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30th November - Update.
So, for all you statisticians out there Dad’s been busy working out the facts and figures of the year in pursuit of my hobby and he’s come up with the below:
2088 miles driven to meetings.
120 miles driven in races.
39 races could have been competed in, but I missed a few cus of damage, or at the last Bradford I couldn’t see well enough to not damage the car so withdrew gracefully!
34 cars on average attended each meeting.
15 is the magic number, as you must finish inside the top 15 to score points.
13 meetings attended.
7 races I scored points in, or 18% of the total of 39 races I could have competed in.
5 meetings I scored points at, or 39% of the 13 events entered.
5 is also the best finish I achieved, twice.
The car’s already been stripped down, with the engine at SMMC to see if they can sort the oil pressure issue picked up at Hednesford – it looks like the gearbox may have been damaged and chipped a tooth, so hopefully with a strip down, clean out, and gearbox rebuild, it’ll be sorted. I’ll keep you informed.
The body has been booked in for spraying.
The designer has been booked for artwork ready for the stickers.
If anything of any importance crops up in the next couple of months then I’ll keep you all updated, but if not, winter well, and we’ll see you in the new year with the new look car, ready for another exciting year in the National Ministox Championship.
See you around the ovals!
Sarah #18.
20th November - 18th November Skegness, 19th November Hednesford
Hi all.
Well, it was certainly a busy weekend for the last two meetings of the season, as it was my first double header, with Saturday night at SkegVegas and Sunday at Hednesford Hills, both fast tarmac, so a bit of a change to round out the end of the season after so many shale meetings this year.
I like Skegness, although not had much luck there, and my last outing was at the same meeting last year when the electrical pixies took flight from my battery halfway through the first race!
With 42 cars booked in it was also going to be fun and games on track, so we got there early to get as much practice in. Trouble is, it’s been damp all week, and the track was super slippy with everyone struggling for grip. My biggest challenge was squashing the understeer, which I kind of drove around as much as I could, but the track didn’t get any grippier as the night went on.
After quite a few runs out in practice without leaving the car again it was time for a breather as the meeting officially started, with the introduction of the 12 BTCC drivers invited to a special race in the BriSCA F1’s and we were out for race 4.
My first race was specifically for whites, yellows and novices to give us a good run out, and there were still 19 of us out in it! But starting outside of row 4 on a greasy track was always going to be fun, but I went for it and found some grip mid track, overtaking one car and then holding position. Lap 3 and I was still on the tail of the first group, but as I exited turn 4 I got spun, then collected head-on by the rest of the pack, pushing me backwards. I didn’t get a chance to dip the clutch, so the engine stalled, but steered myself to the infield whilst being pushed backwards, bouncing off the infield tyres as I came to a stop.
The car refused to refire initially, but I kept pounding the start button and it eventually came back to life and I rejoined well down the field. A few laps later and a caution was called. When it came to restart the starter stuck on as the switch stayed stuck in, so not wanting to damage the starter motor I switched off the electrics and was pushed onto the infield. I kept pounding the button to free it off as I waited for the race to finish, and funnily enough it decided to play ball with two laps to go.
Getting back to the pits and Dad sprayed a goodly amount of WD40 into the switch to free it off and make sure it stayed working properly. We’d had issues with it at home being a victim of the Bradford goo, but we thought we’d cleaned it out enough, but of course it waits til a race to be a problem!
My next race was actually race 4 of the Ministox an race 11 overall, so we had a big gap to fill, which was quite nice to catch up with people and watch some racing – a rarity compared to the usual hectic quick turnaround, but it was getting serious with 29 cars on track, and making an okay start I was settling in with the higher grades catching up at halfway and I was tagged by a blue trying to make up ground midpack which spun me to the outside fence this time. Rejoining after the big pack had gone by I continued on but was still struggling with the lack of grip, so was a bit skittish through the corners, battling with understeer going in, then oversteer coming out, but hey I finished.
Next up was the Final and without much time between the races I didn’t get a chance to change the setup much, so hoping I might have some more grip with the tweaks we did make I went out once again for the last race of the night. This time there were 32 of us on track and I was starting on the outside of row 2, so fingers crossed. I didn’t make too bad a start and was actually finding grip mid track, but obviously that opens up the inside line for others to squeeze through on, and obviously they can use you to help turn their car, so that was the game I had to play. It worked ok, but with the car still feeling a bit skittish it wasn’t too long before the top guys caught and passed me and the some of the other lower graders leaving us to fight it out for the lower placings.
So, that was that for the last night meeting of the year, and my one and only time at Skegness this year. So, packing up and leaving at about 10pm for the 2 ½ hr drive home. By the time the car was unloaded (purely for security) it was 1am, and with us being on the road again for 10am it was a short night’s sleep!
Sunday morning soon came around and we loaded back up, but were ready earlier than expected so decided to clean the car as although it was a tarmac track, the pits at Skegness were still a bit of a mudpit due to the amount of rain over the last week, so it almost looked like a shale race meeting from the amount of mud over the car.
No practice this time around, and we weren’t allowed to run the cars until midday as there are very strict noise allowances at the track, but as it was a big banger meeting we felt getting there early was a good idea.
Soon enough it was time for race 1, and with only 17 cars turning out after the carnage and mayhem of Skegness it was hoped for a quieter meeting.
On the rolling lap and we all made a decent start, but again there was a lack of grip, so I couldn’t really push that much. Entering turn 1 for the 3rd time and it was like I’d used the handbrake (which I don’t have), as the car started to pirouette before I’d really even turned the steering wheel, spinning me to the inside fence. With the other cars basically splitting down to two packs I had to bide my time before I could back out, but I went for it and backed all the way to the outside fence as quick as the car would let me, with a few cars scooting by on the inside line, but before I could get going again one of the other whites struggling with understeer made it to the outside line where I was and clobbered me from behind, firing me forwards, but stopping him in his tracks instantly. He called for assistance as I managed to get going, so there was a caution called as they sorted him out.
I went to select 1st gear to rejoin the tail end of the grid, but the stick was loose and spinning in its mounting, so I asked to be pushed off not knowing what was wrong, other than having an even longer throw than usual.
Once pushed back to the pits at the end of the race Dad asked what happened, so I showed him that the gearstick was all but disconnected, but turns out the screw on one side of the linkage acts as a detent in the stick to stop it wandering, and the impact had knocked it loose.
Once that was fixed I had a quick drive around the pits and it all seemed ok, but the car sounded a lot louder as the exhaust had come off at the bottom of the downpipe from the manifold, but with no time to fix it I went out for heat 2.
Heat 2 was nothing to write home about as it seemed we were all just trying to survive with so little grip and then even less from the bangers on before us, but I managed to bring it home in 13th place.
However, upon return to the pits the engine seemed low on oil pressure unless revved up. Luckily two of the guys from SMMC who rebuilt my engine after I blew it up were on hand and they carried out a few exploratory measures at which point it was discovered that we ‘might’ have metal where we don’t want it to be, so we switched off and loaded up.
Not quite the end to the season that we wanted, but that’s racing, and at least we didn’t have any major chassis damage unlike one of the poor guys I race against!
So, the car’s off back to SMMC for an engine strip down to see if anything is wrong, or if it was a freak.
Now it’s the off season we’ve got some work to be carried out as the car’s having a respray after two seasons of racing, so new stickers and new bumpers all round. New fuel lines, padding and anything else that needs to be done too.
Four months off sounds like quite a long time, but it’ll soon come round again, and I’m sure we’ll be pushing our luck to get out on track as everyone else will be too!
Have a good winter all, and if anything exciting happens I’ll update the website News.
See you in 2024!
Laters,
Sarah #18.
6th November - 4th November Bradford
I'm going to try and forget this meeting. In both heats 24 cars started and only 8 finished. Mainly because we couldn't see!
It rained and Bradford is made of orange goo, so perhaps I should have remembered why I didn't race at last November's Bradford meeting - due to the large piles of goo that infiltrate every available gap on the car!
I made an okay start and was in 1st entering turn 1, after starting from 3rd, but was wide as there as a car trying to get up the inside of me, and that was where my problems started as the goo sucked me ever wider and slowed me down enough to rejoin in 4th (I think).
I think I kept with them down the back straight, but by now my goggles were covered from the spray of goo from the car in front, with me obviously doing the same to the cars behind, and entering 3 we all just ran wide with no grip from the front tyres. From there on it just got progressively less visible and even though we use a similar thing to tear-offs they just weren't coping with the sheer volume of crud behind thrown up. Imagine the spray on a wet motorway, but it's solid and orange/brown and sticks to everything!
By halfway I'd clobbered the fence coming out of 2 which fired me to the inside fence which I hit head on, but due to a caution I got a chance to back out and restart, but after a few more laps I was done as I literally couldn't see a thing.
I got back to the pits and after Dad had finished laughing we had a go at cleaning some of the crud off, but it just smeared everything, and everything you touched you transferred the goo to, so we gave up on that idea.
I wondered whether to do heat 2, but as we'd traveled all that way and there was a (rather reduced) crowd we tried to put on a good show, but heat 2 went pretty much the same way as heat 1, so we gave up, loaded up, watched the firework display and came home.
I hate calling it quits, but this is a hobby and supposedly enjoyable. Believe me, there was no enjoyment out on track. It was basically a case of trying to survive.
Oh well, onwards and upwards.
After spending 6 hours (yes, really), stripping the car down and cleaning all the orange goo out, including pressure washing the outside, twice, the inside and the engine bay, as well as removing as many panels as we could, it was looking almost ready again.
It's now been changed to tarmac mode as next time out is the Skegness/Hednesford double header on 18/19th of this month, so fingers crossed for a better meeting all round!
As usual there're a couple of pics in the gallery, and one of my trophy from last time out at Northampton which I picked up at Bradford. There are some perks!
Laters, Sarah.
15th October - 14th October Northampton.
Hi all.
Firstly, I want to say a MAHOOSIVE thank you to Richard @ RGD Engineering for fixing up my car in a very short time.
After the last meeting at Kings Lynn the back end was a mess as it had taken a couple of very big hits – luckily missing most mechanical items, but all the metal needed to be cut off and replaced.
Dad set to during the start of the week, cutting off pretty much the entire back bumper and support bars, even down into the nerf rail on the inside, and luckily Richard could squeeze it into his hectic schedule and in a couple of nights he’d replaced it all – we’d got enough steel left over from the order delivered at the start of the year by SMP – thanks all who help keep me racing!
So, we were back at Northampton yesterday (14th October), and it had been a bit wet on the run up to the weekend. To say the pits were something Shrek would have been proud of is a slight overstatement, but not a lot. All credit to Deane and the crew for getting the track into the pretty good condition it was – it couldn’t have been easy, and to be fair they were still working on the track to maintain it throughout the night. Thanks! Oh, and it was nice to catch up with Dannie again too. Fingers crossed she gets her V8 Hotstox sorted out.
What I will say is that I super happy with my results. There were that many of us that they had to split the girds, so we had 24/25 cars in each race.
Race 1 and I started in 4th, but with good use of my speed and front bumper I’d made it into 1st by lap 3. Going into turns 3 and 4 and Luca gave 231 a big hit, with Archie accelerating round the outside, but it looked like he misjudged it and went flat out into the fence causing loads of damage to the front corner and a smoking radiator.
Unfortunately, he either stopped on the straight in a bad place, or gave a thumbs down, so the race was called to caution. On the restart I was told to slow down as I’d started to go too early, but that caused everyone behind to jam up and so when I did go I got away a little bit of a break although 231 came with me and passed me into 1, however, I managed to stay tighter, and although I lost positions to some of the reds I was ahead of 231 again.
For the rest of the race I was trying to stay on the tails of the reds, whilst in a battle with about 6 other cars, being passed and repassing. At one point I think we were 4 wide, with me being squeezed between two, but I kept my foot in and managed to keep my place entering the turn, then bouncing off whoever was on the outside, before continuing the battle down the next straight. Great fun, but hard work! At the flag I’d finished 13th – I’ll take that.
Race 2 really didn’t go well as I was allegedly assisted into the fence approaching turn 1 for the first time, launching me so the outside of the car was level with the top of the fence, but luckily crashing back down on all four wheels. I set off again, but as I went down the back straight to continue the throttle pedal dropped to the floor as the cable had sheered, so I was left pounding the steering wheel in frustration. Being dragged back to the pits is one of my least favourite things, and with such a quick turnaround between races it was going to be tight if there was any major damage, but luckily a broken throttle cable was the extent of the mechanical damage. The front corner of the bumper’s been pushed back and it’s split the steel, so that’ll have to be fixed before the next meeting.
