It was good to be back. The relaxed attitude in the paddock, the friendly and helpful event secretary, the friendly and helpful scrutineer; a breath of fresh air indeed. Since the weather was so fine I took an early decision to remove the roof panels and run open top, the friendly scrutineer more than happy to cast his eye over the car once more to check all was still well.

Back to the business of motorsport itself then. I was intrigued as to how well I'd remembered this, one of my favourite venues, after 4 years away. First practice showed that my memory had been distorted a little by time. That made it in no way daunting or difficult. A relatively new surface, significantly better than the old, rather patchy one, is a welcome improvement over what I remember from previous encounters. A cautious run by many meant that there were few stoppages and practice went well for most. My first practice time was a little too slow for my liking but since I was still learning the car, I didn't care one jot. My second practice run was over a second quicker and I was happy with that. My start was better and I felt more confident with the car but was also starting to see the gearing being a potential handicap. I was still a long way off my times set in the Belmont (Class B5) and Maestro (Class D10) but they were both modified, front wheel drive and I was far more familiar with them at the time.

By lunchtime it was becoming increasingly important to find shade from the sun and I was getting weary already. Some lovely food from the catering van and plenty of liquid later, I was feeling fine again, if a little hot. In the meantime Mum and Dad had journeyed the 60 miles or so east and were waiting at the top hairpin for my arrival.

Into timed runs then. I had decided that as the first corner, Wis, was a first gear corner, I would now left-foot brake to save the time lost transferring my right foot from accelerator pedal to brake pedal. It seemed to work well and I could carry more speed through the corner with confidence and get back on the power earlier. This helped acceleration up to Bunnies Leap but then I caused myself some grief by braking a little to harshly for Gate and locking up briefly, thus messing up my line and reducing my speed through Gate and into The Esses. I still manage to carry more speed though The Esses and the first hairpin, Sawbench. Unfortunately I was still requiring first gear to get through Sawbench but was now able to grab third gear for a couple of seconds before the last hairpin, Martini. Again I had taken off over a second from my previous time despite the mistake, so I was pleased with my progress.

My second run felt much better, confirmed by the split times at Wis and Gate. I managed to carry more speed into, and though, The Esses, confirmed by the in-car video where wheel spin can be heard and a little wobble from the rear of the car can be seen. I tried hard to carry more speed through Sawbench to improve my speed on the straight up to Martini. I think I was successful but I threw it all away with a big lock-up under braking for Martini, probably losing around a second. My second run time was 0.89s slower than my previous run so some improvement was found until that last corner. That's the way it goes. I feel that it I could probably carry more speed though the hairpins, especially Martini, but that can only come with confidence in the car.

On the whole I was happy with my day of motorsport at Wiscombe, I'd like to go back there later in the year to try again, but finances and other commitments preclude that as an option at the moment. If you were wondering, the title comes from the fact that both my journeys on Saturday were directly into blinding sun… just as well I remembered my sunglasses then!

No, this isn't about rock music; it's about the first grass autotest of the season, held on Thursday 13^th May. It was a jolly good event and very popular… there was only just about enough daylight to complete the event and prize giving because there was such a large entry.

This was my first proper attempt at an autotest, the only previous encounter being in a totally unsuitable car. Now with the MR2 I should be able to learn more about the techniques used, get better acquainted with that car and generally improve my car control.

Thankfully it was a dry and very pleasant evening. I arrived as Clive Cooke was setting out the cones. By the time I'd unpacked all my stuff from the car (it's amazing how much you can fit in an MR2) it was time to sign-on and pay-up. I've entered the whole 7 event series so there's no whimping out if it rains or there is something good on telly!

With tyre pressures as advised by those who should know, I eventually set off for my first attempt. Having watched a couple of other cars in action I finally got on with it, and it was quite enjoyable. I was amazed how tight some of the tests seemed to be, even in such a small car, but I managed to stay basically out of trouble. There were a few silly mistakes and my times will be nothing to write home about, but it's all part of a self inflicted learning process. I managed to video a couple of runs but was too easily distracted to remember for the rest of the evening. As more people and cars arrived the queues for each test were getting longer and longer, some waiting for the grass to disappear in the hope that the underlying mud would offer more grip. In a number of cases this seemed to be so, and I have decided that in subsequent events I will get on with it a bit earlier for my first runs then take second runs only after completing each test once. This should ensure that I get a good mixture of surfaces and really put myself to the test. I will also try to video each run next time, and take some photos!

