If I can’t be fast…

   …I’ll take lucky! Racing’s a numbers game like any other. Attrition rates can be high and all the drivers are on tight budgets, so if you’re out there…you have a chance.

This is my third (and last) year out there in my Monster Griff. It’s still a trackday car, so is not hugely competitive against the front running “B” cars as it’s far to heavy , but it’s strong and reliable so we are always in with a shout. It’s heavy because it’s still road legal and has the necessary luxuries of electric windows. leather and of course a roof! Giving away well over 130kgs means Tom Stewarts Griff is just quicker, and rightly so. It’s a beautifully crafted Griffith Race car that has a very capable driver at the wheel so it’s always going to be tough to stay anywhere near it.

We (Danny my mate who crew’s for me and I) arrived with some changes that we hoped would help at Mallory Park. We now run with the roof on to get the best from the SC-Power aero kit we started using last year. Though it adds even more weight, the roof is necessary as it allows air to travel over the car undisturbed, maximising its effect on the rear wing and thus giving grip. Toms Griff has the same power to weight as us (we are much heavier but have more power) but the lightness of his car helps in braking, accelerating and going round corners so we have to achieve more grip to stay with him. He also has bigger tyres!

Race 1 went fairly well. The car has achieved much more grip as we’d hoped but I hadn’t had the opportunity to test, even so, during the race we were exiting “Gerards” bend at over 100mph but I wasn’t sure how hard I could push. We qualified well at only 1.5s behind Tom and just in front of Cliff Jobson’s twin turbo T350R so I was hoping for a podium finish. The race went well getting a good start and maintaining my position throughout. Tom flew off and was gone fairly quickly in the “A” traffic. Crossing the finish line second in class I already had my eye on the ominous rain clouds that had already started to close in.

Race 2 and only minutes before we were called to the holding area, it started to drizzle. A look across the fields hinted there may be more on the way but how much? With only a couple of seconds to make a decision, we went for inters (intermediate race tyres) rather than full wets. A lucky call could mean a Class win and maybe even an outright podium. As we lined up the drizzle was still there, but no worse.
 A steady start put me second in class behind Tom again, but the weather was holding and the car felt good as I passed Tom at “Devils Elbow” and started to pull away. As the “A” cars blew away the water with their big wet tyres my inters would come in…things were looking good. I had my fingers crossed.
However, as I’m sure Michael Fish will tell you, it’s never a good idea to try and second-guess the British weather. By lap 6 I had noticed the wheel spray had started to increase again and I had to up my intermittent wash wipe. As the car started sliding badly I was starting to regret my go for glory tactic. By lap 8 the track was soaked and I was all over the place. My inters weren’t coping and when the font running “C” Tazmin of Tim Davis passed me with only 200bhp, I knew I was in trouble. I had to hold on to the “B” lead.

Under more and more pressure from behind and with the “A” cars coming through again, I spent the last few laps holding off Phil Dickenson in his “B” Tuscan. With a clear windscreen and heater blower, my visibility was much better than his and my Griff can be pretty wide on a narrow Mallory when it needs to be; I made it to the finish line and a my first Class win of 2009 and with a fastest lap too.

This Season’s been hard work so far this year. I lost a wheel at Cadwell, had an oil leak that soaked the rears at Rockingham. We then had a geometry problem at Brands Hatch and finally picked the wrong tyres for Mallory yet we are still second in “B” and third in the overall Championship. Like I said at the start, I’ll settle for Lucky…let’s hope it holds!

Race 1	Race2
A	A
Danny Winstanley	Marc Hockin
Marc Hockin	Dean Cook
Dean Cook	Danny Winstanley
B	B
Tom Stewart	Andy Race
Andy Race	Phil Dickinson
Phil Dickinson	Tom Stewart
C	C
John Simson	Tim Davis
Dave Chant	Dave Chant
Tim Davis	John Simson