Snetterton: Third with half a car!

Almost without question every great season has a race which is... unusual shall we say. Well, for James and the JA Motorsport Team, this round was the one! For Round 7 of the Championship we saw the teams converge onto the Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk.



Qualifying proved eventful for James, as two thirds of the way into the session, he lost fifth gear. Gearbox gremlins happen to all teams at some stage, and despite the meticulous preparation of the JA Motorsport Team - which is excellent and has been faultless this season - sometimes these thing will just let go. Despite this handicap however, and therefore missing a large chunk of the session, James determinedly stuck the car on grid 4 for the race.

For the race itself, he was feeling confident of adding to his championship leading points tally. However, into lap two of the race, he could be forgiven for thinking no points would be coming his way on this day! Into this lap, the order stood at Fisher, Barrett, Wilson and James.  At this stage Barrett and Wilson were perilously close entering the corner - and anticipating a chance to pass - James took a wide line in readiness to slingshot past at around 110mph. The Barrett/Wilson tussle, resulted in the two touching with Wilson suddenly finding himself with no throttle. The instant decelaration left James with absolutely no where to go. He went into the back of Wilson, was launched briefly and subsequently lost the whole front half portion of the car's bodywork bar the front wing. This became wedged under the front of the car but at 90 degrees to the norm!

Despite the condition of the car, the stewards deemed that the bodywork was not a threat to the driver, his competitors or spectators and the championship leader was allowed to continue his race. Rounding the final corners, James had managed to secure an excellent third place considering the calamitous situation he had found himself in. The knowledgeable Snetterton crowd recognised this fact and James was welcomed in the final few corners with appreciative applause and cheering from the stands and banks of the track.

Into the pit lane and James was greeted by a circuit interviewer who said that he had not seemed to be troubled by the loss of half a car! To which James replied on this hot day in Norfolk that, "...I had fancied a bit of air conditioning!" Cool customer this Gornall lad!

Next stop:
Rd.8, Brands Hatch, Kent,  31st August