I decided Race 3 was going to be different, and starting from pole I had no excuses. Off we set and although 369 tried squeezing me down on the parade lap I made a good start, pulling out a little lead by 1 and 2. However, there was a shout of red, red, red over the radio and so we pulled up on the back straight. Turns out a few of the reds and Superstars had had a coming together and tried to turn one of them into a convertible – luckily only the fibreglass body, but a complete restart was called.
Once the track had been cleared we set off again, and this time coming to the flag the car alongside fluffed their gearchange and I was off like a rocket. Going into turns 1 and 2 for the first time I’d already pulled out a good lead. Coming out of 4 and a blue who’d’ tried attacking the tyres rejoined just in front of me, but didn’t delay me and I was keeping with them all round the track and maintaining my lead.
Perhaps enjoying myself a little too much, I was throwing the car in at every corner possibly slowing me slightly, but it was great fun, and at the halfway mark Ella caught and passed me coming out of 4. But she seemed to be in full on beast mode and was pulling away at an amazing rate, considering I thought I was quick and was still some way ahead of the reds.
So I settled down again and the lap boards started counting down to the end of the race. With 2 to go I was gaining on a back marker, and coming into 3 to approach the last lap I made my move, but they closed the door enough for me to make contact with their rear corner, spinning them, and delaying me just enough for Boden to catch up with me. Going into 1 for the last time and he got up the inside, with another red bouncing off me to leave me in 4th coming down the back straight, and then entering 3 one final red caught and passed me as I was still on the outside line, but I kept with them all out of 4 and we crossed the line under the chequered flag nose to tail.
I could not have been happier with a 5th and finishing as we did, although possibly if the backmarker hadn’t spun and delayed me then I would have stayed ahead of Boden til the last turn and possibly got a 3rd place on the podium. But, this is Ministox racing, so you never can tell what’s going to happen. And to be fair, 5th after a flying lesson is never something to be sniffed at! To say my family and friends were really happy and proud is a bit of an understatement, so there’s that too, and a hug from Dannie is always worthwhile 😊.
Oh, and it was enough to win me the White Grade Award and trophy for the meeting - Oh Yeah!
Next time out is back at the orange goo of Bradford on 4th November, so fingers crossed for another good outing after my 5th place finish there last time out.
As usual my website has been updated with some pics and both onboard and external video of my flying act.
Thanks for the support all.
Laters,
Sarah #18.
5th October - Update.
An amazing piece from Dalys one of my sponsors on their social media - thanks for the support!
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/daly-systems-limited_motorsport-racing-cars-activity-7114881782230958082-3zuE?utm_source=li_share&utm_content=feedcontent&utm_medium=g_dt_web&utm_campaign=copy
https://www.facebook.com/100063698707325/posts/pfbid025uwY1xqvc3s2wBp8v2KXPyx8W3ksmU6veVF35urjNhqwoALjFSxRVr4LFDPmpVkal/?sfnsn=scwspmo
3rd October – 30th September Kings Lynn
It’s safe to say Saturday night sucked. Very, very much it sucked. Well, to be fair it proved the pace of the car and driver again, we just ran out of luck with mechanical gremlins.
The afternoon started out really well as unbeknownst to my little sister Jessica she had won a competition to be one of the Shootout Juniors – where kids get to meet the top BriSCA F1 drivers who’ve made it to the Shootout Championship for the silver roof at the end of the season. She was interviewed on camera, then pulled the drivers names out of a bag for the grid, then got presented with a goody bag, a signed poster, and her designed car autographed by all the drivers and framed! She’s on their twitter (X) account, Facebook, Instagram and hopefully YouTube too - how cool! One thing BriSCA do really well is involve the kids in the excitement.
She was also given the camera I lost at Buxton too, as one of the marshals found it ontrack and gave it to Sophie thinking it was off an F1, but she recognised my Dad onscreen when she checked it out.
So, anyway, on to heat 1 and I was supposed to be inside front row of 30 cars, but Josh stole my spot, so I lined up alongside him and off we went. Entering turn 3 and we both accelerated, but my car now pulls like a demon, so I started to pull ahead around the outside of him, which he seemed to take offense at and tagged my rear corner, spinning me round so I was facing the wrong way, with the car behind and him then pushing me sideways through the corner and sticking me in the fence with a stalled car and the rest of the pack rushing past. Gee thanks Josh!
By the time I’d refired and found a gear I was mid pack and off again, but 2nd gear decided to act up and by the time it had gone in I was last with the leader gaining on me! Entering turn 3 for the 2nd time and the leader got a big punt from behind pushing him into me and him then pushing me through the corner sideways again. COME ON, REALLY?! As I was pushed into the fence the caution came out for someone broadside across the track on the start straight, so once they were sorted I rejoined at the tail end of the grid, one lap down, and we were off again.
I got a good restart, but was 25th of 26 runners remaining, however I managed to pass a couple of cars before another caution was called.
At the next restart I got going well, but then 2nd gear played up again and I dropped to the back again by the time I’d found it. So I set off again, and managed to pass another couple again, eventually finishing 24th. Not happy.
As there were 14 races on the night with us being in 3, we had a bit of downtime and caught up with some friends and food, and managed to watch a couple of races too. It made a change, as normally it’s a bit full on.
So, onto race 2.
This time I made sure to get my inside front row position and was determined to make a good start. A nice steady rolling lap, and then as I entered the area we can accelerate from I went for it, and good grief my car feels quick. Entering turn 1 for the first time and I’d already pulled out a 3 car lead, and although it had started to rain making the shale track slicker I maintained my lead. Understeering through the corners slowed me down a bit, but I was staying ahead of the yellow graders still.
Entering turn 3 for the 3rd time and one of the yellows caught my rear corner and started to turn me, but his momentum up the inside, and a little opposite lock, straightened me out again and just as he passed me the cautions came out for a car on the start straight.
At the restart I was being pushed by those behind, but at the go point the leader and myself went at the same time, and with me getting better drive I was tagging him and pushing coming out of the corner. He slowed too much for me at turn 1, so I nudged and pushed him wide, regaining the lead – I like this! Coming down the back straight I went wide a little too early and he tagged my rear bumper fishtailing me down the straight, but I held it together and came out of turn 4 still in the lead. Entering 1 he kept it on and came up the inside of me, pushing me wide, but I kept my foot in and stayed with him on the outside, brushing the fence and slowing me slightly so I was back behind him, but he was slow into 3 again and I punted him, then he got caught and spun by another car. My hit had slowed me enough to allow Luca through on the inside, but I kept it going, now with a blue top and his mate pushing me into 1 and running me wide to the fence, but again I kept with them, entering turn 3 in 4th place, but with Boden (our new National Champion) at the front of a train of cars pushing inside me I again was run wide to the fence, but the impact knocked the car out of gear, and I dropped to the back, pulling in at the exit of 2. Ramming it into 1st gear got me going again, but 2 still wasn’t happy and I pulled in at the exit of turn 4.
Unfortunately a car midpack ran wide to the fence and rammed into my rear corner, pushing my back end a bit further out onto track where another car hit me, burying its front corner (the strongest part on the bumpers) into the centre of my rear bumper (the weakest part) at an angle, shoving it in, bending and twisting the steel and tearing welds, plus firing me across the track as others were coming through. Ella on the infield having pulled off earlier, got a big hit in the side from Archie, and both put the thumbs down, as it was a big impact, and Archie was across the track, so a caution was called. Fortunately we were all ok.
Then to top it all off the car wouldn’t restart, and although it may have been because of the dizzy cap, when Dad took it off and checked, the rotor arm was also damaged, so again an easy fix.
So, that was that, we loaded up, watched the F1’s for their last couple of races and left just before it chucked it down.
Some time needed in the garage to lop the back end off and replace with new steel, and try and sort out the gearbox, so with a bit of luck we’ll be out for Northampton on 14th October, if not it’ll be 4th November at Bradford again. Fingers crossed!
Laters,
Sarah #18.
25th September - 23rd September Bradford
Hi all.
So, last time was the fast tarmac at Buxton, supplying my best result of an 11th.
Well, this time out on the not quite as fast, but certainly flat out and bumpy, shale of Bradford’s Odsal Stadium I’ve only gone and got a top 5 finish! Woohoo!
This meeting was a very different meeting as it was the National Championship meeting where we race for our equivalent of the F1’s World Final and the race for the coveted gold roof.
Arriving a bit later than hoped meant things were getting a little tight in the pits and we were all clambering over each other’s trailers due to the close proximity – a lot of peoples fingers were crossed for no damage, as it would have been a nightmare if big problems were incurred.
As 26 of the 42 drivers booked in had pre-qualified for the big race they’d all got there early, been scrutineered and the cars were ‘locked up’ in parc ferme so as to not be tweaked and fiddled with once checked over.
My car passed scrutineering with no issues too, and I was ready for the drivers briefing and my first race.
So, a bit different, as last year was a one-off race at Ipswich, but this year they gave us a last chance qualifier for the final three spots on the grid. The first race was the LCQ, but before that all the Ministox drivers were rewarded with a parade lap in front of the crowd, and my Dad had arranged for one of my biggest heroes and racing friends, none other than the amazing F1 driver #8 Catherine Harris, to be my chauffeur on the lap – oh wow, how cool, and a super huge massive thanks to her! My little sister Jessica was impressed as she is a massive Catherine fan too.
Dad went and found Catherine just as she was going to her drivers briefing, and I was lined up second to go out on track for the parade, but after Dad spoke to the very helpful marshals they let me pull to one side, and with two cars left to go out Catherine and Dad came running down to the car.
To be fair, if you’ve seen him you know my Dad is 6’4” and a rather broad build. I’m 5’4” and considerably narrower, so it was in his best interest to find another driver for me, but I would have laughed so hard watching my Dad trying to shovel himself into my car. Not sure he would have got out again though!
Anyway, it was a brilliant experience being driven around the track waving at the crowd.
So, back up to the pits and a quick chat with Catherine before belting in and going down to my first race of the night to see if I could make it onto the back of the grid.
It seemed to take ages between going on track and getting moving on the rolling lap, but as we set off all thoughts were on making a good start and finishing. I was on the outside of the grid, so the track was a bit slicker, and as we came down to the last bend before the green the pushing and shoving started. As I selected second and buried my foot to the bulkhead the starter waved the green, so I’d say that was a pretty well anticipated start, and I started to pull ahead of the cars in the inside line.
Entering turns 1 and 2 for the first time I’d pulled a bit of a gap, but as we were the first cars out the track was super slippery and I lost the back end. Knowing from previous experience that I need to accelerate to pull the car straight my brain went slack and I backed off causing me to lose it more and drop me onto the safety zone, but then I pulled it together and rejoined the track in 4th place, but was still a bit slow so was outpaced down the back straight dropping me to fifth, but on the inside line. A bit of a punt from behind fired me in a bit quicker still, but I held it, but lost position. Tucking in behind I hit them back in the next corner, passing two cars, but Luca snuck up the inside as my speed caused me to run wide.
By now the shale was cutting up and creating a bit of a jump on the entry to turn 1, and if you got the line wrong it threw the car towards the fence. I managed to ride it out for a couple of laps, but then I kept the speed on a little too long and it caused me to launch slightly, firing me towards the fence and with an almighty clang I hit a glancing blow side on, but kept it going and not losing any more places. The best line around now was to stay wide entering 1, but run wide coming out of 2 otherwise the track dropped off at the inside edge and could catch and spin you, then run super tight entering turn 3 to miss the build up of shale that bogged you down before taking a normal line out of 4. Sounds easy, but when you’re battling it’s easy to miss.
With about 3 laps to go someone was stuck on the outside line entering turn 1, and the two cars in front tangled, dropping one to the safety area, and as I came out of 2 he rejoined just in front of me, but I managed to miss him, just brushing his nerf rail on the way through and my greater speed saw me ahead by the next corner.
The next lap saw me catch up with another car and punting them into turn 3 I managed to squeeze through on the inside for another place. Next lap same again, but I managed to pass another 2 cars to pass under the chequered flag in 5th place.
Sadly only the top three made it through to the big one, but I was sooooooooo happy when I learnt 5th place was mine!
