2010 Season Over

Well thats it, The 2010 season is now over. A massive congratulations to Steve Dance on winning the 2010 Championship and to Nic Grindrod on the 2010 Oval Championship. Its been a long season, A somewhat emotional one i guess seeing as i am sat writing this feeling very down, Now i know you may be thinking that going into the final rounds we werent going to recover and win the championship and i fully agree with that, I don't feel like this because we didnt win it, I feel this way as i have worked out the final points and no matter which way i look at it, we lost the championship through 1 engine failure. I dont know how the rest of the team are feeling right now as they are still travelling back from Brands (I couldnt be there due to work) and the earliest i will catch up with them is tomorrow, On saying that i cannot be sad about the season on a whole as we had a great season apart from 1 hiccup, 2 fastest qualifying's, 4 fastest laps, 1 Win, 2 2ND's and 5 3RD's. Consistency had been our key this season and it is something we can build on next season, Normally it would be quiet time now before prep for next season but not this time, Both trucks will be stripped and rebuilt over the next 2 months, But moving on from that we all have plenty of work to do, Myself i have the challenge of attempting to re-design SmithMotorsport.co.uk, Work on the Pickup Truck Racing site and also keep adding and building www.a1performanceproducts.com so there is going to be no quiet time to be had. So thats all there is to say at the moment, On a final note, Well done to all who make Smith Motorsport what it is, Geoff Smith, Steven Fishburn, Danny Snowdon, Barry Fishburn, Myself and Michael Smith (had to thank Michael as he is integral to the team lol) we done well this year and we will build on this!

Long Break

Well we seem to be pretty far into our long mid season break now and it's been pretty much Relaxed so far, We attended the Hot Rod world final, The F1 @ Silverstone and now parts of the team are enjoying a 3 week break in the South of Spain. Unfortunatly there is not really any news to report as such, Pickups were on TV Friday gone and repeated times over the weekend. I must say it was a good show and projected the pickups well as a closely raced championship (at least i thought so), So i guess thats a good thing,17 Trucks looked well on TV aswell and also the drivers put on a great show and showed we can mix it up and rub each other as good as the Touring Cars if not better! Well Thruxton approaches and if we can repeat or better what we did at Mallory then we are in for a storming weeked! Till then, Keep checking back for any new updates.

9 Week Break

Well a good meeting was had at Mallory Park last weekend where we managed to take a 2nd, 3rd and 6th and extended our lead very slightly in the championship which can only be classed as a succesful weekend. The racing was very close and hard fought and also seen a turn out of 17 Trucks, which is a far cry from what we saw at the last Rockingham. So moving on from Mallory, i am sure you are all aware that we should of had dates at Rockingham and Mondello Park in Ireland. Well them 2 rounds have been cancelled due to a number of reasons which as a team we agree with, There seemed to be clashes with lots of other events ie Hot Rod World Final, World Cup and various other factors so it seemed to be the only sensible thing to do. The Rockingham Round is possibly to be rescheduled for September. So with a 9 week break ensuing what will we do? Well there is BTCC @ Croft today which members of the team are attending (minus me, work again), Hot Rod World Final and various Brisca F1 meetings Then there is the perfect time for everyone to squeeze holidays in. With the Truck all ready done for the next round @ Thruxton it also means that Steven (Crew Chief) can also get more work done on his F2 and maybe even grace some tracks with his presence! Well thats about it for now but i am sure between now and Thruxton there will be more news to report on and let you all know about!

Upcoming Rockingham

Well this weekend see's the return to Rockingham but with 2 differences, Firstly the meeting is Saturday only and secondly, we are running 2x20 lap race's and 1x35 lap race which should make for some great racing. Our last outing made for some fantastic close racing and the a1performanceproducts.com truck was running strong so hopefully we are very close to that first win on the Oval, We have won at Rockingham in the past but not since we made the move onto the full oval. Phil White once again will no doubt prove to be strong round the Rock with the Ford engine proving very capable there. Once again the website will be updated with the results and standings as and when they happen on Saturday, So if you cannot make it to the Rock why not check back at Smith Motorsport for all of the results and goings on during the day.

Sunday Morning Musings

Well still many weeks to go until the next round of the LINE-X pickup truck championship at Rockingham. I wonder what that weekend will bring? Phil White had his fair share of problems with the Ford engine @ Brands Hatch but at Rockingham the engine is very strong but as the results and timings showed, The Vauxhall engines can hold there own against the ford and it is all really down to who gets the best slingshot from the final draft to the line. Either way, with such a long break between Brands & Rockingham, I for one cannot wait for the action to resume!

