As we enter the second half of the year, it's time to catch up on what has been a mixed first half for RG.
Ginetta G50 Cup RG began strongly, qualifying 4th for her first ever event in the G50 Cup and finishing 6th. Some mixed results followed but another 2 top 10 results were secured in what is being labelled as one of the most competitive race series this year.
Unfortunately a lack of finances left RG unable to complete the first half of the season and with the long summer break now under way, she is working hard to secure sponsorship for the start of the second half of the season which kicks off at Norfolk's Snetterton circuit on August 7th.
However, in the meantime, RG has been busy with her community ties, in particular with her chosen charity, the Isabel Hospice and her local Schools Consortium.
The Isabel Hospice With the support of her beautiful Ginetta G50 and her own road-going Caterham Superlight, RG was able to raise £340 for the Isabel Hospice at their fund-raising Golf Day in May. The cars looked magnificent surrounding the Putting Green and RG threw in a last-minute prize at the auction to have a passenger ride in her Caterham and one lucky chap got a free ride as it was actually his work colleague who offered the winning bid of £100 for RG to take him out and scare him witless!! It's believed he enjoyed the experience...!
Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth Consortium of Schools Later that month, RG was invited to the Open Day of the Motor Skills Centre, that she officially opened in 2009, to present prizes to the first batch of students one year on. Again, her cars were on display, along with some of the students' own machinery, and RG was delighted, in particular, to present one of the centre's own students, Josh Dowton, with an award for being one of only 3 students across the country who was shortlisted for National Apprentice of the Year. The Centre has really come on and the roster is already full for the next 2 years' intakes! Again, a few passenger rides in RG's Caterham was one of the highlights for the students who had worked so hard and achieved so much.
JARIC 70th Anniversary Celebrations Into June and RG's Ginetta G50 was the central attraction at a unique and exclusive Open Day at RAF Brampton to celebrate 70 years of JARIC - the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre - part of the Defence Intelligence Staff. The day was open to all Station Personnel and their families and RG spent several hours in the bright June sunshine introducing allcomers to her car and helping them in and out of the race seat to experience the unique environment of the driving seat of a GT racing car. All money raised on the day was for the extremely worthy Help for Heroes charity and RG was very proud to have contributed to the cause.
RG in the National Press The very next day and RG made the National Press where she had a full page spread in the nation's biggest selling women's magazine, the News of the World's Fabulous Magazine, dedicated to her and her cars as part of a 'Speed Queens' article on 3 women who have a passion for anything motor-related. The full article was also placed on the website and can be viewed here.
And so to the second half of the year. RG continues to work tirelessly on seeking a sponsor to continue her participation in the G50 Cup as part of the British Touring Car Championship calendar and in the meantime, will continue to put her G50 and her reputation as one of the UK's leading female racing drivers to good use to raise money for the Isabel Hospice and other worthy causes.
Wishing all her supporters a bright summer full of Bar-B-Qs and glorious sunshine(!) and hoping to be back racing for the 2nd half of the year.
RG is sad to report that due to her ongoing funds crisis, she has been forced to withdraw from this weekend's rounds of the G50 Cup due to be held at Oulton Park in Cheshire. In all likelihood, she will also miss rounds 12, 13 and 14 scheduled at North Yorkshire's Croft circuit later in the month.
Further reports will follow with regard to any continued participation in the 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup...
RG was very proud to support her chosen charity, Isabel Hospice, at a recent fund-raising Golf Day in Hertfordshire.
With the weather being very kind on the day, RG took along not only her racing Ginetta G50 but also her beloved road-going Caterham Superlight - both of which looked glorious on display around the putting green of the Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, the display having been kindly sponsored by Nestle Cereals.
After a shotgun round of 18 holes, the 20 teams of 4 returned to the club house to be thoroughly fed and 'watered' and presented with various prizes before getting down to the business of the day - the auction! Many lots had been generously donated by local companies and individuals and RG was delighted to put up for offer a specially hosted day for 2 at one of her remaining 2010 race meetings. With a spontaneous decision to also offer one lucky winner a blast around the streets of Welwyn Garden City in her Caterham, RG was very proud to have raised a total of £340 on the day for the charity and put a rather large smile on one man's face!
Congratulations to the Isabel Hospice for a great day out and RG is looking forward to continuing to work with this important charity and its inspirational fund-raising team.
