| RACE | CALENDAR | RESULT |
| Silverstone Snetterton Croft Race 1 Croft Race 2 Donington Cadwell Park Brands Hatch Oulton Park Mallory Park Zandvoort (Non Championship ) Snetterton (Non Championship) |
01/04/2006 16/04/2006 06/05/2006 06/05/2006 04/06/2006 01-02/07/2006 15/07/2006 12/08/2006 28/08/2006 09-10/08/2006 07/10/2006 |
10 9 9 9 15 13 13 |
Silverstone Race Meeting 01 April 2006
(organised by the MG Car Club)
National Circuit
Qualifying Session 12:00 – 12:15
The first 5 laps were slightly erratic as I had to get used to the car and having other competitors on the track. I inadvertently overlooked Car 58 (Derek Pearce) and squeezed him onto the kerbs at the exit of Luffields. The waved yellow flags at Copse slightly distracted me and slightly put me off my pace.
Nevertheless, after 5 laps I managed to settle into my own rhythm and started to work on my qualifying times and qualified on the mid-field 12th position.
Turn 1 (Copse): Could carry more speed through the turn, breaking too early.
Turn 2 (Maggotts): Broke too early, should try to get courage to drive flat out.
Turn 3 (Becketts): Had problems to find the right line. In many cases turned in too early.
Turn 4 (Brooklands): Could have carried a bit more speed through the turn, by turning in later (a bit after the end of the wall of the assembly area).
Turn 5 (Luffields): No problems, tried to use the kerbs on the exit.
Turn 6 (Woodcote): No problem.
 |
 |
Race 16:40 – 16:55
After a good start, I gained one place and followed Car 25 (Matthew Skelton) for two laps. But after being a bit too careful into Brooklands and Luffields, Car 17 (Simon Seath) managed to overtake me after Copse. Car 25 got away from us as I was in a good fight with Car 17. Although I gained ground going into Maggotts and Becketts, I lost it in Copse. Somehow it appeared to me that Simon’s XJS was wider than mine! Towards the final 5 minutes of the race I had a good exit out of Becketts, lined myself next to Simon into Brooklands and overtook. However, I could not get away from him and suddenly started to suffer from understeer into Copse and Luffields. Somehow I clung to my 10th position and carried it until the untimely end of the race which was sadly marked with red instead of chequered flags after an incident in Woodcote (Car 2). Thank God no-one was seriously hurt.
In all, it was great fun racing the Jaguar XJS, which proved to be such a forgiving car and one which gives the driver a lot of confidence.
Snetterton Race Meeting 16th April 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Qualifying Session 09:00 – 09:15
The XJS’s were the first to come out to the track to qualify. I needed around five laps to dial into the track I once raced on with the racing school. For a few laps I had problems to clear slower cars until I found a good overtaking spot with the entrance into the Esses.
I managed to notch two seconds off my lap time towards the end of the session to qualify 11th on the grid. This was a bit disappointing as I wanted to be in the top ten.
Turn 1 (Riches): No real problem, just could carry more speed through the turn.
Turn 2 (Sears Corner): Too inconsistent, either too quick or too slow.
Turn 3 + 4 (The Esses): The car was instable when entering into turn 3. Maybe the heel and toeing was not crisp enough.
Turn 5 (Bomb Hole): No problem, but should push a bit further.
Turn 6 (Coram Corner): No problem.
Turn 7+8 (Russel Bend): Too erratic, getting the lines wrong. Losing too much time.
 |
 |
Race 13:20 – 13:35
I had a very bad start as I did not rev the engine high enough and immediately lost two places. To compensate, I immediately drove more aggressively and overcooked it into Russel Bend by braking far too late. The wheels locked up and plumes of smoke came out. Moreover, a lap later, I shifted a gear up instead of down and had no power coming out of Russel Bend. This resulted in Car 66 overtaking me (Robert Macvicar). I managed to get back the position in the Esses after a good exit out of Sears Corner. After those warning signs I settled myself and followed cars number 18 (Dave Robbie), 24 (Gordan Bobic) and 41 (Bruce Cologne-Brookes) who were fighting amongst themselves. The race pace was similar to the group of three so overtaking would have been almost impossible.
Towards the final five minutes Car 41 spun in Riches and forced Cars 18 and 24 to run wide onto the grass, while I hit the brakes hard and managed to keep the car on the inside line to snatch three positions. My aim was now to extend the gap to the group behind and carry home the 9th place. This was pretty difficult as Dave in Car 18, whose best lap time was around 1 -2 seconds quicker than mine, put a lot of pressure on me and closed the gap with each lap more into the race. I had to take more risk to fend off Dave and almost spun the car at the exits of the Esses and Russel Bend as I applied the throttle too early on.
