Considering there have only been 4 rounds this season, there really seems to have been a bit of everything and Brands Hatch definitely didn't disappoint!
I'd like to start this final review a little differently by saying a massive thank you to the Tucker Motorsport team for being absolutely brilliant all year around! We started off the season testing at Silverstone in March, and then the country went into lockdown, but once the season started properly, they did everything they could and consistently gave 1000% to make sure not only me but the entire team of drivers were improving and getting the maximum from our own performance and the car performance.
But there is an even bigger thank you I need to make, and that is to my dad. He tirelessly works on the car, and the amount of people that come up to me and comment on how well my car is prepped says it all! Every year the car keeps getting better and better and that is all thanks to him, without him, the past 4 seasons would never have been possible, and I definitely wouldn't be getting the results I have been!
I have to admit, before Brands I was a little bit nervous about how the weekend would unfold, mainly because of the attempted journey of last year, but thankfully once the hurdle of the journey to the circuit was cleared, I knew it was going to be a fun but challenging weekend. The Indy circuit is a short sharp blast where the car is barely ever going straight, making it such a challenging circuit! Really hope one day we get to do the GP circuit though ;)
Fridays testing was mainly dry, with one damp session at the beginning of the afternoon, giving us what seemed to be perfect preparation for the weather that followed throughout the weekend! However Friday on the face of things was quite a difficult day for me, with the car seeming to be a little wild on the rear end through most of the day, making it a real challenge to be consistent, especially in the damp 3rd session. As seems to always be the way though, by the time the final session came around, James and the rest of the Tucker Motorsport team had worked their magic, and although I was still having to hustle the car a little bit, the lap times started to come to me, and with a further change to dial the car in even more, we were all set for the final round of the year!
Qualifying on Saturday morning started damp, after a light shower greeted us as we sat in the assembly area, thankfully though, after some initial struggles at the start of the session in the wet, the circuit soon dried out with the lap times tumbling lap by lap, I eventually managed to finish 4th in the group, which due to the grouping system for this year, put me on the 3rd row of the grid in the A group.
With rain on the way, all eyes were to the skies before Race 1, and sure enough, just before the race started, the heavens opened! With the Formula Fords in the races before all committing to the wet lines, that seem to be extremely effective around Brands, we were all set, with the tension a little higher than normal!
Normally in the wet the car feels fantastic so I was extremely excited about my chances, until the green flag lap and I suddenly realised I was going to be in for a long race as I was struggling to hang on to the leaders. To make matters worse, I got over excited with the throttle on the start at which point I did an incredible rolling burnout as it felt like the entire field went past me! From there is was a very undramatic race spent desperately trying to see, with the car not really feeling underneath me, resulting in an extremely frustrating 13th place finish.
Race 2 was on Sunday, which looked on the forecast as though it would be a dry day. But the Formula Ford Festival is known for being wet, and it did not disappoint, with race 2 again being a very wet race. Fortunately for me, the Tucker team had done some work to improve the car in the wet for me and we were ready to go again!
Although the start still wasn't ideal, dropping down to 7th, the car felt massively improved on Saturday, very quickly getting back up to 6th before the safety car came out, allowing me to get onto the back of the top 5.
At the restart the two cars in front dropped off the leading 3 very quickly, pretty much putting any chance of getting a podium out of reach! However, after a lap battling to move up to 5th place, the chase was on, and the gap to the top 3 was getting smaller and smaller. With 2 laps to go I was 2 seconds behind 3rd place, but on the last lap, I was close enough to have a look up the inside into the final corner at Clearways, but with the outside wet line being so beneficial, the traction on exit resulted in my holding position in a very solid 5th place to finish the season, which after Saturdays race, felt like a victory.
Brands was a great way to end the season and truly summarised the highs and lows of motorsport, but with a great team, the lows are always outweighed by the highs and the joy of spending the weekend with such a great group.
Next year I will hopefully remain in the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship, but now its onto the quiet season again with lots of work going on in the background!
Massive thank you to Airbourne Graphics and Signs, and EPTA projects for this year, and next year the aim is to bring even more success to the team!
Keep an eye out for some exciting updates throughout the winter as we look to put ourselves in the best position possible to improve on our successes from 2020.
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