XL Autosport

Back up to Mallory for the second time this year. The car has had new brake pads, oil and filter, spark plugs, fire extinguisher and a full laser alignment at Protyre. I’m hoping we don’t get any more problems with running this weekend so I’ve bought the usual arsenal of spare parts and tools with me.

Spencer is along to act as pit crew and we set off on Saturday arriving at about 5.00pm. The car is off loaded and we carry out some initial preparation work to the engine, tyres etc. 

Sunday and qualifying is at 12.15pm. I get out in good time and start running around behind a couple of cars whilst the tyres and engine get fully warmed. My third lap is a flyer and I try and build on this by leaving braking a little later and carrying more speed into the corners. I’m not a huge fan of Mallory - it’s one big sweeping corner and a hairpin joined by two straights. Not much of a circuit but I struggled a bit for front end grip. Once the lap times were released I had a huge disapointment - only fifth! Patrick is running a mk2 and isn’t eligible for points, he’s in pole. Steve Vince is running a supercharged mk1, he’s in second and also not eligible for points. These two I’m not bothered about but next up is championship leader Tony Gilham. Fourth is Simon Hepplewhite, he’s getting quicker every race, I’m fifth alongside last years champion Matt Jenkins who qualified sixth. Some pretty handy drivers and I’ll be hard pressed to make an impact on this race. 

Next up is scrutineering, our car is weighed and checked over, 1041Kgs, 16Kgs over so we opt to go out with just a quarter tank of fuel and not our usual half tank. The rest of the car is fine so we carry out a post mortem on qualifying. The only thing I wasn’t happy with is the front end washout. I know we can go faster because last time we were here I was a second a lap quicker. There isn’t much to change on these cars so I revert to our original tyre pressures.

The race: I’m on the inside of the track behind Tony and next to Matt. Red lights go out and I launch it up the inside of Tony who moved left to cover his line against Simon. Coming up to Gerards I’m side by side with Tony but I have the inside line, I out brake him and get the car alongside Steve who braked too early for the corner and didn’t turn in enough. We’re side by side going around Gerards with Patrick just in front. Steve isn’t getting around me and then a stroke of luck. Patrick Mortell in the Rogue systems Mk2 lost it on the way out of Gerards, I dived up the inside leaving Steve to find a way round the outside. First lap and I’m in the lead and slowly pulling away from Simon who inherited second from Steve. The car is much more chuckable in the corners and the on-board timing was telling me I was circling in the 59’s.

XL Autosport: leading the pack at Mallory 

Lap eight and Steve finally get’s past Simon and starts to reel me in.  I’m giving away nearly 100Bhp to him so I know he’ll get past sooner or later.  Coming off the hairpin and accelerating along the pit straight I cover the inside line. Steve gets past me on the outside but brakes early going into Gerards. This allows me to dive up the inside and retake the lead. He won’t be so sluggish next time and I decide to let him through if he tries it next time around. Lap 10 and the chequered flag is out, the race is stopped early because a car crashes in a dangerous position. Great news for me because I crossed the line first. I win Mallory Park from fifth on the grid - a fantastic result for XL Autosport and proof that overtaking is still alive in the lower formulas.

Four wins in a row is a fantastic result. I’d like to say a big thank you to all the people who came over and gave us their support and of course our sponsors , Just Japanese and Lifestyle Kitchens.

Next race August 28th at Silverstone - see you there!

George

Sunday AM: I arrive at the track at about 9.00am and sign on. First job is to deliver an engine to Sarah Wherry and Stuart Skinner (car 23) Whilst I’m there I have trouble starting the car, water in the plugs. A friendly supporter gave me a set of plugs and I changed them and dried the distributor. The car started but only on 3 cylinders, I took it to scrutineering like that and as I was driving back the roadsports class was leaving for qualifying. I got my suit on and went straight to the forming up area. I hadn’t had time to check tyres, oil, coolant, transponder, timing gear nothing! Luckily whilst pulling onto the track the missing cylinder magically reappeared. The track was really slippery because I was all over the place, the back end kicked out at Paddock and kicking up the dust. I had terrible brake judder and loads of understeer. Race control noted my tail out antics but surprise surprise I qualified on pole.