RG headed to her home circuit of Brands Hatch for round 3 of the G50 Cup, excited to get back on the form that her local circuit always inspires from her. However, she was never to get the chance.
Having found herself some space in qualifying on the Saturday morning, RG was on a flyer as she approached Surtess corner to exit onto the long GP straight. Unfortunately, she fell foul of the newly laid slippery surface that claimed so many victims over the weekend, and damaged the car as she impacted heavily into the armco. From Ginetta Juniors to the experienced BTCC drivers, many were caught out by this added dimension to what was always a complex corner, some escaping damage, others (like RG) unfortunately finding themselves in the wall.
At this time, RG had to make the very tough and emotional decision not to ask the team to attempt to put the car together for the races, since the costs would have escalated well past what RG was in a position to financially justify at that time.
This is not to rule out the prospect of being back on track for the next rounds at Oulton Park at the beginning of June. RG and the team are currently in discussions with a couple of potential partners who are very interested in supporting the team and RG as a driver. RG hopes to be able to bring you some exciting news concerning this over the next few weeks and will be doing everything she can to ensure she and the team are back to prove they are not done yet with the G50 Cup Championship!
Rockingham played host to the 2nd round of G50 Cup races at the weekend, and RG was looking forward to racing a circuit she knows well.
However, Friday testing proved that the set up that had worked so well for RG and the team up until now was certainly not suitable for the complexities of the multi-faceted Rockingham circuit. Ending the day almost 1.5secs off the pace was certainly an unwelcome surprise to all.
With much discussion, the team made some serious alterations to the setup and come qualifying, not only did RG go a second quicker than the previous day, but she reduced the deficit to the pole time to just 1.03 seconds. Sadly, however, the times were so close that this only placed RG 14th on the grid of 21. This was going to be a tough weekend...
RG didn't get a great start for the first race and soon found herself in the thick of the pack. Avoiding all possible dangers, she crossed the line for the first time way down in 16th place with a lot to do. She passed Stephen Tyldsley and was chasing down Mark Davies when an incident between Aaron Williamson and Alice Powell brought out the safety car. Alice's car was retrieved and a brief pit stop for Williamson allowed him to continue.
Racing back on and yet another incident was to halt any further action for Matt Bell, guest driver Kieran Vernon and Chris Dittman. Safely avoiding all the carnage, RG was now up to 10th and closing in on Julien Draper. On lap 10, she finally managed to get close enough at the final chicane to get the run on Draper for the oval section and take the place from him heading to the first corner. She was to retain her 9th place to the end.
The G50s were first out on a damp track on Sunday morning for the second of 3 races and with the track surface fairly treacherous, the story of the race was once again safety cars. The first to fall foul of the conditions were Chris Dittman and Phil Broad, who had a coming together on lap 2, closely followed by Tony Hughes and Benji Hetherington just 4 laps later. RG then seemed to be holding 11th place until just two laps from the end both Mark Davies and Joachim Ritter independently spun handing RG another 9th place finish.
The sun was back out for the final race of the weekend and with a great start from 9th on the grid, RG was hoping for a strong finale. But she had barely braked and turned into the first corner before Jack Stanford hugely overestimated his ability to bring his car to a halt and rammed head first into the side of RG's car. With the red mist now firmly upon her, RG got the car facing the right way, rejoined dead last and began to push her wounded car on. Immediately lapping faster than a large chunk of the cars ahead of her, RG was soon making headway through the pack. Halfway through the race and she was already up to 13th and revelling in the challenge. A mistake from Davies dropped him down to the back of the pack on lap 9 and left RG clear to chase down Draper. She brought the 3.5sec gap down to just 0.8sec with one lap to go, but Draper managed to hold on to the flag with RG settling for a frustrating but hard-earned 12th place.
With Wrathall and Breeze sharing the spoils from the 3 races, and Benji Hetherington and Adam Morgan making up the remaining podium positions, RG was disappointed with the finale yet satisfied with another two top 10 finishes from a tough weekend. And so only 5 days before RG is back on track again for rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the championship at her local circuit of Brands Hatch. There's certainly no time to breathe with the G50 Cup!
Championship Position after 6 races: 12th Next Event: Brands Hatch, May 1st + 2nd
The Thruxton opener had arrived on a typical Easter weekend - some of the most incelement weather conditions that RG has ever had to face!
