I have to be honest, I didn't expect to be writing this as a 3x race winner after the first 3 races of the season!
But what a weekend we had!
Arriving at the first round of the season is always brilliant, having not seen most in the paddock since October last year, it was great to get to Croft on Thursday night and be able to have a bit of a chin wag!
Having never raced around Croft before, and only spending a very limited amount of time driving in the dry around Croft, there were no real expectations going into the weekend, with Friday focusing on improving track knowledge and starting to do a bit of set up work towards the end of the day once some of the cobwebs had been blown away. At the end of the day, we seemed to be there or there about in terms of pace, but with the knowledge that rain was threatening all weekend.
Qualifying arrived on a Saturday morning and the main issue we all had to overcome was to get a quick lap in early, avoiding traffic, with 40 cars on the track, getting a clean lap was always going to be difficult. The other factor to consider was the tow, with us seeing up to a 0.8 second per lap benefit from getting a good slipstream around the circuit, getting a clean tow would make a significant difference to the end result.
As the session started, the traffic was an apparent issue from the get go, with Steve Foden initially taking the early provisional pole position after getting a very nice tow from me! But as soon as Steve pitted, I managed to get a clean tow all the way around the lap from Oliver Graham, and despite a big error into the complex, locking both front tyres, I still managed to get Pole Position, my first ever pole in motorsport, and also setting a new qualifying lap record!
Starting from Pole for the 1st time was a very good feeling, be able to line up and have a clear view of turn 1 was very beneficial, and with a good clean start, I headed down to turn 1 on the inside of Foden, who had an equally good start, but the the advantage of the inside line, it was a fairly relaxed start to the race compared to starting in the mid pack! Soon though, Knibbs was applying pressure with Allwood a close 3rd.
As the first few laps unfolded it was very apparent that I would have no time to relax and couldn't put a foot wrong, with it being impossible to break the tow, I soon got into a rhythm, and as Knibbs and Allwood got stuck in behind, I set fastest lap and a new lap record, opening the gap up to 1 second. But as the battle for 2nd settled down, Knibbs was soon able to bring the gap down, leading to a final 10 minutes of constant pressure, eventually crossing the line to start the season off in perfect fashion, my 1st ever win, and a lap record to go with it!
Sunday somehow ended up being even better! After plenty of people praying & doing a rain dance, 30 minutes before race 2 of the weekend, the heavens opened and we were greeted with thick black cloud and hail, making the decision on how to have the car set up before the race extremely tricky, but fortunately, running with Tucker and James' wet weather expertise, when we got onto the track on the warm up lap, I instantly got a positive feeling from the car, with the relatively new surface at Croft providing plenty of grip in the wet conditions.
The race got underway, and this time on the run to turn 1, Knibbs got the better run and was later on the brakes around the outside, managed to make the move stick leaving me in a precarious 2nd place with Allwood and Trott behind. With Trott making a brilliant move on Allwood behind into Sunny In, my mirrors were very quickly full, and was having to defend and try to attack for the lead at the same time, whilst getting a feel for the track as it started to dry.
Soon I could feel the car coming alive in the greasy conditions and with Knibbs seeming to struggle on the exit of the final corner, I saw my chance, getting a good run down to turn 1 and making the move stick, and then going on to setting my fastest lap of the race immediately. As the race went on I was able to extend the gap up to 2.5 seconds, enough to have time to relax on the final lap and bring the car home for my 2nd win, as Allwood, Knibbs and Trott battled it out behind.
Race 3 however was no where near as plain sailing. With the track drying and a visible dry line appearing during the Supercup race, we took a bit of a gamble to put the car on a nearly dry set up, with the car stiffened up with the aim of being quicker towards the end of the race on a dry track, and with nothing to lose after 2 wins, we took the risk.
Unfortunately for us, on the warm up lap, the rain started to fall harder and harder, and didn't seem to let up throughout the entire race.
This time getting a good start and with Allwood seeming to miss a gear on the run to turn 1, I had an unchallenged first half of the lap, before the safety car came out due to a 4 / 5 car crash at Sunny Out, which included my team mate Nick Le Doyen, and after a torrid weekend with mechanical issues, his weekend had gone from bad to worse but was thankfully ok after a fairly heavy impact through no fault of his own.
As the race got back underway, it became apparent very quickly that on a stiff set up the car wasn't able to show the same pace I had enjoyed through the first 2 races, and Fenwick was all over the rear bumper from the restart. Then to add to the mix, Foden, after recovering from being down in 6th managed to climb through the field and take nearly 2 seconds out of me in a single lap, clearly excelling in the wet conditions.
As the track conditions continued to deteriorate, Fenwick took the wet line into the complex and got up the inside of me, but fortunately the outside line yielded plenty of grip, allowing me to hang on for the inside into the final hairpin, allowing me to keep hold of the 1st, with Foden trying the same move on the second to last lap, with me again holding onto the position.
On the final lap though, with the windscreen badly steamed up, I managed to drop my front right wheel over the inside kerb at the chicane and massively damaged the wheel, with the car vibrating horrendously, to the point where I thought I might not make it to the end of the race, as at the time, I didn't know if I had punctured the tyre as well. But fortunately the wheel was the only thing damaged and the tyre stayed inflated to cross the line in 1st, finishing off a clean sweep of wins and to start the season in the perfect manner.
To think that 5 years ago, I started my racing journey with Tucker Motorsport at Snetterton with a 14th place finish in a B race, to now having completed a clean sweep of wins is still very surreal to me. I'm extremely grateful to everyone at Tucker Motorsport that have always supported me and helped me improve as a driver over the years. They have been patient with me and finally we've managed to do something that when I started seemed impossible.
I also need to thank my Dad over and over again for the brilliant work he does on the car all the way through the seasons, to keep me on track and competing!
And finally where would I be without the support of Airbourne Graphics and Signs that have designed a stunning livery for this year, as well as EPTA project and PerformanceOne clothing for all their support, I'm very proud to be able to represent such brilliant companies and put their brands on the top step!
Next up is Silverstone on the 19th / 20th of June!
See you there.
Jack
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