Words by Ben - Race Engineer (grease monkey) for the Barnett Motorsport Team car #36

After good results at Snetterton we all had high hopes for rounds 3 and 4 at Castle Combe. Although Rob had never raced on this circuit, and we were still getting to grips with setting the car, we still felt top 6 was realistic. That was until qualifying!! After a couple of laps Rob was getting the car settled and learning the track when smoke began appearing. From the pit wall it looked to be from the exhaust so we were quite relieved when Rob came in the pits and we found a coolant hose loose, a quick fiddle around and we managed to get the car back out. The worry was that normally 3 laps have to be completed to gain 2 qualifying times for each of the 2 races. If 3 laps were not completed we were in danger of being disqualified from both races! The wait for the times was on!

After the qualifying session we had a few hours to get the car sorted for race 1, at this time we still didn't know if we qualified but either way the car had to be fixed! I'm not going to dwell on how the hose came off, mainly as it was my fault, only that it was a case of refilling the system and re-priming it all up. After a fair bit of help from www.teamresinexracing.com (cheers guys) on the ins and outs of coping with the pipes of doom of the cooling system we seemed to have sorted it. By now we had also found out we had qualified but at the back of the grid - 24^th , but at least we were able to race.

Race 1 - We were all pretty sure the car is fine but when they overheat your never really sure if more damaged had been caused! That said, Rob at the back of the grid can't really be thinking about what ifs. After a storming start and a pretty good lap Rob had gained a good 10 places! I'm not entirely sure how many as I was just happy the car was still going round! A few more laps later and race over Rob fished in 11^th - a stupendous drive especially considering all the hassles and the fact it was Robs first race on this track. More good news was that the finish in race 1 set the grid for race 2! A result in itself as 11th was a slight improvement from the back of the pack.

Car back to the paddock and all looks okay but we had some idling issues. First it was stalling and then hunting. So we set the revs slightly higher so as not to stall on the grid, down side to this was the ECU seemed to be a bit confused and the engine began what can only be described as whirring! It's quite a wait in the holding area and the whirring was annoying for me let alone for Rob sat in the car but it was a safer option than the car stalling on the grid and once away it wouldn't affect anything!

Race 2 - From 11^th we were all expecting good things. Rob got another good start and managed to hold position. First lap and a place gained, a few more laps and the race seemed to settled down with Rob just over a second behind a group of 4 cars 8^th - 5^th. After another couple of laps Rob had caught them all up and was now battling Hinson for 5^th! Even the commentators got excited about it, which is no mean feat! Penultimate lap and Rob is now in 5^th but Hinson's car was glued to the rear bumper. Over the line for the last lap and Hinson and Rob were side by side to the fist corner and at the first chicane Rob ended up a bit wide and over some very bumpy terrain. The car survived the lap but needless to say it cost a few places. Rob ended up in 10^th over the line so a very good result.

Some good points scored but we can't help thinking what if. Some lessons learned by all especially how to tighten up jubilee clips! Rob now stands at 8^th place in the Championship after some brilliant driving so we are all hopeful for the future rounds. Next Championship event is Angelsey, but given the distance and with rising fuel costs etc. we may be missing this event unless we get a sponsorship deal from lotto for a tow car and a whole heap of diesel! We will be at Brands Hatch and hopefully challenging for the top places again.

Full results are available here: http://www.tsl-timing.com/ccrc/2010/101468.pdf