06 June 2008
Croft and the Season so far!
Croft has been the most positive weekend of my short touring car career and coming away from the weekend I feel a corner has been turned and I can push on and secure Team RAC some more valuable points.
A touring car is very different to the single seater F3 car I was driving last year, and with the tight testing restrictions of the BTCC new situations keep cropping up. The bumpy nature of the Croft circuit took some getting used to and driving a lap of Croft is very different and some 12 seconds slower in the BTCC, the car moves around a lot more and new sensations are happening all the time.
Qualifying was a touch frustrating as I felt we should have done better and I was unfortunate to loose time on my fast lap by another car going off in front of me and a tyre barrier being moved onto the racing line loosing me a few tenths of a second that could have made a difference.
The first race started in torrential rain with large patches of standing water, moving up off the start I lost a touch of time going through the chicane on the 3rd lap letting the car behind get a run on me into the following corner. Knowing we had a fast car in the wet conditions I moved to the middle of the track to block the car behind however not knowing about a large swell of water moving across the track which when I hit the brakes made the car turn violently left!! Once I had caught the huge moment the car was aqua plaining across the surface of the track and I unfortunately made contact with the wall. However the episode was not over as while I tried to get out of my car another car made the same mistake crashing into my stationary Team RAC BMW and injuring one of the circuit marshals who was coming to my aid. It was an unfortunate unavoidable accident as no one was to know about the water and later in the race the same area claimed at least 6 more cars causing the race to be stopped for safety reasons.
Race 2 the Team RAC mechanics did an amazing job of fully repairing the damage from a double impact in less than two hours getting the car out on track looking like new. I knew we had a quick car and just had to get my head down, I made a good start not looking back and started picking off the cars in front, our pace was very good and even though I had to come through traffic I was maintaining the same pace as the leader (Colin) and by the last few laps was trying to find my way past ex Team RAC driver Tom Onslow-Cole. On the last lap I managed to get a run out of the hairpin and passed Tom round the outside of the first corner coming home in 10th place overtaking 13 cars on my way. A very good and enjoyable race!
Race 3 was the only dry race of the day we started on slick tyres and I set about setting a consistent pace to maintain a points finish managing to claim 9th finishing in front of Seats Jason Plato and fellow Independent runner Andrew Jordan and gaining some more valuable points for Team RAC.
It’s the same at every race meeting that by the time I get to the end of the weekend I feel if I started the weekend again I would be right on the pace and ready to take the fight to anyone, but Rome wasn’t built in a day and an unfortunate part of being new to the BTCC is having to learn the ropes. Going into the next round at Snetterton we have a two day test prior to the event with which I plan to be fully up to speed and qualifying better than ever!!
Stephen Jelley - Driver
03 June 2008
Croft - My most successful weekend
Croft was my most successful weekend ever in touring cars. This is the first time I have won two races at the same meeting and it was just what I needed to boost my championship campaign.
Last year we were very competitive at Croft and I scored my first win in the BMW here. We knew there was a good set-up on the car for this track but nothing is ever taken for granted in touring cars. The track conditions on Saturday were ideal for the BMW as it relishes a hot and grippy track. My times in free practice were very good but I was a little disappointed to qualify fourth. We thought we could be faster than this but the times were very close.
Waking up to the rain on Sunday morning I was not best pleased but in the end it worked to my favour. The conditions in race 1 were treacherous, even worse than Rockingham. Standing water on the track made it impossible to feel any grip from the tyres and as there were so many yellow flag periods it was difficult to generate much heat in the tyres or the brakes. In these conditions staying on the track is not easy and its important not to drive on the limit as the grip is so unpredictable. In a short space of time I found myself in the lead and the conditions got so bad the race had to be red flagged. I think this must have been the shortest British Touring car race ever but they all count for fifteen points.
By race two the rain had stopped but the track was still considerably wet. I knew these conditions could be good for our car, but I was also aware of the extra 45kgs I had onboard. It was difficult to create much of a lead in this race and the grip became less as the track dried up. The wet tyres need plenty of water to stay cool so by the end of the race they had roasted and this made the car slide around in every corner. I had a major speed wobble on the last lap that frightened me a little, but I was delighted to take another win.
The reverse grid meant I started seventh for the final race. With lighter cars ahead it can be difficult to make progress and this was the situation. I was running well early on until Jason Plato made a mistake and bashed the side of the car. This let four or five guys past and after this it was very difficult to recover. In the end I finished eighth, a few more points at least.
