I was a Snetterton virgin until this weekend and
it was access all areas for me and Teggie Kaz with
our press passes thanks to Morgan and her team from
The Discovery Channel who were using the quieter
qualifying day to their advantage, filming Fiona
Leggate. Fiona was a pro as always, taking the constant
media attention in her stride.
Even during the two free practice sessions, Muller
in his Vauxhall Astra VXR and Plato in his SEAT
Cupra were both giving it some serious sideways
action at The Esses, a mean sharp twisty section
just after the 150 mph long straight.
Fiona kept a steady pace during qualifying in her
bio-ethanol fuelled Vauxhall Astra and held onto
twelfth position above Williams and Curley in their
Lexus IS200’s. She gained a fantastic eleventh
place overall even after being plagued with gearbox
and oil leak problems leading her to spin off a
few times. Unfortunately it looked like these problems
resurfaced for Fiona on race day, as she couldn’t
compete in the final race.
There was less pushing and shoving from competitors
in the Porsche Carrera Cup and Elf Renault Clio
‘let’s see how many times I can roll
this thing’ Cup compared to racing at Brands
Hatch, but that’s probably because Snetterton
is a faster circuit with more forgiving twists and
turns. I loved the sexy V8 powered classics in the
fast and furious Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge
with some fine examples of Aston Martins and Mustangs
which rumbled their way round the track after the
BTCC races. These beauties stopped conversations
dead when they roared past.
Whilst on a wander, me and Kaz bumped into enthusiastic
Sarah Franklin who races in the Ginetta Championship
and had come along to support Fiona and a few of
her Seat Cupra mates. Sarah - like Fiona - is an
inspiration, holding down her day job as a solicitor
and racing in her ‘spare time’ and some
of you may have met her at the Brands Hatch track
day with The Discovery Channel. Sarah thinks it’s
hilarious when her fellow male racing drivers in
the Ginetta series get aggravated when she does
a sneaky overtaking manoeuvre. You can see her next
in action at Brands Hatch in the A1 Grand Prix 23-25
September.
In comparison Matt Neal - who is close to earning
the 2005 BTCC championship title in his Team Halfords
Honda Integra R – is a real supporter of women
in motorsport and believes any racing team will
easily snap up a female racing driver due to the
novelty factor. He thinks it’s brilliant that
Fiona is competiting in the BTCC and says that a
few times he’s been behind her on the track.
So what happens when you let two single ladies
loose on a racing circuit full of gawjus racing
suit clad young men? An abundance of flirting and
a complete distraction from my reporting! Me and
Kaz clocked Richard ‘Sex God’ Williams
watching the final qualifying race of the day from
the trackside. Kaz’s chat up line goes like
this: “you not racing then?” Richard:
“No I have a problem with my diff”.
Oooh sounds painful. Me: “Whatcha think about
Fiona racing in the BTCC?” Richard: “I
don’t mind a girl whipping my arse.”
Me: Here’s my GR business card, call me soon!”
Kaz tried out her previously untapped stalker skills
by gaining Richard’s autograph for me on race
day – you go girl!!
In between the Touring Car races, me and Kaz flashed
our green wrist bands and sat in awe in the media
centre listening to journalists broadcasting live
on the radio, TV crews discussing filming tactics
and PRs from the racing teams trying to keep everyone
happy. We even Chaved free coffee and race result
printouts! Weyhey! And what do racing teams do in
between races? Well we caught the Dunlop team playing
human chess outside their truck on the huge yellow
and black chequered corporate flooring. Yep, we
did see you!
Thanks must go to Morgan from The Discovery Channel
for the free press passes, also to Malcolm Leggate
and his team for his friendly hospitality as always
and allowing us to get under their feet in the garages
and pit lane.
GR will be supporting Fiona next at Silverstone
during the 24-hour Britcar races on 9-11 September
where she will be out storming the track in her
MG ZR. Otherwise for all you BTCC enthusiasts who
need another adrenalin boost or practice of Kaz’s
excellent ‘how-to-pull-a-BTCC-driver’
technique, the next race is at Knockhill over August
Bank Holiday weekend. Enjoy!
Sezza
GR does not condone stalking BTCC drivers in any
way(!).