Friday's testing was torrential, but RG's confidence in the car shone through and she emerged 3rd quickest from the 19 entries in a treacherous wet session - less than 0.4 secs off the pace of current World Touring Car Contender and first to take to the championship's guest car, Rob Huff - she couldn't have been happier. The rain proved too much for the circuit and heavy flooding forced the Clerk to delay further activities. Once the circuit was reopened, a rare gap in the clouds drying the circuit for the 25 minute reduced session allowed the slicks to come out and once again, RG proved her diversity emerging 5th quickest, ahead of Rob Huff, with Frank Wrathall the class of the field.
Qualifying on Saturday morning was once again all about the conditions. Slicks was the choice of the brave, but with Adam Morgan taking to the grass at Church on his outlap and barrel-rolling over the tyres, the session was red-flagged and the majority of drivers elected to put wets on for the re-start. With no sign of further rain and a heavy breeze, RG and the team made the call, along with only 5 other drivers, to remain on slicks, hoping for ever quickening laps as the circuit dried. It was to be the perfect call as the lap times tumbled and lying 7th with one lap to go, RG put in a flyer, dropping nearly 2 seconds on the final lap and emerging 4th behind Huff, Wrathall and Tom Sharp.
And so to Round 1 of the 2010 Ginetta G50 Championship and wet tyres adorned the cars once again. From 4th on the grid, RG didn't get the best start and Chris Dittman nudged his way through by the first complex. Carl Breeze, having qualified 14th, was on a charge and it wasn't long before he too made his move on RG. With Matt Bell chasing hard for the remainder of the race, RG refused to lose another place, although remaining cautious in her first outing and in difficult conditions. She held him off to the line and kept her 6th place by barely 0.1 sec!
The Sunday brought fine weather, although with the G50's being the first to take to the circuit, damp areas still remained. Not a great start from RG, dropping to 8th by the end of the first lap and on lap 2, disaster struck as RG ran wide at the exit of Goodwood and the wet grass left her fighting to keep the car from the wall. She managed to stop short and rejoined but some 20 secs off the back of the pack. The charge was on and by lap 4 she had closed in on Aaron Williamson, but the worst was yet to come. On lap 5, Dan Denis also became victim to the damp off-line and ploughed head on into the tyre wall at almost 140mph, causing the safety car to emerge. It took 7 laps to clear the incident and in the 4-lap sprint that followed, RG emerged 15th and bitterly disappointed.
Sadly Denis was taken to hospital with multiple bruising, a broken collar bone and suspected further damage and being one of RG's ex-Caterham compatriots, it was a worrying time for her along with Denis' family and team.
Starting 15th on the grid for the final race of the weekend, RG simply didn't have the pace that she'd shown earlier in the weekend. Although climbing to 12th by lap 2, she was soon back in 15th place in which she would remain until the end. Whether the Denis incident was playing on her mind, or she simply hadn't quite got her race head back on following a quiet 2009, RG has some work to do for the next round.
So Huff, quite naturally, showed everyone how it was done taking 3 from 3 with Wrathall, Dittman, Breeze and Bell all taking their turn on the podium over the weekend. RG emerged disappointed with the results, yet delighted that she has proven she quite clearly has the pace to mix it at the front.
All images courtesy of Jeff Bloxham
Championship Position after 3 rounds: 10th Next Event: Rockingham, April 24th + 25th
** RG is pleased to confirm that as of Tuesday 6th April, Dan Denis has been released from hospital with no further damage, although it may be a couple of months before he's back behind the wheel again! **
RG completed her final pre-season test day today as part of an intensive plan with Team GCR, that has left the team on a high as the countdown begins to the start of the season.
Having completed a successful 'shakedown' of the new car back in early February (see news story 09.02.10), RG and the team had a successful but slightly disappointing first test day at Thruxton (19th Feb) with RG needing to find around 3 seconds to have any hope of competing with the front runners come the first round there in April.
Nearly 3 weeks on, and following the completion of the Team GCR testing programme, RG is not only as confident in the G50 as she ever felt in her Caterhams, but is more than able to match the times of last season's front-runners.
Thanks to the experience of the team's engineers in developing both RG's understanding of the car as well as providing a setup that perfectly complements her driving style, RG now heads to the Ginetta Media Launch at Silverstone on Monday (15th March) full of confidence and itching to get her 2010 Ginetta G50 Cup campaign underway - see Race Calendar tab for full listing of dates.
