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Date: 9th April 2007
Location: Mallory Park
Qualifying position: 11th
Race position: 12th
Repairs needed: Slightly bent front bumper, a scraped alloy, and a broken wheel arch. So not much really.
Best moment: Qualifying 11th was a fantastic surprise, but the highlight was dicing with Ian Slark for the last 5 or so laps, swapping places every 2nd or 3rd corner.
Worst moment: Hearing about Andy Harrison's big smash in the Super Mighties race, which did nothing for my nerves. Then seeing David Hale go off in my rear view mirror about 5 laps into our race.
Lessons learnt: There's a big difference between driving the car fast in qualifying, and driving the car fast in the race.
Most useful tool: Spade connectors and a crimper.
Overall smile rating:  So we finally made it to the first race. We'd all worked hard to actually get the car into a fit state, so the fact that we were here was an achievement in itself. My first reaction was "whoa, it's busy" followed by "whoa, there are a lot of my friends here". More on that in a sec. The first challenge was scrutineering. Seeing as the car is a brand new build, we were expecting them to turn up some sort of issue but thankfully the only hiccup was a duff connection for the brake light circuit that was soon fixed with a light touch from Kean's patented "magic electrical fingers". We had another minor hiccup with the car just prior to qualifying with the furl pump refusing to kick in. Again, it turned out to be dodgy connection to the fuse box. Qualifying. Mmmmm. I didn't know what to expect, but it's fair to say that it went better than I thought it would. The car was fine, pulling strongly, and pretty balanced through the quick corners. Traction out of the hairpin was awful but I think a lot of that is down to my heavy right foot. I also started to learnt the importance of slip-streaming. Clearly some of the more experienced drivers go out together with the specific intention of helping each other out by giving each other a tow down the straights, and it probably makes a good 0.5-1.0 seconds per lap difference. Anyway, I survived, I didn't have any big scary moments, and when the results were published I was absolutely astounded to see my name in 11th. Obviously I was totally overjoyed. Of course the downside was that I was going to be absolutely in the thick of it going into the first corner. [gulp] Then the race. Frankly I was about as nervous as I can remember being for a very long time. Andy Harrison had rolled his car in the Super Mighty's race, and there'd been a fair bit of grasstracking after the restart so I was under no illusions that it was going to be pretty hectic with 27 cars on the grid. The assembly and green flag laps are a bit of a blur really. When we formed up for the start I just focused on Dave Taylors advice. Clutch up so it's just dragging, 3000 rpm, when the lights go out dump the clutch, bury the throttle, and get it into 2nd almost as soon as you're moving. Clearly it worked as I got a much better start than I expected and was up on the back of Peter Bonas in no time. Sadly Ade Hollis (right behind me) had got a good getaway too so while I was trying to find a line into Gerrards, he was trying to find a way down the inside of me. BANG! We hit, before we've even made it to the first corner. It sounded like a someone had set a gun off, but in reality it was probably only a slight tap. Still, it got me focused! The next few laps I got settled into it pretty well. I actually moved up a couple of places and was very briefly running as high as 9th. I got the hang of adjusting my line through Gerrards and the Esses to overtake people either on the way in or on the way out but no matter what I did I seemed to make a mess of the hairpin and go back down the field. David Hale got a nudge going down the back straight after about 5 laps and I watched the whole thing in glorious slow motion in my rear view mirror before realising I probably needed to pay more attention to what was going on in front of me. The second half of the race was basically the "Matt and Ian Show" for me. Ian Slark and I traded positions, overtaking maneuvres, and a bit of paint too for best part of 10 laps; it was the most fun I've ever had in a car (by miles) and exactly the reason I wanted to race Mighty Minis. Lap after lap I'd sneak past either at Gerrards or the Esses, only for Ian to dive down the inside of me at the hairpin. Eventually I managed to pick a defensive line through the hairpin and led Ian across the line to finish in 12th place. I was worried I might have over-stepped the mark a bit and been a tad over-aggressive, but the massive grin and handshake Ian gave me after the race showed me that he'd had just as much fun as me and was quite happy to exchange a little nudge or two so long as it's unintentional and sportsmanlike. So overall, a frickin' BRILLIANT weekend. 12th place at my first race was way beyond my expectations, even for someone as inherently ambitious and competitive as me. The car was great, my driving was a lot better than I'd expected, the weather was gorgeous, and I came home with the car intact. And just to really put the icing on the cake, I had the BEST (and certainly most vocal) bunch of supporters of any of the teams there. Nick, Ant, Laura, Tim, Rob, Donna & Co, Kean, Laura, Harper & Co, Fluff, Hammy, Nick, Lizzy, Steve007 and posse, Simon, and of course not forgetting my Mum, Dad and Aunt Sally. Many thanks to all of you for making the trip to Mallory to boost my morale.
Readers have left 15 comments.
Congrats Matt! now.......how long till 1st place???? 
Definatly the best day ive had for a couple of years... cant wait for the next one...
Ive said it once and i'll say it again, Well Done Matt... aiming for a top 10 place at Rockingham?
Really Matt, it was a treat to be there! Makes SUCH a difference to have some emotional investment in one of the drivers, if not exhausting at the same time. The group of us that watched from the embankment were certainly vocal, and with our "Ooo's and Aaah's" (as well a fair bit of arm waving and jumping around) drew attention to your particular race at each twist and turn....and you really did us proud. So no pressure for the next round then eh? 
What a brilliant day out and it's so much more exciting when you're supporting someone you know well. I think me, Lizzie, Fluff and Hammy were as scared as Matt at the start and we were going crazy when he was up in 9th, jumping up and down and yelling encouragement.
A massive well done to all concerned getting the car running and to Matt for his well deserved, hard fought and throroughly entertaining 12th place. I'm looking forward to round 2 and planning the trip already!
Nick
Sounds like you had a brilliant day dude. Well done to you and all that helped.
Well done Matt. It may not have been one of my best results ever, but certainly up there with one of the most fun!! You hit the nail on the head with the contact thing. From other reports and obvious damage there was some rather sketchy driving out there this weekend, but yours was fine in my book. Look forward to sparring with you again at Rockingham (and beating you this time!)
Was a great day out, well done matt for keeping the car straight. Here's to another great result at rockingham!
Cheers for the support and feedback guys, it's appreciated.
Been reading about this on MF. Sounds like you did so well and looks so fun, I've got a photo of you racing on my background now  I'm so coming to the next one, I'll be with the other mad MF lot cheering you on
Well done dude. Seems like you had a cracking weekend, wish I could have come for a watch, but I am sure I will make at least 1 race this season.
While doing well in the overall championship seems possible with a 12th on the first go, seems like your in contention to do well in the novice champ.
Good luck for the rest of the season.
Top notch mate! Certainly sounds like it was worth all the hard work! Congrats on the result, catch you at a circuit soon!
Ah so *thats* how adrian smashed his front light!! :o
Great job Matt and the team Rhubarb Racing ! Sam, Donna and I really enjoyed the day, though you had us biting our finger nails on a few occasions ! Here's to a successful 2007 campaign !
Well done!
Sounds like a very impressive result and sounds like you worked extremely hard to deserve it!
All the best for the rest of the season now! :D
It was good to race with you at Mallory, I can't wait for Rockingham |
