 laps.
After the Oulton Park round we knew we had to be more meticulous with our preparation. I once again went out with the quick cars and although we held 8th at one point we eventually qualified 12/21 overall and 10/11 in class. I knew I was quicker than the 3 seconds behind I’d qualified. With clean tyres and bled brakes, I felt confident for the afternoon. I got one of the best starts in my two years in the category and by the end of lap 1 was in 7th place overall and was in the pack battling for 5th. On lap 4 I got a good run out of Copse corner and pulled along side the 6th place car, however the number 77 car recovering from an earlier spin also pulled along on the other side, forcing me on to the marbles (scrap rubber) meaning I picked up a lot on my clean tyres, this caused a terrible vibration meaning I had to back off and take it steady, I had built up enough of a lead to secure 9th place and equaled my best finish so far. But the result didn’t it all, we were competing with cars at the sharp end of the field and holding our own, 5th had definitely been an achievable goal.
Race two took place on the Sunday and conditions were very different to those on the Sunday. Torrential rain meant that racing had to be postponed for an hour and a half and race distances cut to 6 laps. I hadn’t experienced wet conditions for nearly three years so I didn’t know how the car performed in the wet or how much grip the tyres could give me. The lights went out and the spray meant that vision was down to just a few meters all around. I didn’t see the three TF’s which had got a good start and by the end of the first lap I had dropped to 14th overall and I knew that I had it all to do especially with a reduced race distance. I found the limit of the car within a few laps and my confidence began to grow. I seemed to be a lot quicker than most coming out of Bridge Corner and managed to out brake the 13th placed car going into priory on lap 3, I managed to repeat the move on the 12th place car on lap 4. I set off in pursuit of the 11th place car but 2 laps was not enough to catch him and ended up half a second behind 11th place at the checkered flag. So once again another mixed weekend but once again we have made progress and the opening 4 laps on Saturday was some of my best driving to date and Mallory Park on 28th August will hopefully see us move further still against a quality field.
The strength of our championship and the quality of the drivers has been highlighted recently with one of our former competitors (Fiona Leggate) now competing in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) seen as the highest level of motorsport in the UK. This proves that we have some strong drivers in our championship as Fiona had yet to win a race when she left to compete against the professionals.”
Rounds 5 & 6 Oulton Park 2nd July 2005 - Sean's Report
“Oulton Park played host to rounds 5 and 6 of the MG Trophy. Being in Cheshire, Oulton Park is the closest circuit to my home town of Preston and I always receive good support from friends and family. Being close to home means that I test there quite regularly and I know the circuit well, so we were hoping for a good day. I was also taking part in two other races (four in total) so a busy day lay ahead of us. Qualifying went well, I was keen to get out early and I went out with the front runners, this meant that I was able to pick up a few tips and actually kept pace with them for most of the session which was cut short after car number 1 rolled, forcing the red flags to be shown. The team informed me that at one stage I held 6th position overall and 5th in class, but in the end I had to settle for 8/17 overall and 7/12 in class. I was happy with this however as it was my best qualifying session so far. I faced a major rush to get back to the car for the race after crashing out of one of my other races on the opposite side of the circuit to the pits. I started well and managed to maintain my position off the line. The following 7 laps were pretty uneventful and I simply tried to learn one or two things from the cars in front of me. One thing we are learning about the ZR is it requires a lot more care and attention between qualifying and the races, especially the tyres and brakes. We learned this the hard way as on lap 8 both let me down and I carried straight on at the Shell Haripin and bounced across the gravel trap. No damage done, I rejoined but the car in 9th had seen the opportunity and pounced, and I spent the rest of the race fighting off the car in 10th. The learning curve continues!
Race 2 of the afternoon and time constraints meant we had little time to rectify the problems encountered in the morning so we started the race with the car as it had finished the first race. Both the brakes and tyres got worse as the race wore on and we lost 2 further places finishing 11th having learnt a harsh lesson, always to look after your tyres and to bleed your brakes between races. But the weekend showed promise, we had achieved our highest qualifying position and race finish in race 1. Meaning we have improved from 22nd in round 1 to 9th by round 6, progress we a happy with. And we even won the last race of the day in the KoS MG Midget with my Dad; Mike.”
