Sebastien Bamsey Castle Combe 14th August

Seb testing for 1hr Endurance race                                (left Eddie Waring, (right) Sebastien Bamsey
I arrived at the circuit on Thursday morning under a grey sky covered with thick cloud and a light drizzle – not what I had wanted for my first ever experience of a racing car… Nevertheless, the immense, childish, Christmas-like excitement I felt about driving a fully fledged racing machine overcame any concerns I had about a wet track. Having familiarised myself with the layout of the track and the car (the various cockpit switches, lights and displays), it was time to fire her up… I flicked the starter switch, blipped the throttle and the 2.0 litre Duratec lept into life. The awesome rumble of the engine and the gearbox whine as I selected first gear using the sequential shifter immediately made clear this was a million miles from the Westfield which I had used on a couple of track days… I ventured cautiously out on track with a full wet setup and wet tyres. As I left the pit lane, I gingerly put my foot down and was absolutely blown away! The acceleration and sense of speed was incredible. I barely had time to think before I was braking hard into Quarry corner and thumping down the gears. This was what I had been missing out on all this time!!   I struggled to wipe the grin off my face for the rest of the day. I had another run in the wet before the weather started to clear and Clive felt it was time to put on some slicks… the unbelievable grip levels on slick tyres was another revelation. Roll on race day!
I opened the curtains early on Sunday morning and was greeted with a blue sky. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about the weather for my first race… Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to run the car in qualifying because of a minor exhaust glitch but it was resolved in good time for the race. Nevertheless, Eddie Waring, with whom I was sharing the car, did an excellent job and managed to grab 7th slot on the grid. Patrick gave me some very helpful advice about the parade lap and the start procedure (like keeping my visor open when sitting on the grid to stop my nervous heavy breathing misting up my helmet!) before I headed out for my first ever motor race: a 1 hour endurance, with a driver change.
As the five red lights went out, I managed to pull away cleanly and avoid a slow starting car ahead of me. I then focused on keeping it on the track and staying out of trouble while the pack settled down. By the end of my 25-minute stint I came in the pits for the driver change over  in 3^rd position, I was mentally and physically exhausted and ready to hand over to Eddie for the second half of the race. Eddie did a fantastic job and brought the car home to finish us 4th overall and 2nd in our class – it was great to go home with a trophy since it was my first time in a race car and the first Sports 2000 race for both of us.
Needless to say, I am completely hooked and will be back in the car at the next available opportunity!
Thank you to Clive, Cindy, Patrick, Scott and all of the MCR team for their advice and support, thanks to Eddie for being a great and quick team mate, thank you to my father for the support and fantastic photography and a special thanks to my wife Liv and Nick who came to watch my race debut.

Patrick Sherrington Castle Combe 14th August

Sherrington and Jenvey, Castle combe S2000 Endurance

For the endurance race I was to be joined in the car by fellow frontrunner Mike Jenvey who was interest to see how much the car has changed since we last ran together in 2009. With the weather finally improving we were hoping for a strong result.
Qualifying Mike went out first in order to reacquaint him with the car and was soon putting in some strong times. Mike Turner and John Owen were also running strongly in their MCR S2 and Seb Bamsey and Eddie Waring were also up in the top 5 despite this being their first ever car race!
Mike handed over and advised the car was under steering a little due to a broken roll bar link (we later found out) and I set out to try and get pole in the dying minutes. The final 2 laps were good enough and into the 1.07s with the final lap putting us on pole from Peter Williams and David Pittard in Peter’s trusty MCR.
Race It was decided that I would take the start and we also took the decision to start on full tanks meaning we wouldn’t have to risk refuelling at the half way point. Thankfully I managed to see the red start lights in time as they were neatly hidden behind the mirror. Got a great start and blasted into the lead. Craig Mitchell was in close attendance for the first lap but as the race moved on I began to build a gap.
I managed to stretch the gap to about 13 seconds until losing 5 seconds on just one lap thanks to Louis Jones defending his line as I came round to lap him.
I handed the car over to Mike at the halfway point and he set about getting back the lead as Craig Mitchell had stayed out on his stint and therefore taken the front running slot at the changeover. Mike was busy chasing him down with a hard charging David Pittard (although a lap down) right behind him when disaster struck as the rear upright cried enough and we were out.
A shame because the win was on but well done to Craig Mitchell who took a well deserved in the Lola and with Peter Williams and David Pittard in the MCR third. A special mention to Seb Bamsey and Eddie Waring who were 4^thoverall in their MCR S2 not a bad start for your first ever race.

