The season is now on us...
Silverstone welcomes the first races of the year but as a result of Britcar dictating the schedule for the weekend, we have to test on Friday, 25th March despite our races taking place on the Sunday. We used the full Arena GP circuit - the same used by Formula One and Moto GP. This means long straights and fast corners.
Early on a Friday morning, I arrived at the circuit and set up with some of the others I'd raced with in 2010. The day is sessioned which means we get 30 minutes track-time before letting another group run for 60 minutes. Once we'd signed in, I made my way to the paddock and met up with Wes Fox. Last year's Academy Champion (one of them!) had been round the circuit before so I used a bit of time behind him to learn where it all went! It soon became clear that the long straights would result in good opportunities to slipstream other cars - something that had become obvious we could do in 2010.
Soon into the first session, it was clear that bravery was needed to get the most from the car and circuit. Some corners are flat-out in 5th gear (a gear I never used while racing in 2010). At speeds of about 120mph while driving close to other cars, you need to be confident (but not too much), observant (very) and trusting of other drivers.
We were allocated just four sessions in the day and these came and went quite quickly. It was interesting to drive alongside other cars (especially James Needham) and see the relative speeds. The start of the racing can't come soon enough!
No comments:
Post a Comment