For a further insight into RG's preparation as she heads towards the start of the season, check out the link on her home page to an all new e-magazine in which RG provides the main centre-spread feature...
With snow forecast, RG couldn't believe her fortune when the sun shone down on Snetterton for the first outing of the season in her brand new Ginetta G50 Cup-spec machine. Having collected the car from Ginetta's base in Leeds 10 days previously, Team GCR had worked tirelessly to prep the car to perfection to ensure nothing would interrupt RG's track time to build confidence with the car and learn to understand its behaviour before pre-season testing begins in earnest.
RG's first experience of the team's technical experience with the car was hugely encouraging with the car not putting a foot wrong all day. With regard to the G50 itself, RG began to smile almost as soon as she started putting some laps down, particularly when a set of (old!) slicks went on after the damp, slippy surface, typical of a cold English morning, had dried.
An open pit lane format and barely a dozen cars testing allowed RG to clock up some serious miles and having started cautiously, she ended the day around 12 seconds quicker than she had begun and based on last year's times at the Snetterton G50 Cup rounds, well on course to be competing at the front of the field by the time the season begins.
RG's next outing will be a pre-season test session at Thruxton on 19th February, the circuit where the G50 Cup will kick off its season on the Easter weekend.
RG is delighted to announce that plans have been confirmed for the 2010 race season.
Rachel will be contesting the Ginetta G50 Cup in a Team GCR-prepared car which will be newly built in time for a thorough pre-season testing programme in order to get RG up to speed.
The series is one of the key support events for the British Touring Car Championship and consists of predominantly 3 rounds over the Saturday and Sunday at each of the 10 meetings scheduled. These meetings cover all of the top UK circuits including Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park.
RG is delighted to be returning to a full season's racing following difficulties with budget for the past couple of years. After being invited to contest the final G50 Cup round of 2009 (see News item 03/10/2009), RG knew that this championship would be ideal for her next step up. Over the last couple of months, she has been working on finding the right deal with the right team, and in Team GCR, RG believes she has an ideal partner.
Team GCR Principal, Robin Sherwood, stated "I'm delighted that Rachel has agreed to join us, and determined to ensure that both the team and all of our drivers get the championship successes they richly deserve."
RG looks forward to bringing you further information as the season progresses, but in the meantime log on to Ginetta's website to find out all about the championship.
On Saturday 24th October, RG and up to 50 other top racing drivers and their cars will be giving their time to this very popular annual charity event. In her own Caterham R400 Superlight, RG will be available to give passenger rides around one of the UK's fastest race circuits for a nominal fee, all monies going to the very worthy Stroke Association.
Amongst the other cars available for passenger rides are various Ferraris, Dodge Viper, Radicals, Subarus, a Ginetta G50 similar to that in which RG recently competed at Brands Hatch, and a whole host of other high-powered top racing machinery.
There are many other activities also available on the day, simply browse the Supercar Saturday website for full and up to date information.
RG invites as many of you as possible to come along with your friends and families, check out the stunning machinery on display and get in the queue for a few hot laps, all for this worthy cause!
Hope to see you there...
Following a 5-month absence from competitive motorsport, due to lack of budget, RG received a last minute golden opportunity to compete in the final rounds of the Ginetta G50 Cup at Brands Hatch at the weekend, in support of the BTCC season finale. Largely thanks to the kind support from Ginetta, RG was to take to the circuit in a Colards prepared machine.
With RG having expressed a strong interest to contest this championship in 2010, budget depending, this was an opportunity to sample the car and the type of racing without any pressure of a championship place to chase.
Two test sessions on the Friday gave RG a chance to discover how easy the car was to drive, yet just how hard it was to find those extra seconds to drive it fast! Ending the day 4 seconds off the pace wasn't a disaster considering the brand new slicks were yet to make an appearance.
As hoped, on a fresh Saturday morning with new rubber, RG found the extra time needed to qualify just over 2.5 seconds off pole. Although this placed her 16th on a grid of 20, this was more than enough for her first attempt at this car against the season-hardened regulars.
