We had great pace
Round 7 and we were back again at Hampton Downs, I was looking forward to heading back to this track in the scholarship car as it was the first time back there since the car had been back on the pace.
Friday practice started off very good, we had great pace out the gate and felt confident in the car after the first session. Unfortunately, our Friday session went rapidly downhill from there! About 2 laps into the second session the gearbox in the No 80 car blew.
After a few panic phone discussions, we quickly loaded up the car and headed back to P&S who had a spare gearbox that we could put in the car to see the weekend out. Huge thanks to all the boys at P&S who stepped away from the jobs they were currently doing to make sure the gearbox change was done as quickly as possible in the hope that we could get back to the track and get another session in before the day was over. Everything seemed to be going back together smoothly and after a quick test around East Tamaki we again loaded the car up and made our way back to Hampton Downs.
As we pulled in to Hampton, our group were literally leaving the gate for their last practice session, I just managed to get it off the trailer and straight out for the last run of the day to make sure everything was working as it should. To our despair, we found a new issue, now we couldn’t get 2nd gear!
Now we are really in a panic, after a quick check we learn that P&S don’t have another spare gearbox and it looks like being out for our crucial last meeting is in doubt, but in true spirit of the camaraderie that is ever present in this awesome class, we were soon offered a loan gearbox to see us through the weekend. A huge thanks to Phil Smurthwaite and Dave Whitburn who both offered us gearboxes to use for the weekend to get us through. So again we load up and off we go to P&S for a second gearbox change in as many hours. 9pm Friday night and we finally had a good gearbox in the car and were ready for qualifying first thing in the morning.
Qualifying went well with no issues and all 5 forward gears so that was a good sign. We ended up putting the scholarship on P3 for the first race and felt we had a fast car for the races.
Race 1… I got off to a poor start losing a couple of spots, the top 6 of us broke away from the field and we spent the whole race battling for the top few positions. After working my way forward, I was sizing up a pass for 3rd place with a lap to go but as I battled for the position, I came under attack from the cars behind, made a tiny error which resulted in me losing a couple of hard-earned spots and ended up 6th over the line with a large gap behind us to the rest of the field. Although disappointed with the end race result, we posted one of the fastest lap times, maintained great car speed and felt good for the remainder of the weekend, whilst also bagging good championship points.
Race 2 the reverse grid race… I was off grid 33 for this one and needed to make spots early on to have a chance of a good result. As usual these races are a whole lot of fun and keep the race super busy, passing cars from the first lap to the last whilst also trying to keep the car straight in a field of well over 30 cars. We finished this race in 7th position making up some good ground during the race, and again good points to continue towards the championship race.
Race 3… we made some changes to the car as this was the last race of the season with not a lot to lose, turned out this was the best the car felt all weekend and had awesome pace. A race-long battle with Ant Belsham for 3rd was an awesome way to finish the season racing door handle to door handle for the entire session.
We had great pace, the Scholarship car was on rails but Ant, who had shown great pace all weekend, drove a wicked race and I couldn’t quite find a way through. I ended this race in 4th and 4th overall for the round. I didn’t quite manage to end the season with another round podium place, but still a great weekend.
I also managed to take out the Rookie title for 2017 which was the goal since the start of the season. This I felt was a huge achievement after being 21st overall in the championship after the first three rounds due to mechanical failures and issues.
A huge thanks to P&S, Dave and Phil for your efforts to make sure we raced the weekend as it wasn’t looking too good towards the end of Friday. Just goes to show the character of everyone involved in the BMW Race Driver Series!
Also a huge thanks to Charlotte Baldwin for keeping the Scholarship car looking sharp with new vinyl and graphics when needed all season, and to Ted Pheloung and Che Takarua for knocking out any dents and keeping the car straight all season.
I’m looking forward to what next season may bring, some exciting things planned… please watch this space!
Cheers,
Jordan
📸 Matt Smith