After the better results at Croft, confidence was returning. Donington is one of my favourite circuits with fast flowing and tight, technical bends. Qualifying went well finishing second in class, 7th out of 36 total.
Race 1 was without doubt the closest, most enjoyable and thrilling race I have been in yet. The whole time was spent swapping positions with Jon Candler in a Peugeot 306 GTi, literally door mirror to door mirror but with no contact. As the above picture shows it was close racing at it’s best and either my rear view mirror or front windscreen were filled with a green and black Peugeot. Lapping slower cars added heart stopping excitement as keeping momentum throughout was vital. In the end I managed to keep Jon at bay but he was a formidable opponent and a great deal of mutual respect was earned in the race.
Race 2 was a very similar event although Jon seemed to have the upper hand for most of the time. I finally managed to slip past him down the back straight and make it stick. However, disaster struck on the last bend of the last corner when the rear end gave way going into the chicane at the end of Starkey’s Straight. How Jon managed to avoid me is miraculous as I completed a full 360 degree spin. During this Ben Gundry in a BMW 330ci came through relegating me from 2nd to 4th. Disappointing to say the least but the race was that good it didn’t detract from the enjoyment overall.
Once home I watched the race from Jon’s in car footage and noticed that the rear end of my car had a pronounced bounce turning into the chicane. Closer inspection of the suspension leg revealed the cause: a failed damper unit with all the nitrogen pre-charge having leaked out. More repairs but fortunately neither time consuming or expensive this time!
Thanks to Jonathan Elsey, Motorsport Photography, for the excellent photographs.