Race 1 and a nasty incident off the startline brought the safety car out for 3 laps. Once underway again, RG was happy to dice for position without taking any undue risks. A satisfactory 14th position was her reward. In race 2, with growing confidence and a hard fought race-long defence, RG was delighted to bring the car home 11th.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Bloxham
On the Sunday, in front of a record-breaking Brands Hatch crowd of 35,000 and the prospect of racing for a live ITV4 TV audience, the 3rd race of the weekend was certainly a spectacle. With Nathan Freke already having sealed the championship title, 2nd and 3rd places were still to be played for, along with the rest of the table. Starting from a lowly 17th position on the grid, thanks to a relatively poor '3rd-quickest' qualifying time, RG was happy to keep clear of the regulars but still aimed to put on a show for her many supporters that were there to cheer her on.
After a frantic first lap, RG's first target, who'd been her weekend-long rival, was Tony Hughes. She soon made light work of him at Druids to climb a place before passing her stricken team-mate, Julien Draper who'd been nudged onto the grass but recovered, albeit down in 17th place. By lap 7, a group was now forming behind the struggling Joachim Ritter, with Richard Sykes hot on his tail being pursued by RG who herself was fending off a determined Hughes. Draper had soon caught up to make it a 5-way battle and the places swapped lap for lap.
With only 4 laps to go, RG had dropped to 16th, and 4th in the group. Determined to make a better show than that, she grabbed the inside line through Hawthorn to depose Hughes and climb one place. On the very next lap, a great run through the left-hander of Surtees brought her alongside Sykes for the long drag up the back straight. By the time she had inched ahead to pass him, Draper was glued to her tail and followed her through the gap. Only 2 laps to go and RG was not going to let her hard work slip. She fended off Draper through to the chequered flag to take a well-earned 14th place and finish the weekend with a big smile on her face.
Despite the long absence from the track, RG had proven that racing is what she does best and regardless of the final position, she had shown once again that, even being the newbie battling against seasoned-regulars, she certainly takes no prisoners once on the track!
With thanks to Ginetta for the opportunity, Colards for a superbly-prepared car and to Mostra for their great support!
As the country continues to struggle through an economic depression, RG has unfortunately exhausted every opportunity to extend her racing budget for this year. Sadly, therefore, due to a lack of available funds, RG has taken the regrettable decision to withdraw from the Britcar GT Championship with immediate effect. 2 races into the championship, RG is fully aware that she will do neither herself nor the team any justice trying to remain as competitive as she has been in the Mosler with having to cut financial corners at every turn (no pun intended…).
RG gives thanks to her current sponsors, Motionwear International for helping her get this far in what is a difficult year for so many.
RG has already been in discussions with the Topcats Racing team with regard to the possibility of contesting one or two of the longer rounds of the championship in one of their (more affordable) Marcos Mantis’s where a 3rd driver is required. Last year, RG proved a force to be reckoned with in the Topcats Class 3 Marcos Mantis GT where she and her team led the renowned Silverstone 24-hour race, outright, for over 10.5 hours.
Additionally, she has not ruled out the very real possibility of contesting another round or two of the Caterham Superlights championship in her own race car. So there is no shortage of opportunity to see RG competing this year, even though a championship challenge has been ruled out.
RG will continue to investigate every possible option for financial support and in the meantime, has already begun discussions with regard to contesting a full race championship in 2010 – championship and team details to remain undisclosed at this time, but watch this space...
Having spent the week carefully keeping an eye on the forecast, RG was praying for some fortune and was duly granted as the iminent rain had in fact arrived early on the Thursday and Friday's test day was looking to be dry and sunny, as was the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend. At last, a dry race weekend in store...
With RG's new team mate - experienced GT driver, Luc Paillard - taking some time to refamiliarise himself with both car and circuit, it was down to RG to see what sort of pace could be set. However, an early spin off into the gravel for Paillard cut the first of the 4 sessions short, but there was still plenty of time.
In the second session, both drivers brought their times down significantly, but finished the session with RG's 1 min 25 sec lap being the best that they could achieve - equating to nothing better than a decent class 3 lap time.
In the first afternoon session, the times, if anything, were getting slower and the pair were becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of grip on the rear end of the car. Paillard had concerns about the amount of life left in the rear tyres and after handing over to RG to finish the session, she confirmed his thoughts radioing in to the team that the car was indeed becoming undriveable and the tyres were definitely long past their best.
With the decision taken to finish the day bedding in a new set of rear tyres, RG went out first in the final session to put some heat into them and see if any improvement could be made. After 3 laps and now warm tyres, RG found herself with clear space to put in a quick one. 1 min 22.04 sec! The fresh rubber had found her 3 seconds and put her back on pace amongst the top 3 best times of the day. Luc soon followed and put in a low 1 min 23 sec taking 3 seconds out of his own best time before problems with the Motec display cut his session short.
