We are the Champions - Jonathan Lewis

After Cadwell Park the top 3 mighty Minis and the top 3 Super mighty minis had to take their sealed up complete engines to Bill Richards racing who is the official Mighty Minis Engine checker. Now Bill's a great bloke and a good friend of mine but one things for sure if you are not 100% legal to the rules then forget it he would chuck his Mum out !! I was first to be checked as I had to drive later that day to Bristol to do some media for my sponsors Bailey caravans. In fact, I had gone down in the team transit van with the race engine out of my car in the front cab where the passenger seat should be and the Team Bailey race car that Kelvin Fletcher had used at Cadwell in the back to use as the show car for the sponsors.

So to say I was up against time was an understatement ! Bill and the RAC MSA scrutineer took my engine down into all its component parts a total strip and check of every part, I am glad to report that mine was 100% legal and I was allowed to leave with my plastic tub box full of parts, The Bristol trip went very well and Bailey have agreed to carry on as main team sponsor for 3 more years, while down there Paul Inch drove to Bristol and collected my engine and we agreed to meet at his workshop in Plymouth the next day as he would work through the night so I could take my rebuilt engine back to Snetterton Speed shop and re fit it to the Bailey 2 car. This was done and Paul did his usual first class job. In the mean time I had heard that all the other engines except one had passed as legal, unfortunately Young Zack Booths engine had failed and he was disqualified from Cadwell as well as to maximum minus points deductions. This is very sad for Zack as it ruined his chance of the championship but had the complete opposite effect on me as it meant i was now leading the Championship again going into the final round, something if I am honest I was sad for Zack but glad for me as I have won 18 races outright out of 23 in the last two years and I feel I should leave mighty Minis as Champion so it was all back on deck and make sure i did what was needed to win it at Donnington park.

During the cap from Cadwell to Donington we had Kelvin Fletcher's brother Braden's car in at Snetterton Speed Shop for what was supposed to be a set up, but as we striped the car down we found that the workshop where the car had been going in the past had not done a very good job, and a few days work turned into 3 weeks work. The car needed new rear subframe and lots of parts all ordered from Mini Spares and delivered in their usual record next day fashion, we rebuilt the car and it was as good as mine when we had finished. We then set about getting mine ready fitting spot lights and LED lights as the first race at Donington was to be the dreaded Night race, one i don't mind admitting I hate because I am crap in the dark due to my bad night vision.

Tiny Ted and I set of to Donington with the Transit and trailer as well as my Kia and the Team Bailey Unicorn caravan, all excited to be having a chance again to win it. We arrived on the Thursday night as on the friday morning I had to go to the NEC for the caravan and motorhome show as all my sponsors were there as well as Chris Slade's Team Bailey Mini was on display on Paintseal's stand.

I did my media darling bit all day handing out large signed pictures of the team to all who wanted them as well as agreeing some sponsor deals for 2014, a busy day, then back to Donington to get ready for the big weekend.

One of the strange things about Donington is the paddock where we had our caravan is directly in line with East Midlands airport number one runway and as it's a main Fed Ex hub they have planes landing and taking off every 39 mins, 24 hours a day, so I got bugger all sleep.