News - Modified Production Number 8
Charlton Raceway
After missing the last club meeting it was good to get back into the car and compete against the other 11 cars nominated.
In heat one I started out of 6. I was able to get past Swarbrooke and Maroske before passing Jacobi into 2nd, but Jacobi didn't give up his spot without a fight and got back in front of me. I finished 3rd behind Shane Dennis and David Jacobi.
In heat 2 I started off of pole with Colin Hockley beside me. Hockley had the drive with the grippier part of the track up high and got away to a good start to take the lead. Dennis Bullpitt followed him through into 2nd place until Maroske spun and bought on the yellows and a complete re-start.
Hockley again got the jump on the start and ran away with the race. I finished in 2nd with David Jacobi following home in 3rd.
Heat 3 saw me start out of 7. I was able to move up to 4th to finish behind Hockley, Troy Richards and Dennis Bullpitt.
I qualified for the feature out of 2 with Hockley grabbing pole. I had resigned myself to finishing 2nd as soon I saw the qualifying order - but was never going to give up trying. On the start Hockley hit the slick stuff and moved up onto my line taking the lead. My car had great pace and I was able to find drive in the middle of corners. On lap 3 I was able to get under Hockley in turns 3 & 4 to take the lead, but only as Ian Galvin had a big roll-over bringing on the red light.
The restart saw me start in front of Hockley and he had the pressure on for the entire race with moments of our 2 cars running side-by-side. The track was slick on the low line and slick on the high line, but there was drive through the middle, so I had to drive through the rough stuff. On the last lap Hockley had a 1/2 spin going into turn 1 giving me plenty of room to breathe and allowing me to come home for the win. Hockley was lucky enough to be able to re-gather the car and finish in 2nd with David Jacobi finishing in third.
Overall I am extremely happy with the cars performance. It seems to be very reliable compared to last season.