With the electronic problems sorted and the cars prepped for the night, confidence was high for a good qualifying session the following morning.
Qualifying arrived and RG began the half hour session on new rubber once again and after spending 2-3 laps getting plenty of heat into them she put in a fairly quick lap, albeit held up by a slower car. Even so, a low 1 min 24 sec placed her 4th overall with times starting to rapidly fall. A lap of traffic proceeded and now placed 7th quickest, RG found space to put in the one lap that could count. Good drive out of the chicane onto the start of the lap and RG was flying. Up to Chapman Curve and smoothly past a slower Aston Martin with no delay. Short blast down to Pif-Paf to commence the never-ending left up to Gracelands. But as RG powered through the curve for Steel Straight, the back of the Mosler suddenly snapped round and RG found herself heading backwards across the grass and slamming into the Armco before bouncing off and coming to a standstill in the middle of the run off area.
RG was unhurt although a little bemused at what had caused the accident, but on carefully studying the in-car video repeatedly, it seemed that the only explanation was a slight bump at the mid-point of the corner had been enough to throw the back end of the car round to the point of no return and RG had from there on simply been a passenger.
The rear of the car had taken a serious hit and the significant damage would mean that it would play no further part in the weekend's racing.
RG was extremely honoured to have been invited to officially open the Bishop’s Stortford and Sawbridgeworth Schools Consortium Motor Skills Centre on 24th April.
At the event, hosted by the students on this gloriously sunny afternoon, over 70 guests, including the Mayor, School Governors and local businessmen, were treated to a static display of RG’s recent track and road machinery, from the spectacular Mosler with which RG is contesting this year’s Britcar GT Championship, to the gorgeous Marcos Mantis which caused a sensation at last year’s Silverstone 24-hour event, and even RG’s own road-going Caterham R400, in which RG dutifully ended the day delighting a handful of students, whose names were drawn from a hat for the passenger ride of their lives! - Many thanks to Topcats Racing for allowing their cars and mechanics to leave the security of their workshop for the day!
The opening of this ground-breaking Motor Skills Centre builds upon the work of the Strategic Area Partnership Group, established in 2006, and the work-based learner provider, Skillnet, to develop a number of new vocational programmes for students at RG’s local Hertfordshire schools. The unit, based on the Stort Valley Industrial Estate, can hold up to 5 cars which students are enjoying stripping and reassembling using current technology. They have also been on a number of related visits as part of the programme and will undertake 50 days' work experience over the 2-year programme, on completion of which they will achieve the IMI Young Apprenticeship award, equivalent to 5 GCSEs.
“This initiative is inspirational and will allow the students, upon finishing their education, to head off into the workplace with not only a relevant qualification in, but also a good basic knowledge of, their chosen profession”, said RG. “Over time, initiatives like this can only serve to produce a whole new era of skilled specialists in a wide variety of trades."
"The new vocational training programmes are aimed at encouraging all 14 to 19 year olds to realise their full potential in adult and working life." said Keith Emsall, Executive Member for Education and Culture.
Sally Taylor, deputy head of Birchwood School and co-ordinator of the Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth Partnership, said: "The new skills centre gives young learners the opportunity to study for vocational motor vehicles qualifications, not just in the classroom but in an industry standard facility with skilled training staff."
SLIP-SLIDING AWAY AT SILVERSTONE
Rain was the order of the weekend - a typical Easter in the UK! With RG sat in her race car for the first time since last October, she had hoped for better conditions for this impromptu outing. However, a relaxed attitude in qualifying placed her on the front row of the grid, only 0.06sec off Simon Young's pole time. Photo: Jeff Bloxham
After a sterling start in race 1, RG led the pack away in the fading rain shower and held good for the first couple of laps before Graeme Tilley showed his form and took up the reins at the front. Unable to keep the car in a straight line on the increasingly greasy track, but impressing both commentator and spectators alike with her 'drifting' ability, RG certainly put on a good show, but not necessarily the quickest, and finished just off the podium in 4th.
