2008 Season so far

So far this season we've had 2 BAS rounds, the North of England Championships, and lots of local club events. Here's how i've been getting on...

BAS 1 at South Wales brought sun, wind, rain, and sea fret! Sat on the line for my 3rd heat, the sea fret came in like a thick fog and within 10 minutes we couldn't see the track! We had to hang around for about an hour before racing could re-commence. Although I came away from this round with the results i needed, it wasn't a particularly good round for me. I wouldn't say i'm a perfectionist but i have high expectations of myself. If i make mistakes it's not the end of the world, but i do get mad with myself! I want to be the best driver i can be, and that means mistakes need to be kept to a minimum!
Anyway, i had 2 heat wins and a 3rd and went on to win the final but only just. My car pushed on (tried to go straight on rather than turning) in the first bend of the first race and that was a huge mental set-back for me. I didn't drive the way i should, i was being far to cautious, all because i was subconsciously nervous about the pushing-on problem. I came away leading my class and the overall BAS but certainly wasn't satisfied with my driving.

At our next club meeting at York i did as i always do at club meetings, use the track time to practice and improve my driving. Club racing for ladies is generally fairly quiet, there's only usually 5 or 6 people in my races and there's nothing at stake. I use this time to test myself and the car, to see what we can both do and when we've gone too far. At this club meeting imparticular i was throwing the car about so hard, as if to shake out that mental issue i had over the pushing on in Wales. It did the trick and i had a good days racing.

The North of England Championships came at the end of May Bank Holiday weekend and it was an excellent weekend. The weather was good to us, there was a good number of cars to make plenty of racing, but not too much hanging around and waiting. Complaints and re-runs were few and far between so all in all an enjoyable weekend, even though i was working hard as a committee member and doing my usual bit in Pits Control (Where we control the cars to come up for races).
In the end there was only me and Julie Dean in our final but it was an awesome race. Julie got passed me on about the first lap and i fought and fought to eventually pass her back on the last lap. She almost got under me again in the last corner but i grit my teeth even harder to just hold onto it. It was a great challenge from Julie and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Even if i hadn't won i would have felt exactly the same. We were both well and truly buzzin after the race.
I took a comfortable win in the Champ of Champs to be crowned North of England Champion. (Pic above is of me collecting my trophy from Marcia Jackson of Jackson Coaches http://www.jacksonscoaches.com/ ).

BAS 2 came in mid June at the Cwmdu track near Hereford. The weather was a bit hit and miss; sunny and windy on Thursday and Friday, a good amount of rain on Friday night and Saturday to make for some muddy racing on day 1, and then sun and wind again on Sunday to dry it all out and bring up a great track for the finals. My first race went disasterously wrong. I don't know what happened but i thought the bungy was lifting (this is what starts us off) and so i went, only the bungee hadn't gone and consequently i'd jumped the start. I was disqualified and so nil points for me on that one - fine start! To be honest, i still haven't got over it now! I might be winning my class still but it's well and truly ruined my challenge for the overall BAS. But the show must go on!
A win in my 2nd heat and a 2nd in the last heat secured me a place in the final where i had a great race. I had a rubbish grid on the start line and so my start was poor. I was 3rd into the corner and it took me a couple of laps to get passed Julie Dean. By this time Sandra was well ahead and i didn't fancy my chances of catching her. Somehow, somewhere, i seemed to find another level to my driving. I was going faster than i can ever remember driving before and i caught Sandra with about a lap to go. I managed to sneak under her on the last lap to take a well earned win. It felt good from inside the car and the comments i've had from other people since have been great. People genuinely seemed to have been impressed by my drive which is very encouraging. Bring on BAS 3....!

Memorable Races

Without a doubt, winning a major a title will certainly make a race memorable. But i find that some of my most memorable races have been ones where i've not necessarily won a major title, perhaps not even won the race at all, but all the same i've really had to fight and push my driving to the limits to achieve my end result. Here's a few i'll always remember...

