Thought id post the race report here aswell just to kep everything in  one place. Makes the thread easier to follow
Sunday 9th May 2010 - Brands Hatch Tintops Race
A grey and overcast morning met us at Brands Hatch for our first race   meeting.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
  
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
We setup our area for the day and got the kettle on. With us for the day   were our friends Bomber and Mike. They were a fantastic help  throughout  the day. To make sure we didn't miss anything we had made up  a notice  board but left it too near the kettle.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
There wasn't much to do on the car as all the prep had been done but we   did modify the bumper slightly to improve the airflow to the alternator   and swapped the wheels over for our race wheels.
At 9:30 we made our  way to signing on and Bomber took the car in to be  scruiteneer'd. A  very quick visual check under the bonnet, followed by a  seat and  seatbelt check, lights check, engine cutout test and an  inspection of  our race wear and we were done. No issues and a pass  sticker issued.  First step accomplished.
                   Matt from Tour-De-Force had  come up bright and early  to make sure we had no issues with the car. He  couldn't stay for the  whole day. After he had given the car a quick  check over, me, Matt and  Tony went for a walk around the perimeter  circuit to benefit from his  circuit knowledge. We discussed lines, and  braking points whilst  watching the Formula Palmer Audi boys make a right  mess of the place in  their first race.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
We made our way back to the paddock and got our race suits on ready for   qualifying. It was a long way from where we were based in the outer   paddock to the pit lane. Me and Tony hung out the back of the car and   Bomber drove us over. We planned to run qualifying as a practice for the   race. Tony would start the race so he ran the first stint in   qualifying. Using the pit signalling board we would give him a 3 lap   countdown to pit for the driver change. He set off from the pit-lane and   joined the track. It was quite a busy session with 32 cars in our  race.  He was stuck in traffic for the first few laps and gradually  warmed up  the tyres and got used to how everything felt. Having brand  new tyres  was something new to us and the balance of the car was  massively  different to what it was at combe. The car had developed  quite a bit of  understeer on the new rubber. On lap 5 he had a clear  lap and posted a  58.8second lap. The next lap the understeer caught him  out at Clearways.  Instead of forcing the car, he let it run gently  into the gravel and  just nosed the car in. It was stuck! The marshals  tried to push it back  out but the gravel at Brands actually works. So  that was it, with 24mins  of the session still to go we were out of it  and I hadn't driven a lap.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
  
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
I ran up to the clerk of the course to have a chat about how I was going   to get into the race that afternoon. The regulations state that every   driver must complete at least 3 laps of the circuit before taking part   in the race. There wasn't time to get out in another practice session  as  ours was the last but one. The officials were very helpful and  advised  us to sort out the car, make sure it was all ok and go back and  see  them. The car was towed out and Tony drove back to the paddock.  Our pit  crew of Bomber and Mike set about removing as much gravel as  they could  find, that stuff gets everywhere. Front brakes stripped down  to remove  all the loose stones and the bumper off as well.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
  
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
The guys worked all through out the lunch break to get the car as free   of gravel as possible as me and Tony attended the drivers briefing.   Bomber then drove the car around the paddock to shake loose the   remaining gravel. Race control got me to complete the mandatory 3 laps   behind the safety car after the FPA's 2nd race. I followed the safety   car at a very steady pace for the 3 laps, avoiding several Palmer Audi   cars that were being dragged, looking very battered, out of various   gravel traps around the track. I didn't really learn anything, but it   ticked the box, made sure the car felt ok and went through the gears   fine and meant we were both in the race. With all the rush with getting   the car cleaned up we hadn't even looked to see where we had qualified.   Turns out we were in 20th position. Not bad considering Tony only got 1   clear flying lap. So everything calmed down, we all sat down for a bit   of a rest and we watched the video footage of Tony's off. 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
Our race was due to start at 17:05 so at around 16:30  we made our way to  the assembly area.
  