The next race for the Ministox was the big one, and this time Catherine was in her brother Tom’s (current and 4 x World Champion) car driving him round in front of the qualified drivers, showing off his new World Championship trophy, and presenting the Ministox National Championship trophy – a busy lady, and I seriously cannot thank her enough.
A massive well done to Boden Murfin for winning the big one and the chance to fly the gold roof. A well deserved win for a great driver. It was a good race throughout, and credit to the driver who did a multiple barrel roll and got out to give a big thumbs up of ok. Then there was the last bend dive by Maynard. I don’t think he would have won if he had made contact with the back of Murfin’s car, but I think someone would have been over the fence! He did well to keep second after clattering the fence at the pace he did!
As we all got back to the pits the organisers decided their original time table was a bit ambitious, so we lost our fourth race, with all drivers still running out in our last of the night. Turns out there were 32 of us ready for it, so off we went after a short break for the F1’s and 2’s to race.
Off we set on the rolling lap and I made a good start again leading into turn 1, but I managed to get back to the inside line missing the bump and keeping it together this time. Keeping the speed up I was about 5 car lengths ahead coming out of 4 for the completion of the first lap. I managed to maintain, possibly even stretch, the gap for lap two, despite errant cars pulling across in front of me, but as I exited turn 2 a couple of cars behind found the bump on the outside line, nose diving one into the ground when it came back down, with the car behind then ending up underneath the back end!
Sadly a caution was called just as I exited 4 to complete the 3rd lap. Damnit.
On the rolling lap entering turn 3 and the pushing and nudging started punting me wide onto the slop just as I went to change gear. The revs flared up as I hit it losing me a little ground, I was still running 2nd, but on the outside line losing out entering 1 for the first time. Coming down to 3 I got a big push from Brooke sending me to the fence, clattering me off it, but I kept going dropping to 7th. Coming out of 4 the next lap and I got squeezed to the fence again, but maintained position. Next lap and I took a big hit going in to 1, launching me over the bump and hitting me on the way down too, popping the car out of gear, but a quick rev revealed all and I quickly jammed it back into 2nd gear only losing one place.
As the lap boards came out I had no idea what position I was, but I was stuck battling it with the same few drivers until the leaders caught us and delayed the car in front coming through 1 and 2. I managed to gain on him and entering 3 I kept my foot buried and pushed him to the fence, just breaking contact before he hit it, so gaining another place. Entering 1 and 2 I misjudged a hit and ran into the bump launching me just as the car in front was trying to gather it together, so I had to take a hard left turn to avoid them as I was doing the same, just as the guy I’d just passed came through. He hit my nerf rail with a hell of a hit but I kept it going, or so I thought. That was when I realised the engine wasn’t going and I pulled to the side as I tried to refire. COME ON! But nothing. It turned over, but didn’t refire, so I had to sit out the last 3 laps. At least this time it didn’t hurt, unlike like last time at Buxton.
Being pushed back to the pits always sucks.
We got back and Dad asked what the problem was, so a quick check under the bonnet revealed the distributor cap had come loose, despite six cable ties! Dad waggled it back into place and it refired.
So that was it for the night. We loaded up and watched the next few races which let a few of the other teams leave making it a [little] bit easier to back out of the pits and set off home.
Yesterday was spent cleaning the car in the rain to get rid of the orange goo that Bradford’s shale seems to be made of, and Dad welding up a couple of bits of damage. If we can straighten the nerf we will, but if not we’re ready for Kings Lynn on Saturday, with seven new cable ties holding the dizzy cap on. Fingers crossed!
Sarah #18.
17th September - 16th September Buxton
Last night (Saturday 16th) was returning to the scene of the crime, as we returned to Buxton for my first meeting since July 1st.
We arrived early for practice to try and help get the engine run in a little, as although we picked up the car on Friday and it had been run a little at SMMC and setup on the rolling road, it’s not got much time under its wheels, so I didn’t want to go full bore from the off.
Out on track and although it had been misty/foggy on the journey the track was nice and dry.
Dad asked me to not rev it to death down the straights s Buxton has quite long ones, so I lifted off halfway down and then piled into the corner on throttle to get the same drive out as normal.
It seemed to work so we tried the same for round two, although that was delayed as two F1s decided to play with each other and took some separating, but when time came I did the same again and it felt good. Pulling strongly, and although I wasn’t flat out at the end of the straights, the car felt good all round.
Last practice and Dad told me to go for it, so I did, and the car felt really strong everywhere – fingers crossed for the races.
I’m not sure what order the races were in, as although the programme said one thing, the running order was different – not an unusual occurrence at short oval racing!
Anyway, eventually we were out on track and I started on pole position. I made an ok start, but lost a little ground as the guy on the outside of me seemed to jump the start. However, I kept with him and gained into turns 1 and 2 for the first time, only for all Hell to break out behind us with the two other whites trying to roll each other. Luckily neither succeeded, but with a car stopped broadside across the track a red flag was called and so it was a full restart.
This time I made a better start and lead into turn 1, but with a shove from behind I ran wide and started to run out of track on the exit of turn 2. Just missing the fence, I set off again, but was met with a backwards facing competitor, so quickly anchoring up I managed to squeeze through along the fence before setting off, but with half the field having gone the other side I was well down the order. Oops.
I was having a good run with someone else when I got caught out under braking and the back stepped round, tipping me into the inner kerb, but I managed to ride it out, losing another position, but keeping going. I then spent the rest of the race till the last couple of laps on my own when I was caught by the leaders, but brought it home in 14th and in one piece – woohoo!
Onto race 2 and I made a far better start, pulling well in front by the first turn, and keeping it there this time too. Lap 2 came and went and I was still maintaining my lead whilst the others fought it out behind. Lap 3 and I was still in front, but I could see the higher grades gaining rapidly, and exiting turn 4 for to start lap 4 the inevitable nudge came and I ran wide running right up the fence, but lifting to keep from making contact, losing a few positions but keeping it going. Still running about 6th entering turns 1 and 2 and I was on the outside of a couple of cars and the car unsettled, causing it to fire towards the fence, this time making contact in a glancing blow. Video in the gallery of the sparks flying! Luckily it was a glancing blow and I kept it going. With two laps to go a caution was thrown for a stranded car, so I slowed down, but the car immediately behind me didn’t and spun me, knocking me down another couple of places for the restart, and ending up with me finishing 11th – my best result ever.
There was a big break between my last heat and our meeting Final, so it was nice to catch a breath, grab a drink and some food as it had been pretty full on till now.
Soon enough though it was time to line up for the Final and with this being a slightly different one it was a closed grid in qualifying order, and as my enforced stay away meant I’d missed some of the rounds I was on row 13.
Off on the rolling lap and as we came out of turn 2 the field slowed drastically but the car behind didn’t giving me a good punt into the back of the car in front. They stalled, just as the front runners set off. Luckily the starter saw this and frantically waved the yellows to keep them under control, so we rolled around again. This time we started and I decided that as I was at the back I had nothing to lose, and entering turns 1 and 2 dive bombed the car in front, half spinning them and punting them wide. One down, so many to go. Running a decent race until the leaders caught up and I ran wide to give them space when I clattered the fence again. This time a bit harder, slowing me dramatically, but managing to keep going again. All was going ok, until the last bend of the last lap, as I entered with another car shoving me, but the picked up the inside rear, spinning me and firing me backwards into the turn 4 fence. Unfortunately, there was a battling Superstar coming up behind who got punted in at a rapid rate, and he ended up collecting me too. Ouch that hurt, as nothing gave. Unfortunately, I never made it to the chequered flag, stopping about 5 car lengths away, but I was winded so didn’t really care at that point.
Luckily after the red flag the car fired up straight away and I drove back to the pits, loading up and hoped my headache would hurry up and disappear! About halfway home the head had subsided, but my arm was still throbbing as I’d smacked it into the side of the seat when I was hit.
Sadly, the impact was so big it also fired the onboard camera out of the car, which I didn’t notice until too late, so no footage from the racing - slightly frustrating as I’d love to know what actually happened! Luckily not too much damage done to the car.
This morning we cleaned it and swapped over to shale spec for the next few meetings.
Next time out is at the amazing Odsal stadium for our National Championship – the fight for the coveted gold roof. I’ve not qualified, but there is a last chance saloon for all of us non-qualifiers, with the top three finishers going on to the back of the grid for the big race. I probably won’t make it through, but I’ll be giving it my all, so you never know. Currently there are 42 Ministox booked in for the meeting, along with the F1s and F2s.
Until next time…
Sarah #18.
14th September - Update.
Well, it's been a while, but I guess that's what you get when you blow up your only engine!
It's been awful not having the car in the garage, and not being able to race, but I suppose I should be grateful that due to holidays and such I've only missed out on two meetings on my 11 week break in the schedule.
However, great news, Dad's picking up the car tomorrow afternoon and I'll be out racing again on Saturday at Buxton - woohoo!
The block was done for, as was the crank (luckily we had spares), and although the piston shattered into the gearbox/sump it's been stripped and rebuilt with the minimum of parts required, as was the cylinder head, which was okay too, but has been stripped and rebuilt.
So, with the newly machined block and crank, all new pistons, con-rods, and rebuilt bits it's all good to go.
Thanks for bearing with me, but I'm back, and hopefully I can channel my frustrations into controlled aggression and start getting some decent results.
Watch this space!
18th August 2023 - Update.
Hi all.
As it's the Venray weekend over in Holland this weekends meeting at Mildenhall has been postponed til 2nd September.
We've also got an extra meeting at Buxton on 16th September, so fingers crossed for a less expensive meeting at that one!
18th July 2023 - Update.
Hi all.
Just a quick update after last time, but sadly the engine is dead. I mean, it's pretty apparent when you check out the photos of the missing piston in the gallery, but it's now official.
The engine builders have confirmed that the block is beyond repair, so it's a new block (luckily our spare is suitable and in the process of being machined to suit), plus a set of four pistons and con-rods required to breathe life into the car again.
So that's me out for a while. Gutted about missing the British Championship at Hednesford this coming Sunday, but good luck to everyone taking part. Hopefully, all going well, I'll be out at Mildenhall on 19th August.
Laters,
Sarah.
2nd July 2023 - 1st July Buxton.
Well, that was the week that was. A very busy time getting the car sorted out after racing last Sunday at Hednesford, and with big (metal only, luckily) damage to repair after last weekend it went super quick.
So there's good news. And then the bad news. Which do you want first?
Ok here comes the good news. I got a lot of seat time with five excellent practice sessions, each a full race long, and after a lack of pace last time out with each practice I got better and better and I could feel the confidence building up. I was keeping with the rest of the pack down the straights, under braking for the corners and exiting the corners. Even better when you get other teams coming over to tell you that they could see a difference. It feels so good when you can tell that you are obviously doing something noticeable because this happens.
Now for the bad news. In my last practice session, and a few laps towards the end of my time, I turned into James Bond with his smoke screen and the car bogged down as though I had just pulled out from the infield in second gear. Now, I'm no expert or anything, but it didn’t sound healthy. I didn’t know what was wrong (even though I knew it wasn’t right) and there was only one lap left so I kept it going. Someone was sat on the infield needing a push and, even though they were the cause of the main damage last time out, I pulled up to push them off anyway. As soon as I pulled up to him, the car died so I tried to refire. It was turning over but not starting. Then two marshals came running over motioning at me to cut it off because I’d apparently blown my engine. I sat there in my seat about to cry and I got the poor guy to repeat it about five times before I believed it. Sorry to Dad that I kept it going, but I’ve not had any experience of it before, so genuinely didn’t know.
Back to the pits and my Dad manages to catch up with us. The marshals tell him what happened and he delivers the verdict on whether we are going home. He took a look under the valve cover and all the bits that should move look ok and are still moving. The team next door come over to offer to help and check the compression, but on taking out sparkplug #2 and it’s been smashed flat at the top, with the electrode no longer there, so looks like the piston kept going a little too far. It looks like we’re going home early.
Dad’s going to call SMMC tomorrow and see when they can get it booked in for, so fingers crossed with a couple of weeks off not affecting our schedule, but I get the feeling it’s going to put a huge hole in the racing finances.
Fingers crossed it’s not going to break the bank and cost me the rest of the season – gulp…
Assuming we get there, next time out is at Hednesford on the 23rd. We’re going even if not racing as there are some very important people racing (two of my sponsors RGD and Progress) and one of my racing besties Dannie Schoales in the V8’s all contesting their own British Championships.
See you there!
Sarah #18.
2nd July 2023 - 25th June Hednesford Hills.