Brands Hatch Race Report

Well what a weekend that was! Last weekend was rounds 3 & 4 of the LINE-X Pickup Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch which provided all with a good weekend of racing. Qualifying started early afternoon on the Saturday which saw Simon Carr topping both time sheets and ourselves 3rd & 4Th respectively, unfortunately for ourselves we had a problem which seemed to be a fueling issue which meant getting drive out of clearways seemed to be an issue. Sunday Morning saw the first race, and for ourselves we thought we were on top of the fueling issue but that did not appear to be the case, It was a frantic start with Damien Carr and Nic Grindrod racing towards the Druids Hairpin jostling for position for the better line which ultimately Damien took, behind the leaders there was lots of changes too, Simon Carr in the #15 LINE-X Truck was moving up a couple of places as was the 2009 Champion, Pete Stevens, By Lap 8 Nic Grindrod was starting to have issues with his truck which meant he was starting to lose gears and subsequently track position to Pete Stevens and Michael Smith. By lap 14 Nic's problems worsened and he started to experience engine problems which pushed him even further down the pecking order. With Damien building up a 6 second lead it was left to Michael and Pete to battle for 2ND and 3rd which resulted in a 2ND for Pete & 3rd for Michael, I personally cant help but feel the result may of been different had we not been nursing a fuel issue but that is racing you take the rough with the smooth. Nothing can be taken away from Damien who had an excellent race. Sunday Afternoon was Race 2 which we knew we were going to be starting with the same issues as we could not rectify them prior to the race so for ourselves it was more about damage limitation with no realistic opportunity for a podium unless we managed an early lead then some ultra defensive driving which did not happen. The race started with Lee Rogers from pole and Dave Briggs in second racing to Druids and Lee keeping the lead out, Not everyone managed the Druids Hairpin so gracefully as Simon Carr and Martin Heath ended up in the gravel trap which brought out the safety car. Racing got back underway on lap 6 with Lee still in the lead from Dave Briggs and Paul Saunders in the #90 Truck in third. Lap 10 saw Dave Briggs take the lead from Lee Rogers and a little later saw Steve Dance take 3rd from Paul Saunders. Not content with 4Th, Steve Dance was now eyeing up Lee Rogers 2Nd which he ultimately took on Lap 17 and left Lee holding onto 3Rd dearly for his first podium. Simon Carr was experiencing his own problems from his earlier off which meant he was driving just to get enough laps to get in the points. Now i don't know if it was the sun but some drivers seemed more intent with being off the track than being on it, the next being Dave Longhurst which forced his retirement. The race ended with Dave Briggs holding on to his lead with a hard charging Steve Dance finishing 2Nd from Lee Rogers in 3rd. For ourselves we ended 8Th which as i mentioned earlier was damage limitation especially as after the race when checking the truck after Michael reported handling issues after an incident with Dave Longhurst we found a shock absorber to be snapped in half so i imagine that may of caused a handling issue or two. So all in all a good weekend had by all. Now a long break for everyone before we head back to Rockingham for rounds 5 & 6.

Mark's Friday Ramblings

Well this is it! It's Friday and the Season starts this weekend. Feels like the winter has been twice aslong waiting for the season to come around, We have been loaded up since Wednesday night so started to do the last little bits on the circuit Truck. Not long returned from the garage where there is an air of calm before the off, well from everyone apart from me who has nothing but rage at having to work this weekend! The big questions are, Who is going to be straight on form this season, What are the new Ford engines that some teams are running going to be like? We have some old faces returning, Richard Novell who missed the 2009 season returns this year as does Dave Longhurst who raced Pickups about a decade ago but has since had many success's in Hot Rods, How quick will Dave re find his feet in the Formula? All in all i think we are in for another great season. Well i hope everyone has a great weekend, i will not be there but as i will constantly be in touch with the team the website will be updated as quick as it always is so if you also cannot make it then check back here for all of the results.

New Season

Well the new season is upon us and we are just putting the finishing touches to everything to be ready for Rockingham in April, We have just received the engines back from the engine builder and these will be fitted by the weekend. If this season is a close as the last we will be in for another good year! See you all at Rockingham.