Neil Fletcher Racing 2004 Race Reports

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2004 RACE REPORTS

Knockhill

15th/16th May

Knockhill circuit, placed high on a hill in Fife, has a reputation for gloomy weather; If you can see the hill its going to rain, if you can t then its already raining as the locals say. Mother-Nature however had declared it a fine weekend with scorching sunshine for 2 days!
Testing was limited to two 25 minute sessions on the Friday, my second session being cut short to about 8 minutes by a combination of red flags and a radiator hose popping off. Saturday morning I qualified 5th out of a somewhat depleted field of 19.
Those of you who know the circuit will testify to the thrills provided by Duffus Drop and Glenvarigill (a chicane on top of a blind crest); I was looking forward to this!
Race 1 saw me in an early battle with David Yu and the ever present Mike Blackadder and John Aylott. John span at the hairpin rejoining 8th and after a few more laps David Yu ran deep at MacIntyres where I took advantage and claimed 2nd spot. I d lost some ground on Mike in the tussle with David and spent the rest of the race chipping away at his lead. We ended crossing the line nose to tail 2 tenths apart, Mike 1st and me 2nd.
Race 2 and despite taking an early lead from the start I was down to second before the lap had finished, me just giving John too much room at the hairpin. Mike squeezed through a few laps later and I decided on a waiting game, staying in touch and watching them tussle it out for a while. Unfortunately I ran wide at MacIntyres about halfway into the race following a compromised line into Duffus as I passed a back-marker. I never recovered the lost time but held on to 3rd with a comfortable gap to the on form Darryl McNey who took 4th in both races (it must have been the home crowd spurring him on!)

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Castle Combe Monday May 3rd

After the events at Brands Hatch my car went off to the body shop for repairs. With only 15 days until the next race at Castle Combe it was always going to be a rush and I ended up collecting the car from Virtual 7 Engineering on the Wednesday evening before the race weekend; Virtual 7 having completed the race set-up work after Caterham Midlands undertook the repair work.
Now that may look like I had bags of time but the next morning I was off to Combe for testing (my first time at the circuit) and I had an 8.00am signing on to look forward to
Testing was wet to say the least, more a baptism of flood than fire, and the morning of the race followed suit. This was good news for me as I had learnt the wet version of Castle Combe! I qualified 4th on the grid, less than 2 tenths off of pole man Mike Blackadder, so I was on the pace. Come midday however, as we sat there queuing for the race (most of us on a wet set-up) the sun came out and a dry line emerged as the preceding race was finishing. A few laps into our race and the track was almost bone dry; not in my game plan! I came home in 6th in the first race and 5th in the second, not bad all things considered, I thought, and still a respectable brace of points.
It was left to Blackadder and Aylott to provide the thrills at the front while I battled it out with Steve Greaves and David Yu among others. Andrew Beaumont s storming drive from the back of the grid to 3rd in race 2 is especially worthy of a mention!

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report2Brands Hatch: Grand Prix Circuit

17th/18th April

The highs and lows of motorsport compacted into one weekend

Saturday 17th Race 1: Bright sunshine, though not too hot for 3 layers of nomex, testing went well and we are racing the 2.6 mile GP circuit (which even the BTCC aren t getting this year!). I qualify 3rd on the grid, can it get better? You bet! After a fantastically close race in which I swapped places with Mike Blackadder and John Aylott more times than I can remember I cross the finish line in first place ahead of Mike then John!! Fantastic, a dream come true!

Sunday 17th Race 2: Cold, pouring with rain, restarts follow red flags time and again in other races on the calendar and its looking grim. 8 Radicals go off at Stirling s Bend alone during the preceding race
I m on pole following Saturday s win and hold the lead from the start. I pull a gap on Mike and John early on as they tangle with Howard Pessall but they pass him and hunt me down. We lose John to the gravel trap at Westfield Bend and Mike and I play out a damper version of the Saturday race. We swap places 4 times on the last lap (!!) and I m lying 2nd as we dive into Stirling s. I unfortunately go too deep and put a wheel over the kerb (remember the 8 Radicals...). The wet grass draws me wider but I manage to catch the slide and feed the car back on the track. I m still in touch with Mike and the slipstream to the finish line looks on but the car hasn t settled and it fishtails violently. I meet the barrier head on at the marshall s post, staring straight into the white s of their eyes! I m fine considering the 75+mph impact but the car suffers 5,500 of damage and the perfect weekend is gone in an instant
Oh well, I suppose that s motorsport!

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report1Donnington Park: National Circuit Sunday March 28th

First race of the 2004 season and everyone was raring to go after a winter of car prepping, testing and anticipation. A field of 26 turned out for this cool but dry single header; both qualifying and the race being held on the one day.

Qualifying was not what I hoped, 13th pitching me firmly in the middle of the field.
With the race underway, I made a reasonable start and I picked up a couple of places at the first corner, Redgate. I d worked my way up to 6th place by the time the race was red flagged following a shunt at the chicane; Andrew MacIntosh and Ron Johnson connected heavily leaving Andrew stranded mid corner. I was in the middle of a pack of around 10 cars approaching the chicane who failed to slow sufficiently despite yellow flags being shown resulting in me spinning and sliding backwards into Andrew s wreckage a lesson to all that waved yellows are to be obeyed!

Fortunately for me the impact was minor and the damage cosmetic. Following the restart I had just edged into 3rd approaching the chicane for the last time (the finish line being right after). Bill Addison and I turned in side by side only to find that 2 into 1 don t go! We connected and span, luckily, with surprisingly little damage. Fortunately I managed to restart the car and crossed the line in 6th place. Phew, what a start to the season!

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Neil Fletcher in race gear - Photography By Mark Eastwood
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Content last modified 29 June 2004