At long last, the first race of the season - Mallory Park.
This would be the acid test of all the winter work to get the Mini ready for the Super Mighty Minis Championship.

This would be the acid test of all the winter work to get the Mini ready for the Super Mighty Minis Championship. With only a handful of testing laps under my belt, I set myself a sensible goal; I wanted to qualify anywhere but last.

Sitting in the pit lane waiting for the green light for qualifying, the old butterflies were ricocheting off the walls of my stomach. Not wanting to write-off all the hard work, investment, or myself, I was wary of over-doing things. After three laps getting up to speed with the new car, I backed off (not the most natural thing to do in a race car) and waited for the faster boys to catch me up, and then see if I could keep up with them.

Rather satisfyingly, in a new car, I had managed to put it 5th on the grid, within half a second of the pole position time and ahead of the reigning champion. How happy was I, it was even a sunny day! The race itself did not go to plan. Staring at the red light, with the car straining at the leash, I made a superb start as the lights went green. Up through the gears to the first corner, I was in contention for 3rd place.

Through the first corner, David Young got into a slide that I'd just managed to avoid. But then, BANG, I was hit hard from behind. I'd managed to keep the car on the track, but with smoke pouring from the rear left tyre, both inside and out of the car, the damaged seemed terminal.

I limped to the pits where the diagnosis was confirmed. The personal disappointment of only my second "did not finish" in 3 years was compounded by my knowledge that this car seems competitive and feels really quick. This however has made me hungry for the next rounds at Brands Hatch (20th-21st April) where I hope to quash the butterflies and realise the potential of the car. I'll let you know!