The car felt really good in my heat, I was on Danny’s back bumper the whole race and ended up 7th behind him. Had a good start in the Final but ended up getting spun. I finished but not in a good position. I was going well in the National until a car spun in front of me and I crashed! Not very good results, but I was really happy with how the car felt.
Frankie JJ
25 cars line up for the whites and yellows, it felt more like a final! I got such a good start and got well up in the places, I remember thinking that I was going well and the car felt great! I can’t quite remember what place I was in but I’m certain that I was in the top 5 when I went to pass a white top, he moved wide for me so I went up the inside and then he decided to come back into the racing line whilst I was there! Our wheels got hooked and it snapped my front axle which meant the end of my race unfortunately! But I was still smiling because the few laps that I did were so much fun!
We only just welded my front axle up in time for Heat 2. I got lined up and was very excited considering how good the car felt in the whites and yellows. The car did feel good but seemed to be pushing a little bit coming out of the corners. I’m not sure at the moment whether I just need to get used to King’s Lynn in an F1 when I am so used to getting a V8 around there! It was quite a steady race and I managed to finish in 10th place meaning that I had qualified for the Final.
At the start of the Final I was going down the home straight when another yellow top hit me, this made my car come out of gear and I couldn’t get it back into gear until I got to the end of the straight, and by this point most of the grid had passed me. I don’t think I was at the very back but I was definitely not in the places! I kept on going and managed to avoid quite a lot of parked cars, drivers spinning out, drivers getting hooked on to one another and I could tell that I was making some ground.
I got put into the fence quite hard by a blue top, my car came out of gear again but I put it straight back into second and carried on! At the end of the race I had finished in 13th place which, although just out of the places, I was very pleased with considering I was nearly last at the start of the race!
I got a good start in the National and battled with fellow yellow tops for a couple of laps which was really fun. I actually managed to stay with the pack for most of the race and felt really fast. When they watered the track it made it really slippy, I went into turn one a little bit too fast and hit the fence, this caused my back outside tyre to slowly go down making me slower each lap, I was in tenth place on the last lap when another yellow top caught and passed me on the last bend meaning that I finished the race in 11th place.
I really really enjoyed racing at King’s Lynn. I absolutely loved it in a V8 but it is 10 times more fun in an F1 and I really can’t wait to race there again!
This is my last meeting as a yellow top and I will be blue for Belle Vue which I am very excited about! I know it’s going to be much more challenging starting that bit further back but I am ready to give it a go.
Phoebe
We’re all looking forward to a good night’s racing. Phoebe is a little bit apprehensive cos she struggled there a bit in the V8, but we all tell her to relax and see how it goes. Phoebe is first out in the now very popular whites and yellow race. I have personally been right behind these races from the early days coz I firmly believe it attracts more lower graders to race and gives them one race were they’re not going to get fenced by certain over aggressive star men.
She looks to be going really well until she gets tangled with a white top and they both end up in the fence. I can see she is still trying to set off but must have some damage so can’t. It soon becomes apparant when she is recovered back to the truck that the impact actually broke the end of the front axle right off so the lads set about getting the grinder and welder out to fix the axle.
So I have to get out in my heat now leaving the lads to fix Phoebe’s car as her heat is on straight after mine. We’ve been trying different tyres this season as we’re all waiting for the production run of the American Racer rally tyre to be completed. It’s going to be the compulsory tyre to run and hopefully shortly, as I firmly believe it is the right way to go to make the racing cheaper. We tested the tyre last year at the last Stoke and as it was voted one of the best meetings of the year I think the tyre will be the right one.
As I set off in my heat it only takes a lap for me to realise we have the correct compound tyre on and the car felt as good as it did the day I debuted it! Having left all the other star graders I set about catching the whites and yellows who are going really well. A last bend dive at Sarge means I finish second, as white top Steve Malkin was just far enough away for me to get both of them.
Close, but not close enough! Well done to Steve on the race win.
So full of confidence I’m out for the Final. A scrappy affair early on has allowed Dan Johnson to get away a bit, so some hard work is going to be needed later on in the race. A couple of stoppages means we have the track watered with about 5 to go, something that has happened at Lynn for years and will carry on happening if we want to keep racing there. I think the effort Buster and his team do at Lynn is amazing and with all the trucks and industrial places near the track they have to be seen to be doing everything they can to keep dust a minimum.
I personally enjoy the challenge, it gives the drivers another angle to think about, and as the green flag drops it only takes me a lap or so to hit the front backing the car beautifully into every turn, just hard enough to skim the plate and ride the cushion to power away down the next straight. An enjoyable last few laps to the flag and our first Final win of this season. I’m well chuffed!
So it’s another lap handicap National to attack and after some fast laps I find myself up in the top 3, which was absolutely awesome, and with the leaders in sight I set about chasing them down. But then in an unexpected turn of events I find myself entering the pits turn with no steering whatsoever… kind of a weird feeling at full race speed with no control of where you’re going, I think I felt a bit like Nigel Harrhy must have done last season before we sorted his shale car out, ha ha!
So the obvious thing happened and into the fence we go! Wasn’t too bad to be honest, just disappointing as I was on for a top 3 which would have been some good qualifying points.
So all in all a really good night! The kids both qualified in the heat and Phoebe managed tenth in the National even after a visit to the fence, but all good learning for her and she was buzzing and grinning from ear to ear, so that must mean she likes racing at King’s Lynn now!
A massive thankyou to all the mechanics who helped out. We’ve been lucky enough to get a few new lads in the week and at meetings and it made a massive difference. One thing you need to run 3 or 4 cars successfully at a meeting is mechanics, so thank you all again.
All that’s left now is the drive home. Four hours with a food stop and maybe a couple of Costa stops, all helped by the glow inside from the Final win and the kids once again been amazing. We arrive home at 3-30, get everything parked up and sorted, and in bed for 4. It only felt like I had been in it for 10 minutes when the alarm went off at 8-30, so I sneaked a couple of snooze buttons and left for AKA at 9 for another full day on the truck.
Cheers for now!
Frankie
6th in Heat 2 was Danny’s only result of the night.
All hands on deck to fix the front axle.
Team talk.
Top three in the final. Dan was third, and runner up was some Dutch bloke…!
Thanks to Jordan Cooper and Paul Greenwood for the photos.
