It’s a few days since the race weekend and I’m still absolutely buzzing from the experience! It was the perfect way to be introduced to the world of Motorsport in the driver’s seat with lots of lessons learnt, but I won’t recount this with rose tinted glasses and say that it all went smoothly and as planned…! But that’s racing right!?

Arrival and Setup

It was nice for things to start feeling like they were getting back to normal again. Heading straight up to Donington after my second post lockdown photo shoot, it was finally all starting to sink in that it was time to go racing. With perfect timing, we arrived just as the boys from Raceworks were unloading the B from the back of their impressive transporter. We spent the rest of the evening meeting the paddock and getting series stickers on the car before I finally jumped into the seat for fitting.

In the year and a half since I last drove Simon’s MGB at Spa, It was immediately obvious that I hadn’t grown any taller, since I was still dangling inches away from pedals. Thankfully the team at Raceworks got straight onto the issue and were able to sort out a temporary fix with padding that helped me to reach the important stuff, even if it was still a slight stretch!

Next step was to get briefed on the ins and outs of the niggling engine issue from the previous few days. The plan decided that I was to drive gently, shift at 6000rpm, constantly watch the temperature gauge (be concerned if it hit 200 degrees) and get the car to the finish line for both races - we were here for the signatures after all!

Qualifying

Butterflies. Lots of them! Getting into the car 10 minutes before anyone else in the paddock had even thought about getting into a car, we went through final checks, emergency procedures and had a reassuring chat to the legends at MASS Racing who had expertly patched the engine up in a very limited time frame. The plan was to box after my three mandatory flying laps, give the team an update and check tyre pressures. Visualising my lines, I headed out to the assembly area and refamiliarised myself with the gearbox - the clutch was still far, but it would have to do.

Treating the session like a trackday, I eased into the speed, getting the tyres warm and getting to grips with how the car handled. but heading down Craners and into the Old Hairpin, there was definitely something wrong with my seating position. Trying to keep my hands at ‘quarter to’ position, I found myself uncomfortably tense and had to cling onto the wheel as my upper body swung into every corner. On the other hand there was massive relief as the engine seemed to be in ok health with temperatures stable at under 190 degrees and getting nowhere near as hot as I was dreading.

In truth I was a little deflated after the session. Although my lap times slowly dropped, I came out as P25 of 26 and P7 of 7 in my class with a 1:34:606 - a massive 6.324 seconds off the class pole time. I was slow and had a hell of a lot to improve on to get anywhere near the 1:30’s I was optimistically chasing as my target time. But in the back of my mind was the health of the engine…

Race One

In the assembly area, the nerves started to kick in and my heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest! With some padding removed to get me sitting lower in the seat and the belts strapped in double tight I was hoping to feel more confident with car control for race one. With some final words of wisdom to “take it easy into turn one” from Simon before the green flag, I took solace when he gaves me a big thumbs up as the grid started moving. As we lined up on straight, I wasn’t too concerned about the race start - I was starting from the second to last row so there was a minimised chance of me bodging a start and causing mid pack chaos.

So here it goes, the start of my first ever race - The gentle burble of engines, the lights go red, revs are building up around me - GREEN! It all happened a lot faster than I expected and the engine bogs down begging for revs. To everyone who had told me that waiting for the green light moment lasts forever, you lied!

The guys on the last row overtake me quickly and safely - that’s the first issue dealt with. I head into turn one with a huge gap ahead to the main pack, and I’m immediately thankful that I was well away. There’s a lot of smoke, debris all over the circuit, cars off on both sides of the track and a car sitting sideways right in the middle with damage all over. Ouch. Motorsport is indeed dangerous.

The safety car comes out for a few laps before we go racing again. I feel a lot calmer now, the nerves have settled and I’ve kept out of trouble. When we finally go racing again, I begin to concentrate on wrapping my head around the MGB’s handling by testing the waters at the limit and sometimes going over. Always watching my mirrors for the V8 boys who are lapping under 1:20’s, I’m thankful to be at the back running on super forgiving Avon ZZ tyres with nobody else in sight - there’s plenty of margin for small mistakes. The seat feels a hell of a lot better but I have to resort to shuffling my hands around the wheel to retain upper body stability, not ideal, but the only option.

Race One over, and I feel a massive sense of relief with one signature in the bag! The engine felt ok, temperatures got close to 190degrees but nowhere near the danger area of 200. I was starting to build confidence in the car and my lines, times dropped down to 1:31 but averaged 1.32s which I believe purely came from the adjustments to seating position.

Race Two

Had a lot more confidence going into this one. Unfortunately due to the incident at the start of race one, our class was down from 7 to 5 entries. Starting from the same grid position, I was hoping to at least keep up with the pack for the race.

Keeping the revs higher for the start, I don’t bog down and get moving. Keeping this recount short (i’ll let the final lap video do the talking), it was an incredible race that I won’t forget! Finally more confident with the car and my lines I squeezed a few more revs from the engine to 6300rpm after recommendation from the engineers at MASS. I ended up having a fun filled battle for class P3 for a majority of the race. With lap times down to 1:30s, it was magic as I trailed behind looking for a gap, all while jumping out of the way for the V8 boys. The dicing felt all within control but if I’m honest, it felt Paul Rayment in P3 was just taking it easy! (He later mentions he has had brake issues. With engine gremlins in our car, it was a perfect match for a sprint to the end!)

Although I didn’t manage to close the 0.295 second gap, race two was pure and brilliant fun. Hitting my target times of 1:30s reasonably consistently throughout, another signature achieved, the engine ticking just above 190degrees and in one piece, I was very, very pleased with the result.

Courtesy of My Super Car Productions

Conclusion

An unforgettable weekend that taught me a lot of lessons about being on the other side of something so familiar. A few of those things:

Listen to the team.
Things don’t always go to plan, especially with classic cars
Always be aware of your surroundings and check your mirrors
Racing isn’t always about speed - there’s a balance to be had with the other factors (mechanical sympathy, getting signatures, etc)
Take it easy and build confidence
Every detail matters - ie. seating position
I need to work harder on my racing lines
It gets hot in a race car
I must work on overtaking technique and build confidence in making a move
Classic cars require a lot more driver engagement and effort to pedal them at speed!
HAVE FUN - there’s no point if you’re not!

Many thanks to the following for helping create the environment for an amazing experience and making it all a reality:

Simon Alexander: For all the tips and effort in the lead up to the race weekend and having huge trust in me to take his superb MGB around a circuit!
The Raceworks Motorsport team: For all the on and off track support, not possible without!
MASS Racing: For their expertise and effort getting the engine ready in time, recommendations and ‘special aura’ which was no doubt the reason we got to the end!
Zoe: For bearing with my constant car talk and for taking some amazing photos!
The BCV8 Championship: for making me feel so welcome!
My Super Car Productions: For the great live coverage of the entire weekend!