Not so good, and it hurt, again.
Ok so Sunday and we’re back out following the terror that was my last meeting of Ipswich. After the head on hit I must give a massive shout out to my sponsor RGD for his help getting the car turned around within the week ready to go to Hednesford. This time we all bundled into the car as we had some VIPS turning out, a massive thanks to my sponsors Renovation Rewards for turning out in person and supporting me, even though it wasn’t my finest meeting.
We got to the track and parked up in the luckily wooded/shaded area as it was a very hot day, then went to sign me in. Scrutineering was completed and before I knew it, it was time for action.
First heat line up and I had forgotten how darn steep the hill was down to the track! Anyway, down onto the track and I was on pole position as there were only two of the three whites that could make it. Rolling lap under the yellow flag and all I could hear was the engine, and then green, green, green in my ear. I got quite a good start as I pulled away from the white top that had been beside me. Then it went semi-wrong as the car (and also maybe a little bit me too) wasn’t cornering well so I was losing time and a few laps into the race I was the last but one car. Oh. This is not good. But the car wasn’t carrying speed through the corners. So what was the problem? Anyway, ignoring that problem I carried on in the race and I actually managed to finish in 18th place, just behind the National Champion who was also struggling with handling issues.
Back to the pits and I'm more than a bit cross. The car was fine at Ipswich, well, until you know what, and it was fine at Kings Lynn and now all of a sudden it wasn’t handling. There really is no predicting what this thing is gonna do next! Dad tweaked a few things to see if it would help me in heat two and after a nice cold drink (you have no idea how hot I was!) it was back out for heat two. This time hopefully it doesn't play up.
This one definitely hurt. I lined up for my second race of the afternoon hoping it would go better. This time we (the white tops) got mugged by the yellows who very definitely jumped the start, but the controllers didn’t call for a restart, so basically we were a gaggle of all grades entering turn 1. I got bundled to the outside line and made a mess of it, but kept it going. This time I was keeping a better pace with them down the straights and was mixing mid-pack a couple of laps into the race. I was caught coming down the straight by a red top who was then squeezed into me by, well, pretty much it felt like the entire field, which meant that he was squeezing me to the outside fence, with lots of noise as I clattered off both him and the fence.
Entering the corner and he didn’t seem to be turning, but I had to as I was rapidly running out of track. I had to turn, so turned across his front bumper and, of course he didn’t, so he spun me where I then got hit in the front corner, spinning me round, and in the process the rear corner got clattered into too, finishing up with me facing the wrong way halfway through the corner.
The car stalled, but I cranked it on the starter to the edge of the track, praying no-one else hit me! Darn it! I’m not old enough to swear yet – well, not in the public domain!! But what can I say other than, THAT REALLY, REALLY HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well that was NOT how I wanted that race to go. However, thanks to Boden Murfin’s Dad, I managed to get the rear end (which was not straight for those of you who hadn’t already guessed that) sorted for the final.
Unusually, as it was the Incarace Gold Cup race for the Final they were drawing out a bag for the final grid positions and I got 17th next to, lets say someone I’ve had a few run ins with (usually losing out!). Well, there goes any hope I had of peace during the final. To be honest with you, I kinda hoped that I wouldn’t be anywhere near them. Yay. Back into the car and lined up for the final, let's just hope we don’t have another recreation of Ipswich. Believe me I've had one too many of them!
Into grid position #17 and we were underway with the racing. I actually got a good start again and managed to pull away from the others as I was about three cars away from my position for some reason. Then yet again a couple of laps into the race and I was going round the corner when I got a tap to the rear corner of my car which knocked me into a 4-wheel drift. Please don’t be a recreation of heat two!
Luckily it wasn’t but it was difficult to correct as I was pointing in the wrong direction but I got another tap and with a little bit of steering input, I managed to straighten up. That’s a relief.
However, a couple more laps into the race, I got a much smaller tap but it was enough to punt me into the inside barrier wall and an instant full stop. Ugggghhhhhhh, it hurt but I'm not complaining because it didn’t hurt that much. It’s just gonna add to the bruise that was already taking shape on my back. Yay!! I was literally just off the racing line, with no hope of reversing out into traffic, but with a caution at which point I joined back onto the end of the line for the restart. Restarted and we were underway again. This time, even though I wasn’t on the lead lap, I still managed to finish the race in 21st.
With 28 starters in all races it could have been a whole lot worse, so I’ll take that. However big dent in the front bumper, and an even bigger one in the rear and a bruise on my back that I could feel getting bigger by the minute.
Thanks to my Dad, and the other team, for the constant work on my car, thanks to Renovation Rewards for coming, thanks to the oldies for coming along too and thanks to mum to the first aid to the rather large graze that was running up my spine!
Next time out is at Buxton. See you there!
Sarah #18.
19th June 2023 - 17th June Ipswich.
I think it’s safe to say that wasn’t the plan!
So, after the great meeting at Kings Lynn last time out there was a lot of work to get the car ready for possibly the fastest tarmac track we go to – Ipswich’s Foxhall Stadium.
With quite a bit of work done on the car since Lynn, not limited to a thorough wash off of the shale, but also all new front hubs, top and bottom ball joints, wheel bearings, brake discs, pads, pipes and calipers, plus new bushings for the front tie rod arms, along with a refurb of the arms themselves, and all new fixings throughout, I was looking forward to a more solid feeling car as all the squish from the old mechanicals and brakes had been taken out with the new stuff, and the brakes felt so much better when trying them at home. A lot more consistent.
The only real problem with Ipswich, other than my luck, is the journey as it’s 150 miles and about 3hrs, most of it on the A14 which, I think most people will agree, is the most boring road in the UK. It just goes on. Foreverrrrrrrrr.
Anyway, we got there, and the pits is actually really pretty as it’s nestled in woodlands as it’s part of Foxhall Heath. The car got scrutineered, and by the time we’d met up with friends, supporters and some spectators little kids climbed in the car for some photo opportunities and given some team stickers, it was suddenly a mad rush to get ready for practice. I was actually in such a rush I initially got in the car with my wellies on still instead of my race boots – oops! Anyway, eventually off I went.
Practice was good, although with an intermittent misfire the car wasn’t quite as quick at the end of the straights, but I could now out-brake with the best of them, and the car pulled strongly out of the corners (catching me out at one point leading me to full throttle understeer into the outside fence when I hit the marbles laid down by the National Hot Rods).
Dad set to changing the plugs and tweaking the carb to see if he could get rid of the misfire for good, and I went off to the drivers briefing.
Soon enough it was time to line up for heat 1, and with the good performance (misfire ignored) in practise and I was ready for it. Lining up on the inside of row 2.
On track and someone had stolen my spot, so I lined up on the outside of row 2. Not ideal, cus if you do run wide and get on the marbles you can run out of room. So, with me and the car feeling good I went for it on the start and drove right round the outside along with the guy on the front row and was in second and pulling away.
Going down the back straight and I was maintaining my gap to the leader (about two car lengths), but exiting turn 4 and the car started to misfire a little, not too much as I kept 2nd place going over the line, but it didn’t want to rev out at the end of the straight again, so I had to concede 2nd going into turn 1.
Determined to push on I ducked back in behind the now 2nd placed car at exactly the same time as the car behind went for the gap, so he ended up tapping my rear corner causing the back of my car to step out, but I held it and used the 4th placed car to try and straighten up as he came through too. Just as I felt back under control someone else caught my rear corner and kept the power on spinning me in front of the pack.
This is not a happy place to be. Ever.
With barely time to catch my breath the inevitable happened and someone in about 8th place piled in to me head on. Owwwwwww. OMG That hurts. The force was that much that it spun me right way round again, but stalled the car (obviously in sympathy with its’ driver).
I realised the car was dead, so cranked it to pull away, but was still in second, so it stalled, so I cranked it on the starter motor to get clear, firing up the engine long enough to clear the track.
Oh it hurt. Instant headache, breath knocked out of me, all I wanted to do was breathe, but I felt I couldn’t, and the force of the impact had slammed shut my helmet visor, so I frantically tried to reopen it, and eventually found the tab that let me.
Sitting on the infield, watching the race continue, is never a happy experience, and being in pain didn’t help my mood.
Eventually it ended, and I started up and drove back – at least the engine still worked, and everything felt connected at the front of the car.
Dad greeted me when I got back to the pits, and all I needed was to get out of the belts and breathe fully, so he helped me out and I sat down and had a drink while he surveyed the damage.
Luckily everything mechanical was still where it should be, but the front bumper was shoved back and up on an angle, splitting some of the older welds, and with no way of pulling the bumper down, and not enough time to cut it off and make/weld a new one in place that was it. A long way to go for 2 laps. At least we knew the mechanical works had improved the car somewhat.
Well, that was Saturday night done, and after watching the F1 Final we decided to head home.
Sunday was spent lopping chunks of metal off the front of the car ready for some new steel to be welded back in.
The car’s also booked in with the engine gurus at SMMC to see if we can get rid of the damn misfire, so hopefully no repeats of that!
Next time out is supposed to be Sunday 25th at Hednesford, but not so sure at the moment. Fingers crossed.
21st May 2023 – 20th May Kings Lynn.
So, this time, that’s more like it properly (eventually).
So, back on the road again and this time we’re off to Kings Lynn Stadium. How I love this place! It’s not always been the greatest for finishing, but the track is always superb and I love spectating here too. Racing here is great, but I’ve not always had the best of luck.
We got there on time to get signed in and get the car off the trailer ready for scrutineering, and that was where things started to go wrong. Usually the scrutineer comes to us, but this time we had to go to him, fair enough, it’s going to be a busy night with 30 cars and a 2 heats and Final all in format, so off I prepared to go when the first problem hit us.
I had got into the car ready to reverse it out and drive it down to Matt Hanson (the chief scrutineer). But on putting it into reverse and easing the clutch out nothing happened. So, you know how the car is supposed to move when you ease the clutch out, yeah, mine really wasn’t moving. So I dipped the clutch, and went through the gears again, including reverse, and every time I eased the clutch out nothing happened.
So Dad pushed me back up to the trailer and took the bonnet off to see what the problem was. Everything looked ok, but there wasn’t much movement of the clutch mechanism. Now this was the problem we seemed to have at the start of my racing last year, so we know the clutch, bearing, pivot arm etc are all new so should be ok, so it made sense it was a hydraulic problem with a lack of power pushing the piston in the slave cylinder (well, this is what Dad’s told me anyway).
We tried everything, including changing the master cylinder, bleeding it, but still nothing, and even at one point we got clutch drag which is when you dip the clutch, select a gear and the wheels start turning even before you’ve released the clutch pedal.
In the usual spirit of short oval racing we had three other teams working with us, all drawing the same conclusion that it was hydraulic, but nothing seemed to affect it.
By this time I’d missed heat 1, which was reeeeaaally annoying. Anyhoo, after trying everything, retrying everything over and over again, by chance one of 105’s mechanics stuck his head in the footwell to make sure we were getting full travel on the clutch pedal since everything else was working, and he noticed that one of the two pins at the top of the pedal was sheared through. This is one of those 1 in 1000 chance things, but turns out that was what it was. Sticking a new pin in (easier said than done in the confines of a mini footwell) and it evened out the pressure I applied and we’d got it sorted – literally just enough time to get my gear on and get out for heat 2. I hate rushing, but thanks to the other teams for their help!
Straight out on track left me no time for thinking, or over thinking as I sometimes have a habit of doing, and I was fired up and frustrated at missing my first heat and it has got to be my best ever race yet!
The speed through the corners, the speed down the straights, THE ADRENALINE!!!!!!!!! I love it so much!!
I started inside row 2, so 3rd place, and was swapping between 2nd and 4th for a long time. There was a caution about 6 laps in and I was holding 3rd place still. Then another caution 2 laps later and I was staring to have the reds and superstars pushing me around, but I was managing to hold onto the nudges, pushes and side swiping into and through the corners only losing a few more places and dropping down to 10th, when another caution was called. With 2 laps to go I was still in the thick of it, losing out a little to the higher grades, but coming home in 14th place out of 30 starters, my best finish yet (I know I got 12th at Northampton last time out, but there were less cars in the race!).
Back to the pits and I had several very pleased people waiting for me. I still think that my Dad was the most pleased and I certainly wasn’t letting this moment go. Faster really is more fun! 😊. I only had time for a snack and drink in between and then it was back out again for the final. We both wanted more of the same, so lets go for it.