But despite all my problems I managed to finish in 9th position.
At Snetterton I was very lucky, as not only did I finish two places above my qualifying despite a terrible start, but I lost all my coolant after and not during the race. It could have ended with a “not classified” if my engine had overheated before. But my top-handling XJS kept it all together!
Nevertheless, I need to up the ante for the next race at Croft.
Croft Race Meeting 06th May 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Race 1
Qualifying Session 09:35– 09:50
Croft was a complete new circuit for me to learn and the qualifying session was the first occasion for me to learn the track. The combination of very quick and slow corners made it a steep learning curve.
For several laps I had problems to clear slower competitors as I did not have the confidence to overtake. After a spin in the “Complex” I pulled myself together and managed to clock better lap times. But unlike on tracks I knew before I did not manage to get a clean lap together and each lap contained some lap time damaging mistake. Nevertheless, I finished 10th on the grid.
Turn 1 (Clerveaux): Faced no real problems in the quick right hander. Gradually increased carry speed.
Turn 2 (Hawthorn): Chose a wider line, which enabled me to carry more revs into the next turn.
Turn 3 (Chicane): On the first few laps, I turned in too late. I had no real problems once I changed the turning point.
Turn 4 (Tower Bend): Broke too early on many occasions and lost time there.
Turn 5 (Jim Clark Esses): It should be taken flat out, but had to lift the throttle on some laps to avoid running too wide on the exit.
Turn 6 (Barcroft): Another quick corner, for which I just lifted throttle.
Turn 7 (Sunny In & Out): Too impatient as I was often too early on the throttle. No braking needed for Sunny Out.
Turn 8 (Complex – S Bend): In the combination of corners the real problem started. I turned in too early for the first part or applied the power too early in the second section. Once I ran out of road and spun on the dirt.
Turn 9 (Hairpin): Here again I either turned in too early, put the power on too early on the exit or messed up the gear shift.
Race 1. 11:45 – 12:00
This time I had a good start, feeding in behind Car 24 (Gordan Bobic). From there on the battle gradually built up. I could close the gap mainly in the second section track in the Jim Clark Esses, Barcroft and Sunny In & Out, but lost out mainly on the straights. On lap 5, after exiting the Hairpin in second gear towards the pit straight I lost all my gears when I tried to shift up the gears. The engine was revving, but the power was not transferred to the road. I pulled off the track after the straight and retired early from the race. The gears came back once I was in the paddock area and we were puzzled as to the reason of the failure. At that point,we wondered whether it might have been me subconsciously not lifting my foot enough from the clutch while shifting the gears.
Overall, the good points from this race were that I had much more confidence in the track and managed to get clean laps without having too heavy mistakes in the Complex and the Hairpin.
For the second race I would have a lot of work to do as the result from Race I would determine the starting grid for Race II, hence I would have to start from the back.
 |
 |
Croft Race Meeting 06th May 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Race 2
Qualifying Session
The result from Race I determined the starting grid. I started from 12th position in front of Car 80 (Dexter Dimblebee) who retired a few laps before me.
Race 2. 16:35 – 16:50
Race 2 would be a steep hill to climb, starting as I was from the back of the grid.
After the start, I lined up last into Clerveaux and planned to take the field bit by bit. I managed to overtake one competitor on exit of Hawthorn. On lap 2 I took Car 19 (Simon Isherwood) on the entrance of Sunny In, which I identified as the overtaking spot of my choice as I cleared Car 71 (Philip Comer) on the lap after. I drove very hard to close the gap to the group in front of me and ended up, as in Race 1, behind Car 24 (Gordan Bobic) to continue the battle. Again, I lost on the straight but could close it in the second section. A few laps later I managed to line myself up next to Car 24 on the entrance of Sunny In and squeezed through. On the entrance to the Complex I almost threw the gained position away as I broke too hard and locked up my front wheels. My plan was then to increase the gap to Car 24. The only problem was that again I faced problems with gears on exiting the Hairpin. Strangely, I could not find the third or fourth gear on the up-shift. It took a few seconds before any of the higher gears came back. This meant I needed to exit the Hairpin in third gear and accept the loss of momentum. On the final the problems became worse as the third gear was completely lost on the up-shift. I tried to skip it and spun the car on the exit of Hawthorn as the second gear proved to be a bit too powerful. I lost my position back to Car 24 to finish 9th overall.
All in all I am very pleased with this result as I managed to fight back from the end of the grid and proved to be competitive despite what looks likely to be clutch / gear box problems (*to be ascertained in the workshop).