Back in the paddock and we removed the front wheels and checked the pads, down to the metal. They lasted approx. 100 racing miles. Luckily the chap who gave me the plugs had a spare set of pads and brake fluid. Saved once again by  someone who just wanted to see me race. We fitted the pads, greased the sliders and bled the brakes. Checked the tyres and the front right had delaminated down to the cords, another few laps and it would of given out. We put the rears on the front and fitted one new tyre which wasn’t scrubbed so it went on the right rear, the tyre that does the least work. Oil, water and tyre pressures were sorted and we were ready to race.

The race: We’re called up for our race and I set off from the paddock. I get 50m and the car just dies on me - a disaster. We spend the next 15mins getting the car started and by the time it’s running I’ve missed my slot. I start the race from the pits (again) and boot it chasing the pack. First corner (Paddock Hill) and the red flags are out, a big accident on the start line caused the race to be aborted. At the restart I join in my usual place which means no penalty. I’m on pole when the lights go out.

Into the first corner and I’m in the lead with Simon Hepplewhite 2nd and Tony Gilham 3rd. Lap 4 and Simon makes a mistake which gifts 2nd place to Tony. He reels me in by lap 7 but I hang on and take the chequered flag by less than half a second. Another fantastic result for the team with a little help from friends. 3 wins in the last 3 races and 4 consecutive pole positions and fastest laps!

 I liked to say a big thank you to Ted, Stuart and my brother Chris who was attending his first motor race and seemed to have as much fun as I did. Next race Mallory Park!

The usual 6 hour drive to Lincolnshire and I’m all on my own. I get there Friday p.m and manage a few practice laps before it starts to rain.

Saturday: Qualifying first up and the track is a bit slippery. I get heavily baulked by what feels like everybody in class B. I managed one clean lap then spend the rest of the session trying to get past various Porsches and Hondas. My good lap was a 1:54 then everything else was a 1:57 or slower!

Race 1: Amazingly I qualify on pole but start on a wet track. My take-offs have been getting better and I manage to get in front of a Honda and Porsche. I fend them off for three or four laps but as the track dries their super sticky tyres come into play and I’m reeled in. Only thing is where are the other MR2’s. I can’t see anyone behind me and I’m pretty sure I’m still in the lead. I keep it on the blackstuff and end up winning my first ever motor race! A 14 second margin confirms what I thought. Everybody was too busy tripping over themselves too reel me in. A fantastic result and makes the disapointment of Mallory a distant memory.

Race 2: I’m on pole again with Duncan Hone next to me. It’s another wet race but when the lights go out I once again get away cleanly and even overtake a Honda. Duncan drops off my tail fairly quickly but the Honda soon reels me in once his tyres are warmed up. No matter I’m only racing MR2’s and again I can’t see anyone in my mirrors. Lap 3 and whilst the track was developing a dry line the heavens opened. Rain lights on and loads of spray kicked up. I start closing in on the Honda and overtake him on the gooseneck. I also mugged an Evante braking for the mountain. No MR2’s in sight and I’m racing with the senior class. Chequered flag and my margin over the next MR2 is 43 seconds! 

What a fantastic weekend. 2 poles, 2 fastest laps and 2 start to finish victories.

See you all at Brands! 

Disapointing weekend this one. Qualified on pole and set the fastest lap in the race but threw it all away. I’ll let the write up in this weeks Motorsport News do the talking.

‘The MR2’s had their first standalone event, having joined the 750MC Roadsports races up to now. Like the highly successful MaX5 championship, the series offers affordable racing in cult Japanese sports cars. Pole position man George Taylor led briefly on two occasions: at the start until he ran wide at the hairpin allowing Tony Gilham through, and on the penultimate lap when he re-took the lead into Gerard’s.  But yellow flags went unheeded and he was excluded.

An eventful weekends racing. Qualified 2nd on the grid and ended up 2nd in the race. More interesting is the fact that 7 MR2’s ended up with accident damage and 3 porsches were mugged. Yes you read that correctly, no less than 3 Porsches finished the race behind us including a 300BHP 911 Turbo. On top of that we lapped 7 MR2’s and set lap times barely slower than cars twice our power and half the weight. Roll on Mallory!

More seriously we’ve moved from 7th to 5th in the championship and are expecting to move further up the field at the next few meetings. That maiden win still eludes us but we keep trying.