As I hadn’t ‘qualified’ for the Final due to missing heat 1, I was put right to the back again, and with a couple of cars not starting due to race damage there were 25 other cars in front of me, with 2 novices behind.
We set off and I was picking up places here and there, with people spinning, or running wide after a cheeky little nudge, until the big one. The 220 car gave me a glancing blow in the side entering turns 1 and 2, but I kept with him down the back straight until he cut across me into 3. I decided I wasn’t going to slow, but use him instead, and I filled the gap just as he got there, pirouetting him across the front of my car, and with me giving it full throttle and a lot of punting later I cleared around the front of him leaving me to finish in 17th.
Back to the pits and more pleased faces. I love going fast, and I love my sport!
14th in the heat and 17th in the final. I'll take that.
Next time out is the 17th June at Ipswich. Fast tarmac. Yay!! See you then.
25th April 2023 – 23rd April Northampton.
That’s more like it – kind of.
So, last time out I broke it, and not in a small way. The car went off to Hanson Motorsport (another team in the formula) for major surgery.
On taking out the engine and gearbox they found out that it was fine (thankfully, as I didn’t want another gearbox rebuild costing Dad), however, the lack of drive at the track was due to a shattered driveshaft, which I assume was the point of contact when I got clipped. That wasn’t of course the only damage, as every single engine mount was bent or broken, and the front subframe was twisted up quite a way too.
After quite a bit of work with the porta-power getting everything back straight, and all new engine mounts, the engine and box went back in, and with a new driveshaft, and a few other components, it all worked again.
I must say a massive thanks to the team at Hanson’s, and Dad for footing the bill.
Anyway, now the car was working it was off to Northampton International Shaleway for the next round of play. And this time I had some VIP’s coming to see me, as Daly Systems were coming out to watch. Fingers crossed for a good day!
It had been forecast rain for the day all week, but on the morning it was supposed to only rain in the evening. It lied, as we loaded the car up in rain, and was still raining as we left home. But, as we joined the M1 at Lutterworth it had stopped and we even had a blue sky.
Arriving at the track it was nice to see my mate Dannie on the gate. She races in the V8 Hotstox formula and has been a long time supporter/encourager of mine, so always nice to see her.
We’d got there early as the car would need scrutineering, and with a big field of cars (I think 38 raced in the end) it gives more of a chance to get it done properly and not last minute.
The format was 2 heats and a consolation, with the top 10 from each going through to the Final, then a Grand National race at the end for those who wanted/were still running!
I was in heat 2, on straight after heat 1, so I didn’t get to watch and see what the track was like, but Dad kept me informed where to watch out for the bumps, and reminded me it was slicker on the inside, so don’t stay too tight entering the corners.
I was on the outside of the front row of whites, so a good place to be as you can carry more speed out, but not so good as the two cars on the inside can freeze you out there and run you wide into the first corner.
The first start was aborted as one of the reds was having issues, so by the time we would have been accelerating they would have still been on the grid, so we slowed, but kept going, and the next time round we were off.
Intending on not being stuck out wide I let the cars inside go slightly earlier, but then dived down to the inside of them coming out of turn 4 to take the green flag. Sadly one of them decided to slam the door shut in front of me, clipping my front corner and causing me to spin onto the infield. Oops.
As there were no gaps and I didn’t want a repeat of Kings Lynn I backed up and set off, but by this time I think I’d lost a lap on the leaders, but as the car felt good I tried to get back into a rhythm, and whilst those around me fell I managed to keep it al together, riding the hits, and brought it home 12th for my first points finish – woohoo!
Sadly I didn’t qualify for the Final, but was out in the Consolation to try and make it in.
So, off we went again and this time the guy behind me made a better start, but spun out the car alongside me slowing him, so I stayed tight and kept with him down the straight, but he outbraked me into the first corner and started to pull away. I kept my head down, and although I got involved in the pack, I was going well, when about half way through the race I got an almighty double whack going into turn 3, but riding it well I managed to stay ahead of them, but coming out of turn 4 Ella Rogers in 270 was rolling down the fence back onto the track immediately in front of me. At the same point we heard Red, Red, Red over the radio and I turned hard left and slammed on the brakes to avoid her, in the process causing Lucy Witts in 180 to slam into the back of me. Ouch that hurt!
Ella was soon out of the car, and according to her sister Mia, who also races, had a massive grin on her face. We really are a weird breed!
Rolling round to form up behind the pace car the car was making a horrible noise, and didn’t feel right, so worried I’d harm the engine I pulled off as the race restarted. Turns out as I’d yanked the steering wheel and been hit I’d rolled the tyre off the rim, so had a flat outside front tyre. Inside rear you can get away with, but not the main drive wheel, so that was it for the Consolation. A shame, as I think I would have been about 10th at the end, so would have been in the Final, but with one race to come I limped back to the pits at the end of the race.
Back to the pits and Dad changed the tyre with a new member of the pit crew, Peter Daly, and after we went off to join our guests and watch the meeting Final. I missed being part of a great, but brutal, race, so mixed feelings!
Soon enough it was time to go out for the last race of the day and this time I was on the inside front row of the whites and I made a great start leading the race for a lap. Weirdly the bonnet was flapping in the wind as one of the pins had come loose (not sure where), but it didn’t matter as I got hit going into turn 3 and spun out, nose into the infield fence. With no gap to reverse out in I stayed where I was until a lap later a caution was called for a 3 car incident coming out of 4, and I backed up to rejoin. However, the higher ups had seen my bonnet flapping so advised over the radio to pull off so as to not cause another incident with debris (my bonnet) coming off and causing something. Dammit.
So, that was that, a first point with my 12th place, and two DNF’s, but no damage to speak of (although the porta power will be applied to the rather bent back bumper).
I want to say a massive shout of THANKS to Daly Systems for continuing their support of me, as it is a massive boost to both the racing budget and my confidence, and it was absolutely brilliant of them to come along and support me. So glad you all enjoyed it. All of my sponsors mean so much to me as i know there's nothing really in it for you, but youtruly mean so much to me.
A good clean and mechanical check over and we’ll be ready for returning to Kings Lynn on the 20th May.
See you around!
19th March 2023 - 18th March Kings Lynn.
Not a happy bunny. It's broken - majorly!
First meeting of the year at my favourite track for spectating - Kings Lynn. I have always loved this place.
It was a good turnout of cars for the 3 formulae racing, and a very good turnout of spectators, so fingers were crossed for a good night.
Lining up for heat 1 and all the good memories came flooding back. I was so ready for this.
The track was very wet and slippy, and a lot of us were half spinning in the early laps, but with a lot of wheel twirling I was getting to grips with the lack of grip (see what I did there?!) and maintaining headway and good speed.
But then it happened, with a big punt from behind going in to turn 1 I was heading to the fence, but with a bit more steering input and blipping the throttle I thought I had it under control, but I had a little too much steering lock on still coming out of turn 2 and spun as my foot hit the bulkhead on full throttle. Not wanting to lose too much time I quickly turned round but on rejoining I misjudged a gap and got tagged by someone else, which didn't seem to be much of a hit, but it spun me again and left me head on to the rest of the pack coming streaming out of the corner.
With a sense of deja-vu from my last meeting at Kings Lynn I was happy when the yellows came out, but the car wouldn't refire, so I had to sit out the rest of the race, pounding the steering wheel in frustration.
When I got back to the pits the car still wouldn't start, so Dad set to and found the distributor cap had moved again, so refitted and secured it, but still no luck. We had wondered if the coil fitted had been one of the reasons that the car had had the misfire last year, so Dad changed that and it started - woohoo! But it made a hell of a racket, and it looked like the fan blades were hitting the cowling, but it was working so...
I went to reverse out to line up for the next race and found I hadn't got any drive - in any gear. So looking a little closer we realised the impact must have been considerably bigger than I thought, as the engine had been moved over by about an inch, breaking or bending every single engine mount! Holy cow!
Well, that was that, sadly it wasn't possible to continue, and the car is now booked in with a specialist. The next meeting was supposed to be 9th April at Northampton, but it's been moved to Easter Monday, and with family commitments we can't make it, so next time out now will be 23rd April, again at Northampton, so we'll see you there. Thanks!
16th March 2023 - Many, many thanks to Dimension for supplying the stickers again this year, and many, many thanks to all of my sponsors enabling me to carry on my racing dream.
28th February 2023 - Wow. What an amazing piece by one of my amazing sponsors. Thanks guys! Look forward to seeing you at the meetings.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0DR2E5g4ZEKvF5Riob95bYpNPyM7Jhmaty7zxGCXUXSDQjrEeja6QBSRbFA1fAoG5l&id=100063698707325&sfnsn=scwspmo
26th February 2023 - Car was collected last Sunday from RGD, a massive thanks to Richard as it looks so much better with straight metalwork.
Dad spent the last week in the evenings spraying everything up so it looks really nice, and is ready to receive the new stickers in the next couple of weeks.
Yesterday was spent swapping out the old suspension for all new, or at least mostly as we found some of the bits we were gong to keep not exactly in good condition, so replacements have been ordered and will be fitted at some point in the next week. Then we fitted the seat, belts, tidied up the wiring, fitted the rear bulkhead panels and sorted out the camera mount. Yes, hopefully I'll have some onboard footage of me hooning around the ovals.
So, on the to-do-list is a full service with new fluids, finish the suspension swap, stickers, collate up the spares and then it'll be back to racing again.
Sadly as the car's not sorted I won't be doing any practice sessions, so next time out with be the first meeting of the year at Kings Lynn on the 18th March.
Wish me luck, and I'll hopefully see some of you around the ovals at some point this year.
12th February 2023 - Hey all. A quick update as it's been a few weeks.
Refurbs to the car are well underway at RGD Engineering. All the contact surfaces are being replaced, along with both sides panels and some of the floor panels. The car is going to be fitted out with all new suspension, so dampers and rubber cones too. A selection of photos of progress so far are in the gallery.
The design is also being revamped, and is currently sitting with Dash for the artwork to be sorted, and then it'll be going over to Luke for the print and application of the stickers.
At this point I would also like to confirm some exciting news (well, I think it is anyway), but ALL of my sponsors from last year have come back on board, and I've picked up some new ones, so full role call (in alphabetical order) is:
Bank of Mum & Dad
Bank of The Oldies
Daly Systems
Dimension
Extinguish Fire Solutions
Fosseway Freight
Marsden Barn Trailers
Progress Windows
Protech Shocks
Renovation Rewards
RGD Engineering
SMP (Sarll Metal Products)
Tech 2
A massive shout out of THANKS to all of you, as without you I wouldn't be able to do this. Sponsors page now updated.
Fingers crossed season 2 goes even better than season 1, and I hope to see some of you at a meeting or two throughout the year.
1st January 2023 - Well, what can I say, but I’ve finished my first ever year of racing! I’ve made some new friends, some new frenemies, and had a lot of fun along the way. It’s not always gone to plan, but it’s short oval racing so very rarely does. And I’m very proud to have been displaying all of my sponsors logos on the car - I hope I've done you all proud, and thanks for the support!
Something I’ve dreamt of doing for the last 7 years has finally come true – I’m a genuine racing driver!
I’ve travelled a total of 2651 miles in search of my passion, travelling North, South, East and West of England visiting a total of 7 tracks:
Shale: Bradford, Kings Lynn, Mildenhall, Northampton.
Tarmac: Hednesford, Ipswich, Skegness.
Yes there were ups, there were downs, there were sideways and backwards and any other direction you can think of really (except upside down – that’s never a good choice!).
Ok, my first season in Ministox racing didn’t quite start off as I’d intended it to, as we had a few mechanical issues that struck firstly at the novice training day at Skegness back in February, although I did get a good amount of track time in before the car played up.
We thought we’d resolved it, as Dad fitted a new clutch and slave cylinder, and although the first meeting at Northampton got called off due to horrendous weather, when we went back there for our second meeting we apparently hadn’t. Things didn’t quite go to plan and I stuffed the car sideways into the tyres, causing the gearbox to cry enough! So, off it went to a specialist to be rebuilt.
Next time out, again at Northampton, and although I didn’t finish two of my races (the tyres that protect the infield seemed to magnetically attract my car), I did finish my third race of the day! Woohoo!
I had a meeting at Bradford next, but I don’t want to talk about it as it wasn’t my finest meeting!
