25/06/2025
Thruxton Race Circuit Thruxton Retro for round 3 of the Mighty Minis Racing Championship - Where to start.... π
Qualifying was epic, with a P1 over two seconds ahead of the rest! The car felt incredible on the fastest circuit in the UK.
Race 1 - Battling for P1 after 10 minutes, my engine decided to expire after overheating issues, even after heat management from lap 2, in what was 30 degrees air temp..
There was no chance of repair as both the head and block were finished.
Then the first superhero in this story arrived. Ahmed Shahrabani lent me his engine, however the decision to proceed for various reasons wasnt made until 5 hours until we were back out for race 2.
Then the second superhero arrived, Steve Rideout of Octane racing began to remove the engine from Ahmed's car, and replace it into my car. It was a good job Leon Carter arrived in workwear to assist!
After nearly 5 hours and a brief run up and down the paddock, I found myself sat in the assembly area ready to go from the back of the grid, after thinking that we would be back home in Norfolk by early afternoon!
On the opening lap, I came from the back of the grid and found myself in P1 by the end of lap 1! The temperature rose significantly again, so i found myself looking after the engine as I couldn't imagine anything worse than destroying Ahmed's! I held back for the entire race until the last lap, where I decided to have a go into the last corner, but it didn't pull of, and I crossed the line in P3. After an unfortunate penalty for the winner, I was promoted to P2, somehow keeping my championship alive!
It was a weekend of the lows and highs of motorsport, but it shows what can be done when everyone comes together with the drive to perform in a sport we all love.
Congratulations Gregory Jenkins on your double win, Will Burnham on a double podium (and almost 2nd win!), and Morgan Bartley for your first podium in a freshly built car.
MASSIVE thank you's to Ahmed, Steve and Leon, who without their kindness and determination, would have meant the weekend would have been over with no points scored.
The race is now on to sort a new engine before round 4 at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival in August!
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