My intention and wish was to only test at Brands but Andrew had other intentions and entered me into the meeting without my knowledge or wish. I didn't find out until the program had come out and I saw my name on the list. I must start doing my own paperwork.

Testing

It started off wet and slippery and by lap three my wiper sheared a pivot pin and broke. Not a good start when you're slowly trying to learn a track that you've never raced at before. Luckily I'd been around the track before on trackdays so I wasn't totally blind to the track layout and corner positions.

Paddock corner is spectacular when you can see it, I dare anyone to try it in the wet without wipers, on your dry tyres when you can't see the turn in point! The hardest part was catching and having to follow a car through Paddock when all you can see is the huge amounts of spray be thrown up at you. Even though it was silly to be out there like this I continued because I decided that the car needed as much track time as possible as the car hadn't finished a session since the first ever misfire.

Not long after returning to the paddock the rain stopped and I had a look at the wiper to see if there was anything that could be done. The short answer is that if it rains on race day I'll be finishing last. Lucky for me though the forecast is suppose to be dry and fine for the rest of the weekend, fingers crossed.

The track soon dried and our next session began, time to start the game of which corner will I fall off at first. The track was quite green after the rain and there wasn't much grip out there especially on the last corner leading onto the pit straight. The car felt good and powerful, it seamed to flow around the corners and the engine seamed like it wanted to pull forever down the straight.

I was really starting to enjoy myself and the track was starting to bed in nicely when about ten minutes into the session guess what happened. I knew things were going too well, what have I to do to get karma back on my side? However I have now learned that it does seem to be affected by how hard the car is trying, no problem in the wet when I'm not fully on it but when it's dry and the car is working a lot harder the problem returns and I have to retire.

Now lunch time and time to start scratching our heads again to think about what to try next, we are kind of running out of things to try other than throw the wiring loom away and start again but that's not a track side job. The first thing we did was removed the temporary ignition light and reconnected the original one, have to start somewhere and removing a fix that isn't a fix seems a good start.

The new fix was to start bypassing everything in sight, fortunately we had David there for the test and in short order he'd engineered a temporary fix to try out. I went out and everything seamed fine, I was still worried about the car even when the chequered flag came out at the end of session because I hadn't been out long enough, the problem usually takes longer than this to show up.

Final session and the first dry session that the car has done start to finish so far this season. Finally, no misfires, nothing wrong at all. The car was good and the track was quite grippy in places eventhough it was still very slippy on the last corner. I was a lot happier with the car eventhough in the back of my mind was the threat of the problems suffered up to this point. I had quite good pace and I was starting to set some decent times, best of all it was being consistant lap after lap and the car was also holding up. The session ended and all was still fine, no problems, no disasters, all I can do now is wait until tomorrow and hope the car behaves itself like it has in this last session.

Qual

For qualify the saloons and the XJS's were all out together, not really what you would call ideal, all those cars on such a short track. It was really difficult to try to find some clear air to get a good lap time.

I followed Andrew out of the pit lane followed by two saloons and Stewert just behind them, Andrew was taking it easy trying to get some clear air between himself and the pack of cars that had left in front of him. I understood his plan and was quite happy to play along. The two saloons behind me didn't seem to understand the plan and on turn two I suddenly found myself under pressure and I had to defend in qualifying. Not really the done thing but I couldn't afford to have them in front holding me up when I was setting my quick laps. Andrew obviously saw this in his mirror, realised that I was under pressure and dropped the hammer.

It didn't take Stewert long to pass the two saloons and drift up behind us as we were slightly slower whilst negotiating traffic ahead. It didn't take long until we were all through and charging around the track in a team train, all three of us getting quicker and quicker lap after lap. I found that I could keep with Andrew every where apart from the last corner which I was still finding really slippy and all I was getting instead of a good drive out was a handful of oversteer, it wasn't just me either, looking in the mirror I could tell by Stewert's car that he was in agreement with me. This corner was allowing Andrew to gain a little air on the pair of us and it took the whole length of the pit straight to reel him back in again just in time to brake for Paddock.

