My time within the UK has been superb thus far. It’s additionally been very busy. In any case our pre-Components Ford Competition testing, which additionally included a race weekend at Fortress Combe, Elliott and I spent per week sharing an Airbnb within the city of Milton Keynes, whereas Thomas went again dwelling to the U.S. end off his F1600 season… which he did in fashion. Properly completed, Thomas!
Throughout that point we have been in a position to do a little bit of exploring and sightseeing. We additionally had the pleasure of spectating on the remaining spherical of the British Touring Automobile Championship at Manufacturers Hatch. Massive tha nk you to Tom Arron for buying us media passes for the Sunday occasion. It was a good time watching not solely BTCC however British F4 and the Porsche Carrera Cup as nicely. We walked all the best way across the monitor and loved seeing the ins and outs of the media heart throughout a busy weekend. Having the ability to view the races from the highest deck of the tower was fairly superior as nicely.
We arrived again at our Airbnb round 11pm that evening and instantly handed out. The next day we took the time to calm down, work on our social media platforms and ship off emails. Fortunate for us, the home we have been staying at was solely a brief stroll to the closest prepare station. So Tuesday and Thursday morning, we bought up pretty early and headed off to London. It was such a cool expertise. With a lot outdated structure, the town is wealthy in historical past. We spent most of our time strolling by way of the Soho space, the place it was superb to see so many traditional outlets, pubs and eating places. By simply exploring the town on our personal, we noticed what a median citizen would possibly see on a each day foundation. I believe we actually bought an excellent style for UK tradition.
After spending per week exploring and regenerating, we headed off to Donington Park for the ultimate rounds of the GB3 and GB4 seasons in addition to the British GT Championship which featured each G3 and GT4 automobiles. It was nice to see our fellow Individuals Bryce Aron and Max Esterson, who’re each Staff USA alumni. It was a ravishing two days of racing, with clear climate and nice battles in GB3. Being at Donington was an expertise in itself, a legendary monitor that has been round for practically a century. Thanks, MSV media, for having us!
The next Tuesday we drove again to Manufacturers Hatch. It’s such an superior monitor! I’ve pushed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and I assumed the Corkscrew was steep however it’s nothing in comparison with the doorway of Paddock Hill Bend! Wednesday confirmed good climate and we bought a full day of testing in dry circumstances. The day went very easily and everybody on the Ammonite Motorsport crew instantly confirmed sturdy tempo. Thursday and Friday each introduced full moist and half dry circumstances, which was nice as a result of it gave us expertise in many alternative situations.
Come Saturday, I used to be drawn in Warmth 4, which meant we have been the final group on monitor, and by this time the monitor was just about absolutely dry. Every qualifying session was alleged to be 12 minutes lengthy, though our session was red-flagged at round 9 minutes. At the moment I used to be in pole place however as soon as we went again out I couldn’t discover a rhythm and ended up in third place for qualifying. It was barely disappointing however we have been nonetheless in an excellent place for the primary race. Sadly, that momentum didn’t final lengthy and on lap three popping out of Druids we have been despatched off into the limitations.
My mechanic, Luke, did an incredible job getting the automobile again collectively and prepared for battle on Sunday. Due to the crash, I didn’t mechanically advance to the Semi Closing and needed to begin ninth within the Development Race. By this time the rain had returned, however by the top of lap one, I labored my up into second place. As soon as I bought across the chief I used to be then in a position to pull a spot of over seven seconds earlier than cruising dwelling to seize the victory.
I wasn’t out of it but although, I might nonetheless have to complete prime 12 within the Semi Closing to make it into the Grand Closing. Beginning twenty fifth, I had a really poor begin and fell to final place, thirtieth, by Flip 1. This ended up being considered one of my greatest automobile races so far as I completed the race in tenth place after 12 laps. I used to be so relieved and so glad to have been in a position to make such a comeback after solely doing three laps in my Warmth race.
My end result meant I might begin twentieth for the Grand Closing, so I had lots of work to do. With rain clouds drawing ever nearer, we threw a moist setup on the automobile in preparation for moist climate. The primary three laps of the race have been dry and I used to be nonetheless in a position to make it as much as the fifteenth place. That’s when the rain got here with a vengeance. It was so dangerous they needed to red-flag the race, and on prime of that, it was beginning to get darkish. It was fairly a bummer as a result of we have been in an ideal place with our setup and 16 racing laps nonetheless to go, however there wasn’t sufficient time earlier than darkness for the race to be restarted.
An enormous congrats to Max Esterson on the win, he was additionally operating with Ammonite Motorsports.
It was nice spending the week with such a powerful group of drivers and with an excellent crew. Ammonite Motorsports killed all of it weekend and I had a good time with everybody. Thanks a lot Staff USA and all of our supporters for making this all attainable. I’m so grateful to have the ability to characterize the celebrities and stripes at two of essentially the most prestigious races in junior open wheel racing. Now, all focus is shifted to the Walter Hayes Trophy the place we’ll be even stronger.
As well as, we had a chance to go to the Haas F1 manufacturing facility yesterday. It was fascinating to see the ins and outs of transportation for a Components 1 crew. Mark Lowe, our information for the day, was extremely educated concerning the automobile and all the things it takes to run a profitable crew. We have been extremely fortunate to see a number of wings and flooring up shut and within the means of restore, in addition to attending to see the 2019 automobile being ready to ship to crew proprietor Gene Haas within the States. Thanks to Jeremy Shaw, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Morrison for establishing an superior day. It was an ideal technique to calm down after a protracted week of racing.
William