It’s a long break now before the next meeting at Snetterton. It’s the home race of Team RAC so I hope we can achieve some more fantastic results here.
Colin Turkington - Driver
20 May 2008
Great results at Thruxton
It’s great to finally come away from a race weekend in good spirits after some great results. It has been a tough opening to the season for me, but I hope things can get much better and the balance will now shift more to the BMW over the summer months. Thruxton is usually a tough circuit for the rear-wheel drive cars, but if you get the tyre management strategy right then there is always a chance.
Our performance on Saturday in free practice and qualifying really set the platform for a good weekend. I could feel the improvements we made through the day and although it was a little disheartening to qualify eighth, I knew we had maximised our performance and got the most out of the car at this track. Because of the high abrasiveness of the Thruxton tarmac, Dunlop provide a harder compound tyre to improve tyre wear and the chances of everyone making it to the finish of the race. This stiffer tyre makes it more difficult for the BMW to match the single lap qualifying pace of the front-wheel drive cars, but the balance shifts more to the rear-wheel drive car over the race distance.
The opening race was my best of the season so far. I made up a few places from the start and from about lap 8 onwards it was clear that I still had a lot of performance left in the tyres, whereas the others began to struggle. I kept battling and was delighted to finish in second position. Race 2 was a similar affair but with an extra 36kgs the car was more of a handful. Jumping into an early lead was great but there was constant pressure from behind as I struggled to create much of a lead. In the end the Vauxhalls were too fast but second position again was a great result. The reverse grid meant I started P8 for race three, but with lighter cars ahead it is always difficult to make up much ground. We made a few minor set-up changes for this race but unfortunately we could not create the same kind of pace as the leaders so sixth position was not a bad result.
On the whole Thruxton was a great points haul for me and on top of that I really enjoyed the racing. Croft is the next stop so I hope we can keep this momentum going and have another great weekend.
Colin Turkington - Driver
07 May 2008
Better Times Ahead!
Unfortunately Donington was not the weekend we had hoped for. The weekend started ok but was disappointed with only making P11 in qualifying. A few setup changes were made to the car, to improve its performance.
In the first race I got a very good start but had to take to the grass off the line so dropped a few places. However as we had a good car and I was able to climb to 6th pressing the 5th placed car. On the last lap the car in front made the mistake I was waiting for I had a run on him going into the old hairpin and went for the gap unfortunately the driver decided to let his car run out pushing me onto the grass and spinning into the gravel.
For race 2 the cars prop shaft (the shaft from the engine to the rear axle, as the BMW is rear wheel drive) broke and I was only able to crawl into the pits not even starting!
Race 3 was another anti BMW race with rain on the way to the grid unfortunately the car was set for the full dry and very quick in dry conditions but near un-drivable in the damp we put wet tyres on and tried to set the car as good as we could in the time allowed and had good pace climbing places in the first few laps however the track dried very quickly and the wet tyres were not able to cope so dropped back at the finish. At least finishing!
Obviously I’m disappointed as I feel I should have been in the top 6 at least in race 1 and our dry pace was good but it just didn’t go our way. We now can look forward to a run of strong BMW circuits and the better weather of the summer will help us so better times ahead.
Stephen Jelley - Driver
07 May 2008
Another tough weekend at Donington
Donington was another tough weekend for both the team and myself but I am sure of brighter days ahead. Once again weather conditions proved to be a thorn in our side. Roll on the summer!
Things started brightly on Saturday and qualifying in third position was a big improvement on last year. The low grip track conditions made it difficult for everybody, but in qualifying you only need one fast lap and we certainly had this.
Race day did not get off to such a great start with race one being delayed due to a start light failure. The race was then started under flag but a miss- understanding of this procedure meant that I jumped the start. Rather than raising the flag slowly and dropping it, the starter held the flag at arms length and raised it sharply. I took this as the signal to go but it was too early. A drive through penalty followed but a comeback to ninth position was at least some consolation.
Poor results in the next two races were a legacy of being in a rear wheel drive car on a damp, greasy track. When the track becomes slippy it is impossible to generate front tyre temperature with slick tyres on. A move to wet tyres is the logical change but if the track is not wet enough then they overheat very quickly. If the circuit is full wet or full dry then there is no problem, but somewhere in-between becomes very difficult conditions for the BMW.
Thruxton is the next round of the championship and we can only hope for more favourable weather. We had a strong car here at the final meeting last year, so we have to put the results of Donington behind us and look forward to a better performance at Thruxton.
Colin Turkington - Driver