This game of chase Andrew continued for a few more laps until he let me through on the straight but I was a little over-eager and carried way too much speed through Paddock. I went through the corner with a huge amount of oversteer and I only just held the car's slide as it put two wheels in the gravel. This let Andrew back through and I returned to the track back in front of Stewert, but by this time one lap later I had let him through and decided to follow him instead. The next lap whilst chasing him was my quickest because we had some clear air and I was determined not to let him get away. After that we hit traffic again and thats the way it stayed until the end, all we got was practice at passing slower cars on this short and twisty track.

Stewert wasn't happy when the results came out as this is his home track and he's also an instructor here. He saw the sheet and saw the name Harrison above his and instantly started cursing Andrew, he only then realised that it was infact me that had sneeked ahead of him and pinched pole off him by less than a tenth of a second.

Race

Being on pole for the first ever time is a real experience, nobody in front on the grid, in fact not even a grid slot to position on because pole sits on the actual start-finish line. The next thing is the green flag lap, its not something you ever think of but it's all up to me. How fast do you go? What point do you start backing everyone up at so that you're not sat on the grid too long overheating? It is however the best chance you'll ever have to practice a start because there is nobody in front to run into if they set off slowly.

Having completed the green and now sat on the line waiting for the red lights time seems to stand still, everything is going through your head on a continuous loop. Have I got the right gear? Are the revs right? Am I really going to beat this V12 to turn one because he has far more grunt and it's a long way?

The lights go out, I dropped the clutch and launched the car at turn one. Stewert got a good start and we are now in a drag race heading for turn one, he has more power but I have the inside line. I gave the car death, and even though Stewert had a yard or two on me he hadn't a chance of beating me into the turn. He cut back behind me to cut the nose off the invitation-class V12 that was behind me on the grid and we headed nose to tail to turn two. I had to take a tight line through the hairpin to defend the inside line. Though slow this still allows a good exit and a good drive to Graham Hill bend and onto the back straight. Having then managed to clear McLeans and entered Clearways still in the lead I thought to myself that I'd led the first lap at least.

Spoke too soon, a huge handful of oversteer on the exit and I thought bugger, he's got me now. I looked in the mirror expecting him to catch and flash past, instead he was sideways and behind him everyone else seemed to be following suit. Looking forward again I charged down the start finish straight, wringing the car's neck heading for the braking zone at the top of Paddock and the start of lap two.

Lap two and Paddock at full race pace, Stewert big in my mirrors and Doyle right behind him with Palmer a little behind him. Once again I took the defensive line into the hairpin and got a good drive out towards Graham Hill. No other problems until the exit of the last again where the leading group all had oversteer again, once again I had dodged the bullet of losing the drive onto the pit straight. Lap three was the same again, we were all having real trouble at Clearways.

On lap six I ran a little wide through Graham Hill and Stewert got a run on me, so I had to defend into Mcleans. All I remember of seven is looking in my mirror at Clearways and seeing Doyle instead of Stewert, at some point he must have passed. He didn't stay there though, I remember seeing him lose it big style as he got back on the power and I thought as I headed down the straight that it would cause a red flag. Stewert back up to second and Palmer now third, for the rest of the next lap I was looking for the red but with no evidence of Doyle when I got back around I realised that the race was still on for full distance.

Lap nine and Doyle was in the gravel at Paddock, his race over and Stewert has closed the gap back down to me, but I was starting to feel like I might just in charge of the situation. The rest of the race was almost identical, lap after lap, but by lap twelve I had lost count, I was looking for the last lap board every time down the pit straight. I was still over-revving the engine down the straight because I knew that it was the only place where Stewert had an advantage over me.

I was starting to get really hot and I was concentrating so hard that I missed the last lap board and before I knew it it was the chequered flag and I had won the race.

What a feeling, winning your first ever race. I was so relieved but I couldn't believe it. I tried to get my arm out the hole in the window to wave and celebrate but found it was too far back, instead I turned the headlights on and powered the car around the corners, you've got to wave something so wag the car.

I stopped at the end of the pit lane to be interviewed but hadn't even thought about what to say. I spoke some complete nonsence, collected my trophy and headed back to the paddock with the wreath on the windscreen with the other drivers appauding me as I drove past, which is very strange, from nowhere you're suddenly the winner, one of those guys who've done it.

Four races, One class & race win, three DNF.

Four different race winners in four races, but three of them from Kutuka Motorsport.

I wonder if it's too late to go to that new driver briefing? It was my first time here, I'm sure I'm supposed to have had one...