For our next meeting we were back near the seaside at Skegness, and the on track antics were enough to remind you of many of the fair ground rides next to the beach! First off was a photocall celebrating females in short oval motorsport, with I think something like 20 of us at the meeting, with 9 being in the Ministox, the others being in BriSCA F1 and F2’s. My first heat was a grid of 29 cars, and 29 of us lunatic children on a quarter mile oval is definitely not a sight for the faint of heart! However, I survived, and brought my car home in one piece at the end of heat 1. Heat 2 didn’t quite go to plan, as half way though I got involved in a battle with about half the field, ending up being spun on the exit of turn 2, and the next car though didn’t have time to take avoiding action, literally ripping off the front corner of the car! I wasn’t particularly happy, or capable of standing at first, as I had to be dragged out of the car when the adrenaline ran out, but after a quick trip to First Aid, and an ice pack and some paracetamol had been supplied, I managed to hobble back to the remains of the car that had been loaded up to be brought home. Off to a friend of ours who’s a bit of a whizz with the welder, and the front corner was sorted. Despite the force of the impact nothing mechanical had been touched, so an ‘easy’ fix.
This time we were out at Ipswich, which is a great, and very fast, tarmac track. Lots of practice, and although the track was slippy I pretty well survived, although did manage to get clobbered by another car after bouncing off the fence, and although it took a chunk out of one of my wheels it completely destroyed the front of his car. Out for the racing and although I was going ok, a few incidents put paid to any hopes of finishes, so a long way to go and do some fast laps, but no finishes, but no damage (other than the wheel) either.
My next meeting would be back on the shale of Northampton, which was a bit of a mixed result, with two DNF’s and a finish, but again no damage.
This was swiftly followed by another Northampton meeting, with again two DNF’s and a finish, with no damage.
Our next meeting was at a track I always enjoy spectating at as it always produces some good racing, the shale track of Mildenhall. This track I particularly like, as it was the scene of my first 3 race finishes. Woohoo! A first meeting where I finished all three races was a great boost to my confidence, but also came on the back of Dad putting has hand in his pocket and buying four new wheels and six new Hakka shale tyres so I actually had some good grip! The idea had been to learn on the older, worn, tyres, but it hadn’t been working out, as the car was undrivable (well, by me anyway), so a new tactic, and the results kind of proved themselves!
The next meeting was at my all time favourite track at Kings Lynn, and again a good set of results with me finishing just outside the top 15, but in all three races!
This time we’re on the very fast tarmac of Hednesford. Now we’ve run brand new tyres on tarmac all year, but not had a lot of chance to use them, as my meetings were shale heavy, but again, keeping it steady, and I managed to finish all three of my races. I think that makes it a hattrick of hattricks! Such a good moment.
So, back at Kings Lynn. This meeting was made famous by a certain Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff taking part for a feature on BBC’s Top Gear. Granted he was in the BriSCA F1’s as I’m certain he wouldn’t fit in a Ministox, but hey. Anyhoo, Heat one was good, with a new found turn of speed on the new tyres being enough to worry my Mother (sorry, not sorry!), and a few close calls (including discovering that brakes don’t do a lot when flat out on a wet shale track!). Heat 2 didn’t quite go to plan. I got spun coming out of turn 2, rolled backwards across the track before I had chance to hit the brakes, and, whilst trying to find the starter button to get moving again I got T-boned by another car that was doing about 40mph! Ouch. Then, whilst trying to work out which way was up I got hit by another car piling into the rear quarter of my car. It was bent – a lot. However a Saturday with our friend, and sponsor, RDG Engineering, and a whole new nerf rail was put in place. A bit of Hammerite’s finest later and the car looked better than it had before. Luckily, no major mechanical damage ensued, so nothing else really to get sorted, meant we only missed one meeting 13th meeting. The results from Heat 1 were enough to gain me my first trophy – Novice Grade Winner on the night. Woohoo!
Bradford. What's brown and sticky? You probably think you know the answer but actually you don’t, it's not a stick, it’s the track on a very wet and rainy night. I managed to survive the slop and finish in 17th in heat 1, then a DNF in heat 2 as I couldn’t see a thing through my goggles, then another finish in 17th place in heat 3. However, this achieved my second trophy as Novice Grade Winner on the night. Woohoo again!
Our next meeting should have been at Bradford again but this time no racing for me. The first race was the World of Shale Championship, which I hadn’t qualified for. Now, our cars only have 2-3 inches of ground clearance and your supposed to change into second gear after the green flag, but the track was probably covered in a good 6 inches of shale which was cutting up as the cars were going round, and people were saying they had to shift back to first, over-rev to gain any speed, quickly shift to second, but then the cars were digging into the track surface, bogging down and having to shift back to first, and this was on every lap. The cars were having to be pushed by the recovery tractors to even get going on the rolling laps, and then I saw the state of them when they came off track. Each car was probably scraping off 50Kg of shale. It was ridiculous, so I decided to call it a day, along with quite a few others. A real shame, as the facility at Bradford is one of the best in the country, but the track just wasn’t suited to us that day.
And so to our last meeting of the year. Back to Skeg Vegas! This was another biggie, as 10 of the lunatics from the BTCC turned up after a flurry of phonecalls between the BSCDA and some of the BTCC teams, and they were having their own race in the BriSCA F1s. A massive crowd was expected, and indeed turned up, with some brilliant racing on the night, proving that the BTCC drivers are used to contact racing! I turned up early and had some great times in practice, I don’t think I got out of the car for about 3 hours as Dad just kept tweaking and refuelling to get me back out again, probably doing about 80 laps in the process. However, the racing wasn’t so good because in the first heat there was an incident that led to a restart and on the rolling lap of said restart, the little power pixies in the battery decided they’d had enough of being bounced around so upped and abandoned me causing the car to die - so there I was, sat in the middle of the track trying desperately hard to keep my heart in my chest and not to throw up, whilst punching the starter button to no avail. Thanks a lot car! Dad spent the next hour trying to sort it out as we didn’t know if it was something on the electrical system, starter motor, or what. Turns out it was the battery, and although we all use similar, no-one near me had the same size, and I run a slightly smaller one than a lot of the teams, so with no spares that fitted we had to call it a night. Still, no mechanical damage again. Dad bought a new battery the next day and the car started straight up – so frustrating. We don’t run an alternator, so the battery has a lot to do, and ours just decided it had had enough.
Oh well, that’s the end of my first ever year of racing, and my first season in the BriSCA National Ministox. I hope you enjoyed following the highs and lows of my season. Here’s to an even better 2023.
I'm happy to say that all of my 2022 sponsors have come back on board, and I've gained two new ones, who I look forward to proudly flying their flags again for 2023.
I hope to see you around the raceways next year, and thanks for reading.
News
Latest Updates
22nd November - So that's it. The end of my first season in National Ministox racing. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Ok, it didn't quite go to plan when the battery died part way through the first race, but plenty of practice saw me gaining 0.6 sec over my fastest lap time last time out here, and I felt a lot more confident in the car. I hope you've all enjoyed reading about my highs and lows throughout the year, and I am super proud of my two trophies achieved. Oh well, if anything exciting happens over the winter months then I'll be sure to keep you informed, as there are a few mechanical upgrades we want to carry out. If not, then a MASSIVE shout out of thanks to my sponsors and supporters throughout the year. Fingers crossed you feel you've had value for money, and I look forward to your continued support in 2023. In the meantime, and I know it's cheeky as the cost of living etc is massively disrupting, but if anyone knows anyone who is looking to sponsor an up and coming racing driver, then please feel free to put them in touch! Thanks, and see you around the ovals again in 2023! oh, and thanks to Dannie Schoales BriSCA V8 Hotstox driver 553 for the photo's you sent me, most of which are in the gallery!
6th November - Sadly didn't get to do any racing on Saturday at Bradford, as didn't qualify for the World of Shale Championship, and having seen the state of the cars as they came off I declined racing in the 1st heat afterwards to see if the track cleared at all. Then, after that heat, the 3rd heat was cancelled (not sure why as it didn't seem to be too late), so called it a day and came home. Shame as to go all that way and the costs involved, but to my mind it just wasn't worth the clean up. Onwards and upwards to the last meeting of the year at Skegness.
16th October - What's brown and sticky? A stick! But also Bradford's track when it's been raining! 17th, DNF and 17th with no damage will do very nicely for me thank you very much. It was dry at home, but raining when we got there, and that's how it pretty much stayed all night. The track was super slippy, but we made a go of it. So, it was a new experience, as I've not racing on super sticky, slick shale before. Don't bother with brakes was the advice, as you'll slow down cus of the oozing brown stuff that is the track, and if you need to brake you'll hit it anyway as you'll just lock up. So, all good fun! Managed to keep it together, and only didn't finish race 2 as I couldn't see! Apart from the clean up the next day I enjoyed it, which is probably a good thing as next meeting for me is there again. Bring it on!
9th October - Well, a bit of an update after getting the side of the car trashed last time out.
Having spent 6 hours with my latest sponsor (RGD Engineering) lopping bits off the car last Saturday, and then a few more hours over the last few nights and Saturday afternoon sorting the wiring out as we weren't happy with one of the isolators, the car is back up and running again.
Part of the problem that caused the damage at Kings Lynn was that once I got spun and stalled I couldn't seem to find the starter button which was down and to my right in the darkness where I can't actually see due to all the safety kit I wear - of course I found it straight away after I'd been collected twice... So, Dad's installed a new starter panel which is illuminated, and has mounted it immediately in front of me, so no more fumbling - yay!
One bonus taken from Kings Lynn though is that I won my first trophy as Novice Grade Award. Woohoo.
Back to Bradford on Saturday, and could do with some more strong finishes to boost me to the end of the year. Can't believe there's only 3 meetings left!
18th September 2022 - So, what can I say about last night? Started off well, finished poorly. Heat 1, with 32 cars on track, and a good finish. Strong performance from the car, with me trusting the front tyres more and more, and leaning on it more meant a finish of 20th or so. Not bad out of 32. Onto heat 2 and it sucked from the get go. I got punted into the tyres, then with 2 to go got spun out, and with a dead car in the middle of the track the inevitable happened and I got collected. First time was a T-bone at 40mph, the second time was a rear quarter hit at the same speed. I still ache now. Mind you, I'm in better condition than the car. Still, I walked away and the car can be repaired (I hope). Sadly the damage means no Mildenhall next week, but we've got a few weeks til Bradford, so should be out for then.
29th August 2022 - First time out at my Dad's least favourite track (he had some bad, and expensive meetings here) and I got another hat trick! Hednesford Hills Raceway is, along with Ipswich, perhaps the fastest short oval we go to. It's tarmac and banked. Sadly I had a misfire in the first two races of the day, but still managed to finish, then we cured it for the meeting Final. Great fast fun and nice to catch up with some of my supporters there too. Next time out is the National Championship race for the gold roof (I've not qualified obviously), but will be in the rest of the meeting as support for the BriSCA F1 World Final meeting.
14th August 2022 - First time out at my favorite track, Kings Lynn, and I managed to finish all three races again - woohoo! Good grief it was hot! Heat 1 finished with no problems. Heat 2 I managed to get tipped into the tyres, but got going again. Final time and I managed to cut the corner too tight coming out of turn 2 and launched the car off the infield tyre, but it landed, felt fine, so carried on for another finish. I'll take that. Great fun, loved it, and KL is still my favorite track. Next time it's the speedy tarmac of Hednesford. See you there!
7th August 2022 - HAT TRICK TIME! Woohoo, my first three finishes from three races, and I'm so happy! Yes the car's got a bent back bumper, and gouges out here there and everywhere, but I don't care. New wheels and tyres have given the car a much netter feel on the shale and a massive boost to my confidence. Heat 1 I got spun out by the guy in 2nd, but managed to rejoin and finish. Heat 2 nothing worth reporting apart from a nudge onto the infield coming in to the corner, but a quick reverse and rejoin sorted that out for another finish, but with only one race until heat 3 it was a very quick turn around with just enough time to water the radiator and refuel both car and driver before we were back out. Heat 3, took a massive whack in the back, but held my ground and nerve for another finish. I LOVE MY SPORT! Must say thanks to Dad for paying for the four new wheels and tyres too. On to next weekend at Kings Lynn!
10th July 2022 - Another successful meeting. Again only finished heat 3, but no damage, and good speed until understeer woes instead of oversteer. Heat 1 DNF as I ended up the wrong way after someone else's accident caught me. Heat 2 got spun by Freya down the start/finish straight and forgot to pull away in 1st and bogged the car down in 2nd. Heat 3 and we got rid of the oversteer with terminal understeer, so still work to do, but no damage. Woohoo! Next time out is 6th August at Mildenhall.
