2024 Season
|
After a rather underwhelming but promising 2023 there wasn't much to do over the winter with the Force. A new lighter but stiffer floor (after Anglesey), a programme of aero improvements and with Chris Jones healthy and fit the 2024 season
was full of promise. Sticking with the single driver philosophy for the Force in the British Sprint Championship left me to concentrate on the Caterham in the HSA and Sprint Leaders and Chris Price to fully step into the role of reserve driver and chief problem solver. I had decided that the 23 year old Bilsteins were probably due for replacement so a set of Meteor's CORE Caterham specific
shock were ordered. Cougar repaired the blown cylinder head gasket (no other damage) and, having had enough of the Nankang's, I reverted to the Toyo 888s which were a known quantity.
At CCC Racing's annual pre season planning meeting we again discussed the idea of doing a mix of hillclimbs and sprints but with so much unfinished business in the British Sprint championship we decided to stick with it. Unfortunately, time and budget meant that
we couldn't do a full championship so the objective was to put up as many good results as possible. But events were to take a surprising turn and the second half of the season saw us make a concerted effort to go for the championship. Along with careful tyre husbandry and aero upgrades the hard won
speed and reliability proved crucial in achieving a historic championship win.
The Year:
April: Anglesey 6/7 April. Day 1 was on the National circuit and started wet with storm Kathleen arriving. Chris J was feeling both anxious and rusty not having driven for so long but was a little fortunate with the running order and conditions to win the first Run Off.
Run Off 2 was dry and a third place was a fair result. I wasn't really 'feeling it' and was sixth out of eight with a 64.00s run. Day 2 was on the longer International track and conditions were generallY bad all day. Chris J spun off in practice, damaging
the floor and his confidence a bit but came back to take third in the first Run Off and then second in the final Run Off of the week-end. With the conditions ranging from the bad to the appalling I sat out a few runs but managed a couple leading to fourth out of seven with a 109.34s
May: Blyton 18/19 May. We were away so it was just Chris J and Chris P in attendance. Chris J was still not 'feeling it' and was fourTH and third in the first day's Run Offs and worryingly a place behind the similar Force TA of John Loudon each time. Things improved on Day two with a pair of
second places one of which could have been a win when Chris was red flagged while well ahead on the splits. Perhaps seat time was beginning to kick in.
June: Pembrey 1/2 June. What a week-end! On Day 1 Chris J was unbeatable. He was fastest on every run on Saturday, winning both Run Offs, setting a new record and taking FTD! Wow. I won my class with a 124.33s and had a good battle with Mike Smith (in a different class on the day)
to finish ahead by a second. On Day 2 Chris J was looking to repeat Day 1 but lost out fractionally on the final Run Off but still took one win, a new record and FTD. I lost out (big time) to Anthony Earl but just edged out
Mike Smith with a 135.58s partly due to a re-run and spin on my final effort.
July: Lydden 13 July. Chris J was again on another level winning both Run Offs as he pleased and taking FTD (by nearly a second) with another new record. I was up against a couple of other Caterham Superlights and it was close all day about half a second apart. My good final run didn't
get given a time so I had a re-run. Warm tyres around Chessons made a bit of a difference and I ran out the winner with an 84.81s two seconds better than my previous best. What a day! The only shame was that the event clashed with the Dick Mayo at Combe.
August: Llandow 17 August. At the end of July we had realised that the loss of a Run Off at Mallory in June reduced the number of qualifyng Run Offs for scoring to 30 which meant that if the team could add another couple of events a Championship podium was possible.
However, we had missed the Kirkistown double header at the beginning of August where most of the other championship front runners had scored well leaving Chris eighth in the standings and 175 points adrift (26 points for a win and record).
Chris was dominant and fastest on every run, winning both Run Offs with ease plus a new record. But the previous two year's champions were second and third so scored well.
I couldn't repeat my Lydden form and was fourth with an average 86.82s
August: Snetterton 24/25 August. Day 1 was wet (and miserable) so a bit of a lottery. Chris managed a second (to Steve Broughton in the rapid DJ Busa which was only doing a part season) and a win so didn't lose out to his rivals.I was off the pace, as usual in the wet, with a 137.53s.
Day two was dry and Chris took a close win in the first Run Off followed by an easier win in the second. A new record and FTD into the bargain. The maths were now being done and were showing that if Chris could continue this run of form, then without any mistakes of mechanical problems
he could be in with a chance of the championship outright. I was off the pace again but improving on each run to finish with a 103.96s.
September: Knockhill 7/8 Sept. We were away again so the two Chrisses made the trek to Knockhill as it was a 'bucket list' event for Chris J. The elevation changes put our little 1000cc engine at a significant disadvantage so damage limitation was the order of the day.
Against all the odds Chris won the first Run Off and set a new record, even beating former Champion Stuart Robb, having a one off outing in his mighty Pilbeam Judd V10! In the second Run Off Chris was beaten by reigning champion, Pete Goulding,
who was emerging as the main challenger for the title. Day two saw Goulding win booth Run Offs from Chris but with a new class record and bonus point not much ground was lost.
September: Pembrey 24/25 Sept. This was going to be Chris's big opportunity. The car had always gone well there despite being one of the least powerful cars in the championship because the chassis set up and aero (new upgrades on the car for this event) meant tha corner speeds more than made up for the lack of speed at the end of the straights.
Chris was mightily focussed all week-end, knowing what he had to do. The result was complete dominance. A clean sweep of four Run Off wins, two new records and two FTDs moved Chris up to second in the championship table. Although 36 points behind the leader Chris had still not done 30 rounds while his challengers
were dropping scores so with three events and six rounds to go Aglesey could prove decisive.
Day one on the traditional track I had a good run to take second on a 122.50s and on Day two on the Clubnam track I slipped back to third with a 134.77s but happy to be competitive.
October: Anglesey 5/6 Oct. We were away again and anxiously watching the timing screens in our hotel room in Japan at around midnight local time! Chris was determined to get the job done as quickly as possible rather than take it more cautiously. Day one on the shorter National circuit
Chris took the first Run Off but as the day progressed his challengers were finding the time and for the second Run Off three drivers posted times that looked good for the win but Chris ,running last, pipped them by fractions with less than half a
second covering all four. The result, however gave Chris a new record, FTD and above all, the Championship! Day two on the longer International track saw Chris, with the pressure off, take two very narrow wins over Pete Goulding by 0.02 and
0.11s respectively!
October: Castle Combe 12 Oct. More of a celebration event, the first Run Off was damp and Chris, going for it, put his wheels onto a puddle on the entry to Camp corner and had a lurid 360 spin but without losing much speed. He still came fourth - his worst reslut of the season!
The final Run Off of the year was dry and normal service was resumed with a narrow win over the Broughton DJ and FTD. I had been thinking of entering the Caterham but didn't which was a shame as I would have won my class in the Sprint Leaders championship as scoring errors later revealed.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
