Here's a first part to the report I'm writing and the first video. Enjoy.
Trackday Trophy 2011 Race – Snetterton 19 March
We arrived to a clear but frosty morning at Snetterton and quite refreshed having stayed at a little hotel in Attleborough the night before. The buzz entering the paddock was electric with the sound of cars being warmed up, checked over and worked on. Since we had a full grid (38 cars plus) our paddock area was chocka with all manner of cars from MX5s, Mk2 Golfs, lots of E36s and Porsches and two Clio Cup racers.
We made our base next to a blue Clio Cup race car which would turn out to be a Northlooper and a very close rival in qualifying and the race.
After sign on at race control we took the car over to scrutineering. We were confident of this being a formality as the car had just come from Geoff Steel Racing with the express requirement of ‘make it MSA race ready’. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case when the scrutineer tested the cut off switch and it didn’t work! He told us to take the car away and sort it out then come back and he will give us a sticker. At this point Chris was livid but we had to make our way to the driver briefing so there was no time to get onto a repair.
At the briefing we were given lots of encouragement but warning also that the great majority of us were first timers and the track quite green so, give each other space and watch out for each other! At the end of the briefing, as I looked over to see a dejected Chris, Nick from Bubble and Kick Racing made an announcement about the free support his company were providing to the series. Result! We’d completely forgot about this so as the briefing was wound up we made a beeline for him and he told us to get the car to him asap as practice was about to start.
After about 15 minutes of their spannering (and a stern phone call from Chris to GSR) the cut off was working and we sped over to scrutineering, got the car passed and went to the assembly area. Unfortunately just as we arrived, our practice session finished. Not good. Neither of us have driven the 300, only the original track and that was nearly 4 years ago. Damn.
Qualifying
Roll on another hour, tyres pressures set and suspension settings checked we then roll out for qualifying. Chris was to take the first stint of 15 minutes. I’d then call him in with a pit board and we’d change.
Knowing the practice times (leader was an M3 Evo Class B 2:15.423) I had an indication of what to look for as I timed Chris from the pit wall. I didn’t know what to expect but for the last couple of days I’d been hoping the car could do 2:15s considering BTCC were testing there and doing just under 2:00s. From the pit wall, it wasn’t looking good. I knew that the car was stone cold and Chris would take it easy over the first couple of laps and learn what he could of the track:
After lap 6 I called Chris in and was starting to feel nerves well inside me. As he got out he mentioned how long the track was and how much there was to take in. Knowing the car was hot I let the adrenaline take over and just gave it what I could:
On my 3rd lap I posted our best of 2:17.569 which got us 4th on the grid. We were very happy with that.
However my stint didn’t go without incident. It was actually my out lap, with the adrenaline rushing I made a big mistake in trying to take the inside line for a hairpin, overtaking an MX5. I judged it very wrong and was alongside about half of his car as he turned in. Luckily (thank fuck!) he saw me and swerved so there was no contact. I remember that calming me for the next few corners but then the adrenaline took over again.
Overall Qualifying Classification
The Race!
We’d already agreed that Chris would start the race and have the buzz of the start line. I was very happy with that as I felt intimidated by it and am not the best with using race clutched. Over lunch we discussed a pit stop strategy and came to the conclusion that without a team, live data nor the need to change tyres or add fuel, there wasn’t really much to discuss! In the end we agreed that once the ‘Open Pit Lane’ board was displayed, we (Chris’s brother Duncan and I) would look for a time when the pit lane was the least busy, to call Chris in.
Duncan and I waited at garage 4 and could see the cars lining up on the grid. We weren’t allowed on the pit wall at this stage so it was difficult to see how the race would start. I genuinely started feeling nauseous now as I could see Chris at grid position 4 with the blue Clio Cup directly in front of him and the M3 of James Britton on the other side. To Chris’s side was the other Clio Cup racer. As I saw the various ‘time remaining’ boards displayed I remember going over and over in my head ‘Don’t stall, don’t bog it! Don’t stall, don’t bog it!’.
The lights went out and the race was on! I stretched to see as far down the straight as I could and from what I could see, Chris had held his position – great start! It was then a VERY tense couple of minutes waiting for them to emerge from the end of their first lap.
Watching the video of Chris’s stint, he took it easy on the out lap and was able to overtake the P3 Clio on the back straight. P1 and P2 also swapped position at the end of the straight. Coming on to finish their first lap, the more nimble Clio took Chris’s inside line entering the start/finish straight but, again, the 328M had the power to outdrag the Clio. They then continue to trade places throughout most of Chris's stint. Here's the video (25 minutes long) so I'll post up highlight points to watch later on today when I get a chance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv2HMkuNIc0
Thanks Eduardo.
Awesome result for your first race. Come on then show the silverware:D
) i think a good spanking from James will be coming your way 
He had nice lines throughout and never pushed the car over its limits. Very cool, calm and collected 8) 