Silverstone Nation Round 1 (9 April 2005) - Sean's Report
“This season’s X Power Trophy began on the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire amid fears that the championship may not run at all following the news of Rovers’ troubles. With our new ZR now repainted in King of Shaves colours, we were ready to take on a new challenge, in running a new car independently. We arrived at Silverstone on the Friday to take advantage of a test session the car club was running.
However within 20 minutes of the first session, we were suffering from gear selection problems, before failing to be able to select any gears at all, similar to the problem we encountered at Spa last year. Upon returning to the pits we discovered that a pin had come lose from the gear linkage, a problem, which is easily remedied. So we rejoined the test session, where within 5 laps we soon discovered that the gear linkage issue was just a precursor to a more severe problem, once again gear selection problems, this time a lot more serious, part of the clutch plate had fragmented and got stuck in the bell housing. A long night lay ahead of us.
Having to beg, steal and borrow (well maybe not steal) parts as the MG Sport and Racing truck had no spares (Rover not paying its bills again). The car was eventually fixed 2 minutes before the start of qualifying and we made it in the face of adversity. So we set about qualifying a car we had spent less than half an hour running in 4 months, not an ideal way to prepare for a new season. The adrenaline was pumping and I managed to qualify the new car within 2 seconds of pole, which we were delighted with, considering the time we’d had in the car. We qualified 20/29, but the gap to the front was a lot less than we had anticipated. By the time the race came around, we were happy we could go well.
The car’s performance took another down turn, the car once again struggled with gear box issues, the car refusing to select fifth gear, but also struggling to keep up with the other cars around it on the straights. To top it all off the break bias lever had been knocked to the rear meaning most of the break pressure was on the rear wheels causing it to pitch side ways into corners.
We finished the race in the same position as we started which was satisfactory considering the fact on Friday we didn’t think we would get a race and thanks must go our team manager John Hewitt and chief mechanic Andy Cross for fixing the car against the odds. Every cloud has a silver lining however and the in the pit stop race at the end of the day saw John and I finish second.
We have now got the car in the workshop and found the gearbox is rather second hand and the engine was running on only 3 cylinders, for how long we don’t know. They will go away for a rebuild before we get two tests in prior to the next race at Rockingham on 15th May. All in all a disappointing start to the season but to know that we are only 2 seconds a lap slower than the front runners while 20% down on performance is quite exciting.”
2004 Season
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“We arrived at the Kent circuit early on Sunday morning for the final round of the 2004 MG Trophy. Confident after the previous outing of making some headway in the King of Shaves MG TF and finishing the season on a high.
Upon arrival we were informed that, without consulting us, MG Sport and Racing had decided to give the MG TF to another driver, supposedly after a conversation I had, had with the team manager agreeing to it. That one must have slipped my mind then!!! So after a few harsh words and expletives with the team managers, we decided there was no point getting frustrated about something we couldn't fix and so we just got on with it, but it is not a good way to start the day and does upset your rhythm and motivation.
I took to the rather damp track on slicks in a car I had not seen before 2 hours earlier let alone driven. I spent the first 15 minutes in my new car learning the circuit (first time in five years) and the car. The track dried and the times came down but we finished up 23/26 overall and 13/13 but a gap of only 1.9 seconds between me and pole showed how close it really was. We did a few tweaks on the car and prepared to make the most of the afternoon. We started the race under the now traditional rolling start, which was for once well controlled.
The usual first lap carnage followed and I gained a couple of places from people spinning. The first few laps saw some frantic action, on lap two one of the previously passed cars passed me, leaving me in 22nd. I then set about taking on the cars immediately in front of me and settled in to a rhythm, in the next few laps I managed to pass two catch two ZRs, mainly through the stomach churning Paddock Hill Bend. A few more spinners saw us gain a couple more places, unfortunately these spinners meant a red flag and at 15 mins of the 25 run, the race, for the third time this season was stopped early, whilst I was on a charge. I finished the race 17/26 overall and 11/13, having enjoyed the race but disappointed that we couldn't compete in our regular car.