Patrick Sherrington at Donnington Park – 16th/17th July

Qualifying 16th, 17th July. We were really keen to get the championship bid back on track at Donington and very hopeful of good results having had good pace at Spa. Qualifying was dry and we soon were down to some good times and at the front. As the session wore on we dropped to 4^th so I pitted for some adjustments and claimed 3^rd from Rick Johnson in the dying moments of the session.
Race 1 Race 1 was a wet track but drying so we were all hoping the choice of wet tyres would be right. Got a good start and was able to challenge Mike Jenvey on the run down to Redgate who sensibly defended the inside so I got into his wheel tracks to fend off Oldershaw who was on the outside. Mike seemed to be struggling as we exited Redgate Oldershaw powered into the lead and I squeezed up past Mike going down the hill toward Craner Curves, however Rick Johnson was also starting well and got past down into the Old Hairpin so across the line on the first lap a strong 3^rd.For the first 3 laps I didn’t have the pace of the leaders and dropped some 5 seconds off the lead. As we moved into lap 5 the tables turned and I was a second quicker than anyone and dived up the inside of Rick at theMelbournehairpin much to the delight of the supporters from ADI who were positioned right at the hairpin. Once into second I set about catching Rob Oldershaw and by lap 10 was right behind him.
Some backmarkers presented an ideal opportunity as we approached the corner onto the back straight Rob was held up and I launched the car down his inside, got on the power as early as I dared and let the car slide right to the outside of the track but into the lead. Once ahead I was at least a second quicker at that stage of the race than anyone and powered into a 9 second lead with 5mins to go. Surely this would be the first championship round race win for the car?
It was then the bush in the steering mount under the dash decided it was going to pop out which meant the wheel was flopping about all over the place! Could I hold on? I decided to keep going but the wheel issue was costing me 2 seconds a lap and Mike Jenvey was now setting his fastest times and reeling me in. Thankfully I held on for the remaining 3 laps and crossed the line 3 seconds ahead for the win.
FANTASTIC!!!!! Congratulations to Clive and Cindy at MCR, the team Dad, Ken and Scott and thanks to all the supporters from ADI who braved the weather and got to watch a great race.
Race 2 We started on pole thanks to the previous days race win and were hopeful of picking up more big points in race 2. The weather again proved tricky and having been dry for most of the day the rain started to come down but only just enough for wets.
It was very slippery off the line and I tried a 1500rpm start which worked well and held the lead into the first corner. Rob Oldershaw started very well and was right behind me going down the Craner Curves. As he challenged down the inside for the old hairpin I decided to let him go as I was struggling for grip and an off at the Old Hairpin would be disaster. Oldershaw went through into the lead and I concentrated on widening the gap to Mike Jenvey in 3^rd. This worked well until lap 5 when Mike seemed to just find more grip and he caught me the next lap. It stayed this way for 3 laps and I had noticed that the officials had the black and orange flag out of a number of cars. I checked to see if my number was there but it wasn’t so safe to carry on.
Mike got past on lap 10 so down into third but then I noticed the black flag with his number on. It turned out that unfortunately for him he hadn’t switched his rain light on and he was disqualified for ignoring the black and orange flag.
This promoted me into second which I maintained until the finish so another fine haul of points!

