With the final changes and tweaks being made to my 2018 partnerships documents for the BRSCC Fiesta Championship, I have been reflecting on the year that has gone and how hard it has been to get even here.
For those who know me or follow my racing escapades, it'll be no secret that I have ambitions to progress from racing go-karts in local Championships such as the SG Petch Sprint Championship to racing cars. The BRSCC Fiesta Championship is the first step on this journey
Second in SG Petch
It all started with the end to the 2016 SG Petch Sprint Championship. In my first season I finished 2nd in class which gave me the encouragement I needed to push on with achieving my goals. It was a tough season, coming down to the last race and I learned a lot about winning and losing.
Running first thing on a Sunday morning, it also meant committing to leaving the house at about 6am to be sure of arriving on time.
Starting the 2017 Championship
The start to the 2017 season was a huge learning curve, having never raced in the wet I was nervous about heading out onto a wet track on slick tyres. On a track that started out with marshalls clearing the standing water and ended with a dry line, I had a tough few races.
I was pushed wide and then pushed into a spin. Running near the back by this point, I had a good run back through the pack (you can read about it in my write up, here).
Testing with 23 Racing
By this point, Rob Noble had introduced me to Dan at 23 Racing, a Yorkshire based race team who's objective is to help new race drivers reach their potential. After speaking on and off with Dan, we began to work more closely together and agreed that a test in 23 Racing's race prepared Rotax-max 250cc kart was a good, progressive step.
Agreeing to something is one thing, organising it is quite another though. The plan was to run on a practice day as part of the NKF Championship, however bad weather meant that we had to call off the first two days we agreed to ensure that I got the most from the day. We finally got a break in the weather early in May and we headed to Wombwell karting circuit.
You can read about what happened on the day here, but in short it was great to get behind the wheel of something a little more purposeful and have a real opportunity to test my capabilities.
Getting Help
As the intro to this piece mentions, racing on track is hard but even getting there in the first place can sometimes be the biggest hurdle. While I can build my website, write content and produce most things myself, getting help can be the hardest thing.
A share, like or re-tweet helps, but sometimes a little more support is required! I've roped my Dad in on more than one occaision to help by taking photos and even called upon the photographer for the company I work for to take some profile pictures for me (you can see them here).
Creating content, getting to races, keeping race fit and maintaining skills all takes time and effort and my family have been a huge help in this area.
Moving Forwards
Like I said, while racing is hard, getting there in the first place can be just as hard if not harder and my aim remains to make the 2018 BRSCC Fiesta Championship grid. With my 2018 options pack almost complete, the next step of speaking to people, making connections and securing funding for the season ahead is the next big step. More hard work, but I'll be trying my best.
