My final races of the 2014 season, and the last of my Britcar Trophy races, were held on the Donington Indy circuit – where I’d attended the Toyo BRSCC Porsches there just a fortnight before. Based on their performance I decided to set myself a target of a time that would have put me somewhere towards the front of that grid – quite a challenge, you might say, given the car is unmodified from the specification required to compete in that series. Other than the Dunlop slicks and different brake pads, the majority of the improvement over my existing lap record would have to come from the driver – me!

After a slow qualifying on a wet track early in the day, I was amazed to post, in the first of three races in the day, a fastest lap time 5.2 seconds better than my record, thanks in some part to a safety car intervention that actually put me first for a while. I finished 11th out of 14 starters (this was the biggest Trophy grid of the year) and 2nd in class. Unfortunately I couldn’t match that pace in the later races, but even there my times were still at least 1.5 seconds faster than last year.

Race 2 was straightforward, with no interruptions, but I made the mistake of not keeping up with the pack as we approached the lights on the rolling start and the competitors soon got away from me. Race 3 was red flagged after only a few laps as the Mosler of Kevin Riley was clipped on the exit of the chicane and span to make hard contact with the wall at the entrance to the pits. With debris across the track, and Kevin still in the wreckage of the car, the Clerk of the Course had no option but to stop the race while the marshal teams extracted Kevin, recovered the car and cleared the track. At the time, we had no idea of Kevin’s condition (it was later announced that he was OK), but it really took the edge out of my competitiveness and the final race was my slowest.

Here’s highlights from Race 1 where I try to chase down a Renault Clio Cup – including my fastest lap of the weekend. Click through to YouTube to watch at highest quality.

Being in its first season, Britcar Trophy isn’t a championship, but I did compete in a single round of the Sports & Touring Car Championship where I finished joint 15th. I also finished 36th out of 70 in the Sunoco 200 Challenge. My team mate Guillaume Gruchet – who unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the final round of the Endurance Championship – nevertheless won 3rd overall, 1st in class 2 and picked up the Gentleman Driver of the Year award – all of which I got to take home on his behalf!

My thanks as always to Newbridge Motorsport, who have now run my car for three complete seasons. The Boxster never missed a beat over the weekend and felt absolutely spot on (set up based on team boss Richard Tovey’s extensive experience) as I pushed the car faster than I’ve ever done before in that first race.

And thanks also to both of my coaches Malcolm Edeson and David Hornsey who have both helped me get closer to being a proper racing driver.

Quite where my racing goes next season, I haven’t decided. I have considered selling the Boxster to move into something like a BMW M3 or possibly even a Porsche 997 Cup – both of which would take my racing up a notch but would also increase my costs considerably. Whilst I am very grateful to my existing sponsors (RMK Media, Hogan Web Development and piginhat), they don’t provide enough money to make much of a contribution to the running costs over a season. So I’m looking for more sponsorship. If you or your company would like to enter the glamorous world of motorsport, please get in touch – we can provide various levels of corporate entertainment experience as well as advertising opportunities.