A Trip Up The Mountain

Saturday 8th September saw the Mini Challenge Cooper classes convening at Cadwell Park for another day of intensely close racing. Following changeable conditions for testing on the Friday, Saturday was set fair with glorious sunshine and the odd scattering of cloud.

Qualifying went smoothly, however Andy and The Flying Panda could only manage 8th place in qualifying. Having only had around 40 minutes of testing to increase pace through the formidable Goose Neck and off camber Barn corners - there was plenty of speed left in the bag. Unfortunately, due to the Championship Regulations 8th place quickly became a back of the grid start as a hangover from Croft just three weeks previous.

Race 1 got off to a rather embarrassing start the Flying Panda baring its rear end to world after the boot lid opened while exiting the assembly area - thank you George ;-). The Scrutineers quickly rectified my race engineer’s mistake and the start procedure commenced on a tightly packed grid - it felt like we were two by two rather than the more familiar staggered grid.

Race 1 finished as it started for Andy with a closely packed rear of the grid, all faster than each other at different parts of the circuit, however, not enough of a difference to commit to a move. This was coupled by slight apprehension due to the previous trip into the gravel (Croft). Andy left with a souvenir after some debris flicked up from the track and left a circular shatter on The Flying Panda’s windscreen - it made quite a noise!

Race 2 started with a tightly packed grid side by side through turn 1 followed by Andy passing Adrian Norman efficiently through Charlies. Two spinners took Andy up to 6th and then the ABS failed resulting in a near miss on the back Michael Paul and going too deep in to Mansfield. Adrian managed to get his position back, the championship leader, Paul Manning came through after his spin and Andy held on for dear life with the now lame Panda to finish in P8.

Another challenging, exciting, emotional roller-coaster of a weekend!

Watch the highlights in the below video, like, subscribe and comment and hold on tight for the next instalment after Donington on 28th and 29th September.

Tougher in the North

After a wet Friday test day on a never before visited circuit the Saturday Qualifying and Race 1 were warm and dry. With less than 0.5 seconds separating 4th to 8th Andy put The Flying Panda in a disappointing P8 for Race 1. After some confusion at the start of Race 1 due to the presentation of the flag Andy gradually climbed his way to 6th, passing Adrian Norman and unusually, Josh Porter who must have been experiencing technical difficulties as he dropped backwards through the pack. Braking too deep in to the last corner presented an opportunity for Adrian Norman to gain the place back which he promptly took meaning Andy finished in 7th.

Race 2 started with much the same confusion as Race 1 but everyone got away with Andy and Adrian chasing down Paul Manning, the Championship leader sat in P5 after the grid reversal (top 4) and the confusing start. Happily, Adrian and Andy were keeping pace with Manning for a good few laps until Andy went for an opportunity in to turn 1 which unfortunately didn’t work and out put Andy and Adrian in the gravel ending their races.

A weekend of frustration and tough lessons from the most northern circuit on the calendar. See the highlights video below to catch up with the action.

The next round will be Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on 7th September.

Big thanks as always to my sponsors Crookes Walker Consulting and Direnza for making this possible.

Steep Learning Curve at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival

The Mini Festival at Brands Hatch is one of the biggest and most exciting events on the calendar for the Mini Challenge with all four classes having three races over the two day meeting. Having been Senior Clerk for the meeting on the preceding year Andy knew all to well how challenging the Indy circuit could be… This did not put him off exploring the limits of the car in challenging conditions however.

With standing water at the top of Paddock Hill causing two red flags in Qualifying, Andy was being somewhat cautious resulting in him sitting in 9th until being told this by his engineer Richard Heeley spurred him on to leap to 6th for Race 1. This wasn’t without some over-rotation and an excursion from the track as the limits of traction were reached and exceeded.

Race 1 got underway with a drop to 7th which resulted in Andy entering in to battle with Adrian Norman, a formidable opponent who knows exactly how to make his car wide. The battle was short lived as Andy pushed his braking point deeper in to the notorious Paddock Hill Bend resulting in a tyre screeching slide through the gravel and in to the barrier bringing out the safety car and ending Andy’s race.

After the DNF in Race 1 and some overnight repairs (big thanks to Mad4MINI and Lee Pearce), The Flying Panda worked its way from the back of the grid to 8th in the Race 2 action. This could potentially have been a finish higher up the grid however Andy once again found and exceeded The Flying Panda’s limits resulting in a trip through the gravel at Clearways. Andy kept it lit this time and safely rejoined at the back of the grid leaving Andy with work to do to get back past Michael Paul in 8th.

A disqualification on technical grounds saw Andy starting Race 3 in 7th, missing out on the grid reversal by one place. What followed was some of the most exciting racing yet with close battles all the way to the end.

Andy commented; “This weekend has been painful which means I have learnt a lot about myself, the car and gravel traps. I need to focus on being consistent and staying within the limits at Croft and get back to the podium.”

Catch up with the action in the below highlights video. More footage of the weekend can be found on the AR-Motorsport Youtube channel.

The next round will be at Croft on 17th and 18th August.

Big thanks goes to Crookes Walker Consulting and Direnza as sponsors, Mad4MINI Motorsport for engineering support, Stuart McLaren for coaching support and Lee Pearce for helping with parts to get the Panda back on track.