26th June 2022 - I'm taking that as a successful meeting. I only finished heat 3, but with no damage, and finding the speed in the car was a great night. Heat 1 DNF as I ended up the wrong way and didn't get a chance to rejoin due to heavy traffic. Heat 2 was pretty much more of the same, but pulled off with two to go so I didn't get involved with the leaders trying to destroy themselves. Finally I finished the Final without a clutch, but it was an easy fix this afternoon, so fingers crossed for the 9th July back at Northampton. More of the same, but with less spinning from me!
20th June 2022 - Well, that could have gone better, but could have been a lot worse. Practice went well, with me managing to squeeze some good pace out of the car, although initially on a slick track I was introduced to understeer, but once I could drive round that it went ok, even surviving a trip up the inside kerb when I cut across someone going in to turn 1. Eventually I ran wide onto the slick stuff and also encountered the marbles left by other formulae causing me to understeer into the fence. I tried to get across the track quickly to get out of the way, but one of the others hit me in the rear corner spinning me round chunking my wheel, but obliterating their front - sorry!
Heat 1 then was going ok, and after understeering on the first lap I reigned it in as half the pack had spun at turns 3 and 4 and I wound my way through them. Then at about halfway I got tipped onto the kerb in turn 3 with the force bouncing the throttle linkage loose again, causing it to stick open, so I switched off and waited til the end.
Sadly repairs took a little longer than we had, so I had to miss Heat 2.
Final time now, as it was all in including us novices for a change, and I was determined to get a good result, but it was not to be, as going down the home straight for the green flag all Hell let loose in front with the whole pack seeming to trip over each other, and so I turned to avoid them and stood on the brakes causing me to spin. The car stalled, and by the time it had re-fired I was looking at the field pouring out of turn 4 and charging at me. Luckily the yellows came out, but as I was the cause of the stoppage I wasn't allowed to rejoin. Oh well, DNF, DNS, DNF not quite what I wanted, but no real damage. Back to Northampton's shale next Saturday! Seeya!
10th June 2022 - Dammit. I got tonsillitus and couldn't go to Scotland let alone race. Not happy.
31st May 2022 - The car is ready. I'm ready. After ripping the front corner off last time out at Skegness, John Gould (exF1 and now Rebel) #491 has rebuilt the steelwork, and with the bonnet repaired, resprayed and restickered, thanks to all involved, it's now ready to go hunting again. This time something a little different as we're off to Scotland. Last time I went was in 2018 as a spectator before Covid etc kicked off, so it's long overdue, but this time I'm going racing too! Lochgelly on Friday night and Cowdenbeath on Saturday. Fingers crossed for some good racing from all formulae, and race finishes for me!
8th May 2022 - After what felt like hundreds of practice sessions in the afternoon, I felt well and truly comfortable in the driving seat of the #18 Ministox. I had a misfire in one of them, again, soon cured, and a carb guru sorted out the over-rich mix (hopefully), then had a coming together with a Superstar, due to being pushed into him, which ended up with me needing a new rotor arm, but him needing a new, well, let's say quite a few bits! Before the racing, the promoters decided to highlight the ladies racing, as there were 20 of us in total over the 3 classes, including me being one of the 9 girls in the Ministox! Photo call duly accepted :-) Then on to the racing and I finished a very successful heat 1. 29 cars started, so it was a bit frantic around the short oval track at Skegness, but I managed to get my head down with a good strong finish. Next, out for Heat 2 and this didn't go quite so well with a big gaggle of us trying for the same piece of track and quite a few losing out. I got a punt into the outside fence, which then bounced me, with another hit from another car then spinning me through 180deg, and the cars momentum meaning I finished broadside across the track. Sadly, one of the other drivers hit the front of me when he zigged, but didn't get time to zag, and he ended up ripping off the front corner of my car. Amazingly enough, only the metal bumper got damaged, with nothing mechanical touched, so yay for that! The car's booked in for welding next week, so onwards and upwards as ever. Next time out is the Scottish weekend, with racing at Lochgelly on Friday 3rd June, and Cowenbeath on 4th June. See you around :-)
19th April 2022 - To paraphrase Britney Spears - Oops I broke it again. Sadly tipped into the tyres and ripped the front corner off which then took too long to repair in time my either of my next two races. Onwards and Upwards - Skegness is next on Saturday 7th May.
11th April 2022 - Now that's more like it. After some extensive work by the guys at SMMC my mini feels a lot better. So after trundling off to Northampton again (gulp) I only went and finished a heat! Woohoo! Sadly heats 2 and 3 didn't end quite so well, with a big whack in Heat 2 knocking the dizzy cap off, so no sparks to the engine, and a stuck throttle in heat 3 deciding an early pull off instead of blowing up the engine, but I don't care. I've finished a heat! And I will take that forwards to next week and beyond. Thanks to all my supporters. I love this sport and without you, and my parents it wouldn't be the same. See you around.
27th March 2022 - Northampton didn't quite go to plan, with a wire coming off the starter motor when lining up for Heat 1, and a visit to the tyre barrier and inside fence during Heat 2 causing the gearbox to lunch itself. So, off to a pro to sort and hopefully be ready for next Sunday at Hednesford, if not Mildenhall the following Saturday. Onwards and upwards as they say.
22nd March 2022 - Well, after a few weeks of sorting things out, the car is now ready for my debut at Northampton on Saturday 26th. Fingers crossed the weather holds and I don't stick myself in the fence!
4th March 2022 - Sadly the decision has been taken by the promoters to cancel tomorrow's meeting at Northampton due to the track being inundated with water, and more rain to come. So, looks like my debut will now be 26th March at the same track (weather permitting!).
27th February 2022 - Well, the Skegness practice day had its ups and downs.
Started off well with me getting 23 out of 24 in the written test, plenty enough to pass. Then on track to get used to listening to the raceceiver (our one-way comm's device that our 'Master' updates us with before and during racing), and get some track time.
I started off and steadily increased my speed as I got used to the car for the first time on an oval, thoroughly enjoying it and getting more and more confident. So, a successful morning.
After a quick break for lunch we got the call to go out for first 'race', but the car refused to go into gear. No amount of pushing or pulling the gearstick, pumping the clutch, or anything else we tried would work, so hopefully it'll get fixed this week, as I so want to make my debut at Northampton this Saturday (5th March)!
Photos and video in the gallery!
16th February 2022 - Quick update to the schedule. I won't be making my debut at Kings Lynn, but 2 weeks (5th March) earlier at Northampton as KL are limiting bookings due to the other two formula we're on with.
15th February 2022 - Well, it's official, I'm on the Grading List on the National Ministox website. Photo in gallery!
5th February 2022 - My amazing looking car has been presented to me in the most amazing way! Thanks to all who plotted against me and hid it from me! Thanks to everyone involved in getting me on track, it truly is appreciated. Thanks to Paul @ Tech 2 for doing such an amazing job on the paintwork, and thanks to Dash, Luke and James for the sticker work. It looks fabulous! Oh, and thanks to Kerry for the delicious cake! Photos in the revamped gallery.
29th January 2022 - Well, thanks to Dalys (Simpson Hybrid FHR), Renovation Rewards (STR FIA spec overalls) and Nana & Grampy (pretty much everything else), oh and I used my saved pocket money to pay for the helmet, plus the amazing customer service from McGill Motorsport, most of my racewear arrived yesterday. Having now had time to try it all on and get things comfortable I would just like to say a heartfelt thanks again to all. Photo's are in the gallery. If not the fastest, I'll certainly be one of the smartest turned out drivers on track and in the pits!
22nd January 2022 - The fixture list has been released! The full schedule can be found on www.nationalministox.co.uk, but the meetings I intend to be racing at, subject to damage, budget etc, is now on the Schedule page.
18th January 2022 - The car has returned from the paint shop looking resplendent in its final colours - that I'm not allowed to know or see yet until it's finished - so unfair! However, it's currently waiting on finalisation of artwork before print is completed next week and applied the week after - so looking forward to seeing it all finished and shiny! Roll on the 4th of Feb!
8th January 2022 - Woo-and-indeed-hoo. Today the prototype teamwear arrived - photo's in the gallery. The team will all be in team t-shirts at the Motorsport with Attitude show on 19th February to promote the sport, team and sponsors in readiness for the 2022 season.
1st January 2022 - Wishing a happy and successful new year to all who read this.
11th December 2021 - Today was my first time actually driving my Ministox. I must say a massive thanks to Nathan at Marsden Barn Trailers for letting me have some time on his land, and thanks to my Dad for arranging it with Nathan. Well, what can I say, other than Hell Yeah! Fast, fun and loud. And that was just on my own. Photo's and videos are in the gallery. Dad was either brave, or stupid, as he let me load onto the trailer on my own, and it went without a hitch. Then, over to MBT for an hour or so of learning how the car handled, and boy did it. Confidence in my driving and how the car handled under me kept creeping up, and I started to enjoy it, so started to play/experiment, even getting the car to dance underneath me (or fishtailing and washing out) on the gravel driveway. Fun times. Roll on the 2022 race season.
1st December 2021 - Well, today the website went live. Still waiting on some hi-res logo's from my sponsors, and a few other little creative bits, but, it's getting there and we wanted to get it out there as a thanks to all my fans and sponsors. Bear with us in the interim, and as we get further updates we'll post them here. But, in the meantime, happy holidays, and here's to a (hopefully) successful 2022 and my first season racing!
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22nd November - So that's it. The end of my first season in National Ministox racing. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Ok, it didn't quite go to plan when the battery died part way through the first race, but plenty of practice saw me gaining 0.6 sec over my fastest lap time last time out here, and I felt a lot more confident in the car. I hope you've all enjoyed reading about my highs and lows throughout the year, and I am super proud of my two trophies achieved. Oh well, if anything exciting happens over the winter months then I'll be sure to keep you informed, as there are a few mechanical upgrades we want to carry out. If not, then a MASSIVE shout out of thanks to my sponsors and supporters throughout the year. Fingers crossed you feel you've had value for money, and I look forward to your continued support in 2023. In the meantime, and I know it's cheeky as the cost of living etc is massively disrupting, but if anyone knows anyone who is looking to sponsor an up and coming racing driver, then please feel free to put them in touch! Thanks, and see you around the ovals again in 2023! oh, and thanks to Dannie Schoales BriSCA V8 Hotstox driver 553 for the photo's you sent me, most of which are in the gallery!
6th November - Sadly didn't get to do any racing on Saturday at Bradford, as didn't qualify for the World of Shale Championship, and having seen the state of the cars as they came off I declined racing in the 1st heat afterwards to see if the track cleared at all. Then, after that heat, the 3rd heat was cancelled (not sure why as it didn't seem to be too late), so called it a day and came home. Shame as to go all that way and the costs involved, but to my mind it just wasn't worth the clean up. Onwards and upwards to the last meeting of the year at Skegness.
16th October - What's brown and sticky? A stick! But also Bradford's track when it's been raining! 17th, DNF and 17th with no damage will do very nicely for me thank you very much. It was dry at home, but raining when we got there, and that's how it pretty much stayed all night. The track was super slippy, but we made a go of it. So, it was a new experience, as I've not racing on super sticky, slick shale before. Don't bother with brakes was the advice, as you'll slow down cus of the oozing brown stuff that is the track, and if you need to brake you'll hit it anyway as you'll just lock up. So, all good fun! Managed to keep it together, and only didn't finish race 2 as I couldn't see! Apart from the clean up the next day I enjoyed it, which is probably a good thing as next meeting for me is there again. Bring it on!
9th October - Well, a bit of an update after getting the side of the car trashed last time out.
Having spent 6 hours with my latest sponsor (RGD Engineering) lopping bits off the car last Saturday, and then a few more hours over the last few nights and Saturday afternoon sorting the wiring out as we weren't happy with one of the isolators, the car is back up and running again.
Part of the problem that caused the damage at Kings Lynn was that once I got spun and stalled I couldn't seem to find the starter button which was down and to my right in the darkness where I can't actually see due to all the safety kit I wear - of course I found it straight away after I'd been collected twice... So, Dad's installed a new starter panel which is illuminated, and has mounted it immediately in front of me, so no more fumbling - yay!
One bonus taken from Kings Lynn though is that I won my first trophy as Novice Grade Award. Woohoo.
