Sunday 8th April 2001

After the wet and snow of Donington I am pleased to say Snetterton was dry and bright, even sunny at times.

Having left home at five in the morning (who can get enjoyment out of the alarm going off at 4:00am on a Sunday morning) we drove through the dawn (how picturesque) and arrived in good time for signing on at 7:45. The car had been loaded on Saturday and seemed strangely empty, as I'd elected not to take the wet tyres with me. I was going to use my new tyres at last. My wet tyres are pretty useless and if it comes to rain I would probably get more grip out of the new tyres any way. I had run the new set on the road to buff them in a bit and was stunned by how good they were. No wonder I'd been dropping back down the field on the old tyres.

Practice went without a hitch, I even overtook a few people. The tyres were excellent, shed loads more grip. They start to go off a bit as they get hot but even then they are better than the old ones.

End of practice came all too soon and I was still trying to find the limits of the tyres. Swooping through Riches, at the end of the Start/Finish straight, was fantastic. You could set the car up and let it four wheel drift whilst steering on the throttle. With lots of room to go off if it all goes wrong, this has to be in my list of favourite corners. Added to more steering control the new tyres had also improved back end grip and almost eliminated the constant wheel spin on exiting corners. I was having a whale of a time.

Leaping about the paddock like a kid with a new toy I would tell anybody who would listen what a good time I was having. I had no idea what my lap times would be, but I still had a lot of fun.

My old mucker Ian Creba, with the last of the Vindicators, wasn't having a good time. The car had the wrong engine management box, a tiny steering wheel without a quick rack, 5^th gear that didn't exist and 4^th gear that wouldn't stay in. "I have to hold it in with the stick and steer with one hand" said Ian. He wasn't best pleased with them as what looks after the car.

We collected our qualifying times and I was pretty chuffed with 20^th out of 32. "Should have a bit of a race today" thought I. It was then I spotted that Ian had out qualified me by 2½ seconds!!! I immediately searched him out in the paddock and abused him vigorously. We are a friendly lot, us kit car racers.

The only trouble with not being at the back of the grid is, not only do you have people to chase, you also have people chasing you, which is much harder work. The lights went green, and my starting form was back, and we were up a good two or three into the first corner. This is always the scariest bit and I tend to go for space over places. Whilst not the best way to gain points, it does at least give you a better chance of getting to the next corner.

The next few laps were all a bit of a blur although I remember Ian Creba being behind me because he passed me a few laps later going into The Esses. At the time I hadn't considered that he would have one hand on the wheel with the other holding the car in gear. Now that would have scared me.

The other snag with passing people off the line is you are then in front of people who lap faster, and will inevitably be trying to get past, until you find equilibrium.

Although Ian passed me I did beat him when he pulled off with his front mudguard rubbing on the tyre. He was leaving a trail of smoke, which had turned his Vindicator into a stealth bomber. What had we said earlier about car preparation?

After loosing Ian I then had Dave Chapman snapping at my tail. Many laps followed as he got back, and I pulled away, and he got back again. Time and time again I looked in my mirror to see him broadside across the back of the car at Sear. "Missed me again" I thought.

As the race continued our exit line was getting wider and wider out of Sear. Any further over and we'd have been using the adjacent A11 to Norwich.

Snetterton is quite a long circuit (1.9520 miles) and we generally have around 10 laps for a race. Today we had 15. In addition to this, over the last couple of years, I have had a bit of a race early on and then found a bit of space. This time I was battling all the way. By half distance I was shattered and not as tidy as I should be. I then started to wonder if Dave was going to be at his best, and should I let him go before it all goes horribly wrong.

Dave did get past me at Russell, but then got all sideways at the exit. I held off, while he collected it up, not wishing to get tangled in a spin, and then passed him again down the start-finish straight. After all that it did calm down a little with about one lap to go.

By now one or two of the front runners had reappeared and were starting to lap me. With half a lap to go Richard Daw appeared in my mirrors, but without much room and, without gaining dramatically. I thought, "He can wait now." As we crossed the line I realised it wasn't Richard but Dave Devine in Richard's old car. It was just as well I hadn't let him by, otherwise I would have lost a place.

I finished 16th, from 20th on the grid, so I was pretty pleased with myself. I'd had a terrific race with lots of place swapping, and loads of fun, so I was a very happy man. I do need to get fitter though as I was shattered by the end.

Having reviewed my lap times after the race, I am confident that I still can shave a good few seconds off. Whilst the car was moving around a bit, we were no where near the ragged edge. 2 seconds will put me well in the thick of it, with a potential top ten finish. Now that will be hard work.