View from the garage, Donnington with David Oldridge – 16th/17th July

So to Donington, for the meeting re-arranged due to the local noise issues (we didn’t think of the irony of that as jets screamed over all weekend at all ……). The Sports 2000s had been slotted in as a support to the World Touring Car meeting, so much of the paddock was taken over by corporate hospitality. Good news was that Mike and John had delivered the car on Thursday, so we had a decent spot in the paddock; later arrivals had been relegated to the gravel areas at the bottom of the paddock; amazing that “The Heart of British Motorsport” still has such hopeless facilities. Even better news was that the car was sitting under the MCR awning, which was a real bonus as the rain poured down through the weekend.
Qualifying on Friday went ok with no car issues. Race 1 (Saturday) presented the common problem of what set up to use on a drying track (in generally changeable conditions). Like the vast majority of the field we opted for a wet set up and part worn wets. The tricky conditions caused a trip across the gravel and a half spin which, when added to a lack of instruments, accounted for a disappointing result.
Back under the awning a quick investigation revealed a minor electrical glitch which was easily resolved, restoring the instruments, and some damage to the undertray. Some quick fettling produced an acceptable repair to the undertray, and a good spanner check and clean got us ready for Race 2 (Sunday).
Once again the weather asked us some tricky questions in the minutes before heading to the assembly area, but a last minute scramble saw us again go for a full wet set-up, which proved to be correct. John started well, but at the start of the second lap an as yet undiagnosed problem caused the engine revs to flare, so John pulled off, a disappointing end to a long (car arrived at Donington Thursday, Race 2, 5:50 on Sunday!) weekend. Highlight of the weekend? The MCR fruitcake! Thanks to LA and MCR for all their help over the weekend.

Oulton Park test day with David Oldridge

Having a credit of a days MSV testing we went to Oulton with two main aims: to give both John and Mike some more seat time, and to try to find some more pace in advance of the Combe 2-driver race.
The morning provided three “Closed Wheel” sessions, and all was going well until at the lunch break we discovered the rear wing pole cross brace had failed (happily not where I had previously welded it!). Mike set off to find a Grumpy Fabricator with a TIG set, while John and I spanner-checked the car and set about changing the ratios. Mike reappeared with the repaired pole which we rapidly fitted, and got John out losing only about 15 minutes of the first session. John went out again in the next session (Mike holding back to set a heroic time in the last session?) but after only a couple of laps the car limped into the pits, with a loud clattering from the transmission. It was easy to see that the clutch had failed (bits of facing material were escaping the bellhousing!), so that was the end of our days play.
Overall the day had been reasonable: John in particular had become more familiar with the car, and we had significantly improved the times. Highlight of the day: the MSV breakfast. Why can’t other circuits (are you listening Silverstone?) provide the friendly, helpful, good quality and value service that Dr Palmers‘ venues do?

Donnington Test Day

Following the superb looking bodywork upgrade over the winter we were keen to make the most of the new modifications so it was off to Donington Park for a test day to try various set up changes.
MCR were delighted to be able to host former Williams and Toyota F1 aero guru Frank Dernie, who as well as suggesting a few tweeks kept us all entertained with a wealth of F1 tales of years gone by.
The weather was not kind so running was limited but conversations with Frank Dernie resulted in some interesting changes to the aero balance which saw the car lapping under the current lap record so with 3 rounds at the Donington circuit this year we are hopeful of recovering ground in the championship but time will tell.

Patrick Sherrington European Race – 11th/12th June

We were really looking forward to Spa with the car recently run up on the rolling road showing further improvements from the new exhaust it would be interesting to see how it performed compared to last year.

Due to delays on the ferry I had to jump straight from arriving at the circuit into the car for the first practice session on the Thursday. The car was instantly quick and faster than last year within 2 laps, so far so good. A couple of set up changes and we were soon lapping inside the current lap record and 3 seconds quicker than last year!
Sadly it was not to last as a mixture of a mild over rev and the previous overheating the engine blew on the fastest part of the circuit and with Clive Hayes in the new sister car splitting his oil radiator and therefore also blowing his engine it meant that both cars were out and our racing weekend was effectively over. Mixed emotions indeed as the car has really taken a step forward and we would have been on pole by 2 seconds in the qualifying that took place on the Friday.
We were joined by the guys from title sponsor ADI Group on the Friday who had made the trip from the UK to support. It was great to see everyone make the trip and what we missed out on the track we made up with a couple of great nights out in the local bars!
This did leave time to work with the other MCR team drivers to share data and discuss potential improvements. Both Mike Turner and John Owen in their newly acquired MCR S2 found some great speed with both lapping quicker than in their previous machines. Peter Williams in his newly rebodied car also showed some serious pace in the atrocious conditions in race 1.
Well done to Craig Mitchell in race 2 who peddled the ex Mike Turner Lola round to a fine second leading the experienced Ric Johnson for the majority of the race.
Can’t wait for Donington….