Tony lined up on the outside of row 10 and when the  lights went out made  a good getaway. He stayed to the outside along the  pit straight and  into paddock hill bend. Trying to stay out of  trouble. The last thing he  wanted was to have to drag the car back to  the pits with bits hanging  off before id had a proper run. Meanwhile  further back on the grid there  had been a very nasty start line shunt  after a car had stalled and the  safety car came out. With cars 2 or 3  wide along the back straight  everyone had to brake very hard to avoid  each other as the safety car  slowed the field, Tony had slipped up the  inside of a few cars by this  point and was up to P18.
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
The safety car stayed out for 6 minutes as the mess was cleared from the   grid, thankfully everyone was ok. In the pits we discussed what to do   about strategy. We had planned to bring Tony in around half way through   the race and give him a 3 lap count down. I decided to leave him out a   little longer and start the count with 22 Minutes to go. Tony out on   track was trying to get heat into the rear tyres and leaving a gap to   the car in front so he could take the corners slightly faster. This   meant he didn't see the lights on the safety car go out and was quite   far back when it went green. He settled into a good pace and was lapping   in the high 58's and starting to close on the 2 cars in front, an Alfa   156 and Honda Civic. He managed to get a good run at the Civic coming   along the main straight and bravely passed on the inside into paddock   hill bend. A little defending was needed into Druids but the Civic had   another car behind him so Tony got into some clear air. The following   lap he did a 58.6 to beat his qualifying time by 0.3sec. Then the safety   car came out again. Tony hadn't seen the board on the start finish  line  and he passed a 205 GTI at the bottom of the hill and had to let  him  back past. By this stage he was in P13. 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
We were now at 22 minutes remaining and in our pit window. Other people   around us were starting to pit. We dispensed with the 3 lap countdown   and called him straight in but he had to do a full lap behind the safety   car. We hadn't had a chance to practise our driver change so we just   winged it. Stationary for 38 seconds, it wasn't too bad but something we   can improve on. I drove to the end of the pit lane ready to join the   circuit but the safety car was approaching with the queue of cars behind   and we had to wait at the exit of the pit lane. We had lost a lap, and  I  exited the pits in 24th place. I had 1 lap at safety car speed  before  the green and this helped to settle my nerves a bit. As I  approached  Paddock for the first time a racing speed I found a bump in  the braking  zone that I didn't know about and the back end twitched.  Half way around  my first lap 2 cars in front of me were slowing each  other up fighting  and I got a run up the inside of one. I then  remembered that it was the  first lap of my first ever race and changed  my mind. I settled in to the  driving and could see why Tony had gone  off, the balance of the car was  massively different to how it was at  Combe. The new tyres had great  grip but the thing was reluctant to turn  in. I lost quite a bit of time  passing some slower cars but was being  quite cautious. A few laps later a  Fiesta started to spin in front of  me as i came on to the pit straight  and I lifted slightly. The car  behind got a run on me and I stayed to  the inside to stop him passing  but he flashed his lights and just went  around the outside!
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
		
	 
I ran up the inside into Druids and he defended. The next few laps were   great fun, I had more power than him and could catch him at the end of   the straight but was loosing time in the corners with the understeer.  We  both caught the Alfa that Tony had passed earlier and I managed to  pass  him along the pit straight. We were now P17. 
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
We were nearing the final minutes of the race and the leading Integra's   caught me so I waved them passed. A Civic was with the group so I waved   him by too, thinking I was being lapped. I didn't know that it was for   position and it was the Civic Tony had passed earlier. 
So that put us P18 at the end and 2 laps down. I was thrilled after the   chequered flag as I really didn't expect to feel as comfortable as I  did  during the race. Better still, when I got back to the pits Bomber  and  Tony told me that my fastest lap was 57.8 seconds, a time that  would of  put us 14th on the grid in qualifying. Comfortably mid grid.  It was a  great day and we learned so much, it was far from straight  forward but  we got through it and will have a better idea of how to go  about the day  next time out at Anglesey. Cant wait!
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
This image has  been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image  is sized 697 x 646.