Tatty Old Bodged Racecar (2015-10-15) - Season End - 7th :(

[jmc330i]

Congratulations on the podium!! It's a great feeling to achieve something you set out to do... bring on the next step

Please keep updating this, it's great inspiration to us who haven't got there yet and it's also a good read

[Altrezia]

And here's race two:
[youtube][/youtube]

[rix313]

Top job dude well done. Are you sure this is your last season in it?

[DanThe]

Great stuff Alex, well done!

[Altrezia]

A weekend to forget. Started the weekend OK with a 5th in qualifying, but seemed to lose pace compared to everyone else and ended up 7th and 8th in the races. Bad reactions leading to bad starts in both races, and some other minor issues.

I had a few troubles in my head. I’ve lost confidence in overtaking certain competitors, after they prefer panel damage to losing a position, and I seem to forget that I’m allowed to make it hard for people to pass me. Must have been half asleep.

Mega thanks to the GFR gang again for keeping the car running after I broke the gear selector on Saturday.

We’re at Castle Combe in 3 weeks. Going for better results there. Last round of the year, and last round for me in the E30, so no pressure, no need to keep it tidy. Bring it on.




Race 1:
[youtube][/youtube]

Race 2:
[youtube][/youtube]

[DanThe]

Second race looked a bit lairy at times, bit of reaction testing going on!

[Altrezia]

The final round of the season. I entered the final round in 3rd place in the championship.

The weekend started for us on Thursday with a half-day test at Combe. Gary (of Gary Feakins Racing fame) helped run the car and gave some advice, meaning we go my laptime down to a 1:22.501 (just 2 tenths off the previous lap record for a PBMW!). All was going well, until at around 3pm, the car stalled out on track and wouldn't fire up. It was dragged back to the paddock and we spent an hour going over the car trying to work out what was wrong. It had fuel, but no spark. After a bit of diagnosis, we found that the ECU had blown. Very weird. Luckily Gary had a spare which was promptly fitted, but for some reason the car felt sluggish and slow with this - the best lap time I could do with the new ECU was a 1:23.7. Ouch. The car seemed alright to drive, but had very little power on the straights - my end of straight speed was down by almost 10mph compared to the earlier laps. Still, it was better to have a running car for the upcoming weekend than a broken one, so we left it as it was.

Race day arrived, and unsurprisingly I didn't find any more speed. I managed only a 1:23.5 in the traffic-filled qualifying session, whilst having to avoid spinning back-markers and packs of cars battling for track space. This slow time meant I was a paltry 10th on the grid for race 1.

Race 1 was a disaster. I made a good start, but then the power problem rose its head, and I found myself unable to push through the back of the top ten before the chicane - followed by a small error which put me on the marbles and I had to catch a slide, putting me even further down. I then battled with Tom Ibrahim until he got sideways out of a corner and I was unable to avoid his bumper turning him into a full on spin. Sorry mate! The rest of the race was fairly dull and I finished in 9th spot after a couple of cars further ahead fell off.

Race 2 was more fun, but the results didn't come in this one either. I battled with Rob Manger and Sam Strong for the whole race, but only managed to finish 10th.

And with that, the 2015 race season for Production BMW was over. Because of my rubbish results and the fact the series runs a dropped-score points system, I had been shuffled down to 7th in the championship standings. It was made worse because of two competitors who were, for some unknown reason, allowed to gain their 30-point bonus for a day's marshalling while also racing with us on the day. Without that, I would still have been 5th.

One small highlight for me is that without dropped scores and marshalling, I was the 3rd highest scoring driver this year, beaten in points only by our championship winner Gary Feakins and ever speedy Mark Palmer. I finished every race in the top ten, and got my first ever podium. Not a bad year!

Now the season is over, I can look back and see what I've learnt, what I've done wrong and what I want to change for next time.
I'm a much calmer and faster driver than I was in 2014. Mistakes are at a minimum, and the frantic behaviour in the car has been replaced with slow thoughtful movements, meaning faster more consistent laptimes. My racecraft has a left a lot to be desired - since my knock at Silverstone, and the subsequent bollocking, I'd been pretty nervous about trying to do overtakes and I've never tried to block anyone for fear of contact. I need to shake that.
Overall I am pretty happy with my results and am already looking forward to the next race meeting I can book myself into - though I am not sure what that will be in yet.

I want to say a huge thank you to my fantastic wifey Nicky who supports me even when I find it tough. She is like my own sports psychologist.
I also need to thank the guys from Gary Feakins Racing who have been there whenever I have needed them in the paddock and at the workshop, helping keep the car running smoothly. Then there are the good friends who have come to watch, such as Ric, Rich, Neil, Phil, Susanne, and of course my sister Mads.

Also, a huge congratulations to Gary, who managed to absolutely obliterate this year’s championship winning it by a mile - getting pole at every event, and winning all but two race (one of which he didn’t even enter!). Amazing effort. Being behind the scenes really showed how bloody hard it is to do. Well done mate!

It's time to start looking to 2016, and planning what to do. It's likely that it will be a bits-and-bobs year while we plan an attack on 2017.

Thanks all!











Race 1:
[youtube][/youtube]

Race 2:
[youtube][/youtube]

[rix313]

Technicalities altering final championship positions seems to be a big theme at the moment, maybe it's just because of the time of the year. As you pointed out though, on merit you achieved that fantastic result and should be proud.

[Altrezia]

And today I sold the car.

It's been fun!