Faro and Away

“They said catching that pass in my high school football game was a bad idea,

because I broke my leg in 13 places....

BUT, I scored the touchdown and we won the game. The world is built on bad ideas my friend”

Eugene Reaper (GTA)

Taking part in the July round of BRSCC Supersport Endurance Cup at Croft was not originally in our plans or budget this season. We were going to use this as our dropped score round. However, with the gearbox failures earlier in the season it became one which we needed to do and ideally win in order to keep my championship hopes alive. Especially as the success at Donington on the previous round had given us a lifeline,.... and also adding to our confidence that we could pull it off was the very promising first run we had at Croft at the beginning of last season.

If we took the gamble and everything turned out perfectly we could win, close the points gap, and drop one of the lower scoring rounds instead leaving us still in second place, but with a mathematical chance of taking the championship to the wire with just two rounds to go. The only issue was that I wasn't supposed to be in the country on that particular weekend......

Anyone who knows us will know the huge amount of work and sacrifice we make to be able to race, and if we had a shot after all that the team have been through building up to this then we would have to take it.

With our tight budget for this season in mind and now an extra round to fund, it would only be viable if we could find a suitable flight to be able to interrupt my trip abroad and make the race.... Cue a Ryan Air return which fit the bill perfectly. A little extreme but it could save my season, and mean that everyones efforts this year haven't been in vain. And although it would put me under a bit of pressure to not let anybody down, 'jet setting racing driver' does sound very cool.

Obviously this would take extra planning, plus a lot of help from our racing family, and we would also need everything on the tight schedule to happen just as it should. Me and my dad serviced and prepped Audrey well in advance, mum made the transport arrangements, and huge thanks to the rest of the team for rescheduling and making themselves available.

We were on a mission, and I was determined, confident, and focussed. "Lets go win this thing"

The weekend soon came and we were up and out early leaving the beach and a baking hot Faro airport far behind. When we landed to our surprise Manchester and most of the UK was just as warm and sunny. An accident and motorway closure had us a little worried at first but we still pulled up early afternoon to collect the tools and spares on route, and made our way North to Croft in convoy with Charlie transporting #AudreyTheAudi. (Thanks Charlie)

Saturday afternoon was great, we had a visit from our friends Paul and Julie (JPC Specialist Motorsports). And Paul introduced me to Mike Devlin who was racing in the Fun Cup Endurance. This is the first time that I have seen this series up close and it looks amazing,... and definitely FUN. Sitting in his car also got me thinking about how hot it would be spending two hours racing Audrey in this heat.

Sunday morning came around fast and it was warm again, was nice to have a few visits to the garage and messages of support, I seem to have a small friendly following at Croft and it always gives me a pre race boost. Sunday at Croft is a late start due to noise restrictions so the schedule was packed into the afternoon. After driver briefing we started with a very short practice at midday. It was a half hour session but we only ran a couple of laps to check Audrey over, and also didn't want to add unnecessary wear to the tyres and brakes in this heat. She did put up a bit of resistance again though, with a faulty sensor causing her to hold back on acceleration, but fortunately it turned out to be an easy fix. Again huge thanks to TT Centre for his the knowledgeable advice and available spares.

Qualifying came next at 2.15 and the first few laps confirmed the issue was cured, securing pole in class after a second run but still completing minimal flying laps. This meant we could save wear and tear, our main concerns being for the two hour race in these temperatures. Once released from Parc Ferme we got busy in the garage fuelling up and preparing radios and pit stop equipment for the race starting at 4pm.

We were called early to assembly area for the race, and Mike had returned in support and even lent a hand with our pit stop during the race. The start went well from row 4 in P7 over all, and I managed to maintain my position getting into my rhythm early. The aim was to do a long stint and open a gap up to the first stop to create a bit of a cushion should anything go wrong. We built up a big lead over the course of the first hour, with Aston keeping things calm over the radio and relaying information about my pace and the cars around me.

Thankfully the race was very clean and there were no safety cars so far to destroy my lead in class. We entered the pits for the first mandatory 3 minute stop as one of the last teams to do so, actually leading the race for a couple of laps. After refuelling with me also on fire extinguisher duty this time, I managed to quickly get some fluids down before getting back in the hot car....( I had been running with the heaters on to keep the engine temps down and power up ). Exiting the pits we rejoined the race after another near perfect stop from the team, and I continued on my second stint with Aston now able to comfortably manage my pace and the gaps to our rivals so not to stress the car any more than necessary.....We really needed this win.

We left our second stop quite late and the team did an amazing job again, even smoother than the first stop and close to minimal time spent in the pit lane. Our nearest rivals seemed to have a more lengthy stop during their race. This and a safety car in the remaining minutes took the pressure off a little, and we were able to ease off towards the end of the race with a comfortable lead. The Safety Car was released with enough time left for me to take the chequered flag under race conditions, which felt great to reward the team after our big gamble and the monumental effort by everyone to make it here.

We received our podium trophies and our nearest championship rivals had finished 3rd. We took the class win and a bonus point for fastest lap, finishing P6 overall and on the same lap as the Pro A car in front. After a short celebration and a few photos we got back to the pit garage.

Ours was the final race of the day and the mood was good, with swift teamwork and an organised pack up we were soon ready to hit the road. It was a satisfying drive home with a trophy in hand and the satisfaction of a job well executed.......this would do.... for now.

We were unpacked by midnight and it was straight back to the airport to enjoy a few more days of sunshine for me. But already thinking about the last two rounds at Brands Hatch and Silverstone where we need to secure more points, and hopefully take this championship to the wire.

Really need to say a huge thanks to everyone for making this one happen, we couldn't have pulled this off without our sponsors Nurburgring Tours & Critical Power, & the support of our racing family Aston, Ryan, Charlie and Carla. Special thanks to my mum for the flawless organisation of my travel arrangements which ran like clockwork.

Also big thanks to Questmead, Shaw Tyres and Exhausts, TT Centre, and Elliot Harris for their technical help this season. Our loyal Graph X Studio customers, Supergood Bikers for Autism, JPC Specialist Motorsport, Paul & Julie Connaughton, Mike Devlin, our friendly northern supporters at TWS, Peter Bowman Towing Centre, and also Ryanair for getting me home and back on time at budget cost.

Fingers crossed for Brands...

We go again in two weeks Saturday August 16th.

"Lets go win this thing!!"

Sandro#19