We came into the weekend at Snetterton on a 23-car grid with no real expectations or idea of what we could achieve as it was our first weekend. Nevertheless, I was confident that we would have the pace due to our winter testing… but being the youngest I knew it would be tricky.
QUALIFYING: This was a very scruffy session with a lot of traffic blocking laps and a general lack of time to get laps in, this proved to be a challenge as we ended up 10th for race 1 and 13th for race 3.
Race 1: I had a brilliant start to my season as with great pace I moved through the pack, picking people off lap by lap. This saw me move from 10th to 3rd and in a realistic shot of a win on my senior racing debut, The man in second with 2 laps to go went on the defensive and I began my attack on 2nd. Numerous attempts at moves failed and the final led to contact which came to bite with 2 corners to go as my front grill got trapped under the front wheels and caused me to run wide leaving us 5th and rookie winner!!!! A remarkably successful start to my senior racing career.
Race 2: Starting 3rd, I knew with the pace I had that I would have a chance at an overall win. The race was one that took me to get a while into with my package being set up to come on strong at the end. As the 2 leaders began fighting ahead, I was back into the fight and put in 2 moves in 2 successive corners which saw me take the lead with 5 minutes to go. From this position I controlled the race and extended enough of a gap to feel safe going onto the final lap that to some degree victory… unless I made a mistake would be ensured. However, the car in 2nd attempted an overtake, with half a lap to go, which was simply unacceptable and he himself is now under investigation with higher powers in motorsport, more importantly this move snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as I managed to salvage 3rd on the final lap. A first overall podium in the series which I am proud of however in this case we deserved more.
Race 3: Starting 13th, I knew it would be a challenge. I began picking off cars 1 by 1 and climbed up to 9th before the race was stopped due to a crash.
Overall, it was an immensely promising debut and one to be proud of. I leave Snetterton 4th in the standings and 2nd in the rookie championship! Let’s take this momentum forward.