Silverstone. The home of the British Grand Prix and Ash Racing.
After a couple of respectable outings we at Ash Racing were looking for a real boost at our home race.
A rollercoaster of emotion and car setup seemed to plague testing but come the last few days of testing before the event Ash Racing finally started to really click with the new Arena layout.
World Championship
After Samuel Libeert going AWOL, we decided to promote Florian Bekker up to full time WC driver. Florian had shown some very impressive speed in World Series and took the fastest lap last time out in Valencia. While he was still yet to complete the full race distance it was still a mighty showing from the returning Dutchman.
Lee had found it more diffiuclt to get up to speed at the new layout, track which he had excelled at especially in Sector 3. This now gone, Lee had to step up his game and learn the new section. Qualifying proved very tight for all but both Lee and Florian set PB’s to put themselves 6th and 7th on the grid. The best for Ash Racing in 2010 and there was still more time available…
Come the race and Lee started to carve his way through the field and up to 4th place. But a coming together with Nielsen would cost him dearly and 2 positions. Damage limitation would then creep in after cars started to out boost the Ash Racing car adding to Lee’s frustration. A coming together with Ronny Hahnel also compromised Lee’s race after he wasn’t given enough room in to the new ‘Loop’ section and caused suspension damage to his car for the remainder of the race.
Lee would bring the car in 10th place, but much to his frustration. An unfortunate error for Florian would end his race after he had done very well conserving fuel and engine but a slight mistake off the final corner, pitching him in to the wall.
At the end, Lee had this to say:
"My race was very disappointing, after such a great qualifying. We were only one tenth off the pole for P6, i was very happy with that. The race was disappointing. everything that could go wrong went wrong for us. My teammate Becker was taken out by many cars and fell back down the order and myself the same. I lost some ground early on and tried to recover it but whenever I tried to pass anyone they would take me out. And i would lose more time. I scraped a point from a track I hated earlier in the week but I actually quite like the new section now I hooked it up. It does promote overtaking but you need cooperation from the other drivers to overtake and today we did not have this. I feel robbed of a 4th or 5th today and 10th place although it continues our run of 4 races with points finishes it is highly disappointing to finish 28 seconds off the lead but only 10th"
World Series
Ash Racing would once again field 3 cars in World Series in what is becoming a much stronger driver line-up. We welcomed Scott Wilde for the first time outing at Silverstone and after a 16th place qualifying and a good race pace things looked good. Unfortunately a series of problems occurred in the first few laps forcing Scott to retire. Disappointing for the WC commentator but glimses of good things to come.
Caner Basol would once again star in WS. After qualifying a superb 7th place, Caner drove hard and fast and competed side by side for a lot of the race. His hard work would pay off though after slipping back initially he still got it back to his grid starting slot of 7th. A very well deserved 7th and showing once again that a podium finish isn’t far away.
As for myself (Nick Rowland) I had a dismal time of practice. I really did not get on with car or track initially but some new installed confidence and determination would take me forwards. A woeful 18th grid slot would energize me to do well in the race. Race pace seemingly stronger I was able to battle once again on the verges of the Top 10 until a ridiculous move from a back mover trying to get out of the way on the racing line took my front wing off an ended my race there and then. I would still push as hard as I could eventually pitting with a few laps left, getting fresh tyres and setting a blistering lap…. At least I tried.
World Trophy
Without doubt the best result of the season for us. Raino Rõõm our brand new WT driver taking a magnificent 4th place in World Trophy. After qualifying an even better 3rd place, Raino already appears to be well on the pace of the WT competitors. Showing his speed and determination straight out the box. Raino was superb and to bring the car in 4th placed made the entire team extremely pleased and signs of good things ahead.
Dale Carrick had an unfortunate pit lane penalty that would cost his race at the very start. Dale had good pace coming in to Silverstone but unfortunately wasn’t able to showcase it. He is ready to show what he can really do at Hockenheim.
After taking Pole for Grid 2 of the World Trophy, a superb achievement for Craig Johnston, he would bring the car home in 3rd place. After a slight gear shift error that let Mihajlo Vicentijevic through, Craig turned the boost down and cruised home. This securing him a spot in Grid 1 for the next race. An excellent achievement for Craig and well done.
Coming away from our home Grand Prix, all the drivers feel a lot more confident and motivated going in to the second half of the season. All divisions starting to see drivers really come to the forefront and showing what we can as a small team really do.
