Part 2 – Qualifying
Qualifying
I meet Mark (Rich’s partner in crime) at the Amigo Motorsport setup, I can remember floating rather than walking to meet him. He can clearly see I’m a bundle of energy and nerves. Rich neglected to mention to him I’m a complete novice. Thankfully, I told him on the phone the night before. His expectations are low and he gives me a great chat to help settle my nerves. I meet the team, sign-on and it all starts to get VERY real. Max rocks up, loves the fact I pinged him on twitter and our DM chat consists of him saying hi and me blurting out I’ve never driven Croft, never driven a C1 (or sat in one, more on that to come) and never raced. He finds it all funny and isn’t phased. He pulls me aside and gives me some pointers and gears for corners. He’s a great coach, I sense a Teffers-esque level of man-crush developing (minus the hair). I’m hoping to become faster just by standing near him. The team agree Max goes out first to put us on pole (hang on, this is my first race, pole???). Mark goes out second and will just do his minimum 3 laps to qualify. The rest of Quali can be my time to learn which way Croft goes and get familiar with the C1.
Max goes out and is a little way off pole (phew 
). He and the team boss, Rob, agree the new engine is tight and we’re down a little on power vs. some of the field. This is a great excuse, I make a mental note of it and save it for later. Mark goes out and isn’t far off Max’s time. The team agree Max should go out again after as many laps as they can squeeze me in for.
Showtime! Our mechanic, Keith, tells me to be smooth and have fun. He asks the standard questions: Driven Croft? No… Driven a C1? No… Well, at least it’s not your first race… Err, about that… He looks at me with a wry smile and with that, I am belted into the C1. My first stress is the Mutu tag, this needs to be held up to the receiver on leaving the pits to log my laps as the driver. I’ve watched a few cars have to reverse and shuffle embarrassingly. If I wasn’t nervous enough, this feels like an extra mental challenge I do not need. Thankfully, I select third, and proceed to use a combination of stalling and the starter motor to get myself to the receiver… Quite what Mark, Max, Keith, Rob and the rest of the team are thinking I have no idea. I have a slightly bigger issue… At this point I realised, I’ve never been in a C1. I have no idea where any of the controls are, and I’m about to join a live circuit for my first ever qualifying and laps of Croft. It’s OK, by the exit of corner two I’ve worked out where the Rev counter is.
There are C1s everywhere, I focused on finding space, practising what Max said, building a rhythm and trying to learn as much as I could from my laps. 99% sure the thing in the middle is a lap timer. Man, I wish I had sat in the car before this moment. My times seem to start coming down, if it is a lap timer. After 8-10 laps I see our board and it’s time to come in. Somehow, don’t ask me, I manage a fastest lap of 2:00:06. 1 and a bit seconds behind Mark’s time. The team look relieved. Max still thinks it’s all funny. We’re OK. Max goes out and puts us 9th. 3 seconds quicker than I managed. It’s not pole but I feel more relaxed. Then it dawns on me how many cars are behind 9th…
Qualifying, completed it mate!!!!
Enter Mental note: Next time sit in the car rather than just take pics of it!!!!!!!!!!
Feedback & Coaching
After qualifying the team are in good spirits. Amigo Motorsport has 3 of 3 cars in the top 10! 381 at 3rd, 385 in 5th, and us in 9th. I’d wondered if not putting the car on pole would impact Max at all. It didn’t, he was still lamenting how much fun it was and had a smile on his face.
We’d put cameras in the car so we could compare Max, Mark, and my laps. Max then spent a generous two hours going over his laps, my laps, and Mark’s laps. The other Amigo Motorsport teams showed some interest and we had good chats, banter, and discussion. This was club level motorsport. I was part of it. This was my tribe, we were doing this. It’s a little cheesy reading it back but it’s no less true. This was what I wanted, it’s not just being sat in the car doing laps, it’s the whole experience.
The consensus seemed to be I’d done alright. Max gave me three things to work on:
- Turn in earlier at corner 1. Throw it in and just let the car slide out. Then a dab of the brake and use 2nd for Corner 2.
- Turn in earlier for Tower and use 2nd, be more aggressive, throw it in.
- Turn in earlier for Sunny In, be more aggressive, throw it in. Then let it run out to the curve before apexing Sunny out.
All three bits of advice proved invaluable, in the race those three are where I made most of my passes.
Olly Brand 