Mallory is a simple circuit but challenging to drive quickly nevertheless. It technically only has 4 corners! Think of a frying pan with two straight sides! Off the start straight into Gerrards, a huge radius 190 degree corner that has a hump right on the exit so as you build up your exit speed, you go light and slide to the outside of the track. Once you get used to it, it is ok but the first time it happens it does make you wake up! Especially if you are trying to keep inside of another car! Short straight down to the esses where you need to avoid quite harsh kerbs. Short uphill straight to the hairpin which is really tight but fortunately it is banked a little so you can throw the car in and nail the throttle. Going downhill now there is an undulating left hand corner back on to the start finish straight which is flat out and then you do it all again.
By the start the rain is just a drizzle and by the end of the race, not enough to keep a wet track although at the start it looks like it could rain more. Half the cars are on wet tyres and the other half are satisfied with their dry tyres, not being slicks our dry tyres are more an inter than a slick. Slicks are not allowed in our series. Most use Yoko A048 or Toyo R888 or the Dunlop equivalent.
Our usual start means that by the first corner Glenn has dropped to 10th but by lap two is up to 4th! He just drives round the outside of everyone through Gerrards and up the inside at the hairpin! He is on a roll and is revelling in these damp conditions. By the time the safety car comes out after about 15 minutes he is in 2nd place. A lovely Lotus Cortina is in our race but is way off the race pace by about 14 seconds per lap, not good when the lap is just 1.35 miles long! However with the safety car having picked up the leader and then restarted the race, the Lotus Cortina cannot keep up and so with no overtaking allowed before the start line Glenn loses about 30 seconds before he can pass it. P***ed off is an understatement here for Glenn! The race is coming to its half way point and we didn’t change drivers during the safety car period. This may cost us. However Glenn is positively flying and so I leave him out a bit longer. Someone else’s misfortune saves us as another safety car period is called. We change drivers well but as I leave the pit garage I am held at the pit lane exit to allow the crocodile to pass. I rejoin at the back of the crocodile after waiting what seems an eternity but perhaps it is only 45 seconds? I have no idea where I am in the race.