Hockenheim next… Fast and furious.
After a couple of respectable outings we at Ash Racing were looking for a real boost at our home race.
A rollercoaster of emotion and car setup seemed to plague testing but come the last few days of testing before the event Ash Racing finally started to really click with the new Arena layout.
World Championship
After Samuel Libeert going AWOL, we decided to promote Florian Bekker up to full time WC driver. Florian had shown some very impressive speed in World Series and took the fastest lap last time out in Valencia. While he was still yet to complete the full race distance it was still a mighty showing from the returning Dutchman.
Lee had found it more diffiuclt to get up to speed at the new layout, track which he had excelled at especially in Sector 3. This now gone, Lee had to step up his game and learn the new section. Qualifying proved very tight for all but both Lee and Florian set PB’s to put themselves 6th and 7th on the grid. The best for Ash Racing in 2010 and there was still more time available…
Come the race and Lee started to carve his way through the field and up to 4th place. But a coming together with Nielsen would cost him dearly and 2 positions. Damage limitation would then creep in after cars started to out boost the Ash Racing car adding to Lee’s frustration. A coming together with Ronny Hahnel also compromised Lee’s race after he wasn’t given enough room in to the new ‘Loop’ section and caused suspension damage to his car for the remainder of the race.
Lee would bring the car in 10th place, but much to his frustration. An unfortunate error for Florian would end his race after he had done very well conserving fuel and engine but a slight mistake off the final corner, pitching him in to the wall.
At the end, Lee had this to say:
"My race was very disappointing, after such a great qualifying. We were only one tenth off the pole for P6, i was very happy with that. The race was disappointing. everything that could go wrong went wrong for us. My teammate Becker was taken out by many cars and fell back down the order and myself the same. I lost some ground early on and tried to recover it but whenever I tried to pass anyone they would take me out. And i would lose more time. I scraped a point from a track I hated earlier in the week but I actually quite like the new section now I hooked it up. It does promote overtaking but you need cooperation from the other drivers to overtake and today we did not have this. I feel robbed of a 4th or 5th today and 10th place although it continues our run of 4 races with points finishes it is highly disappointing to finish 28 seconds off the lead but only 10th"
World Series
Ash Racing would once again field 3 cars in World Series in what is becoming a much stronger driver line-up. We welcomed Scott Wilde for the first time outing at Silverstone and after a 16th place qualifying and a good race pace things looked good. Unfortunately a series of problems occurred in the first few laps forcing Scott to retire. Disappointing for the WC commentator but glimses of good things to come.
Caner Basol would once again star in WS. After qualifying a superb 7th place, Caner drove hard and fast and competed side by side for a lot of the race. His hard work would pay off though after slipping back initially he still got it back to his grid starting slot of 7th. A very well deserved 7th and showing once again that a podium finish isn’t far away.
As for myself (Nick Rowland) I had a dismal time of practice. I really did not get on with car or track initially but some new installed confidence and determination would take me forwards. A woeful 18th grid slot would energize me to do well in the race. Race pace seemingly stronger I was able to battle once again on the verges of the Top 10 until a ridiculous move from a back mover trying to get out of the way on the racing line took my front wing off an ended my race there and then. I would still push as hard as I could eventually pitting with a few laps left, getting fresh tyres and setting a blistering lap…. At least I tried.
World Trophy
Without doubt the best result of the season for us. Raino Rõõm our brand new WT driver taking a magnificent 4th place in World Trophy. After qualifying an even better 3rd place, Raino already appears to be well on the pace of the WT competitors. Showing his speed and determination straight out the box. Raino was superb and to bring the car in 4th placed made the entire team extremely pleased and signs of good things ahead.
Dale Carrick had an unfortunate pit lane penalty that would cost his race at the very start. Dale had good pace coming in to Silverstone but unfortunately wasn’t able to showcase it. He is ready to show what he can really do at Hockenheim.
After taking Pole for Grid 2 of the World Trophy, a superb achievement for Craig Johnston, he would bring the car home in 3rd place. After a slight gear shift error that let Mihajlo Vicentijevic through, Craig turned the boost down and cruised home. This securing him a spot in Grid 1 for the next race. An excellent achievement for Craig and well done.
Coming away from our home Grand Prix, all the drivers feel a lot more confident and motivated going in to the second half of the season. All divisions starting to see drivers really come to the forefront and showing what we can as a small team really do.
Hockenheim next… Fast and furious.
