General
Coming into the Snetterton race our European Endurance Race season had so far netted 4 class wins - one outright - and 2 second places: all from only 6 starts. This is remarkable by anyone's standards, even more so when you consider that our Mazda RX8 has a totally standard rotary engine and gearbox. The rules allow for modifications and our car is almost certainly the only one that remains unmodified with a "normal" engine. This is testament to Mazda's belief in the Renesis Rotary engine and the quality of its product.
Qualifying
The qualifying session was extremely busy. Having to sacrifice and abort 4 laps was frustrating but our patience paid off and we our only clear lap came in at 1min19.511secs, 2 seconds quicker than before. This was followed by a lap that would have been quicker still had it not been for another car costing us time at Russell Chicane.
When the time was posted it put us 3rd overall and 1st in class. As the other cars gained speed and changed drivers we were gradually pushed down to 10th overall but crucially still 1st in class, 3/10ths quicker than the Renault Clio. Natasha had used her part of the qualifying session well and had posted some good times, further familiarising herself with the car and circuit.
Race 1 - Saturday 21st May- 24-hour endurance
It was decided that I would take the first stint of the race, handing over to Natasha just over halfway through.
The start was very, very busy. Soon we soon made up 2 places, lying 8th overall and 1st in class. The class A Lotus Exige was behind us and doing a superb job keeping the Renault and other class C cars behind it. I had latched onto the class B Honda, driven by Simon Graves, just staying with him and the lead pack. At this point there was no reason to fight for a better position. A couple of the group B Hondas started slowing and Simon soon got past them. I had a harder fight to get past and finally made it, only to have a safety car period lose the ground we had gained.
The next stint was probably the most enjoyable so far this year. We had a great fight with the Hondas and probably overtook each other twice a lap for at least 8 laps. Once I managed to create a gap I pulled away, since we were clear and lapping faster.
I handed over to Natasha at 1hr 10mins when in 3rd overall and 1st in class. The team did a good pitstop, getting her back out still leading the class by 30secs.
Natasha again did a good, solid job and once into her stride she lapped very quickly. Initially the Clio and Honda were catching her and the lead was quickly down to 15, and then 8, seconds. Natasha kept her head and increased her speed when it mattered. She managed to stretch the lead to 13 seconds by the finish.
Another fantastic result: pole position, 1st in class, 5th overall and the fastest lap in our class (1:19.319).
So that's five wins and two seconds from only seven starts. Things don't get much better than that in motor sport.