Next up, we go to Snetterton. Another circuit that used to be great and is now average because they messed up the three best corners (Sear, Coram and Russell) in order to satisfy some notion that’s beyond me. All the same, we were back for the usual weekend meeting and I’d managed to book the test day in time.
So, we rocked up on the Thursday evening to find, as usual, pretty much the entire RGB paddock there who were also testing. We found a space and settled in for the night.
Come Friday the weather looked OK and testing commenced. As usual, for me, the first session as pretty poor but in the second I was getting somewhere when the engine jumped out of gear and made a very odd noise. I coasted to a stop at the end of the straight. (The one that was the Revett straight and has now been renamed to something unmemorable. I got towed back to the paddock and on investigation the engine was making a truly horrible noise. So I was preparing to pack up as I didn’t have a spare engine and, in any case, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t put myself through the aggro of changing an engine in the paddock again.
However, Andy pointed out that he’d got a spare engine that wasn’t very far away and Tom, who was there helping me, looked as though he’d be interested in helping fit the engine. So, we set off to get the engine and then Tom and I started the job of replacing the broken unit. Eventually, when I have to admit it was getting dark and enthusiasm was fading, Marc Norden came to the rescue and dragged the car into his lit tent cum workshop and we finished the job there,
So, in the early hours of the next morning I finished the install and set for scrutineering and qualifying. Once out on track the engine did appear to be working and I tried to qualify somewhere at least half decent. I’m not sure I succeeded really in that I was 14th and 11th for the two races.
Later on, it was time for the first race and we lined up. I got a half decent start and managed to avoid a couple of errant cars. After that, the race was quite fun although it took me some laps to get past Mark. Finally, I finished in 8th place, 7th in class.
The race the next day was rather odd in that the car for some reason just wasn’t going as fast on the straights. It’s possible that the wind had turned around and reduced the speed on the straights. Consequently, I ended up being out-dragged by too many people. Perhaps I just got the gearing wrong? All the same, it was fun especially the overtake on the final corner. I finished in 12th place, 10th in class. Again, here’s the video:
So, next up is Silverstone International and then I’ll be up to date.