Michael Bentwood went into rounds 11 & 12 of the British GT Championship at Castle Combe last weekend looking to build on his strong outing at Thruxton, and also expecting to be joined in the Nissan 350Z by rally driver Alistair McRae.

At the last minute Alistair was unable to do the race, which left Michael taking on all the driving duties himself. “This meant I’d have to do free practice, both qualifying sessions, the warm up and both one hour races!” said Michael.

“I didn’t have much choice, it was twice the pressure, and twice the responsibility, so we got down to business and got on with it. Although we had some difficulties starting the car, it was extremely reliable all weekend. The chassis still needs some minor tweaking, but our main concern is that we still haven’t got enough horsepower.”

On Sunday night the engine was shipped immediately back to International Engine Services, and with some detailed modifications will provide more power for the next outing at Silverstone.

Michael qualified 9th for the first race at Combe and 8th for the second, and in each race, he had to stop for 45 seconds, as he was the sole driver.

“The Saturday race was very tough, says Michael, “the last ten laps reminded me of Magny Cours with the heat build up and general fatigue, but we managed a very respectable 6th”

“It was a very busy weekend, and what wiped me out on Saturday was the six am start followed by an hour-and-a-half of practice, two fifteen minute qualifying sessions and then the race! Also, I had a sport’s massage on Wednesday which made me feel very lethargic and gave me a banging headache right behind my eyes.”

“Sunday was allot better as I didn’t have all the previous sessions, and I had my first decent nights sleep in a while, so I felt a lot fresher and very ready for the second race on Sunday.”

“The guys poured water all over me in the pit stop, which was a great help,” says Bentwood.

The race didn’t go exactly according to plan however, “I got unfairly held up by a red light in the pit lane, which was a mistake by the officials, “ says Michael, “and that’s why we only finished 7th.”

“Everyone is happy with the progress, RJN Motorsport and Nissan. But we’ve hit a bit of a brick wall with the engine.

“We just need a bit more go-go juice,” says Michael, “and that’s what we’ll have for Silverstone in August.”

Michael Bentwood will next be racing on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on August 13/14th. Before then Michael will be at Bedford Autodrome for a Nissan/Autocar driving day, then training in Spain to get his body acclimatized to the heat, ready for Dubai at the end of the year.