“Round 3 of the Armed Forces Race Challenge brought a different format, with a single 45-minute race featuring a mandatory pit stop.

“Having never driven the circuit outside of the simulator, qualifying was always going to be a learning experience. Unfortunately, the session was heavily disrupted by incidents, resulting in multiple yellow flags and a red flag, limiting us to just two genuine flying laps. Despite this, we secured P6 overall and P1 in class with a 2:19 lap time. Both the car and I had more pace to find, but given the circumstances, it was a solid result.”

“The race got off to a great start. A strong launch allowed us to move from P6 to P4, passing two cars before Turn 1 before making another move on the guest Caterham to take P3 heading into the second hairpin.

“We settled comfortably into third place and were showing strong race pace before technical issues began to emerge. A low coolant warning appeared, with temperatures gradually increasing. Initially, this reduced engine boost, causing us to lose ground, before eventually removing boost entirely.

“From that point, the focus shifted from fighting for positions to managing the car and ensuring we reached the chequered flag without causing further damage. While several other Class B competitors also encountered issues and retired, allowing us to finish P1 in class, it was disappointing to lose what had been shaping up to be a very competitive result.”

“The positive takeaway is that the car clearly has the pace to run at the front, and the root cause of the issue has now been identified. We can address it, move forward, and come back stronger for the next round.

“Another major positive from the weekend was the performance of the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ braking package. The combination of the RP-X front pads, Bluestuff rear pads and ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ discs performed flawlessly throughout the event. Even under repeated heavy braking for the duration of the 45-min race, there was no sign of fade, and pedal feel remained consistent from start to finish. That level of confidence allowed me to progressively push my braking points later as the day went on, knowing the brakes would deliver the same performance lap after lap, the T51 Racing bespoke brake cooling kit also played it part and helped to keep the whole system temps down throughout.”

“A huge thank-you to everyone who came along to support, help prepare the car, and make the weekend possible. There were a few challenges leading up to the event, and at times it looked like we might not make the grid, but thanks to the efforts of those around me, we got there.

“Finally, a massive thank you to ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ, Karlyone Care Ltd, and the Army Sports Car Racing team for their continued support throughout the season. Your backing is greatly appreciated, and we’re looking forward to coming back fighting at Brands Hatch in August.â€�

“Round 4 took us to Kent’s Brands Hatch GP circuit to support the Super Touring Power weekend. A historic track that we have been lucky enough to visit twice before with the Trackday Championship.

“With the weather looking warm and dry all weekend, we set out to qualify with the capacity grid of nearly 40 cars! The traffic unfortunately played havoc with our attempts to get a fast lap in, scuppered by people going slowly learning the track in the back section. With the delta showing a lap good enough for P2 (-0.6s up on our previous best), a stray Caterham going at 20mph blocked the apex through Clearways resulting in us having to abort any chance of improving. Then a safety car put a firm stop to any chance after that. Frustrating, but still P3 out of 16 class entrants – plenty of work to do in the race!

“The car was readied for the race after a quick brake fluid bleed all round and check-over of the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ RP-X pads in the front and Bluestuff pads in the back – showing zero signs of crumbling or pad wedging as we have come to expect now. The Ultimax grooved discs doing their job perfectly, clearing the pad and keeping things nicely in the operating window, still showing very limited wear characteristics.”

“Henry lined up on the grid six places behind the class leader on the inside, ready for the race start. With a Banzai start firing it straight past some higher-class cars, and round the outside of the class polesitter exiting Druids, we set about catching the rapid-starting MX-5 of Miller Motorsports who had found some space through from his P2 starting slot.  

“With a couple of laps of hard defending a mixture of class C and B cars, things settled down and Henry started setting about catching the class leader, with the gap coming down 2-3 tenths a lap. Unfortunately, a safety car caused by a Lotus buried in the gravel prompted the normal dash for the mandatory pit stop.

“With Kev now in the car, and straight up to speed, some of the higher-class cars that were out of position on the grid had started to come through after the safety car and interfere with our progress up the order. The gap between the top three chopping and changing every lap as the traffic and lapping cars materialised! A consistent and controlled drive brought the car home in P2 with the top three in the class only separated by a few seconds after the 45 minutes of racing.

“A great finish for us on what is traditionally a track that’s very advantageous to have a RWD setup on! With our fastest lap times nearly half a second improved from last year’s race in similar conditions, it shows our positive development rate.

“Onto Round 5 at Oulton Park – the penultimate round!�

“Round 3 saw us tackle Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit in the long 300 format. The weather forecast was set for 29 degrees – the extra ambient heat never helps with endurance racing, so preparation and patience would be key.

“With a fresh set of RP-X pads up front, and our long-serving Bluestuff pads on the rear (one season old and only half worn!), we readied ourselves for the normal battle for pole. With temps so high, getting a fast lap in early would be preferable. Kev was out first, with the delta showing a time good for a pole lap, but traffic through Corum Corner stopped him putting down that time unfortunately. With a very-late-in-the-session, free-from-traffic lap from Henry managing to secure second. The end of the session saw the rapid Mazda MX-5 of Dave Connell take the class pole with a time only one tenth ahead of us. Game on for the race!”

“With temperatures now soaring, even being in the car in the holding area was enough to have the race suit saturated! Attrition would pay a large part in this race we thought. With the opening lap a hard-fought tussle with the usual Class C suspects, a bit of careful placement on the brakes into Russell’s Chicane enabled a super-fast exit and overtake on the MX-5, allowing us to take the lead in Turn 1. Pedal modulation being perfect as always from the RP-Xs.

“After a few laps and a nice gap now developing, we reverted to management mode and kept our heads down to the pit stop. A quick change and handover to Kev saw us maintain the lead of the class – the Mazda having caught a fair chunk of the gap after pushing very hard with some questionable track limits caught on our rear-facing camera!

“The last 10-minute stint of the race was a true nail-biter, with the Mazda glued to our bumper! But an engine failure on the last lap for the MX-5 put an end to their challenge for the lead. A well-earned win in difficult conditions for us. The brakes never missing a beat as always, giving us the confidence to push in all conditions from the first lap to the last – with the brake pedal never feeling different. Total consistency! Onto Round 4 at Kent’s Brands Hatch GP layout!