Winning the Nationals in 2003 in my class 1 mini was incredible, it was my first major title and i'll never forget it for that reason, but the highlight of that meeting was most definitely winning the overall National Champion of Champions race. Every class winner enters the race whether they stand a chance of winning or not and as a class 1 just doesn't win the champ of champs (unless it's incredibly wet which it wasn't) i was just entering for the sake of it, because i could!
I had the lead due the the handicap of the race as my car was in the slowest class. As the race went on i started to realise that the other cars weren't catching me half as fast as i expected them to. Going into the last lap I was coming out of a bend as the others were all going into it and for the first time in the race i actually thought i could do it. I think i even said out loud in the car 'you can do this Nic'. On the very last bend i could see the class 9 of Kate Feathersone coming up behind me fast, to my suprise she looked like she was going to come up the inside of me (class 9's shouldn't be going inside a class 1 they should go round!). There's no way i was fast enough to beat her except by defending my line and the line she wanted to take. By closing in tight Kate had to back off and that moment of hesitation from her allowed me to win the race. Over the line the front of Kate's car was level with my door, i literally won the race by a bonnet! The sense of personal achievement for me was amazing, and made a whole lot better by the utter amazement of the crowd and spectators too. A class 1 just doesn't win the champ of champs!

Another memorable race was a final in the class 5 at South Wales BAS 2005. It was the first year in the mini and the track suited the car so well so i'd had a perfect set of heats with 3 convincing wins. As the final was set off my car jumped out of 1st gear and i was left sat on the line. In a panick, i was desperately trying to get it back into gear but by the time i did the rest of the pack were going round the first bend. Sheer determination and frustration took me through the rest of the race, i passed a couple after 2 or 3 laps, then a couple more and a couple more. On the last lap i went up the inside of the remaining cars and took the win. I can't remember every single detail of the race, i just know it was a fantastic drive to come from last (half a lap down even) to win the race. That felt good!

In 2006 i raced the class 5 in the Champion of Champions at the Stroud & District Ladies Nationals. I had qualified for the race by winning the ladies class 5 and along side me as reigning Champion of Champions was Sandra Jones, my main class 5 competition. Neither of us won the race, once the class 8 was passed she was well away, but i enjoyed this race so much as Sandra & I fought none stop from start to finish. Most of the race she was in front of me and i was all over the back of her, then we'd swap and then swap back again. I don't think i've ever raced so hard and fast and close to someone yet never touch them. We pushed and pushed eachother harder than ever before and were physically drained by the end of it. It was a great challenge though.

Major Achievements to date

Here are the National and BAS results i've had to date:

Nationals
2002 - 6th in class 1, 4th in class 4
2003 - 1st in class 1 , 4th in class 8
2003 Ladies overall National Champion of Champions (racing the class 1)
2004 - 2nd in class 1
2004 Ladies overall National Champion of Champions (racing the class 1)
2005 - 1st in class 1, 2nd in class 5
2006 - 1st in class 5
2007 - Didn't compete at Nationals

BAS
2003 - 2nd in class 1
2004 - 1st in class 1, 4th in class 8
2005 - 1st in class 5
2006 - 1st in class 5
2007 - 1st in class 5 and Ladies overall BAS Champion

Background Info

Well grassin has been in my blood since the day i was born. My parents had raced for years at the York Autograss Club, so had many of my uncles, and so too had my grandparents before them.

Mum and dad were and are pretty well known, they've been in the sport for a long time and they've generally been at the front in the classes they raced in. Mum has been more fortunate than dad with her results, winning many a national and BAS (British Autograss Series) title. Dad, always a front runner, tends to be unlucky come the big finals. He's been 2nd at the nationals a few times but finally managed to pull off the BAS class 5 championship in 2006.

In 2000 i raced a mini in ladies class 1 with my brother (Mark) racing it in the juniors. This is where my racing career really started. I was always a front runner in ladies class 1 but it maybe took a couple of seasons to polish off my front wheel drive racing techniques, and also for us to achieve a car on par with the top level class 1 racers. The highlight of my class 1 career came in 2003 where i won my first National Championship and went on to win the prestigious National Champion of Champions race. It's a race that i'll never forget but i'll save all the details of that for another post.

In 2005 mum retired from racing and so i stepped into her shoes to share the 5 with dad. In my first year i won the BAS in that class and was 2nd at the nationals. I have continued to run at the front in class 5 winning the national championships, BAS in my class, and Ladies overall BAS championship.

The class 5 mini that we've had since 2006 is awesome, i love rear wheel drive racing, and i am so fortunate to have a very quick, well built and competative car to race. Thanks must go to dad on that one (and Exon Race Engines for the crackin engine)!

I've raced a couple of other classes alongside the 1 and 5, mainly at the nationals, which have included: a class 4, class 6, and a few different class 8's. This year i'll again compete in class 8 (my bro's) at the Nationals alongside my class 5.