Donington Park Race Meeting 4th June 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Qualifying Session 09:25– 09:40
Donington Park, the famous circuit staging the British round of MotoGP and the Formula 1 European Grand Prix of 1993, was another new circuit for me to learn. First time out, the very quick track was more difficult to learn than I thought, especially the high speed Craner Curves which are very challenging. My attempt to take it flat out in lap 6 ended with me losing confidence and lifting off the throttle by too much which resulted in losing the end. The car spun many times, hit the kerbs and destroyed two tyres. I managed to limp back to the paddock area on the two punctured tyres on the right side, but the qualifying session was over for me. At least I managed more than three laps, the minimum for qualifying onto the grid, to 15th starting position out of 25. Not too bad considering all the traffic and yellow flags during the first four laps, but my best lap time of 1:36:77 was not satisfying. It should be one to two seconds quicker at least.
Turn 1 (Redgate Corner): Turned in too early and compromised the exit.
Turn 2 (Hollywood): Slight kink, no problem.
Turn 3 (Craner Curves): Very challenging, lifted at the beginning, but then tried flat out which resulted in a spin. But flat out is possible.
Turn 4 (Old Hairpin): Broke too early and lost a lot of time there.
Turn 5 (Schwantz Curve): No problems there.
Turn 6 (McLean Corner): Problems to find the right brake point. Turned in too early.
Turn 7 (Coppice Corner): No real problems there, but could not get a clean run due to traffic there.
Turn 8 (Esses): Outbroke myself on some laps, but no major problems. Good corner for overtaking
 |
 |
Race 15:15 – 15:30
With too much wheel spin at the start I lost two places. After two laps I managed to clear Car 19 (Simon Isherwood) into McLean Corner to overtake Car 41 (Bruce Cologne-Brookes) into the Esses. I could see Car 24 (Gordan Bobic) from the distance and pushed to close the gap. Lap by lap I notched off a few tenths until I was right behind him in lap 6 after he had a few problems clearing a backmarker on lapping. This was my chance to gain back another place and a fight broke out for the next 4 laps (déjà vu from Croft) with me managing to come close in the Old Hairpin, Coppice Corner and the Esses, but being outdragged on the long straights. It almost ended in tears on the final lap when Car 26 (Sam Clarke) lapped the both of us just before the Old Hairpin. Car 24 broke too hard so that I tried to sneak past him by following Sam Clarke. Our cars were next to each other on the exit of the corner and would almost have touched if I had not lifted. Finally I took the chequered flag in 15th position after this eventful race. I was disappointed with not being able to improve my lap time by one to two seconds. Well, another chance next year…
Cadwell Park Race Meeting 1st July 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Short Circuit
Qualifying Session 10:20 – 10:35
Cadwell Park is nicknamed the “Mini-Nordschleife”, which is not an exaggeration. The circuit is extremely twisty and hilly, which makes almost every corner a challenge. The Qualifying Session and Race 1 took place on the Short Circuit, while the Full Circuit was used for Race 2.
The qualifying was extremely difficult, as I had to come to grips with challenging corners and the very tight hairpin which cuts the circuit into halves.
This was my worst qualifying result so far this season as I came 16th out of 17. So, hard work for the race.
Turn 1 (Coppice): No problems on the uphill left corner.
Turn 2 (Charlies): No problems on the first of the long right turn, but often turned in too early for the second section and compromised a good exit.
Turn 3 (Park): Broke too early for the 90 degrees right turn. Need to move the brake point forward.
Turn 4 (Chris Curve): Had minor problems finding the right line on the first few laps. But coped with it later – a corner suiting the XJS.
Turn 5 + 6 (Gooseneck): Huge problems to find the line through these extremely diffcult turns. Did not carry enough speed..
Turn 7 (Mansfield): Turned in too early on some occasions.
Turn 8 (Hairpin – Short Circuit): Very tight turn with no real upside – just downside. Turned in too early on some occasions.
Race 14:45 – 15:00
Kept my original 16th place after the start and followed the group in front of me. The back of the field was very tight together and I was waiting for my chance to clear some cars until one of the cars in front of me spun after Gooseneck. This forced me to break hard, so that I spun as a result of this. I rejoined the field at the end and followed car No 65 (Paul Reynolds). I came very close after Park, the Gooseneck and the Hairpin, but was outdragged on the straights. I finished behind him on the 13th position as some cars failed to finish or had technical difficulties on this extremely hot day. In all, this was a pretty unremarkable race performance from me.
 |
 |
Cadwell Park Race Meeting 2nd July 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Full Circuit
Race2 14:15 – 14:30
Next day – new luck. This race took place on the Full Circuit. This meant learning to master a few more challenging corners, but the full circuit is much more pleasant to race on than the short circuit as it is far more fluid and not interrupted by a very tight hairpin.
