Mini Spares Mini Se7en Championship - 5th Place

With a special thank you to Mini Spares for their support

The 2017 season has been great fun. A top 5 finish in this prestigious championship is something I am proud of achieving 2 years in a row, and I am so incredibly grateful for the support I have received in order to make this possible.

The season began terribly, with a non-start at Castle Combe due to a major issue arising with the car as I exited the pit lane to begin qualifying. This was a great disappointment at the time however once we went back to the drawing board we knew we just had to knuckle down and get the car back to where we wanted it.

We arrived at Snetterton for rounds 3 and 4 with the car repaired and ready to go. Qualifying 5th on the grid I went into race 1 with my eyes on the prize. The race was a tough scrap with a 7 car battle for the lead. After swapping places for the whole race I ended up finishing 6th, just 4 seconds off winning proving how narrow the margins really can be in this championship. Race 2 went a little less well with the car developing an issue with a few laps to go, seeing me drop down the order to finish 8th, with my thoughts turning to collecting as many points as possible even if the car is poorly.

Rounds 5 and 6 saw us head to Donington Park to race on the GP circuit, a first for me as I had only ever raced on the national circuit before. The first race was a fantastic and saw me battle with current champion Ashley Davies and veteran Graeme Davis for the final podium spot. A last lap late lunge saw me snatch third place from Ashley to enable me to have my first visit to the podium of the year. The second race was a little less successful, coming home in 9th position.

Three weeks later we were at Silverstone racing on the GP circuit, a track world famous for its high speed and exciting corners. Once again it was my first time on this track and it was a pleasure to drive on. Starting P4 and with the car feeling strong I was optimistic of a podium finish heading into race 1. A closely fought race on the epic Silverstone GP saw me and Dom Burger have a fantastic battle with him just getting the better of me in the latter stages of the race seeing me finish 5th. Race 2 was going well and I was running in third position and catching the leaders Darren Thomas and Charlie Budd. However on the 4th lap contact from another competitor when going round Copse corner saw me momentarily lose control of the car and drop down the order. I was not best pleased. I managed to nurse the car home in 8th place with a few unwelcomed dents.

I was slowly beginning to climb back up the points after our disappointing start.

Next up was the Brands Hatch Mini Festival – the best meeting of the year in my opinion. The sun was shining, it was my local track, and it was all set to be a brilliant weekend. Starting 6th in race 1 we were on the pace and running with the leaders until a faulty alternator caused my car to dramatically slow before switching off completely, forcing me to pull off and suffer a DNF. This was disappointing and meant I would be starting back in 14th for race 2 which was not in the plans. However race 2 was very exciting and saw me battle my way through a very crowded field to achieve a 7th place finish and most importantly ahead of people surrounding me in the championship.

After a long 7 week gap we returned to action at Oulton Park for the one day Northern Mini Festival on the short circuit otherwise known as the Fosters layout. In the 7 week gap we had time to develop the car and get it perfect for this meeting. Race 1 was a success but also frustrating as I finished in 3rd place after qualifying 4th, however due to much carnage further down the field much of the race was done behind the safety car. I feel the car and I had the pace to really put a challenge in for the win. Race 2 saw me start from 10th on the grid due to me being unable to get a clean good lap in during the very limited time in race 1. As we set off the field was all on slick tyres, however it started to drizzle on the warm up lap. As the race begun the conditions got worse and it was incredibly slippery. I managed to work my way up to third place and found myself battling for the lead with Davies and Budd. On the final lap I made my move and got past Davies as we exited Cascades and achieved 2nd place, my highest finish in Mini Se7ens and also got the lap record in that race. A double podium and a lap record saw us come away from Oulton Park with big smiles.

The final 2 rounds of the season were at Rockingham in late September. We went there on a high from Oulton Park and hoping to finish the season well in preparation for the exciting and promising 2018 season ahead. Race 1 was dry and after a great battle with Dom Burger saw me finish just off the podium in 4th place. Race 2 was wet and after starting in 8th I managed to work my way up to 5th place and began to battle with ex-champion Deviny and current champion Budd. After a fantastic battle in challenging conditions I managed to finish on the podium again in 3rd place securing 5th in the championship.

It was a great end to the season with me taking 3 out of 4 podiums in the last 2 meetings, as well as getting a lap record and my best ever finish. We now go into 2018 in great stead to put in a serious challenge for the championship with the pace we have found at the latter stage of 2017. 2018 is sure to be a fantastic season, just like 2017 was.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Mini Spares for all their support this year. I have felt privileged to drive a car with their name on the side and be an ambassador for them off the track. It is great for me to talk to people about the business that is Mini Spares and find out just how many people use them and appreciate the wealth of knowledge and range of supplies which you hold and supply to thousands of mini owners across the globe.

I would also like to thank KAD and Peter Vickers for the endless hard work and dedication which has been put into the engines and getting them to be so good I am able to achieve multiple podium finishes.

Rightline Motorsport for the hours put into getting the car to handle perfectly and always look top notch. Rightline put uncountable hours into preparing their cars to the highest standard.

Altered Image coachworks for providing the top quality paint job and replacement panels and arches for when things have got a bit too close on track!

To Ian Curley for supplying all the carbon parts for the car which make it so light and great looking.

To Vince Hedges for supplying and fitting windscreens for the car with no questions asked.

And to Martin West for his continued support.

Over the winter we plan to completely rebuild the car, stripping it down to a bare shell, respraying it, and then building it all back up to ensure it is ready and fresh for a hard seasons racing. We ended the season strongly and are very confident this stands us in good ground to hit the ground running in 2018 and progress even more.

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