We finished the championship 12/42, and admirable start to a new championship, but ruing what could have been, having occupied 4th overall after round six. The rather unfortunate end to the season and the apparent dominance of the ZRs has meant that we have decided to go it alone next season. The past few weeks have been spent sourcing a ZR, which will be prepared in Manchester, giving us more flexible testing time and allowing us to tweak the car more than MG were prepared to. I am already looking forward to next season and hope to see you all there.
For those of you interested in seeing how the action unfolded. There will be a series of one hour shows being broadcast on the Men and Motors channel on Sky in the New Year.
Thank you all very much for all your support through out the year, it has been a pleasure representing King of Shaves this year and I hope this can continue into 2005. I am sorry we have not been able to run at the front of the field more often but we have been genuinely hampered by circumstances beyond our control.”
Cadwell Park, Round 10 (12th September 2004) - Sean's Report
“The penultimate round of the 2004 season was held at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire. The circuit is nicknamed the "Mini Ring" (after the Nurburgring in Germany) due to its hilly nature, wooded sections and a long fast straight. It really is a very challenging circuit and I would have to say my favourite, both in terms of the challenge it offers and the sentiment it holds (I drove and won my first races there and clinched my first championship there as well).
The awesome Mountain is a thrill for drivers and spectators alike as your stomach jumps as the car goes light and twitches at the top, a real thrill in the wet. With the car still stiff and me still feeling sorry for myself the morning practice was a bit of a non event, we qualified 6/8 in class and 18/23 overall.
However after a talking to/team talk from my coach John and my Dad and a smack on the head from me (literally) I was fired up and ready to go and felt as though I had found my groove again. As the formation lap came to a close the pace car had not bunched the cars up enough and as the lights went out, those of us at the back were not in formation meaning that by the time I crossed the start line I was 3-4 seconds behind the man in front, when really they should have sent us round again, but racing was under way. I had managed to close the deficit within two laps, but catching is one thing, passing is another.
A chase ensued between the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place TFs. On lap four the 5th place TF ran wide and spun, hitting the marshall's post on the inside of the circuit, fortunately all involved were unhurt but they red flagged the race and even though it was only lap four over half race distance had been run, which meant the race was over, for the second time this season a red flag has cut our race short early.
The frustrating thing was I was 0.2 seconds quicker than all of the TFs in front meaning that 3rd was easily achievable. On the plus side though I know feel that I am almost back to my best form so far this year and am now chomping at the bit in readiness for the last round at Brands Hatch (26/09/04).
We now go into the last round 5th in class and 10/42 overall, wondering what might have been without the Silverstone accident, but hey, it could be worse, I could be a Mclaren driver.”
Mallory Park, Round 9 (29th August 2004) - Sean's Report
“The last bank holiday of the summer saw the MGCC competitors take to the very short Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire (just a stone's throw from Donnington Park).
The King of Shaves MGTF had been returned to immaculate condition following the shunt at Silverstone. A 52 second lap is widely regarded as a quick time round Mallory and every 0.1sec lost hurts. The circuit has only four corners, the never ending 180° Gerrards, the Esses, the incredibly tight hairpin bend and the Devil's Elbow, which not as fearsome as it sounds.
After a few laps in the car it became evident that all the replacement parts were stiff and the car needed to get a few laps running time under its belt before it became more settled.
A practice time of 54.346 put us 15/21 overall and 4/8 in class. However that was as good as it got all day and on lap two approaching the esses, the car was pitched sideways and and into a spin, this put us at the back of the field, due to the short nature of the circuit and the lack of corners on which time can be made up, due to retirements we did manage to make up a few positions, but it was just a case of circulating and picking up the points finishing 17/21 overall and 6/8 in class.
So the first time back in the car was very disappointing, and I left Leicestershire with my tail between my legs. I don't think I'll drive three different cars (TF, ZR and Midget) in three weeks again, it just messes with your mind!”
Snetterton, Round 8 (8th August 2004) - Sean's Report
“Round 8 of the MG Trophy was run at a very hot and sticky Snetterton in Norfolk. After the carnage we endured at Silverstone we had to do round 8 in the front wheel drive ZR, a totally different animal to the rear wheel drive TF we are used to, however this season has seen most of the races dominated by the ZRs so it was a good opportunity to assess our options for next season.
