Easter weekend saw the second race of the season at Snetterton on the 300 circuit. Having taken my first two race wins here last year I knew the pressure was on!
I knew I had the pace following Silverstone, so providing I didn't make any mistakes and kept it on the black stuff I should be ok...
Qualifying would be my first opportunity to see how my lap times compared to the rest of the field. I was running 5th until I broke into some clean air and on my final lap of the session, found half a second to pinch 2nd place, putting me on the front row of the grid for race one.
Race 1. Alongside me on pole was guest driver Thomas Langford (not taking part in the championship). This meant I only needed 2nd place to pick up maximum points...but where's the fun in that!
A poor launch left me wheel spinning off the line but a cheeky kiss from behind by team mate Declan McDonnell catapulted me into the lead at turn 1. It wasn't long before Langford pipped me on the straight and from there I knew I had to stick in his tow to keep up. I stuck patiently with him until I saw my opportunity to pass with only one lap to go....come on!!! The excitement clearly got the better of me and a silly mistake at Oggies allowed Langford back through. I chased hard with less than a lap to go but couldn't get the move done. The line was crossed with only 0.124 seconds between us. Close!!?
Race 2. Team mate Dec on the second row got another flying start and pulled out of the first corner in the lead. Down in third I knew had to work extra hard to get this one back! I did manage to get past and into second place and soon caught up to Dec. The top four cars diced around and switched places for the whole race with some fantastic driving by all. Coming up to the last lap and in second place I was going to get some very valuable points but I couldn't help myself and had to try for first. Here comes a lesson learnt... pulling out to take first place, losing the tow and allowing third and fourth place through to close the gap on the inside and with nowhere for me to get back in the train...bugger! Crossing the last lap board in fourth place was not how I was going to finish my last lap! I saw an opportunity coming into the Wilson hairpin and put my car on the inside, braking late and darting back up the inside of all of them. I was back in second! What a relief, although still the remainder of the lap to go. Fortunately no more silly mistakes and Tucker Motorsport finishes with 1st and 2nd place trophies and points. What a team!
The car was an absolute dream to drive and although I was down on top end speed, the handling made up for it. Let's see if we can get the engine performing better ready for the next race on the full GP circuit at Silverstone next month, where power is vital.
2 second place finishes with 1st place points in race 1 puts me at the top of the championship table but with teammate Declan McDonnell only 3 points behind.
Below is all the race footage from both races. Enjoy!
Race 1 courtesy of the BRSCC with live commentary.
Race 2 courtesy of the BRSCC with live commentary.
Again a huge thanks to all for supporting me and to my incredible sponsors. Lillywhite Garage and Tucker Motorsport doing an incredible job yet again with the car. Thank you.
See you all at Silverstone on May 21st for round 3.