Back to Bradford on Saturday, and could do with some more strong finishes to boost me to the end of the year. Can't believe there's only 3 meetings left!
18th September 2022 - So, what can I say about last night? Started off well, finished poorly. Heat 1, with 32 cars on track, and a good finish. Strong performance from the car, with me trusting the front tyres more and more, and leaning on it more meant a finish of 20th or so. Not bad out of 32. Onto heat 2 and it sucked from the get go. I got punted into the tyres, then with 2 to go got spun out, and with a dead car in the middle of the track the inevitable happened and I got collected. First time was a T-bone at 40mph, the second time was a rear quarter hit at the same speed. I still ache now. Mind you, I'm in better condition than the car. Still, I walked away and the car can be repaired (I hope). Sadly the damage means no Mildenhall next week, but we've got a few weeks til Bradford, so should be out for then.
29th August 2022 - First time out at my Dad's least favourite track (he had some bad, and expensive meetings here) and I got another hat trick! Hednesford Hills Raceway is, along with Ipswich, perhaps the fastest short oval we go to. It's tarmac and banked. Sadly I had a misfire in the first two races of the day, but still managed to finish, then we cured it for the meeting Final. Great fast fun and nice to catch up with some of my supporters there too. Next time out is the National Championship race for the gold roof (I've not qualified obviously), but will be in the rest of the meeting as support for the BriSCA F1 World Final meeting.
14th August 2022 - First time out at my favorite track, Kings Lynn, and I managed to finish all three races again - woohoo! Good grief it was hot! Heat 1 finished with no problems. Heat 2 I managed to get tipped into the tyres, but got going again. Final time and I managed to cut the corner too tight coming out of turn 2 and launched the car off the infield tyre, but it landed, felt fine, so carried on for another finish. I'll take that. Great fun, loved it, and KL is still my favorite track. Next time it's the speedy tarmac of Hednesford. See you there!
7th August 2022 - HAT TRICK TIME! Woohoo, my first three finishes from three races, and I'm so happy! Yes the car's got a bent back bumper, and gouges out here there and everywhere, but I don't care. New wheels and tyres have given the car a much netter feel on the shale and a massive boost to my confidence. Heat 1 I got spun out by the guy in 2nd, but managed to rejoin and finish. Heat 2 nothing worth reporting apart from a nudge onto the infield coming in to the corner, but a quick reverse and rejoin sorted that out for another finish, but with only one race until heat 3 it was a very quick turn around with just enough time to water the radiator and refuel both car and driver before we were back out. Heat 3, took a massive whack in the back, but held my ground and nerve for another finish. I LOVE MY SPORT! Must say thanks to Dad for paying for the four new wheels and tyres too. On to next weekend at Kings Lynn!
10th July 2022 - Another successful meeting. Again only finished heat 3, but no damage, and good speed until understeer woes instead of oversteer. Heat 1 DNF as I ended up the wrong way after someone else's accident caught me. Heat 2 got spun by Freya down the start/finish straight and forgot to pull away in 1st and bogged the car down in 2nd. Heat 3 and we got rid of the oversteer with terminal understeer, so still work to do, but no damage. Woohoo! Next time out is 6th August at Mildenhall.
26th June 2022 - I'm taking that as a successful meeting. I only finished heat 3, but with no damage, and finding the speed in the car was a great night. Heat 1 DNF as I ended up the wrong way and didn't get a chance to rejoin due to heavy traffic. Heat 2 was pretty much more of the same, but pulled off with two to go so I didn't get involved with the leaders trying to destroy themselves. Finally I finished the Final without a clutch, but it was an easy fix this afternoon, so fingers crossed for the 9th July back at Northampton. More of the same, but with less spinning from me!
20th June 2022 - Well, that could have gone better, but could have been a lot worse. Practice went well, with me managing to squeeze some good pace out of the car, although initially on a slick track I was introduced to understeer, but once I could drive round that it went ok, even surviving a trip up the inside kerb when I cut across someone going in to turn 1. Eventually I ran wide onto the slick stuff and also encountered the marbles left by other formulae causing me to understeer into the fence. I tried to get across the track quickly to get out of the way, but one of the others hit me in the rear corner spinning me round chunking my wheel, but obliterating their front - sorry!
Heat 1 then was going ok, and after understeering on the first lap I reigned it in as half the pack had spun at turns 3 and 4 and I wound my way through them. Then at about halfway I got tipped onto the kerb in turn 3 with the force bouncing the throttle linkage loose again, causing it to stick open, so I switched off and waited til the end.
Sadly repairs took a little longer than we had, so I had to miss Heat 2.
Final time now, as it was all in including us novices for a change, and I was determined to get a good result, but it was not to be, as going down the home straight for the green flag all Hell let loose in front with the whole pack seeming to trip over each other, and so I turned to avoid them and stood on the brakes causing me to spin. The car stalled, and by the time it had re-fired I was looking at the field pouring out of turn 4 and charging at me. Luckily the yellows came out, but as I was the cause of the stoppage I wasn't allowed to rejoin. Oh well, DNF, DNS, DNF not quite what I wanted, but no real damage. Back to Northampton's shale next Saturday! Seeya!
10th June 2022 - Dammit. I got tonsillitus and couldn't go to Scotland let alone race. Not happy.
31st May 2022 - The car is ready. I'm ready. After ripping the front corner off last time out at Skegness, John Gould (exF1 and now Rebel) #491 has rebuilt the steelwork, and with the bonnet repaired, resprayed and restickered, thanks to all involved, it's now ready to go hunting again. This time something a little different as we're off to Scotland. Last time I went was in 2018 as a spectator before Covid etc kicked off, so it's long overdue, but this time I'm going racing too! Lochgelly on Friday night and Cowdenbeath on Saturday. Fingers crossed for some good racing from all formulae, and race finishes for me!
8th May 2022 - After what felt like hundreds of practice sessions in the afternoon, I felt well and truly comfortable in the driving seat of the #18 Ministox. I had a misfire in one of them, again, soon cured, and a carb guru sorted out the over-rich mix (hopefully), then had a coming together with a Superstar, due to being pushed into him, which ended up with me needing a new rotor arm, but him needing a new, well, let's say quite a few bits! Before the racing, the promoters decided to highlight the ladies racing, as there were 20 of us in total over the 3 classes, including me being one of the 9 girls in the Ministox! Photo call duly accepted :-) Then on to the racing and I finished a very successful heat 1. 29 cars started, so it was a bit frantic around the short oval track at Skegness, but I managed to get my head down with a good strong finish. Next, out for Heat 2 and this didn't go quite so well with a big gaggle of us trying for the same piece of track and quite a few losing out. I got a punt into the outside fence, which then bounced me, with another hit from another car then spinning me through 180deg, and the cars momentum meaning I finished broadside across the track. Sadly, one of the other drivers hit the front of me when he zigged, but didn't get time to zag, and he ended up ripping off the front corner of my car. Amazingly enough, only the metal bumper got damaged, with nothing mechanical touched, so yay for that! The car's booked in for welding next week, so onwards and upwards as ever. Next time out is the Scottish weekend, with racing at Lochgelly on Friday 3rd June, and Cowenbeath on 4th June. See you around :-)
19th April 2022 - To paraphrase Britney Spears - Oops I broke it again. Sadly tipped into the tyres and ripped the front corner off which then took too long to repair in time my either of my next two races. Onwards and Upwards - Skegness is next on Saturday 7th May.
11th April 2022 - Now that's more like it. After some extensive work by the guys at SMMC my mini feels a lot better. So after trundling off to Northampton again (gulp) I only went and finished a heat! Woohoo! Sadly heats 2 and 3 didn't end quite so well, with a big whack in Heat 2 knocking the dizzy cap off, so no sparks to the engine, and a stuck throttle in heat 3 deciding an early pull off instead of blowing up the engine, but I don't care. I've finished a heat! And I will take that forwards to next week and beyond. Thanks to all my supporters. I love this sport and without you, and my parents it wouldn't be the same. See you around.
27th March 2022 - Northampton didn't quite go to plan, with a wire coming off the starter motor when lining up for Heat 1, and a visit to the tyre barrier and inside fence during Heat 2 causing the gearbox to lunch itself. So, off to a pro to sort and hopefully be ready for next Sunday at Hednesford, if not Mildenhall the following Saturday. Onwards and upwards as they say.
22nd March 2022 - Well, after a few weeks of sorting things out, the car is now ready for my debut at Northampton on Saturday 26th. Fingers crossed the weather holds and I don't stick myself in the fence!
4th March 2022 - Sadly the decision has been taken by the promoters to cancel tomorrow's meeting at Northampton due to the track being inundated with water, and more rain to come. So, looks like my debut will now be 26th March at the same track (weather permitting!).
27th February 2022 - Well, the Skegness practice day had its ups and downs.
Started off well with me getting 23 out of 24 in the written test, plenty enough to pass. Then on track to get used to listening to the raceceiver (our one-way comm's device that our 'Master' updates us with before and during racing), and get some track time.
I started off and steadily increased my speed as I got used to the car for the first time on an oval, thoroughly enjoying it and getting more and more confident. So, a successful morning.
After a quick break for lunch we got the call to go out for first 'race', but the car refused to go into gear. No amount of pushing or pulling the gearstick, pumping the clutch, or anything else we tried would work, so hopefully it'll get fixed this week, as I so want to make my debut at Northampton this Saturday (5th March)!
Photos and video in the gallery!
16th February 2022 - Quick update to the schedule. I won't be making my debut at Kings Lynn, but 2 weeks (5th March) earlier at Northampton as KL are limiting bookings due to the other two formula we're on with.
15th February 2022 - Well, it's official, I'm on the Grading List on the National Ministox website. Photo in gallery!
5th February 2022 - My amazing looking car has been presented to me in the most amazing way! Thanks to all who plotted against me and hid it from me! Thanks to everyone involved in getting me on track, it truly is appreciated. Thanks to Paul @ Tech 2 for doing such an amazing job on the paintwork, and thanks to Dash, Luke and James for the sticker work. It looks fabulous! Oh, and thanks to Kerry for the delicious cake! Photos in the revamped gallery.
29th January 2022 - Well, thanks to Dalys (Simpson Hybrid FHR), Renovation Rewards (STR FIA spec overalls) and Nana & Grampy (pretty much everything else), oh and I used my saved pocket money to pay for the helmet, plus the amazing customer service from McGill Motorsport, most of my racewear arrived yesterday. Having now had time to try it all on and get things comfortable I would just like to say a heartfelt thanks again to all. Photo's are in the gallery. If not the fastest, I'll certainly be one of the smartest turned out drivers on track and in the pits!
22nd January 2022 - The fixture list has been released! The full schedule can be found on www.nationalministox.co.uk, but the meetings I intend to be racing at, subject to damage, budget etc, is now on the Schedule page.
18th January 2022 - The car has returned from the paint shop looking resplendent in its final colours - that I'm not allowed to know or see yet until it's finished - so unfair! However, it's currently waiting on finalisation of artwork before print is completed next week and applied the week after - so looking forward to seeing it all finished and shiny! Roll on the 4th of Feb!
8th January 2022 - Woo-and-indeed-hoo. Today the prototype teamwear arrived - photo's in the gallery. The team will all be in team t-shirts at the Motorsport with Attitude show on 19th February to promote the sport, team and sponsors in readiness for the 2022 season.
1st January 2022 - Wishing a happy and successful new year to all who read this.
11th December 2021 - Today was my first time actually driving my Ministox. I must say a massive thanks to Nathan at Marsden Barn Trailers for letting me have some time on his land, and thanks to my Dad for arranging it with Nathan. Well, what can I say, other than Hell Yeah! Fast, fun and loud. And that was just on my own. Photo's and videos are in the gallery. Dad was either brave, or stupid, as he let me load onto the trailer on my own, and it went without a hitch. Then, over to MBT for an hour or so of learning how the car handled, and boy did it. Confidence in my driving and how the car handled under me kept creeping up, and I started to enjoy it, so started to play/experiment, even getting the car to dance underneath me (or fishtailing and washing out) on the gravel driveway. Fun times. Roll on the 2022 race season.
1st December 2021 - Well, today the website went live. Still waiting on some hi-res logo's from my sponsors, and a few other little creative bits, but, it's getting there and we wanted to get it out there as a thanks to all my fans and sponsors. Bear with us in the interim, and as we get further updates we'll post them here. But, in the meantime, happy holidays, and here's to a (hopefully) successful 2022 and my first season racing!
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