Mikee's Race Report - CSMCC '17 Round 4

[[TC]»Pete«]

---

Hello,

Mikee's 4th round of his first season of the Celtic Speed MINI Cooper Cup took place at Rockingham Motor Speedway on the ISSC Long configuration. Here's his race report:

Michael Weddell Racing Wrote:Away round! Was always looking forward to learning a new circuit and getting back out the in the AP Autocentre scholarship car and it helped and that the championship had never raced here making it a level playing field!

Practice on Friday went well with Minimax Motorsport providing a great setup allowing me run fast times throughout the day which gave us confidence going into qualifying!

Qualifying:

As you can imagine, the weather was toasting! It was roasting inside the car meaning it was crucial to get a fast lap straight away before the tyres dropped off. Decided to go for a different tactic this round and get some clear air at the back of the pack allowing me to set the lap times needed. This seemed to work as my first flying put me on Pole!! I was the only the driver to set a sub 1:49 lap time. Delighted to get first pole position of my car racing career and by a nice margin too!

Race 1:

It was always going to be crucial to get a good start off the line considering the long run to the first braking zone. Managed a good initial launch off the line however a slight mishap selecting third gear caused me to drop to 2nd. Spent the whole race hounding the car in front for the lead however after some questionable defending I dropped down to third after being forced onto the grass. Finished third and top novice! Two podiums on the trot and the fastest lap of the race! Can’t complain and that!

Race 2:

Where it all went wrong. Starting P4 after the reverse grid sorted itself out and made a good start moving into what looked like P2 on the outside of the long first comer. However, half way round the fastest section of the track I was tagged from behind shooting me sideways across the track and in the process, I collected my teammate Hannah Chapman Racing. Thankfully Hannah and I are both okay but both cars weren’t able to finish the race due to the damage. Not the best way to end the weekend watching the race from the infield.

However, a massive well done to my teammate Taelor Shand Racing for getting a top 5 finish! Looked like a cracking race from the infield!

Overall, the weekend was full ups and downs! Pole, Fastest lap, only driver to set a sub 1:49 second lap, another podium and showed great pace throughout the weekend and made some ground on the championship so hopefully we can take this momentum onto the next round at Knockhill.
Minimax Motorsport pulled it out the bag this weekend with the setup on the car, it felt like it was on rails all the way till the end!

Again, a big thanks to Allan and Angela at AP Autocentre for giving me this opportunity, I can’t thank them enough, even with how the weekend ended up they’re still striving me forward!

Onwards and Upwards!

Clearly his weekend was full of mixed emotions. This round consisted of a qualifying session on Saturday morning followed by a race on Saturday afternoon and second race on Sunday morning. His qualifying run on Saturday was superb. Instead of leading the way, Mikee opted to hang back and find plenty of free space to put in a good lap. It paid off massively as he claimed pole by a good margin, setting the fastest lap of the weekend.

Starting on pole, keeping the position into turn one was always going to be tricky but despite a slightly botched start he managed to emerge from turn 1 in second place. After a close fight with Morgan Murray for the whole race and a few scraps, Mikee was subjected to some questionable defending close to the end which meant he and Morgan were passed by third place man Robbie Dalgleish. It was a very entertaining 15 minute race and it was a real treat to see Mikee up there fighting for the win. It was one of the most exciting races I've seen live, just a shame he couldn't have converted his first pole into his first win. After his performance on Saturday, I'm sure he'll manage a win some time very soon!

Saturday's Imgur Gallery

Sunday's reverse grid saw Mikee start on the second row so anything was possible from here. Unfortunately, on the exit of the first corner of the oval, a 4-wide situation developed with Mikee on the outside. The Rockingham oval is plenty wide enough for this sort of thing but sadly it went horribly wrong when cars on the inside shuffled upwards, spooking one another into Mikee on the outside. Mikee's rear left quarter-panel was hit meaning he speared across the track collecting his team mate in a gnarly shunt which ended both of their races after less than 30 seconds. This accident was avoidable, but that's racing... Not the end of the weekend any of the team were after but luckily, despite initial concerns about the condition of the car which was initially thought to be a write off, it turns out the car may not be as badly damaged as previously thought and may be able to compete in the next round at Knockhill in 2 weeks time.

Congratulations again for your first pole of the season and another podium Mikee, it was a really enjoyable weekend and a pleasure to watch you race!

Thanks to Special, Howlin and Renegade for hanging out with me during the weekend, it was a good laugh.

---

Mikee's Sunday shunt: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelWeddellR...650631127/
Saturday's racing action (Photos by Pete): http://imgur.com/gallery/70yFP

---