As good as her start was in race 1, she bogged down off the line in race 2 and gave herself a huge challenge as she slipped to 8th by the first corner. Frustrated and determined to improve on her first outing, albeit on even worsening track conditions, RG braved a lunge at Beckets to the surprise of the pack and soon regained her 4th spot! A long battle with Nick Potter and Peter Ratcliffe saw RG yoyo-ing from 4th to 6th and back to 4th again, but on lap 10 as it seemed she had finally got the better of them, the terminal understeer was to finally win the battle as the car simple ran out of grip at Luffield and ended RG's efforts in the gravel trap.
Not the desired outcome, although RG had certainly put on a show with her command of impossible oversteer, simply coming to grief courtesy of terminal understeer!
RG would like to thank TFL Racing for running her car for her over the weekend at very short notice!
With still 3 weeks to go until the next round of the Britcar GT Championship, and the lure of her beloved Caterhams too much to resist, RG will make a return to the Northamptonshire circuit this Easter weekend to contest the first 2 rounds of the 2009 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Championship.
With a last minute entry allowed, RG couldn't resist dusting off her Cosworth-powered, 220bhp Caterham R400 Superlight to see how she fares against the 2009 challengers. With budgets so tight this year, RG has no plans to contest any further rounds of this championship, but as proven with this entry, nothing is ever guaranteed so watch this space!
Provisional Weekend Timetable:-
With ever changing weather conditions the feature of the weekend, RG faced tough challenges for the opening round of the Britcar GT Championship at Silverstone. Picture courtesy of Richard Jones
A mid-week shakedown at Donington and pre-race testing on the Friday had allowed RG to begin to understand the might of the Mosler. This awesome 7-litre mid-engined brute, although forgiving and understated initially, was ready to live up to its reputation come race-day.
The changing conditions ruled qualifying in the morning and an unfortunately-timed driver change meant that the team missed out on the critical couple of dry laps in which to bag a quick time. This left the team languishing in mid-field, 14th on the grid and with plenty to do in the race.
With only a couple of teams braving the start of the damp race on slicks, Henry took to the grid on intermediates to make the charge through the pack. By lap 8, he had stormed through to 4th, although with teams one-by-one opting to pit for slicks, he soon settled back to hand the car over to RG in 8th place and 6th in class.
Out on brand new slicks, RG had just built heat into the tyres when the Mosler demonstrated its brutish handling, snapping the rear end as she powered into the back straight and landing her in the gravel. With 4 laps lost to recovery, but everything seeming in order, the team radioed to carry on to avoid having to make an additional pit stop. That was all RG needed to hear and she was soon lapping consistently in the top 3 times with a renewed confidence borne out of the frustration of having spun.
Sadly, on lap 66, the poor fortune was to continue as warnings were displaying dangerously rising water temperatures and RG had no choice but to pit. The team went rapidly to work to assess the problem and after topping up fluids and letting the engine cool, RG was sent out to cruise the last few laps in order to clock up more laps than the Mosler of Flux/Riley who had retired with just 3 more laps than us.
The end result was 5th in class earning a whole bucket load of points, even with the frustrations of lost laps, and a trophy for 3rd place in the Mosler Challenge. An interesting start to the season, and not entirely what was hoped for(!), but with the potential very strong amongst the team, a solid points score in the bag, there is all to play for as the season moves on.
Next round - Donington Park: 2nd and 3rd May
See a selection of photos at www.rachelgreenracing.co.uk/gallery.aspx
SILVERSTONE (International Circuit) Saturday 28th March - 2 hour race
Timetables have now been issued for the first Britcar outing of 2009 on the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire at the end of March, at which RG will be contesting the Britcar GT Championship in the Mosler MT900 GT3 run by Topcats Racing (www.rachelgreenracing.co.uk/teams-cars.aspx)
RG and Topcats Racing look forward to seeing you there!
Test Day timetable:
Race Day timetable:
RG today confirmed that her 2009 season opener will take place at Silverstone on 28th March, where she will contest the first round of the Britcar Championship with the Topcats Racing Mosler MT900 that she tested earlier in the month.
The Britcar Championship is the UK's leading Endurance Racing Club, running since 2003 as a series and earning championship status in 2006. The championship pits GT2 cars against GT3 and GT4 and hosts the only multi-marque 24-hour race held annually in Britain, of which RG has contested 3 of the last 4.
RG will team up with one of her 24-hour team mates from 2008, Henry Fletcher, who tested with her at Snetterton and who has not only spent time in Caterhams but has plenty of experience within GTs.
