Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit

The weather on Friday evening was absolutely awful and as I only had the chance of one 45 minute session I knew I had to make sure I did not crash but got used to the wet track as the weekend weather was looking variable. Unfortunately with 3 red flags I got 10 laps and never got a clear lap to really test the car but I felt confident going into qualifying on Saturday afternoon as I had tested 2 weeks previously.

Saturday’s qualifying was not until 3.30pm and that was when one of the many showers was meant to hit the Maidstone area and the weather (for once) was correct. At 3pm there was a huge downpour just before the start of the first British Formula 3 race so this meant that tyre choice would be crucial in our qualifying just 30 minutes later. I spent some time watching the track and spray levels decrease in the Formula 3 race and took the decision that we would need slicks all round. I went for my lap as soon as qualifying got underway and kept going for my lap the whole 20 minutes as the track was cold I knew my tyres wouldn’t overheat. I spent a lot of time on 2nd place but then dropped to 7th only to regain 3rd on my last few laps being only 4 tenths off pole, and 6 hundredths off 2nd. As I pulled into parc ferme I saw a familiar face from the television, Lee McKenzie was walking passed so I didn’t waste an opportunity and went to talk to her. She was extremely friendly, congratulated me on my qualifying performance and wished me luck for both races and the rest of 2011, as well as a mention to her 73,000 followers on Twitter! I knew I could do a good job in the races so I headed to the hotel for some good sleep with my perfect lap going round in my head all night to enable me to capitalise on my grid position.

Sunday was also forecasted showers and although my first race was dry, the second race was another story with a tricky decision of tyres to make again. Being on the inside of the track benefitted me extremely well and once I had got off the line I tucked into 6th place up to Druids and after a collision at Graham Hill bend I was in 5th looking to make my way back up the field I overtook Richard Walker and was on a mission to catch 4th. Unfortunately after being hit at Druids on lap two my car went into limp mode and as I had never experienced this before I pulled into the pits where they turned the car off and back on again and it was fine. I went back out in 20th place and managed to come back to 15th before the end of the race setting times not far off the front pace.

Race two, however had another huge downpour before and this time the team decision was made to stay on full wet. This helped on the first 4 laps until the track started to dry I was up to 4th place by lap 3 and looking to maintain it but as my tyres were no longer the right choice, everyone I had overtaken that was on slicks had got back passed me and I finished in 8th place.

Overall my weekend was a good solid step forward and I now am the highest woman to qualify for a Volkswagen Cup race. I’m up to 8th place in the championship and the Brands Hatch grand prix complex is now definitely one of my favourite tracks as it is just beautiful to drive around! My next race meeting is at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on July 1st so it is a very busy time for me but I am extremely excited to go back this year as it reminds me of Brands so I am looking forward to trying to break into the top 6 or, even better, grace the podium!