Colin Queen: We fight on! Post-Race thoughts on my second BRSCC National Race at Knockhill
Where do I start? I arrived in Fife, Scotland Thursday night and helped the team unload and set up everything for Friday practice. I got a good look at the track and found it much different from watching the videos. There were many corners with incredible elevation such as turn 1, the uphill chicane, and the final corner which was a steep uphill hairpin.
We got to Knockhill at 1pm Friday and took a track walk early in the morning. Most of the corners were extremely technical and off-camber, but fun. It didn’t take long to get up to speed and set some decent times, and by the end of the day I was top 6 in times.
During Saturday practice, we spent the first two sessions dialing in the car. I picked up a lot of time from the previous sessions and was pushing the car to its limits. Session four was unproductive as numerous red flags occurred. At the end of the day, Andre LaFond, Max Esterson and I got some Nandos (our go-to restaurant) to fuel up and headed to bed.
I was very confident with my pace in the morning warm-up and was looking forward to qualifying. Qualy was very tricky and I only managed to get two to three clean laps. I finally got a good clean lap on the last one with Max right behind me, that was our fastest lap in qualy. This resulted in a fourth row starting position for race one with me in 8th and Max in 7th. Andre did a great job and started 14th for his first National race. The field was extremely close in lap time on this short circuit.
Race 1 didn’t go as planned. I got a decent start on the tricky uphill straight, and on lap two was in the mix with everyone up front. There was a scuffle at the end of the train and I went to make an outside pass on Lucas Romanek into turn 5. Lucas had the inside and forced me out wide, but I was going to make a switchback on the exit. That is until a car flew over him and I got a close-up look at the Avon ACB10 tire. Luckily, I managed to swerve away and into the gravel trap. This unfortunate incident dropped me from 7th to 15th in one corner. The safety car came out and I was behind my teammate Andre. At the restart, everyone started to go, except the car in front of Andre was slow to react. When we finally made it to the last corner, the cars ahead were gone. I managed to catch up to the pack and had a great battle with local hot shoe, Michael Gray, for the remaining laps of the race. I really enjoyed those laps. Unfortunately, the race ended due to a red flag….11th place finish.
Andre, Max and I reviewed data and video with our coach, James Theodore, prior to race 2. For that race, I would be starting alongside my teammate, Andre. My game plan was to methodically drive through the field and get a top 5 at minimum. Everything was going according to plan until lap five. As I approached fellow Californian Carter Williams in turn 1, I downshifted to third but the shift linkage broke. I was stuck in gear. Game. Set. Match. I had to retire the car to fight another day. It was a DNF, as we say in California, “no Bueno”.
Max had a good race and put it on the podium twice for 3rd place and Andre was just shy of a top 10. A great result for the team LDR!
Obviously, I was gutted and disappointed I couldn’t showcase what we were truly capable of on Sunday. After I cooled down, I was greeted with a cupcake in the trailer that had my picture on it from Mrs. Low (Andy’s mum), which produced a smile. Reflecting on my performance and mindset, I was 100% physically ready and mentally prepared with a lot of fire in my belly. Yes, I made some mistakes, which were addressed and I pushed myself hard. I’m adapting well to the car and feel really good about my growing capabilities. As promised, I left it all on the track and will continue pushing for that podium on every start, straight and corner with the help of this awesome LDR team. I love this sport and I am thankful to have this opportunity. See you at Silverstone!
- Colin Queen