Craig Mitchell European Race – 11th/12th June

: Photo of Craig taken by Mike Lambert of Gridshots at the Spa Summer Classic, Belgium

To compete at Spa has been a dream since I started racing, I actually missed my school prom to participate in this race meeting; there was no pressure making my mind up on what was most important. Spa turned out to be my second event in the ex Mike Turner Lola due to technical problems at Snetterton in round one.

Qualifying was almost like a test session as I only went out for last practice on Thursday to see if the car was working correctly. By the end of qualifying I was relatively pleased with the car and helped to change the fifth gear which by that time I felt was hitting the rev limiter a bit early on the long straight.

On Saturday as everyone left the pits for race one, it looked like it was going to be a dry race after a few short showers had ampened the track. We were all to be mistaken and the heavens opened to send the pits into a tyre changing frenzy. My car was pulled into one of the garages and the tyres were changed as fast as possible. Thanks to the guys who helped, I am very grateful to them for sure. Once this was done I headed back out onto the circuit into a total unknown as this was my first time in the wet in the Lola. I did not know what to expect. Driving round on the formation lap I tried to feel for the levels of vailable grip so I would have some idea of what to expect at the first corner. We had been told in the briefing that there would be red lights changing to green for the start of the race, these were not working, not knowing this I got a sloppy start as I didn’t even see the green flag. In the first corner I remained in fifth place with Peter Williams tucking in front of me but with a good exit out of the first turn I had passed him again before Eau Rouge. I felt a bit guilty about that move as Peter had been very helpful with tips and had given experienced words up to that point….sorry Pete!!!! For a few laps Peter stayed behind me with David Houghton ahead. A few laps later Peter, with a great move, had got passed me again, I did not feel so sorry then! The race finished prematurely due to a safety car incident. At least the car was in one piece and not a bad result given the conditions.

In race 2 on Sunday I was starting fifth once again due to my race one finish and was determined to progress through the field. At the first corner I passed Peter Williams and moved into fourth position. A lap later I got passed David Houghton, up the inside, just before Blanchimont, this moved me into third position. At this point a safety car came out and bunched the pack. On the restart I got a great drive through Eau Rouge and out-braked Paul Tickner just before entering Les Combes. I was into second and knew I had a chance of taking the lead. I pushed hard for the duration of the lap to close the gap to Richard Johnson andafter getting a great run out of turn one I passed him before Eau Rouge to take the lead of the race, maintaining this until there were two laps to go. At this point I encountered the first few back markers and unfortunately no blue flags were being shown to them. I caught them on mid bends which allowed Richard to close up right behind me and going through Blanchimont there were more back markers having their own battle, I had to back off for fear of contact because of the closing speed. This allowed Richard to make a bold move round the outside to take the lead once again but on the next lap going down the straight I tucked into Richard’s slip stream and managed to get passed him once more. Just after that Richard pulled off a great over take and got the lead once more. Coming down into the final turn on the final lap I was behind Richard and was contemplating making a move for the lead but there was a Pinto back marker just in front of us so I decided to stay behind Richard to see if he would make a mistake trying to pass the back marker. My hunch paid off when he did, braking too late and going wide in the corner, I was ready to capitalise on his mistake, Richard then drove straight across the chicane to take the win. Overall the weekend was a great learning experience for me; I fully enjoyed the track and generally the good quality racing. I would like to say thank you to my parents, all at MCR Race Cars for their great help and Barking Mad.

