Mark's Diary: First Entry
General:
Following our excellent debut at Silverstone 3 weeks previous, we all knew it was going to be a tough act to follow. Brands Hatch is at the opposite end of the scale to Silverstone with it being a tight twisty circuit with undulations and many camber changes that will highlight any chassis and set up deficiencies that would not be evident at other circuits. The key to a fast lap at Brands Hatch is being able to have full confidence to turn in, unsighted of the corner, at Paddock Hill bend with as much speed as possible. The car needs to be accurate and react to the driver inputs without being compromised by massive changes in the track camber and gradient. This was the main area where the Mazda RX8 excelled and always inspired confidence. The difference between a good car and a great car can be several kph through the corner which is then carried all the way up the hill to Druids hairpin.
Qualifying:
After spending Friday testing all day in the wet and slippery conditions, and no previous data for a dry Brands Hatch circuit, the dry qualifying was a gamble on set up and driving. I took the first 15mins of qualifying but due to an accident at Paddock Hill bend which resulted in a full circuit caution (no quick laps allowed), I was only able to complete 3 flying laps. Making sure that we were the first car to take the green flag (resume qualifying) meant that we had an opportunity of at least 1 clear lap without traffic. The lap was very good and the car handled superbly. This lap turned out to be our only clear flying lap and was good enough to take pole position in class by 3/10ths of a second. This lap was testament to the handling of the car and the way it gives the drivers confidence to push from the start. It was also on old tyres which we would normally change for new part way into the session.
Race:
I took the first stint of the 2hr race which we had decided to equally share between Natasha and myself. With the rolling start we were able to overtake a groupB Ford Focus on the first lap at Clearways. This is a favourite move of mine and one that works really well early in a race whilst most drivers are getting used to the grip level and settling in to the race. The Mazda RX8 is always great from the start and can be pushed immediately and without any hesitation. Unfortunately there had been a big accident at the first corner and therefore a safety car was used to control the pace until the debris was removed. On the restart we were again able to push immediately and gained another position on the run up to druids. I then pulled a reasonable gap from the pursuing Focus and groupB Honda which I then maintained whilst ensuring that I looked after the condition of our car. The race then stayed relatively static while I kept our position of 1st in class and 6th overall (I think!!!). The RX8 was amazing whilst lapping the slower cars and we were able to make immediate overtaking moves with precision and confidence. This is needed as you can easily loose the advantage you have spent several laps building in just 1 lap of following a slower car because you are unable to commit to an overtaking manoeuvre.
I handed the car over just after mid distance and whilst we were leading our class by approximately 40secs.
I'll let Tish tell her story!
Summary:
We again showed the raw pace and the reliability of the Mazda RX8 against competition that have been in the series for several seasons. Coming away with a pole position, 2nd in class and narrowly missing fastest lap by 2/10ths second we can all be very pleased with our performances. Natasha was unlucky to have been caught in the middle of a 4 car battle for the tarmac at Clearways and to be the unlucky person to be 'spat'off onto the infield. This is racing and she did a good job to keep her head, miss the barriers and bring the car home in 2nd place.
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