Donington Down!

For the Wrexham Glyndwr University students of Together, We Progress Racing the word 'unusual' is quite usual! But the first race of the season was more unusual than, err, usual...

In fact the weekend could be summarised just by saying:

It snowed. The end.

But let's start with a huge thank you to the 750 Motor Club, as the (not-so) mini beast from the East ominously headed towards the Leicestershire circuit the weekend looked ever-more under threat. The final decision to cancel the weekend was not taken lightly but with the welfare and safety of the 118 brave Marshalls, circuit staff and what felt like 1000 competitors in the healthy paddock to consider sadly it had to be made.

The Cars

Car 72: Friday practice saw Nick Dougill and Graeme McMurchie jump straight back into their 2017 rhythm with some very fast laps out-the-box in the MX-5 Parts MRF Tyres Mk1 MX-5. Track density, weather and a number of red flags prevented quality data capture but the pace is definitely there...

Comparing the times to the same circuit the previous year, the car has seen significant gains; not least due to the constant engine and aero improvements the team made over the winter as well as some quality peddling by the seasoned drivers. --- Car 27: With his own University commitments to consider, John Munro joined the Team early Saturday morning and immediately set a low 1:57 in the MX-5 Parts Nankang Tyres Mk3 MX-5. In the snow!

Sadly, John's team-mate Ben Hancy had made the long journey back from Dakar only to land to the news that the event had been cancelled.

Primed

Scrutineering is always a tense time, especially the first presentation of the year.

With so much work completed to both cars the team arrived at the scrutineering bay in numbers, just in case! Two minor points, both quickly rectified, and the all-important 'passed' ticket was issued; a promising sign for the season and testament to the hard work of the students.

So, four months of preparation, hours of testing, two immaculately presented cars. And no race... Onto Oulton Park, the teams local circuit and hopefully some overdue Cheshire sunshine!

There is however, always a bright side. A good friend of the team arrived on Saturday for a chat. Turns out the team has a hole in the diary in May that has now been filled...more of that soon but it's fair to say everyone is rather excited...

2018 Race Calendar:

750 Motor Club CARTEK Club Enduro Championship

18 Mar Donington 2hr 14 Apr Oulton Park 2hr 10 Jun Rockingham 3hr 6/7 Jul Spa Francorchamps 2 x 100min 11 Aug Silverstone International 2hr 7 Oct Snetterton 300 2hr

BARC / Mission Motorsport Race of Remembrance

10/11 Nov Anglesey 12hr

That's 26 and-a-bit hours of racing!!!

TWP: Together, We Progress. In partnership with Wrexham Glyndwr University.