The last time I raced at Donington, we were restarted twice following successive multiple collisions at Turn 1 - the tricky Redgate corner. Half the grid didn’t finish that race. Needing to capitalise on the championship momentum I gained at Silverstone, it was imperative that I didn’t allow history to repeat itself. Donington is a very high speed, power circuit that suits a very stiff car set-up so as to maximise the speed carried through bends like The Old Hairpin and Coppice. However, we were racing on the rarely used full GP circuit configuration that uses the infamous Melbourne Loop - a dusty chicane in and hard braking steep downhill to an off camber 180 degree switchback before powering back up the hill and sweeping around the 180 degree off camber Goddards and onto the start-finish straight. This makes Donington a very different - and challenging - circuit, as no one set-up is favoured here. If you stiffen the car to maximise your speed through the fast corners you compromise your traction out of the hairpins.

We were lucky enough to have our weekend shared by the inaugural race of the new Superleague Formula series - 750bhp single seater racing not far off Formula 1 spec.

Attracting football club supporters from all round the world (the USP of the series is that all the teams are football clubs such as AC Milan and Liverpool) large crowds were guaranteed. It’s entered a tough marketplace though - going directly head to head with F1, GP2, A1 GP, F3 and various other high-horsepower, single-seater series. With rumours around the paddock that the series had run out of money before it had even begun, it will be interesting to see if it survives on such a crowded calendar.

Free practice in the morning had gone very well and I was delighted with the way the car was handling. The inclusion of the Melbourne Loop also meant that the effect of the power advantage of other cars (see Silverstone post below) was minimised. Having put down a 1m55s635 in the first session, I was hopeful of replicating this in qualifying and challenging for the front row. As it went, thanks to certain cars that really should know better and treating the quali session as a race rather than qualifying, I found myself blocked at every key corner, compromising whatever hot lap I was on. I couldn’t drop off them too far for a clear run as there was traffic behind which would have had compromised the lap anyway, so I endured an incredibly frustrating 20 minutes trying to find a clear way round the circuit and book a quick lap. When the grid was posted, I was furious to see I was P14 / 30 with a 1m56s531 - a full second off my practice times. Not for the first time this season, a compromised qualifying left me with it all to do in the race. I targeted an optimistic P6 finish in the first race to give me a chance of a podium for the second race.

Race 1

As the lights went out, I got an absolute flyer, despite the lack of traction from the stiff suspension set-up, and had gained 4 or 5 places within yards. I tucked the car up nicely onto the defensive line as we flew towards Redgate, scene of the previous year’s mayhem, only to find a near stationary Rob Vissers green car right in front of me. Rob’s gearbox had failed and he couldn’t get going. I had to brake heavily almost to a standstill to get round him and all the cars I’d taken off the start flew past…

I picked up a place over Scott Illman down Craner Curves and my superior speed through this fast part of the circuit saw me quickly latch onto the tail of the cars in front. The race then quickly became a war of attrition as I slowly picked off cars one at a time. Andrew Ball made his car as wide as possible and managed to hold me off for most of the race. I diced and swapped places with the ever present Mark Blackburn, Amit Patel, Dean Wilkin and Steve Tucker, until Steve carried far too much speed into the esses at the start of the Melbourne Loop and stuck it in the gravel trap - showering us with a half ton of stones as we swept past, cracking my windscreen quite badly.

Dean’s car had suffered an earlier coming together with another driver and his front right wishbones were knocked slightly out, leaving him with unpredictable handling. His yellow car lurched from washed out understeer to snap oversteer in an instant and it looked a real handful. I knew it was only a matter of time before he’d give me a great opportunity to pass and it soon came on the exit of Redgate as he ran wide. Another place gained.

Going into the last lap, Mark ran wide on the tricky inverse camber at the Melbourne Hairpin and I nipped up the inside. Mark then compounded his problem by missing a gear on the run up the hill towards Goddards and I consolidated the place as the chequered flag was waved over the line. I’d clawed my way up to P7 / 30 and was only 15 seconds behind the leader. From 14th, this was a pretty pleasing effort and I looked forward to the race the next day.

Race 2

My stiff suspension set-up had worked a treat in the first race, although I was surprised that the traction out of the hairpins hadn’t been too badly effected by stiffness of the rear of the car. I decided to leave the set-up unchanged. As we sat in the Assembly Area waiting to be led out onto the grid, I was dismayed to see the rain start to fall, covering the track with grease. A lot of drivers were caught out on dry set ups by this sudden downpour, but I was particularly concerned as I favour a stiffer dry set-up than most and this could cost me dearly in the wet. Worst of all, my front tyre rotation was set for the dry. We run our asymmetric tyres backwards in the dry for extra grip; but on this rotation in the wet, it leaves the tyre unable to clear any water at all - instead drawing it into the centre of the tyre where the pressure builds and so pushes the car upwards, causing horrible understeer. Oh well - nothing I could do about it now…!

The lights went out and, as predicted, I struggled for traction off the line, but still managed to have a better start than most. We cautiously wound our way down the thrilling Craner Curves, where Sid Woolett lost control of his car and span on the tricky left hander at the bottom of the hill. This unsettled Andrew Ball in front of me and I got an excellent run on him through the Old Hairpin and took the place up the hill, moving across to defend my line under Starky’s Bridge. Next up was a very nervous looking Robin Ellis - his car very skittish under the slightest provocation. I picked him off with a brave last-of-the-late-brakers move into the esses at the start of the Melbourne Loop.

I found myself then behind who else but Mark Blackburn! Mark and I have enjoyed some great battles together this year and this race was no exception. I was much quicker than him around the fast sectors 1 and 2, but his softer set-up was much quicker around the Melbourne Loop and so we were pretty evenly matched. I could tell he was pushing pretty hard to stay in front as he had several moments into the slow speed corners. My car, however, felt great and very neutral in its handling, and I was confident I’d pressure him into a mistake sooner or later. We were both shocked, then, to find a charging Nigel Oven take advantage of our battle and sneak past us both from nowhere.

We diced for several laps, before Mark lost control at the same esses he had struggled with all race and span in front of Nigel and me. To avoid the collision I had to detour across the treacherous grass, whilst Nigel managed to keep it on the grey stuff and it was Nigel that raced away with much better traction and broke the all important tow effect. I did slowly reel him back in, but eventually ran out of time as the chequered flag came out. I’d finished in a hard earned P5 / 30, only 9 seconds behind P1, and with another handful of points in the bag.

Whilst disappointed not to have got on the podium here, I was still pretty pleased that the points I’d earned were very useful for the long haul of the championship, and I find myself now in 7th place going into the final 2 rounds at Brands Hatch next month. Only 15 points or so separates 3rd from 8th with 40 points up for grabs, so it really is all to play for.

Phil