Jonathan’s Diary
Jonathan received a Sports Grant from Newtownabbey Borough Council.
10th November 2011
Silverstone 2011
I have just completed in the prestigious Walter Hayes trophy at the legendary circuit of Silverstone in Northampton. Instead of the usual 89s Mondiale that we used all year in the Northern Ireland Championship, championship of Brands and the Formula Ford Festival we changed machinery for this weekend to the Ray GR09 with Athgoe Racing.
I arrived at Silverstone on the Wednesday evening ready for the first day of testing on the Thursday. I woke up to a miserable wet day at Silverstone and it stayed like this most of the day as the track takes ages to dry. The day went pretty well and in three out of the four sessions I was quickest. Thursday stayed wet and greasy all day until the overall session at the end with an open pit lane which was party dry with wet patches but we ended up 3rd or 4th quickest.
Friday morning came and we only had two sessions. Again it was a wet and greasy track and we went out and bedded in pads and tyres for the race weekend. We ended up quickest in one session and 2nd quickest in the other. The past two days put me into a confident mood going into qualifying on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning arrived and again we woke up to a wet silverstone. In total there was 100 cars + entered to battle it out for the Walter Hayes Trophy so there was a total of six heats. I was in heat three along with Chris Middlehurst and Ben Norton who were the main guys in my group. We went out for qualifying on a damp but drying track, we were p1 in quali right up into the last two laps were we were pipped by Middlehurst by one tenth of a second. Pole would have been nice but a front row start was ok starting p2. The race came on Saturday afternoon and I got off to a good start and Chris got the lead into the first corner but I went for the lead going into the complex at the end of the first lap. I got the lead from him and led the whole race right through to the flag. This was a good start to the week for us as for the Sunday for the semifinal we would have been starting on either the front two rows.
Sunday morning came and we woke up to a lovely dry day for a surprise. There was a total of six heats so six winners was split into the two semifinals. This meant I was starting 3rd on the grid for the start. We got off the line well and I was lying third going into the complex on the first lap. I made a move on the American Trent Hindman into the complex and got into second. Josh Fisher was in the lead and I sat behind him for a few laps so we could get a break from the guys behind. With about five laps to go I made a move round the outside of Fisher into the complex and held the lead for two laps. Fisher then got me back with three laps to go and I passed him again. Us battling caused Adrian Campfield to catch and there was then three for the lead. On the last two laps Adrian got past me for second and this was the result to the flag with Josh Fisher winning, from Campfield from myself.
Finishing third in my semifinal made me start p6 in the main final. I got off to a good start off the line and into 5th. Was a very good race with six of us for the lead the entire race. Unfortunately we had a few problems with straight line speed which meant we couldn’t capitalize. We got into 4th for split second but couldn’t keep it. We kept with the leaders until a fellow competitors nose cone got stuck under my car and I went off the track. This made me fall back to sixth. On the last lap I was able to get back past Trent Hindman and back into 5th position where I would finish.
From this weekend I was reasonably happy with a win and two podiums but was disappointed with how the final planned out. From this weekend we will move on trying to find a budget for next season either in a UK championship or elsewhere.
I would just like to take this time to thank Newtownabbey Borough Council and Athgoe Racing for their help and support this weekend.
19th October 2011
I have just competed in the prestigious 40th anniversary of the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch near Kent. We have been in England since Thursday, and we were testing on circuit the Thursday and Friday before the race weekend itself! Thursday and Friday were pretty good days testing with a few issues with the car on the Thursday but we got them sorted for Friday! The major problem with the car was understeer but a lot of adjustments sorted that problem out and when we put new tyres on during the second session on the Friday the car was prefect and we were on the pace of the front runners! This put me into a good mind set going into the Saturday with qualifying and the first heat.
Qualifying came on Saturday morning and 23 in each heat set out to put in their best time but the session was ended just after three laps due to a car putting oil down all over the track! This made the track a lot slower after the restart because it was so slippy but the guys who got a time in before the oil went quickest, unfortunately I didnt get a competitive time in due to having to pass a lot of slower cars at the start of the session. I put an average time in on the oil and qualified sixth. I started the heat in sixth and got into fifth off the line and on the third lap i went to pass for fourth into druids and unfortunately a collision in front of me left me with nowhere to go and i clipped english man Felix Fisher and ended up stuck in the gravel trap! Nightmare!!
Sunday came and due to me not finishing my heat I had to start at the back of the grid in 22nd and to make it into the main final I had to finish 14th so the pressure was on! Thankfully the car was perfectly set up and I was able to make my way up through the grip and finished 8th at the chequered flag! That got me into the main final of the day and because there was two heats I started 16th with the results of one semi final down one side of the grid and the other on the other side of the grid! I got off to a really good start and had passed four cars before paddock hill bend and I picked them off as quickly as I could! I had another brilliant race and was able to make my way up to fifth! I was over the moon with the result as on Saturday sitting in the gravel trap I wouldnt have thought I would have made it to the final!
I would just like to take this time to thank NI Radiator Services, Newtownabbey Borough Council and John Harris Motorsport for their help and support this weekend!
Depending on budget we will hopefully be attending the end of season race at Silverstone for the Walter Hayes Trophy in a few weeks hopefully with a bit more luck on our side.
25th September 2011
I competed in the Martin Donnelly Trophy Race on Saturday at Kirkistown. We were testing on Friday and were joint quickest all day. Saturday morning in qualifying we qualified 2nd on the grid for our heat 0.2 off pole position. At the start of the heat we had a missfire in the car but thankfully it cleared itself out after two laps. We ended up finishing third in the race with a race long battle with Noel Dunne the eventual winner and John Ferguson. For the final the grid was worked out by the quickest heat starting on the right hand side of the grid, because our heat was slower we started on the left hand side which made me start sixth on the grid. In the final I got a good start of the line up into fourth and held my position for a few laps with six cars for the lead. The race was so close and there was a different leader every lap and positions were being changed most corners and slipstream down the back straight of the circuit was crucial with around a second between first and sixth. I finally got into second position and held it there for a lap or two but dropped to third with four laps to go. I ended a very good race in third position but a stewards enquiry after the race meant an exclusion from the race for the second place driver. This meant I finished second overall with the eventual winner going to Noel Robinson and third place to Championship winner Ivor Mccullough.
It was a great result for us as we were in an pre 90 (1989 car) racing against modern cars. From this we will regroup and move onto Brands Hatch in three weeks time for the Prestigious Formula Ford Festival and hopefully go one better! At this time I would just like to thank NI Radiator Services and Newtownabbey Borough Council for their continued support.
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