I was surprised to learn that I'd taken 4^th in a class of 8 and 14^th overall in a field of 28. Considering Ross Savile, also in his MR2, and myself had been amalgamated into the modified car class, I consider that a good result.

Sunday 16^th May, Lotus test track, Hethel, Norfolk. Weather forecasts during the week suggested it would be a lovely day. It was. I left South-eastern Kent a little later than planned, at 4:50am. I arrived at Hethel a little later than I'd wanted but on doing so, discovered that no-one was able to get in, the Lotus security guy having different ideas to the sprint organisers. This was soon sorted out and we all filed into the paddock under glorious sunshine.

There was a relaxed atmosphere in general, the main exception being Neville Moon's PA announcements which served to keep everyone on their toes all day, ultimately leading to a very well run event. Signing on and scrutineering was quickly dispatched, followed by a walk of the track along with Team Travers.

First practice was, as it should be, about finding my way around the track. I waited for quite a while to go out, to give me the opportunity to watch others. It was immediately apparent that accuracy, handling and guts were the order of the day. Much of the track is made up of sweeping corners that punish the smallest mistake by ruining the flow for the rest of the section. The 2 chicanes were inevitably going to fall victim to the over-exuberant and the roundabout was sure to show-up any fuel or oil surge problems. In the first batch, Brian Savile managed to explore the first chicane and tyre barrier with his Metro, thankfully with minimal damage. Because I'd taken my first practice towards the end of that session, as soon as I returned from first practice we were being called for second practice, which was to be run by number order in batches. This meant it was all still fairly fresh in my memory and I could attack a little straight away. I made a cracking start, taking 6 hundredths of a second off my first attempt, and the run itself was just under 2s quicker.

Due to a fairly small entry it was possible for the organisers to plan for 3 timed runs, all to count for results. It also meant that when things were moving well, the whole field was able to complete one run in around an hour. Because of this, first timed runs were completed before lunch. I made a poorer start for this run but the run time was 1.15s better than my second practice. My confidence and bravery were still growing.

During the lunch break there was some very welcome cloud cover, as by this time I was really getting hot. I had only managed about 3 and a half hours sleep before having to leave home so I curled up on my blanket and actually managed to doze off for a while. This should help my afternoon but the PA announcement to get on with it again was a bit of a surprise! My second timed run included a fantastic start, at 2.62s for 64ft, it was 0.08s quicker than my best of the day so far. My run time was a bit quicker than the first timed run and I really had to dig deep to work out where the time was still being lost. After some consideration I decided that I'd been a bit of a wimp through what is best described as the second half of the first series of corners. I was also still a little too slow through the last chicane, which seemed to get demolished with increasing frequency as the day wore on, despite managing to use third gear. My times were mid-class and I was happy with that.

Third and final runs crept up pretty soon and I was ready to give it my all. My start felt really good and, as I found out later, it was just as good as the last one, recording an identical 64 ft time of 2.62s. I tried my best not to brake at all though the sweeping bends in front of all onlookers. I will never know if I did or not, I had my left foot over the brake pedal just in case I needed it, but no method of knowing for sure if I used it! What I do know, however, is that I used a lot of tarmac and a lot of concentration to stay on the track. I attacked the first chicane as hard as I dare. I braked late and hard for the roundabout and locked up the fronts a little. Unhindered I just got off the brakes and turned in, balancing the car on the power the whole way through the full 540 degrees of the turn. My exit speed felt higher than before, confirmed by the revs as I braked for the chicane. I kept third gear again and really chucked the car through the chicane and on towards the finish. Somehow I managed to avoid contact with the cones and it was a clean, successful run. It felt good, but not as good as it turned out to be. I'd knocked 2.37s off my fastest time of the day so far and at 86.06s it was good enough to snatch 3^rd in class. Brilliant.

Ross Savile also put is all into his final run but a long silence was a good indication to us in the holding paddock that he'd come to grief. He had managed to put his Mini into the tyres, but gently enough to do only superficial damage. Fortunately his main rival was unable to better his time and Ross took the honours for his class. Other successes representing Sevenoaks DMC were Brian Savile who had class 1 all to himself, Paul Mayhew in class 6 and a clean sweep in class 5 with Roy Nicholls in first, Chris Fulke-Greville in second and Andy Webber in third. Sadly no photography was allowed at this event but Lotus need to protect their interests so never mind. There was one "official" photographer who hopefully was able to capture some good moments.