Racing always seems like a great idea when you agree to it. Seems like a great idea when you arrive at a paddock buzzing with activity and excitement, too. But later there will be lonely moments when you wonder quite why you agreed to strap yourself into an uncomfortable and unfamiliar car and try to drive it faster than all the other people around you. These are the moments you find yourself reciting a terrible clichéd pep talk in your head: ‘You can do it. You’re the man…. Etc’. Awful but true.
I haven’t raced for a while, a little over two years in fact. I’ve missed it in some ways – it’s a truly special thing to hurtle into that first corner chaos – but I haven’t missed the endless waiting around, the mild paranoia that constantly nags at you that perhaps your race will be a bit early and you won’t be ready in time. Even so I’m pretty excited when I roll our new 370Z Roadster long-term test car into Oulton Park and glimpse my racer for the weekend – a yellow 370Z, definitely the coolest car in the production-based Dunlop Sport Maxx Championship.
I’ll be up against a gaggle of ultra-quick Astra VXRs, some very competitive Seat Leon Cupras, and a great mix of other machinery, from a BMW 120d to a Mini to a Focus ST. Not to mention the sister 370Z, also run by RJN Motosport. The championship has two classes and we’re in the fastest group, but so far the turbocharged hatches have been very tricky for the heavier Zed to overhaul.
Practice
Practice is cold and very, very wet. In these conditions the 370Z is nowhere. It just can’t put its power down like the front drivers (all that weight over the driven wheels is a great bonus) and is an oversteering monster. The Dunlop Direzza control tyre is a road legal trackday tyre and brilliant in the dry, but in the wet the shallow tread pattern makes it treacherous. I drive for forty minutes of blind panic, eyes on stalks, wondering what the hell we’re going to do in a wet race. Crash or come last, I guess… The timesheets are depressing. The quickest Seat has done a low 1.52, and my best is a 1.57. Ouch.
Qualifying
The sky is still grey but the rain has stopped and the Radical mini prototype racers have sucked most of the water from the track and flung it back into the atmosphere. Thank the Lord. It’s still wet at Druids (a very quick right hander under the cover of trees) and the mickey-mouse hairpin, but the rest of the track is rapidly drying. The Zed is transformed. It’s got a lovely balance, loads of grunt and very, very good brakes. Suddenly instead of avoiding the throttle you can jump on it and instead of big scary slides it’s pretty neat and tidy. I’m still a bit rusty but 6th on the grid for race 1 seems like a decent result. In race 2 you start in the finishing order of that first race and for race 3 they flip positions 1 to 7 so the quicker guys are back in the pack. The other Zed, driven by Craig Currie, is 4th for race 1. Good effort.
>> Click ‘Next’ below to find out how Jethro got on in his three races
The races
This is one of those lonely moments. Sat in the collecting area, hearing the drone of other racing cars circulating and then the sudden quiet as the chequered flag drops and they cruise back to the paddock. You’re next. At least it’s warm and sunny and rear-drive should help me jump off the line more quickly and get amongst those pesky Astras…
Oulton Park looks narrow when it’s filled with chunky road cars. You don’t really notice the lack of run-off area, not when you’re pointing straight. So all around me is metal, the red lights go out and I launch from about 3500rpm. It’s maybe a touch too many revs but I don’t lose ground and quickly find myself being sandwiched between the other Zed to my left and the 3rd-placed Leon on my right. I make contact with the Leon, but it’s just a friendly rub and then I burst out of the first corner ahead of both, in 3rd.
The car feels terrific. Maybe there’s just a shade too much understeer through the quick stuff, but the sticky tyres are great for traction and I can hang with the Astras through the quick corners. Only trouble is there’s an almost dead-stop right-hander, followed by an uphill acceleration run. The torquey Vauxhall’s pull at least two car lengths. The Leon has dropped away and I’m secure in 3rd. The Astras apparently lose their brakes as the race progresses, too. Patience could see me with a fitter car for the last 5-minutes or so of the 20-minute race. Unfortunately I don’t find out. A Corsa VXR has a heavy collision with the barriers before the fearsome Druids corner and the race is red flagged. So my return to racing nets a podium! A cheap, not-very-satisfying podium, but I’ll happily take the result.
Races 2
Now I’m pretty determined to get between the flying Astras and make their lives more difficult. I get a good launch from 3rd on the grid but can’t split them. It’s like a re-run of race one… only this time the race is long enough for them to stretch into the distance. I start to claw them back in as they squabble for position, but then my brakes go soft. This is the worst thing that can happen in any racer: your confidence disappears, your entry speed always ends up being too fast, which then overheats your tyres as they scrub off speed laterally… and eventually – after one or two scary moments – you resign yourself to just staying on the track and cruising to the finish. I do, as others catch and pass me with no effort, and trundle home a dejected 9th.
Race 3
So the final race and I’m 9th on the grid. But a quirk of the rules means I’m just behind the fastest runners (the top 7 from the previous race start in reverse order). I reckon we can steam through the pack and have a real tussle. In fact I’m thoroughly looking forward to it. Until I fluff the change from 1st to 2nd off the start, disappear backwards and then frantically have to make up lost ground as the others break free and scoot to the front of the pack. My brakes are better but the pedal remains very long and I just seem a bit out of sorts with the car, struggling to find a decent balance. Crappy racing driver excuses aside it’s still terrific fun and I manage to pass a few cars (admittedly sometimes through their mistake rather than my genius!) and end up 6th. I’m gutted not to have followed through on that first podioum with two strong results… but racing never quite goes to the script in your head. Bloody great way to spend a Bank Holiday weekend, though. Can I have another go please?
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