Mike Turner European Race – 11th/12th June

: Mike Turner racing at Spa Summer Classic

Spa and my first race with the MCR sharing the car with John Owen this year promised to be a good fun season. John moving over from Formula Ford and myself changing from a Duratec Lola. After a good test at Donington I really looked forward to my first event in the new car. I new the car was very quick after Patrick Sherrington had been so successful in it during 2010 so was eager to get to grips with it. esting on Thursday went well. In only 8 laps or so the car was over a second quicker than I had lapped at Spa before in my previous Sports 2000 car. The amount of grip available and the performance of the brakes were a real eye opener.

After a look at the data with Scott, Patrick and Clive we were able to identify some areas to work on from a driving point of view. John took the car out first in qualifying and again improved his times well. I jumped into the car and managed to lower my times by 1.9 seconds from the testing times. We qualified 6th and were both very pleased with how things had gone. John was doing the first race and drove a fine first race in torrential rain to bring the car home 7th after a testing first drive.

Sunday dawned fine and dry. I think I definately got the best of the deal here! The start was hectic and after a short safety car period the race resumed. I managed to get up to 5th when I ran over some debris in the track which made a huge noise. I decided I had better pit to check things out. Having pitted with only 5 minutes to go I decided to call it a day as we could not find anything amiss. Rather than risk the car I decided to save things for Donington in July. A real shame as 4th or 5th position was a good possibility.

Overall a great weekend. I feel I am only just getting to grips with the car. The amount of potential is huge once I get used to the grip levels and braking performance. Roll on Donington!

John Owen European Race – 11th/12th June

In the pit lane at Spa-Francorchamps for a photo shoot

Spa Summer Classic 2011

I was the new boy in the MCR team as we headed to Spa and I was very aware of just how big this challenge would be. Never raced a Sports 2000 car let alone an MCR, never even been to Spa, never raced on slicks, never raced a car with wings and spent the last six years or so in Formula Fords with just over 100 bhp and not much in the way of brakes, especially in the historic car. Oh yes I’d never been spied on by a data logger either.

So what was Spa like in an MCR?

My 30 minute practice session was very busy with lots of very quick F3 cars and a red flag as I tried to learn my way round. The look on my face probably said it all when I got back having fired the car through Eau Rouge at what felt like a ludicrous speed only to find that I still had loads of spare road. This was going to require some serious recalibration of my senses to cope with a roller coaster ride at well over 100mph and no rails.

Qualifying involved a minor incident with another car and a major moment in Eau Rouge but I was learning and really looking forward to the race. The weather looked to be drying after rain so on went the slicks and I headed down the pit lane for the
out lap. The far side of the track was completely dry and the sun was shining as I headed back to the grid. A rolling start meant that we all headed off behind the safety car and then the sky fell down all over the track and we all headed back into the pits for wet tyres. Lots of people fell on the car and it was soon on wet tyres with a wet set up and it was back out onto a soaked
track.

A quick tyre change and wet set-up

Once again we set off behind the safety car and before we got to Eau Rouge there was a car spread out all over the track and we weaved between the bits.

Then the fun started. Outside line into La Source watching out for cars coming up the inside and then off down the hill to Eau Rouge when suddenly the car in front disappeared behind a wall of spray. It reappeared briefly as we headed out onto the Kemmel straight but I was soon in my own world again and worrying about what might be coming up behind me so I did the obvious thing when you can’t see and accelerated. The next problem was to spot the braking zone for the next corner. Slowly conditions improved and with other cars falling off I was up to sixth when the instrument panel started flashing unintelligible
messages and I slowed to make sense of them letting a car by while I struggled. Suddenly everything went back to normal so I started to chase again but to no avail as another accident led to a safety car and eventually a red flag so seventh and second in class was the final result.

I can now add slicks on a wet track and accelerating when I cannot see to my list of new experiences together with the knowledge that it’s going to take some time to learn how to get the best from the MCR so Patrick will not have to worry for quite some time. Thanks to all the guys at Turner Owen Motorsports and Clive & Cindy at MCR for all their support – I had an amazing weekend even if I did not get enough racing, and as for the data logging…. well Scott was very kind during our debrief.

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