After two practice laps in the morning, the race in the afternoon was started according to the finishing order of Race 1 the day before.
After a good start I managed to overtake Paul Reynolds in Car 65 on the entry of Mansfield. On the exit, a car spun and forced me to go wide, but I managed to gain two more positions. But on the same lap in the Hairpin of the full circuit , I was unable to get second gear and had to let a few cars past me. I lined up behind Car 55 (Stuart Ulph) and looked for an overtaking opportunity. A few laps later I tried to overtake in the Hairpin, but was squeezed out onto the green. As I kept my food on the throttle I managed to overtake him in ‘rally style’. I spotted the group running in front of me and pushed hard to close up. But once I took a too tight line into the Mountain and had a small spin. Another time I broke very late into Park and must have run wide onto the dirty side, so that I lost my back again. This time Stuart Ulph was able to gain his position back. From then on I took it a bit easier as due to the immense hot day the tires faded and some cars left oil on the track. I finished 13th out of 18 competitors, the same position I started from, but this time it was my own driving. My best lap time was also in line with other quicker competitors.
All corners of the full circuit
Turn 1 (Coppice): Very quick on the full circuit. Just lifted the throttle a bit.
Turn 2 (Charlies): This time I got the second part right.
Turn 3 (Park): Broke once too late and spun.
Turn 4 (Chris Curve).
Turn 5 + 6 (Gooseneck): Better this time, got the line right.
Turn 7 (Mansfield): Overtaking spot.
Turn 8 + 9 (The Mountain): Incredibly challenging uphill left and right hander. The car is almost jumping over the brow on the exit.
Turn 10 (Hall Bends): Very twisty, but quick corner. Run sometimes too wide on the exit.
Turn 11 (Hairpin – full circuit): Very slow corner, overdrove often during the race as I applied the power on too early.
Turn 12 (Barn): Right hander going downhill into the pit straight. I suffered from understeer there.
Brands Hatch Race Meeting 15th July 2006
(organised by the Classic Sports Car Club)
Indy Circuit
Thank you very much to all my work colleagues who came to this race meeting and made this a very special event for me. Also many thanks to Kevin Doyle who kindly demonstrated his modified Jaguar XJC (“Mother of all Jags”) to some of my petrol head colleagues and their children.
Qualifying Session 09:00 – 09:15
Brands Hatch, famous for staging the British Formula 1 GP in the 60s up to the 80s, is a very treacherous track due to the change in heights and no run-off zones at certain corners. I had a bad accident at Clearways back in 2003 in a Formula Ford car when I went wide onto the marbles and dust, spun and hit the tyre wall which knocked me unconscious.
With this bad history on my mind I wanted to take the qualifying session a bit carefully.
I finished 13th out 18 competitors. My lap time was 2 seconds off the next best competitor (Simon Seath). This is an eternity on this short track and clearly indicates that I should have been attacking more rather than cruising around the track.
Turn 1 (Paddock Hill Bend): Broke too hard for this quick corner. Should take it more aggressively.
Turn 2 (Druid’s Bend): Tempting to outbrake. Took the slightly tighter line.
Turn 3 (Graham Hill Bend): No real problems, but should brake less hard.
Turn 4 (Surtees): Trailed a bit too long for this quick bend.
Turn 6 (McLaren & Clearways): Took it too slow on some occasion as I had still the accident on my mind, but increased the speed carefully.
Race 13:20 – 13:35
I dropped a place after a slow start and tried to regain positions as quickly as possible. The slow Druid’s Bend U-turn was my overtaking spot of choice, but I outbroke myself when trying to overtake car No 12 (Simon Isherwood) and ended up in the gravel pit. I was able to reverse out of it and continue my race. The next four laps were very diffcult as I was fighting for grip with my dirty tyres. I managed to clear car No 47 (Paul Reynolds), which overtook me when I was in the gravel trap. When the tyres improved I tried to chase down Simon Isherwood in car No 19. I was close on one occasion in Paddock Bend, but I was maybe too overcautious and eased off. Later the competitors from the top group (Derek Pearce, Sam Clarke and Gail Hill) lapped us and I tried to stay out of their way. Towards the end of the race, I managed to improve my lap times by a few seconds and to really find my “groove”. Too little too late and I ended in 13th position, the place I started from. All in all a disappointing race with no real “maximum attack”, partially due to the memories of the accident in 2003.