Wrapping Up April...

Good afternoon! I hope you are all doing well.

I'm about 8 days behind on blogs - so I just thought I'd wrap everything "April" up.

Tuesday 18th April, 2023

On Tuesday (18th), it was once again time for the RSE Clio Cup League.

Monday's practice session is usually a rough indicator of the sort of participation to expect

Week & Circuit	Monday (Practice)	Tuesday (Race)
1 - Brands Hatch - 4th April	​5	13
2 - Barcelona (Short) - 11th April	2	7
3 - Hungaroring - 18th April	4	5

The principal worked - the Clio Cups are an absolute blast to drive - and with a strong grid of cars - you can have a whale of a time - but just as the numbers in the official series was declining - the numbers were declining here too.

To make up for it, we added some AI to make up for the missing numbers - but there's nothing quite like racing against real people.

On saying that, at least I had someone to race against - and I think that was the main point of adding them - having 5 drivers racing for half an hour with a pace difference of 3+ seconds (winner did an average lap 3s faster than me) - just doesn't work - so I'm very thankful for the AI.

Unfortunately, this would be my last race in the Clio Cups, as I found a GT3/GT4 Multiclass league which unfortunately clashed with RSE - but had strong numbers - and I'd quickly find out I wasn't too far off the pace.

19th - 22nd April, 2023

The 19th April, 2023 marked 777 days (2 Years, 1 Month) since my last win (F3, Monza, 3rd March, 2021) - I'm still hunting though!

Between the 19th and 23rd April, I went to Germany to see my grandmother.

Day 1 (19th April) - Travel day - UK - BEL

Day 2 (20th April) - BEL - GER Day 3 (21st April) - Final Day In GER

Day 4 (22nd April) - Return to UK via mum's friend's house

My trips to Germany are usually very few and far between and are usually my highlight of the year - I don't know what it is about continental europe, but I'm just much more relaxed and happy there - and enjoy both driving and looking at the scenery - European roads being incredibly enjoyable to drive on.

Seeing my grandmother is always thoroughly enjoyable - and I enjoy every minute of my trip/s.

22nd April, 2023

As quickly as it begun, on Saturday I was back on British soil - exactly where I left off.

Having no food in the fridge, not far from the Isle Of Wight ferry-port, I suggested getting a takeaway - and by the time we arrived back on the Isle Of Wight, it was ready to be picked up.

We had an absolutely DEVINE Chinese takeaway which we all thoroughly needed and enjoyed.

The weekend of the 22nd - 23rd April also had some "juicy" offerings on iRacing.

- 6hrs Barcelona (EES)

- 3hrs Nurburgring Nordschliefe (VRS E)

- NEC (Nurburgring Endurance Championship) Round 2

By the time I returned home (and finished my Chinese) - there was just one time-slot remaining: the Sunday one.

Me and Dominik had an agreement that we'd do every NEC race we could - so it was decided.

23rd April, 2023

With me being in Germany all week and Dominik...doing whatever Dominik does (including climbing a mountain) neither of us had very much practice at all - but I was relying on remembering my lines/braking points from last time out.

I qualified 10th/13th (second to last of those who completed laps) and despite a nasty shove up the rear early on - finished the 4 hour race in 3rd with Dominik - my first podium of the year - and first since December.

Ironically, in 2020, in NEC - I had the exact same results - R1 - DNF | R2 - 3rd

It was a slightly unusual strategy with me doing 3/4 of the stints (Dominik doing the final 30 minutes) - but it worked!

Three races after picking up the Aston GT4, here's how I've been progressing.

	2022 (R9) - 15th Oct '22	2023 (R1)	2023 (R2)
Split (Lower the better)	5/10	7/17	5/12
​Qualifying Pos & Time	4th/12th (Dominik Quali'ed)	10th/13th (8:48.378)	9th/12th (8:49.517)
Finish Pos	5th/12th (GT4 Class)	DNF (8th/13th) (GT4 Class)	3rd/12th (GT4 Class)
Ave. Lap Time	9:13.662	​9:04.070	​9:06.754
Fast. Lap Time	8:55.544	​8:49.706	​8:52.749
Inc.	8	5	7 (4x for being punted)
Strength Of Field (SOF)	2010	2063	2190

It was one hell of a race and the last thing were we expecting was a podium out of it. One of the greatest feelings is knowing that you're not just 3rd because of pit-stops, but 3rd on track AND on paper.

24th April, 2023

And just like that, we've caught up to this week.

Yesterday, my pottery from my devon trip arrived (in one piece too!)

25th April, 2023 Today's been...weird. I've not really felt myself - slept most of the day. Later today I have my league debut in the QRT Tuesday Series in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 - it's multiclass at Oran Park...so I don't have high hopes!

Thanks for reading!