Race of My Life Anglesey 2004

"Any chance of an article?", we asked Lee Bennett, and he came back with an article, and an idea for a series:

Having recently been asked to write something for Startline I had the idea "Why not ask Mono people to write a ‘race of my life’ piece as in Autosprout magazine?". I’ll go first to see if we can get this ball rolling. It was difficult to think which one to use. Not that I had too many successes. But does it have to be one you had a big result? Enjoyed the most? Or anything else which had a personal achievement or Endeavour? I picked Anglesey in 2004. Not because it was the best result I achieved in Mono 2000 but because it was the hardest I have ever had to work in a race car. Others on the list were Castle Coombe in 2000 and Mallory in 1998.

Mark Harrison got pretty fed up of this view

At the start of that season there was no intention of competing in the Anglesey round. For me although only having raced at Anglesey once before, the weekend would always be a lottery. Not really a big enough circuit I felt for Monoposto 2000 cars (old circuit) but the killer for any weekend there would be the weather. Anglesey in June would be either a scorcher or rain….lots of it. The previous years race there was somewhat hampered with fog rolling in off the sea! But at the time our sponsor and good friend Bill Redwood wanted a boys weekend away racing and so we took a gamble and entered. Unfortunately Bill couldn’t make it due to business issues and so my dad and I took the drive from Kidderminster up to Chester and along the A55 to the Welsh circuit.

One of the best things about Monoposto is that there is always someone there to lend a hand. Upon arrival we met Paul Beech who was without a car that weekend and he offered to be part of our crew for the weekend. This kind act took our team to a lofty 3 in total. We set up our £29 B&Q gazebo next to the Jonathan Lewis Comtec operation and set about the weekend. Qualifying went ok with no dramas. I lined up 4th behind Lewis Comtec FF2000, Blockley Ralt RT3 and M Harrison Dallara F398.

Move over slow coach!

When the race came it was getting warm but a little cloud was appearing on the horizon. I was praying for it to get hotter. We were using the Michelin F3 tyre. These were ex-Martin O’Connell from his F3 days. That’s how old they were. We had two sets mounted for that weekend and these were the poorer of the two. Our logic was to run the older rubber on Saturday and then the slightly better ones on Sunday once I had got used to the track . They were rock hard and with the very warm temperatures I was hoping these might last longer than the Avon shod opposition.

After my customary pre-race sleep in the holding area my dad (Brian) woke me up to trundle out to the grid. This relax and er…sleep time was when I went through any scenarios which may play out and deal with them. Who would go where into the first corner, what if the leaders take each other out etc. My dad's final words were usually "Drive like Prost and bring it home." Not that either of us were fans of the French man. Far from it. I was more a Mansell fan but what he meant was that although we might not have the pace as some of the other runners, if we lap consistently and keep out of trouble a good finish is there for grabs. I had no reliability worries as the Reynard was faultless in that respect. It was down to me.

The old Anglesey circuit was more go-kart than Grand Prix. It was short and twisty with a downhill grid slot. If was difficult as you had to sit there with your heel on the brake pedal and toes on the throttle. The lights went out and away. First gear, change and ……fourth gear. Oh sh*t done it again. Ever since having the Reynard I have either made stunning or terrible starts and this was the latter. But luckily being down hill we sort of got away with it. On the run down to the first corner, Lewis,Blockley and Harrison all held the inside line. I thought why not go round them and so I did. Just squeezing in between Blockley and Harrison. The first few laps rolled off with the four of us pulling away from the pack in a train but on the run down to the hairpin Lewis tried to get inside Blockley and contact. I saw the underside of an RT3 flying through the air maybe 3-4 m high. How it didn’t turn over I don’t know. This gave Mark and myself the space we needed to tuck inside and get away.

Finish…..at last!

The two of us, now just a car length apart, were in our own race. I didn’t see the Blockley or Lewis cars trackside so I assumed they were still in the race. How long could I hold off Mark? How long before these two caught us up?

I knew there were only 2 places here to overtake. One into the first corner, school. But if I was quick enough out of the last corner and kept a defensive line into the first it would take a very brave move to go round the outside. The second was down into the hairpin but if you hugged the inside down the hill into it you should have it covered. The race plan was now a) drive as slow as I could without letting anyone past as I was not as quick as the other 3 or b) hope for a red flag at about _ distance! Lap after lap we toured consistently lapping within 1/10 of a second of each lap, that’s how hard I was trying to drive to plan a).

Coming into the last few laps we caught Russ Giles and Geoff Fern in their own little battle. On the run down to school I was thinking have they seen me? I looked up the inside of them both and thought better of it. My right foot went for the brake pedal but in the hastiness of it all I hit the throttle! The car lurched sideways as I squeezed through. That was lucky! All three of us could have ended up in the Irish Sea. The luckiness of it all was that they were now sandwiched between Mark and myself. This gave me some breathing space that I really needed. A rest and a free lap in effect as Mark had to sit behind them both for half a lap before reaching a part of the track in which overtaking was possible even when lapping.

Onto the last lap now and Mark had once again closed the gap. Concentrate, I told myself. Mark had one final go around the outside into the hairpin but I just had enough to fend him off.

My dad (Brian) and myself posing for photos. Note the plush gazebo and rental pickup to the left.

Over the line we went. Mark alongside my rear wheels. Less than 1/10th in it. 20 laps even around Anglesey was tiring. Even more so with the pressure from Mark for 16 laps. I was shattered. I screamed in my helmet for the rest of the lap punching the air. We had just won our first Mono2000 race. Yes we had won 1600 races before but I have never had to work so hard during a race before as this. To beat multiple Monoposto champions Mark, Jim and Jonathan was fantastic. Not only was it a first Mono 2000 win for my dad and myself but I believe it was a first championship win for a carbon tubbed car (Mark previously won a winter series race at Brands), first with a VW engine in the 2000 class and I think the first time Lewis was beaten on the track in Monoposto (although I maybe wrong on the last).

The best part of it was seeing my dad as I came into the pits being thrown in the air by Jeremy Bennett of Nemesis. Everyone patting him on the back This was very much his win as well as mine. When it came to the podium my mouth was so dry it felt as I was choking. It came very close to being an all Kidderminster driver podium as Neil was holding 3rd until he had a spin on the final lap. The shock of us winning even got to the scruteneers as we were held back for an engine inspection afterwards for an hour. It took this long much to the scrutineers dismay to remove the inlet manifold because the engine was so hot.

Once back in the paddock the beers started to flow. Ray and Mary were first over with some bottles and we celebrated for the rest of the evening. Pity we had a race the next day because I'm sure more would have flowed.

A few beers in the bar. Why is my glass empty? I did tell Dave Brady he would stick like that…..and I was right.

The race on the next day was an anti climax. It was all set to mirror image the previous days exploits. 4th on grid, bad start but 3rd into first corner and keeping up with Jim and Jonathan but Jonathan dropped it exiting the first corner and I so I spun in avoidance. Quickly catching the field once again and onto the rear of Neil in 5th place, who was battling with Andy Webb, my car didn’t feel right. It now had bags of oversteer until eventually I ran out of talent and found the grass. 6th place was the result. It wasn’t until the race finish that we discovered the left rear was almost flat. A puncture I believe picked up during the first spin.

But all in all it didn’t matter as Saturday's good fortune over shadowed whatever happened in race 2. As anyone involved in club motorsport will agree you have more bad days than good. But when the good days come along milk it for all its worth and we certainly did that. And as you have just read, I still do.

The Red Lion, Sedgley, a sponsor

Lee Bennett

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