James Holman reports from Cadwell Park
Qualifying Practice
With James and the team having never run at Cadwell before, the aim was to learn the circuit which is dubbed ‘the Nurburgring of England’. Unfortunately on the third lap an oil leak developed, and James pulled in. After inspection by the team it was decided to stay on the side of caution and withdraw from running the rest of practice.
Round 9 Heat 1
In the customary ball grid draw, James drew the 13th position out of the 28 car grid. With such limited practice, the aim of the first race was merely to learn the circuit properly, whilst trying to maintain a high level of performance. After a reasonable start, James settled in the 11th position after a couple of laps, then set about catching the group in front of him for 6th place. Just as he got onto the back of the pack, the safety car was deployed for a serious incident, and the race concluded under the safety car. This however was a blessing in disguise as James's car had developed gear shift problem during this period, so finishing the race was a decent outcome.
Round 9 Heat 2
With continuing investigations into the oil leak and gearshift problems, the team were forced to withdraw from heat 2 to preserve the mechanical condition of the car as much as possible and focus on getting ready for the final.
Round 9 Final
Starting from 9th position, James made a decent start moving swiftly up to 6th. Having briefly got up in to 5th place, the safety car was once again deployed allowing the pack to close up. During the safety car period the oil leak returned, which was spraying oil onto the left side tyres on the car. With the majority of corners being right handers at Cadwell, traction was at a premium for James and he ended up slipping back to 8th position by the end of race.
Overall it was a highly frustrating day for the team and we hoped to have better results in round 10.
Round 10 Heat 1
During investigations to the engine overnight, the problem was identified but rendered unfixable at the race circuit, so the team had no choice but to run the car with the oil leak all day, and just hope for the best results possible, knowing that the ultimate competitiveness was never going to be reached. Starting from 7th position, James had a very adventurous first lap, which included getting airborne going into the mountain section of the circuit. With a bit of luck and some great recovery driving, James managed to save the car from a monumental accident and did not losing a position in the process!
In fact, James ended lap 1 in 6th position. James continued to battle for 6th position with the #4 and #55 cars respectively, the three cars swapping places continuously, on the last lap with James in 8th he produced a daring move around the outside going into the mountain section passing the #55 car and draw alongside the #4 car up the mountain. With traction still at a premium, the JRA Motorsport man couldn’t quite complete the move on the #4 car and had to settle for an exciting 7th position.
Round 10 Heat 2
With the grid reversed, James lined up 17th for the race, and after a solid start, steady progress was made upto 11th position by the halfway mark. As the battle continued the JRA Motorsport man made his way upto to a steady, if unspectacular 9th place.
Round 10 Final
Starting the final from 13th, James made a great start reaching 4th position after 4 laps. Suddenly on that lap the starter motor sheered off, causing oil to pour out of the car onto both rear tyres, the promising early progress was put in check, and James slipped back to finish 8th, after a close last lap battle between the #8 and #7 cars.
Overall the weekend was ultimately a huge disappointment, but we aim to bounce back at Croft with the car far more competitive than it was at Cadwell. We still remain in 6th position in the championship going in to the final 6 rounds.
1 Lawrence Davey #2 5370
2 Ben Power #55 4160
3 John Mickel #4 4145
4 Dean Brace #7 4145
5 Richard Pocklington #16 3600
6 James Holman #83 3550
7 Nick Brace #8 3175
8 Eliot Bunn #41 3095
9 Stephen Whitelegg #66 3090
10 Matthew Pape #24 2910
With James and the team having never run at Cadwell before, the aim was to learn the circuit which is dubbed ‘the Nurburgring of England’. Unfortunately on the third lap an oil leak developed, and James pulled in. After inspection by the team it was decided to stay on the side of caution and withdraw from running the rest of practice.
Round 9 Heat 1
In the customary ball grid draw, James drew the 13th position out of the 28 car grid. With such limited practice, the aim of the first race was merely to learn the circuit properly, whilst trying to maintain a high level of performance. After a reasonable start, James settled in the 11th position after a couple of laps, then set about catching the group in front of him for 6th place. Just as he got onto the back of the pack, the safety car was deployed for a serious incident, and the race concluded under the safety car. This however was a blessing in disguise as James's car had developed gear shift problem during this period, so finishing the race was a decent outcome.
Round 9 Heat 2
With continuing investigations into the oil leak and gearshift problems, the team were forced to withdraw from heat 2 to preserve the mechanical condition of the car as much as possible and focus on getting ready for the final.
Round 9 Final
Starting from 9th position, James made a decent start moving swiftly up to 6th. Having briefly got up in to 5th place, the safety car was once again deployed allowing the pack to close up. During the safety car period the oil leak returned, which was spraying oil onto the left side tyres on the car. With the majority of corners being right handers at Cadwell, traction was at a premium for James and he ended up slipping back to 8th position by the end of race.
Overall it was a highly frustrating day for the team and we hoped to have better results in round 10.
Round 10 Heat 1
During investigations to the engine overnight, the problem was identified but rendered unfixable at the race circuit, so the team had no choice but to run the car with the oil leak all day, and just hope for the best results possible, knowing that the ultimate competitiveness was never going to be reached. Starting from 7th position, James had a very adventurous first lap, which included getting airborne going into the mountain section of the circuit. With a bit of luck and some great recovery driving, James managed to save the car from a monumental accident and did not losing a position in the process!
In fact, James ended lap 1 in 6th position. James continued to battle for 6th position with the #4 and #55 cars respectively, the three cars swapping places continuously, on the last lap with James in 8th he produced a daring move around the outside going into the mountain section passing the #55 car and draw alongside the #4 car up the mountain. With traction still at a premium, the JRA Motorsport man couldn’t quite complete the move on the #4 car and had to settle for an exciting 7th position.
Round 10 Heat 2
With the grid reversed, James lined up 17th for the race, and after a solid start, steady progress was made upto 11th position by the halfway mark. As the battle continued the JRA Motorsport man made his way upto to a steady, if unspectacular 9th place.
Round 10 Final
Starting the final from 13th, James made a great start reaching 4th position after 4 laps. Suddenly on that lap the starter motor sheered off, causing oil to pour out of the car onto both rear tyres, the promising early progress was put in check, and James slipped back to finish 8th, after a close last lap battle between the #8 and #7 cars.
Overall the weekend was ultimately a huge disappointment, but we aim to bounce back at Croft with the car far more competitive than it was at Cadwell. We still remain in 6th position in the championship going in to the final 6 rounds.
1 Lawrence Davey #2 5370
2 Ben Power #55 4160
3 John Mickel #4 4145
4 Dean Brace #7 4145
5 Richard Pocklington #16 3600
6 James Holman #83 3550
7 Nick Brace #8 3175
8 Eliot Bunn #41 3095
9 Stephen Whitelegg #66 3090
10 Matthew Pape #24 2910