Tuesday 11th November 2014
PH at Race of Remembrance
Mission Motorsport's inaugural memorial race proves the perfect petrolhead tribute to military heroes
A quick recap of the Race of Remembrance format if you had forgotten: eight hours at Anglesey with a stop for a memorial service.
See, qualifying really was that wet
To have been involved with the Race of Remembrance in any form would have been a huge privilege. To have raced with three of my Academy friends from this year (including Mission Motorsport's) was just superb, a perfect way to end our first year of motorsport. If you've not read Steve's story already, please do so; on top of just being a top bloke, he was an exceptionally brave Marine and, as it transpires, a very good racing driver too.Testing on Friday was bizarre. Many more professional outfits were tweaking set ups and tyres and race strategy. We went out, drove as fast as we could for as long as we could and then discussed what we'd found out over a coffee from Barry's motorhome. Pro novices you would probably call it.
If in doubt...
What did we discover? We were fast enough, that wasn't a problem. As 1.6-litre Caterhams we were racing against Mk1 MX-5s and were typically five seconds a lap quicker than them. The problem we had was sustaining that pace. None of us has ever done more than a 15-minute race against identical Caterhams, leave alone stints of more than double that in an eight-hour endurance race with all sorts of cars. Could we do that? Could the cars? One mistake late on could so easily ruin an time advantage built up. However, with a three-minute stop compulsory at every driver change, we didn't want to swap too often and waste time in the pits. Much to ponder then.
Memorial service in a pitlane very Mission Motorsport
We also learnt though that Anglesey Coastal is a wonderful little circuit. In a Caterham on our Academy Avon CR322 tyres (the second and third Caterhams of Barry and Paul were running on next year's ZZRs) there was always plenty to do. Turn one needs a little lift, Church is flat in the dry (well if you're brave like Steve, I think I did it once) and the Corkscrew is a great test of your trail braking. Anglesey may be in the middle of nowhere but if you ever get the opportunity to drive it you really must....maybe not flat out
Unfortunately most of the Irish Sea was falling over Anglesey island on Saturday, ergo everything we had learnt about the circuit on Friday went out the window. Lap times were around 12 seconds slower, visibility was appalling and the kerbs were lethal. I think one of us did the entire allotted half an hour qualifying for fear of falling off and ruining a car for the race. Far more importantly a couple of the MX-5s were quicker in the sodden conditions. We looked good for a result running faster than them but with more stops; with a wet circuit there was no chance. The forecast for Sunday was changing more frequently than Nurburgring ownership and with no apparent predictability; any rain that would arrive was likely to be severe, meaning Saturday evening was spent drying out race gear, staying off the beer (well, two of us did) and praying for sunshine.
Six guys from Mission Motorsport raced
Our prayers were answered. Sunday dawned bright and clear and crisp, a beautiful autumn day for racing. The qualifying debacle had placed us 12th, surrounded by MX-5s. Steve was doing the first stint and did a terrific job of getting us to the front of our class and staying out of trouble. But the MX-5s changed even later than we thought, giving them a further advantage because of those damned three-minute stops. A safety car period during Paul's first run out didn't help matters, bunching up the field and further reducing a small lead.Into the fray
I was in Steve's car from 1020h, running into the memorial service and for 10 minutes on the other side. Radio contact with the pits was through a walkie-talkie with a headset gaffer-taped to my cheek, just to ensure the warnings about the service weren't missed.
To stop a motor race for a memorial service is certainly odd but wholly appropriate given the context. It was a great reminder too of why everyone had collected on a remote part of North Wales in November. The service was excellently organised, run and observed, a superb addition to the Race of Remembrance itinerary.
Steve gets the team off to great start
Dropping (alright, folding) yourself back into a racing car after a memorial service is most strange. But a safety car lap to refocus was helpful and the car felt good for having cooled down. And if anybody wasn't paying attention, three abreast into Rocket after the restart would have helped!But we were still changing too much. At the current rate a Mazda would take it because they were able to run longer. The slower pace was less important than their ability to maintain it for longer. We had to extend our stints, not really knowing how the cars or, far more importantly, our motley collection of first-season racers would cope.
Focus
Driving for 45 minutes sounds like nothing. Driving flat out in a race for 45 minutes is really hard. Well, for me it was. By the time of my second stint just before 1400h Steve had been out again and the little Seven was feeling pretty tired. The brake pedal especially was going very long very quickly, making the fourth to third to second into Rocket rather hairy at points. As the tyres got a little too warm, so much of the Caterham's lovely precision was disappearing as well. Understeer and wheelspin reared their ugly heads where they hadn't previously and the car was locking up more. Then a bit of rain came, the wipers stopped working and the rain disappeared. Oh, and the front wheelarch came loose over a kerb. The last thing we needed was a black and orange flag for flapping bodywork so it was the black stuff only for 20 minutes or so.
Matt in a rare case of hitting an apex
Without wishing to sound too cocky having consistently run round at a decent pace and only made one mistake I was feeling really optimistic and still very proud. We could all run for 45 minutes if required. The cars could take the distance too. We could win this.The Mission Motorsport car was given a rest after my run, Steve doing his final stint in Barry's car. Both of them and Paul had flawless runs (OK, bar one little spin for Steve) which was a real achievement in itself. If you had seen Barry's car after a few races this year you would know that statement is no exaggeration. Sorry Barry.
With good conditions the race ran until very nearly 5pm. Steve somehow set our fastest lap time of the day late on, kept it clean throughout and ran the #97 Caterham (well, one of them) through the chequered flag sixth and as winners of the 1,600cc class. We'd done it!
Thank you marshals!
Military tacticsThe elation from everyone involved was understandably huge. Yes, we had a faster car than our class competitors but we came into this weekend with absolutely zero experience of endurance racing and the most basic spreadsheet for our strategy plan. We had to adapt during the race and each of us drive damn near as fast as we could for longer than we had ever done before. In the grand scheme of motorsport it's an insignificant milestone but bloody hell does it feel good. I'm exceptionally proud to have been a part of it.
It gets better too. As the highest place Mission Motorsport driver of all six that finished, Steve will receive £500 towards his racing next year from Strata Motorsport, with the same amount being donated to the charity also. Truly a win-win situation!
The dream team!
For a first effort at such an event, the Race of Remembrance can only be classified as a total and unequivocal success. The Mission Motorsport guys have clearly invested a massive amount of time and resources to make it happen, an effort they deserve enormous credit for. To Anglesey and their marshals a huge thanks is due moreover for hosting the race and making it run so smoothly. If you compete in some level of club motorsport with your mates, please set aside some budget next year for the 2015 Race of Remembrance. The atmosphere is unlike anything else, you will be supporting a fabulous cause and enjoy a brilliant race as well. I can not praise the efforts of all involved highly enough and sincerely hope to be involved with the next race. There's a title to defend after all...Huge thanks to Caterham ,,,, Bookatrack and SnappyRacers for your work and support over the Race of Remembrance weekend.
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