During the winter months there was little movement in the Touring car field so I turned my attention to the British GT Championship. Racing in the GT Championship is longer and more strategic with significantly more cars on the grid compared to touring cars, something that will hopefully give me greater options in the future.
I was very excited about joining team RJN Motorsport for the 2005 season, and was looking forward to developing a new and fragile car, the Nissan 350Z. An investment that was well rewarded with a 4th place finish at Thruxton, and at only the mid-way point in the season this was a very solid result for the team.
Following an announcement mid June that Ally McKever would be leaving the team I arrived at Castle Combe looking forward to working with my new team-mate, Alistair McRae. Unfortunately it transpired that a problem with his racing licence meant that Alistair would have to wait to make his GT debut, and I would be driving alone! After Bob Neville (RJN Team Manager) had come into the truck to tell me that I would be driving all weekend I held my head in my hands, I would usually relish the idea of so much racing but I had arrived at Castle Combe feeling extremely unwell and lethargic so it was the last thing I needed to hear. Saturday’s race was very tough and the last 10 laps felt like an eternity; I had already done hours of free practice and qualifying! Fortunately by Sunday I was feeling a lot better and I only had the warm up and race to think about. We were hoping to build on our success from Thruxton but with its massive acceleration zones power is so important at Castle Combe. The Porsche and Ferrari just pulled away from us in the race… we all knew we needed more power!
Silverstone was the highlight of the season, not just for RJN but also for the championship. It was without doubt one of the most exciting races of my career. I had qualified the car in 6th position and Anthony Reid (my new team-mate) had made a good start to the race. A couple of laps before the pitstop the weather started to turn on everybody and it was a close call - would it be full wet tyres, intermediates or even a gamble on slicks?
The team decided that full wets were the way to go, and I had no idea that at the last minute as I was getting in the car Bob had overruled everybody insisting that intermediates go on the car in case it started to dry out… it was to be the right choice. Unfortunately during the pitstop the front right wheel bolt disappeared underneath the car and we lost far too much time. Of course I left the pits with a real purpose, but under the impression I was on full wets... I had no idea I was on intermediates. Racing in those sort of conditions is hugely challenging with your surroundings changing every lap but luckily and I knew the wet lines in detail from working at Silverstone when I was younger. Because of the poor pitstop we had fallen to 11th place in the race so I had plenty of overtaking to do. I was catching cars hand-over-fist and I was setting the pace in the damp but drying conditions.
Towards the end of the race we were lying in second place but the track had really started to dry and keeping my tyres in good condition was becoming increasingly difficult. I remember Bob mentioning on the radio that the Embassy Porsche was catching us very quickly and he was on slicks. I wasn't going to make it easy for him, but Neil [Cunningham] had so much grip he was able to just drive round the outside of me at Copse 2 laps from the end. It was a fantastic race and we took our first podium of the year. It was great for the championship too with Ferrari on wets; Nissan on Intermediates and Porsche on slicks… 3 different cars on 3 different tyre combinations and a race that went right down to the wire.
Well... they’re the moments that really stick out in my mind for 2005. I think that if Nissan can get approval for some new components and some extra support from Japan and Nissan GB we could be a real threat to the Ferraris and Embassy Porsche. We were quick in places but it’s consistency that counts in the championship.
I would like to say thank you to the sponsors who gave me the opportunity, to the loyal fans who genuinely want me to succeed, my manager Mike O’Brien and finally all the personnel at RJN Motorsport (who are real racers!) who worked very hard on my behalf.
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