Knockhill - always dramatic
It’s been a while since my last update and it’s been pretty eventful during that time. We went to Snetterton after the long summer break and now we’re at Knockhill in Scotland.
Snetterton didn’t quite go to plan. We struggled on Saturday and the problem with that is that it puts you on the back foot for race day. I made a good start to the first race getting up to 10th from 14th, but I got spun around and the damage from that put me out of the race. That meant I started race two from the back.
I had a good run through the pack in race two and I finished seventh. The reverse grid put me on the second row for race three and a trademark BMW start got me in the lead before the first corner. I had a 1.5 second lead at the end of the first lap but the safety car came out after a few laps.
James Nash was behind me in the RML Chevrolet and he hit me a couple of times from behind so I knew he was there. After the restart he hit me again and this time it was harder and it was enough to spin me round. I was thrown across the track and I ended up coming back on right in front of Stephen Jelley.
The end result was a big impact that caused a lot of damage to the Airwaves BMW and the end of a promising race for me. If that wasn’t enough, I took a big hit and the medical team decided I should go to hospital for checks. I was there a few hours before I was discharged with a few strong painkillers.
It’s a shame Snetterton had to end that way because we were running well in that race. It meant we only got five points from the weekend which was no good for our championship chances.
It also meant the team have had to work hard to get the car ready for the long trip up to Knockhill this weekend. It was an expensive rebuild that saw much of the back end of the car replaced. Fortunately the shell itself was ok, but only just!
Onwards and upwards!
Knockhill is a track that I love. It’s such a tight circuit and you’re working hard the whole time. Qualifying has gone well for both me and Jonny so the signs are good for raceday. We could do with the weather going one way or the other, but it doesn’t really make too much difference for us. We found the little problem that we had in qualifying at Snetterton and the car seems to be really good here.
I’ve just about had a chance to recover from Snetterton – or I had until I got a bear hug from David [Bartrum]. I think he was just checking I wasn’t in pain, but I think he inflicted more!
I’ve got a new seat in the Airwaves BMW this weekend and it’s a bit tight at the moment. I think we’ll have to get the guys to prize it open a bit for me, but it’s made from Kevlar so that’s not that easy to do. It’s quite tight at the moment so I think we need to try and do something about it.
We’ll see what happens today. With three BMWs up at the front of the grid it’s not going to be all that easy to get a good start. The SEATs are generally pretty quick away from the line, too. I should be able to stay ahead of Colin [Turkington] and if Jonny can get a good start then maybe we can get away together…
