Formula Vee Rounds 5/6 - with Max Hart
Anti-clockwise at Mondello, was certainly a challenge and a half...not just a challenge learning the circuit but a challenging weekend overall!
Testing Friday morning was so weird going ‘the wrong way’, but in fairness it was like a brand new track and enjoyable to try get to grips with. So Friday really was all about getting to know the track, the best braking points
and the best spots to gain position. And most importantly what to try and avoid!!
On Saturday morning, Vee’s were first to compete on the anti-clockwise track in years...so giving it our best shot we lined up on the grid, and I got a good start. Into Southside there was a collision and the race was red flagged. On the restart I had another good start and managed to jump quite a few places, all the way up to 4th. However a gear selection problem wiped out my gains, dropping me down the order. I continued to struggle for the remainder of the race but I managed to finish, gaining a handful of points to help in my quest for the Finol Star of Tomorrow Championship.
In the main race, a couple of laps in, going into the first corner I had a collision with another driver and we tangled wheels. The incident cost me a bunch of time, I eventually managed to free my myself, albeit costing me a lot of valuable places. I kept the head down and pointed the Leastone in the direction of the other drivers with the sole intention of catching and passing. I managed to gain 5 places before getting into difficulty at Southside, again with my gear change. Struggling on the downshift, I sailed sideways into the gravel and impacted hard into the bank. Luckily I was ok, but that ended racing for the day for me and left a busy night ahead for the team to get me back on track for Sunday's racing.
Thankfully, the great Paul, and just as great Marky Mark, had the 26 car ready for racing on Sunday (what a crew!!). Race 1 of the day saw me get a great initial start off the line but once again I was struggling to hit 3rd gear and this dropped me back down the pack. Eventually I found 3rd and set about catching up with the rest of the pack. I managed to claw my way back to 2nd in my class but the gears were proving to be my gremlin for the weekend. I just about managed to finish the race and tried to keep the points coming, who knows how valuable they will be come the end of the year.
For the main race, we tried a different gear shift set up and I had a fantastic race. I managed to run strongly throughout, finishing in the top 10 overall, with a P9, my 4th top 10 of the year and a thoroughly enjoyable race.
I'm certainly happy to put this weekend behind me and I am already looking forward to the next race, which is definitely a weekend not to be missed, as it is my first Formula Vee Festival, an event that is the highlight of the Formula Vee calendar.
Once again, huge thanks to my sponsors Selco Hygiene Supplies, to Paul and all at Leastone Racing and Finol Oils for sponsoring the Star of Tomorrow championship.