RG will be stepping away from Caterham racing for the first time since she began her track racing career.
"I will miss Caterham racing enormously since it's where I've developed my skills over the last 9 years and achieved so much. Thanks have to go to the Fauldsport team who have looked after me and my cars so brilliantly for the last few years. However, it's time to move my career on and I'm really excited to be stepping into the Mosler and to work with the Topcats Racing team again."
Full details on the Britcar championship can be found at www.britcar24hr.co.uk/cms/news.php
RG has made her 2009 track debut at the wheel of the Topcats Racing-prepared title-winning Mosler MT900 GT3. (see www.topcatsracing.com for full spec)
The test day was organised at Snetterton and RG was invited to sample the car with a view to contesting the 2009 Britcar season. Her fellow driver from last year's Silverstone 24-hour, Henry Fletcher, was there to share the day with her.
Although the weather had been somewhat unpredictable in the days preceding the test, the team and drivers were delighted to be greeted with some broken sunshine, albeit with freezing temperatures and visible ice, and only a chance of rain late afternoon.
Praise was given to the officials and marshalls at Snetterton for their huge efforts in preparing the track for what turned out to be a well-run and incident-free day.
With just 2 other cars booked to test, RG had plenty of track time to adjust to the awesome Mosler and was pleasantly surprised to find that having initially been very daunted by the car, she soon found an easy rhythm and discovered that the forgiving nature of the car and the ease of drive made for some surprisingly quick and consistent times, particularly in the slippery conditions.
The set-up was spot on and the Topcats team, who had previously run Rachel in their race-leading Marcos Mantis in the 2008 Silverstone 24-hour (see "Cars & Teams"), were as professional as ever and delighted with the positive feedback from both drivers.
RG had the chance to chat with her ex-FIA GT3 team mate and Legendary Touring Car Master, Anthony Reid, who was there on a consultancy basis with one of the SPEED (nee VdeV UK) teams and was encouraged by his instant respect (and slight surprise!) for the times she had been putting in.
The day wound up when the rain finally advanced to dangerous levels, although both drivers had had a chance to put in some wet laps and RG in particular was very impressed with the car's confidence in the treacherous conditions.
No decision has been made on the season ahead yet but watch this space to be the first to hear of RG's plans!
Photos from the day can be found on the Gallery page
Saturday night saw the British Women's Racing Drivers' Club host their annual Motorsport Awards evening at the picturesque Nailcote Hall in Warwickshire. RG was honoured with the runner's up prize in the club's racing section. "Considering I have had quite a varied year with trying my hand at various disciplines, from Sports Prototype endurance racing to GT muscle cars, I'm delighted that I've still been able to pull in the results to qualify for this trophy." said RG. photo courtesy of www.jeffbloxham.com
This was the second accolade RG had received from the club this year, following the presentation of the Gold Star award last month (see previous news item).
The highlight of the evening was an enormously entertaining speech by special guest, Mr Stuart Turner - former Director of Ford Motorsport and noted after-dinner speaker. Amongst the flurry of rib-splitting one-liners, he spent some time reminiscing on his time as Team Manager and part time navigator to the late Pat Moss-Carlsson who was earlier in the year posthumously awarded the Lord Wakefield Trophy at the MSA Night of Champions, in recognition of her incredible achievements in the world of rallying.
In memory of Pat Moss-Carlsson, 1934-2008
RG was today awarded the British Women Racing Drivers Club first ever GOLD STAR accolade at the Autosport International show. The 5 nominees gathered at the BWRDC stand and in front of a packed crowd, final judge Ian Titchmarsh (legendary motorsport commentator and Director of the BRDC) declared RG the winner.
Rachel is not only looking forward to working with her mentor, ALMS Race Winner Liz Halliday, but would like to thank all the product sponsors who have so kindly supported this award.
RG is delighted to have been nominated for the BWRDC first ever GOLD STAR award, designed to highlight the motorsport achievements of a female driver, and to help promote and progress their careers. The overall winner will be chosen from 5 nominees and announced live at the Autosport International show at the Birmingham NEC in January.
RG and her all-female team helped to raise over £5,000 for Children in Need after taking a podium in Nigel Mansells charity karting event over the weekend. "We all had great fun in this one-off event and even though it was purely for charity, the girls still used their competitive edge to push hard for the podium. With almost £1,000 raised from our team alone, it was a great day for all!"