Round 3 of the BMW Race Driver Series NEXEN Tyre E46 Championship saw us return to my home track at Hampton Downs. We skipped the test day on Friday, and jumped straight into qualifying – my first time in the Scholarship car for over a month. We spent the first couple of laps getting used to each other, and then it was time to put in some solid lap times. I put together a 1.19.6, finding it difficult to find a gap in the traffic. That put us P11 for Race One, which I was quite happy with. Grid 11 gives you the inside line for turn 1, that I prefer.
Unfortunately I didn’t get my start right and warmed the Nexen’s up, wheel spinning in first and second gear off the line losing one spot. I had some great battles during the race, and was sitting in 11th heading into the last lap, determined to try and get into the top 10. Good track position exiting Turn 10 gave me a run for the flag, and we crossed the line in P10.
Unfortunately I didn’t get my start right and warmed the Nexen’s up, wheel spinning in first and second gear off the line losing one spot. I had some great battles during the race, and was sitting in 11th heading into the last lap, determined to try and get into the top 10. Good track position exiting Turn 10 gave me a run for the flag, and we crossed the line in P10.
Sunday brought lovely weather and Race 2. We start this one in the position we finished Race 1, so I lined up in 10th. I got a much better start off the line and the rears gripped up nicely. We set off at a cracking pace, and I was hunting for P9 when I had gearbox issues and lost all drive – I was able to get out of the way on the outside of Turn 8 and park up safely – give the marshals a thumbs up, (sorry for making you run to me Karl!) and wait for the recovery team to give me a lift back. DNF, but not causing race control any drama.|
Word had quickly gone out while I was waiting for my lift, and by the time the team dropped me back to the garage, the P&S team and BMW Committee were there to help. Being a home round, my usual crew were doing double duty volunteering, so Shiane took one for the team and took over Safety Car from Carter so he could come and help. (He’s better on the spanners than she is) 45 mins later, we had a new gearbox fitted allowing me to line up for the last race of the weekend. Race 3 was pretty cool! Starting from the inside line again, I was hoping to pick up a couple of spots into turn 1, but everyone around me had the same idea! I got my head down and cut 3 consecutive laps at 1:19:4, which pulled me back into the freight train of cars ahead, sitting in P9. Riding shotgun, with the words from our drivers briefings clear in my head, I settled in, being patient, not wanting to make contact with anyone but looking for an opportunity. Everyone kept it tidy, and we were nose to tail! Unfortunately I got caught up with lapped traffic on the run through T10 which meant I had a bit of a gap to catch in the last lap, and crossed the line in P9.
Massive shout out again to the BMW Committee, the boys from P&S, Dad and Carter for all their work keeping me racing and to the volunteers and team for an awesome weekend racing. Time to wrap school for the year, before we head to Taupo in early January for Round 4!
Matt Smith
