Castle Combe: 1 May 2006

Easter Sunday was spent removing the engine and gearbox from the car for the head gasket to be replaced.

Andy McLoughlin, our race engineer, (also known as APM Automotive – independent TVR and Lotus specialists www.apmautomotive.co.uk) – fitted a new gasket in double quick time and the engine was back in the car a week later.`

For the Castle Combe race we opted for the close ratio gearbox and swapped the transmission whilst the engine was out of the car.

Castle Combe is a circuit I am very familiar with, but continue to treat with respect. It is a very, very fast circuit with minimal run off if you get it wrong. One corner in particular is notorious for claiming victims – Quarry – and this was the scene of my first racing accident back in 2003.

With the awning set up on the Sunday evening, we looked forward to a busy day on Monday. In addition to the Tuscan race, we had also entered the Castle Combe Special GT race – an eclectic mix of 30 or more race cars.

Late on Sunday evening we were joined by our other race engineer, Charlie Barnard, ‘fresh’ from his flight from Qatar, where he had been working with the Grand Prix Masters team.

The car was in perfect condition and the heavy overnight rain cleared to a bright sunny day – perfect racing conditions.

We queued for the grid for the GT qualifying session and were just starting a first flying lap (on lap 4) when the yellow flags came out following an incident at (you’ve guessed it) Quarry. Two cars had collided and due to the time it would take to clear up the mess, the session was prematurely terminated. We were very unhappy as we had not completed a single fast lap. Many of the other drivers were also disgruntled. 11th place was our slot in what had become something of a lottery.

Half an hour later in the Tuscan qualifying it was a different story. This time we had a clear run and recorded a fastest time of 1.09.702 – in third place, this time just 9/100ths of a second behind Darren. The car had a tendency to oversteer, but otherwise felt very, very good! We softened the rear of the car slightly and were in confident mood for the race.

Tim Hood was now starting to get the most of the down force from his Sagaris, and he had qualified first, 6/10ths ahead of Darren.

Unfortunately the GT race was only a little better for us than the qualifying. Held up by slower cars initially, a bonnet pin worked loose and when hitting top speed of 150mph at Avon Rise, the bonnet threatened to split. With my main objective being the Tuscan race, I considered pitting, but opted instead to ease off the pace. Despite dawdling around, we finished third in class and collected our first silverware of the season.

Back in the paddock our awning set up was now coming into its own. We received a steady stream of guests all day, and our sponsors and their guests enjoyed a hot meal.

Once again TV cameras were fitted to the car, and we looked forward to a proper bash at Tim and Darren, with a healthy engine this time!!

On the grid we had an F1 style light sequence - Darren was edging forward prematurely – and as the lights changed I nailed the throttle, feathered as I controlled the wheel spin and shot through the tiniest of gaps between Darren and Tim into the lead. Tim was immediately on my tail, but there was initially no sign of Darren. It turned out he had stalled on the grid, losing around 5 seconds.

With Tim’s superior aero and wider wheels and tyres providing more grip, I was only able to hold him off for half a lap. Whilst I was still fighting over steer exiting all corners, the Sagaris was able to get the power down and he started to pull out a gap of about a second a lap.

By lap 5 Darren was right on my tail and clearly quicker. We had agreed before the race that we would not block each other and on the way into Tower I left room on the inside and he slipped through. I was determined, however, to stay with him, and for the remainder of the race was rarely more than a second adrift. Again, my car seemed to be more inclined to over-steer than Darren’s – and the reason for this became apparent after the race when we realised that he was running 10” wide rear wheels rather than the standard 9”. This allowed 3” more tyre width and explained some of the difference in handling.

At Quarry each time I was able to close the gap under braking and have a look up the inside, but this compromised my exit. Unable to get the power down elsewhere round the circuit, I was unable to create a real overtaking opportunity.

However, for the first time driving a Tuscan, I had really stretched myself and got close to the limits of the car. Unfortunately the close finish eluded us as I ran onto the grass on the penultimate corner, negotiating a back marker, but our reward was a clear third place, nearly 40 seconds ahead of Hugh Marshall.

This was a tremendously significant result for us – almost matching Tim and Darren for pace. The top three’s fastest laps were within 4/10ths of each other – the next fastest car was 3 seconds a lap slower. It represented a huge step up in performance for us.

We opened a few eyes in the paddock that day, and it was a fabulous result for the hard work and investment in and by the team.

Comments from our sponsors and guests:

“The whole package at Combe was perfect - I doubt there are many teams at this standard that provide such a good service. Also large congratulations have to go to the team that you have surrounded yourself with, they worked so hard to make sure everyone felt welcome and comfortable.

Just cannot wait for the next race now, the reality of it is that everything is coming together now and that also shows in your driving.

So congratulations to everyone involved and also a big thank you!”

“We had a great time and most grateful to you and your team for being so generous and welcoming”

“We just wanted to thank you for inviting us and to say how much we enjoyed the whole day. Congratulations on your results.

Sight of the day - Car No 6 going into Quarry repeatedly at ridiculously high speeds and yet still getting a very good line and exit, obviously gaining on faster cars. Very well driven!”

“The Tuscan Challenge was a fantastic race. Well done! We really enjoyed ourselves; there was a really good atmosphere in the awning…”

Race Results