I managed to get a test in the car on the Saturday, which gave me approximately 5 hours of running time inside the car. The first thing that struck me was how easy it was to handle, the turn in was much more positive and the grip was noticeably greater than on the TF, there also seemed to be a lot more torque out of the slower corners, allowing us to get a bit more of a spurt on the exit.
The weather was equally hot for race day on Sunday, practice was quite uneventful and a lap of 1:22.694 was enough to secure 10th place on the grid.
The cars formed up for the rolling start and as the lights went to green the action began, not wanting a repeat of the Silverstone incident I approached the first corner with caution and ended up losing a place, as the cars became strung out I started the task of working my way up the field. As it was a hot day and with the knowledge that the tyres on the TF start to lose grip quite quickly I knew that it wouldn't be long before the two TFs in front of me started to suffer, which they duly did, by the end of lap 5 they had both had spins and I was up into 9th place overall. Approximately 2 seconds down the road, my next task was a group of 4 ZRs closely embroiled in a tight battle. Knowing that there racing each other so closely would only slow them down, I was confident of catching and passing a couple more, with 3 laps to go the number 70 car, which had been handling badly all afternoon spun at the end of rev it straight, the remaining laps were spent battling to keep this car behind all the while trying to catch the two cars in front. With two laps to go the number 84 car ran wide (tyres or contact, I'm not sure) and I was up into 7th. Now with one lap to go 6th place was still on especially as the tyres on the car in front were starting to fade and the race was beginning to resemble rally cross than circuit racing, with the car in front and behind me bouncing across the grass, however the gap was too large and I settled for 7th.
So the first race went well 7/21 overall and 6/10 in class, just going to show that the ZR seems to be the dominant force. The weekend had mixed blessings, while we found a car that may be able to compete for overall victories, the points I gained from the race will not count in the championship, so after 8 rounds we now lie a disappointing 12/38, especially disappointing considering I should now be in 4th position overall. At least we were interviewed by the television crews for the right reasons this time!”
Silverstone, Round 6 and 7 (24th-25th July 2004) - Sean's Report
“The July Silverstone meeting is the biggest of the year for us attracting some 30,000 people from all over the world; Australia, USA, Portugal, France, Holland, Denmark, Japan (one man even drove his MGB all the way from Kyalami, South Africa). There really is a carnival atmosphere and really gets you psyched up for the racing.
We managed to get some more testing done on the Friday, which helped move forward a little more in terms of setup but matters weren't helped by a trip into the gravel trap backwards at bridge, but we fared slightly better than the Renault that disappeared off there 2 weeks previously at the Grand Prix.
Round 6: The glorious sunshine we experienced on Friday carried through to Saturday. Qualifying went well and we finished the session 12/28 and 4/14 in class. The opening lap was rather frantic, after loosing a couple of places on the start I managed to gain those places back by the end of the lap and with two spinners early on lap two a further two places were gained. I then settled into a rhythm and enjoyed a good race with the ZR of Rob Oldaker (MD of the Rover Group no less), we seemed to swap places lap after lap and it was some of the more exciting racing I have enjoyed this season. With two laps to go we were caught by another car who was able to gain on us while we were slowing each other down, so the remainder of the race was given over to defending my 3rd place class position. This was maintained to flag, it was hard fought for and very satisfying. So two class podiums in a row and the confidence was really starting to grow especially as we had moved up to 5th overall two pts behind the 4th placed man who would not be competing on Sunday.
Round 7: The Sunday race was decided by the finishing positions from Saturday's race so kept our strong position from Saturday. Once again the surrounding ZRs (who are always quicker on the rolling starts) got away strongly so the chase was on again some frantic overtaking took place on the opening lap with places lost and gained. As we approached the very quick Copse corner on lap two I had a ZR inside me who didn't feel it was in his best interest to defend the line from another ZR who was making a charge from further down the field and despite this being a Formula one circuit, three into one doesn't go, unfortunately I was pushed out wide and as my wheels touched the grass I spun. As this was early on in the race the cars were still bunched together and a TF further down the field hit me side on at approximately 70-80mph! The race was red flagged, four TFs were taken out in the incident and four drivers taken to medical centre (all for precautionary check ups only) after an hour I was free to go with a sore right leg and bruised ego, but nothing major, certainly when the car is taken into consideration (rather worse for wear)!
So overall a rather mixed weekend with mixed emotions a 3rd place and a DNF means we are 8/36 in the championship and 4/16 in class, but we are still fighting for that top six place and 3rd in class. It's Snetterton in Norfolk this weekend (8/8/04), which due to the damage sustained at Silverstone we will be competing in a ZR, which will be a bit different, but the circuit is just a series of straights, so hopefully not too difficult to learn a new car on.”
Oulton Park, Round 5 (3rd July 2004) - Sean's Report
“The weekend started on the Friday for me this time as I was able to get a test session in giving us valuable time in the car and allowing us to test a few things as well. We adjusted settings on the suspension and handling allowing me to be more committed going into the corners, thus allowing a smoother line and faster exit speed.
Saturday arrived and true to form in the Northwest it was damp and raining. However by the time we were due out aside from a brief shower, the track was dry. This circuit, due to its nature is far better suited to the ZRs, so much so that when the times were published, it was as if the two different classes were separated by a significant power differential with the ZRs in the top half and the TFs in the bottom, anyway, we qualified 13th overall and 3rd in class.
The race however was unfortunately cut short after seven laps due to a rather heavy accident between two ZRs (both drivers both relatively unhurt) which meant that we were able to finish 12th overall and maintain our 3rd in class giving us our first podium and resulting trophy of the season (see attached). The Friday session paid dividends and we have a further days testing booked for Friday.
So we leave Oulton Park a respectable 6/34 overall in the championship and 3/17 in class. So it's onto the Silverstone International circuit to follow in the wheel tracks of Schumacher, Button and co for a double header and a possible make or break weekend.”
Rockingham, Round 3 - Sean's Report
“The competitors were greeted on Sunday by glorious Northamptonshire sunshine and that's the way it stayed for the rest of the day. Rockingham is an American style oval, with a tight twisty infield circuit.
We start off on the banking before cutting in to tackle the rather "Mickey Mouse" (a technical term) infield section. Qualifying went well and we qualified 14th overall and 5th in class. From the morning times, and knowing where I was strong and losing time, we felt that third in class was an achievable goal as we set out for the afternoon race. Due to the nature of circuit, we have to undertake a rolling start, instead of a standing start from a grid position. Approaching the first corner I got squeezed and lost a few places. This meant that for the remainder of the race I was battling to maintain my qualifying position rather than being able to attack for third place.
I enjoyed some good clean racing and was even able to move up a place ending the race 13th overall and 5th in class. A satisfactory result on what will be my weakest circuit of the year. Next up Belgium, and the awesome Spa circuit on 4th-6th June, Eau Rouge, the Bus Stop, can't wait!”
Silverstone, Round 1 - Sean's Report
“This weekend saw a promising start to our 2004 campaign. The car has now done 200miles (still around 200 short of what we would have liked).
Qualifying took place on a damp but drying track, this meant difficult qualifying conditions, as the track dried, the lap times fell and a lottery ensued. Unfortunately, we did not do to well and at the end of qualifying we started the race in 23rd place. By the time the race started, the track was dry and slick tyres were employed. New for this season was a rolling start, similar to those employed in America, which suited myself and the car, and we got a good start, passing three cars by the first corner.
Over the next 15 minutes of exciting and close fought racing, manage to gain another 4 places, and by the chequerd flag had moved up to 16th out of 30 overall and was the 8th fastest MGTF, consistently lapping at 1 minute 9 seconds. This means that since Monday we have managed to gain 2 of the 4 seconds a lap we require to be on the pace. Also promising was the fact I was able to keep the 8th placed car (3rd placed TF) in sight for the whole of the race.
All in all a satisfactory first outing in what is still a very unsettled car. By the time we reach round 4 at Oulton Park we should be fighting for the top positions.”