A damp start to the day, but by the Locost qualifying at 1140, the track had dried, and so it was to stay all day.  There were so many Locosts that we were split into 2 qualifying sessions, A and B.  I was in B, and for some reason the track was much slower - we suspect that someone in A had put oil on the track.  The qualifying results showed, as (with just 2 exceptions), all the A qualifiers were at the top of the grid, and all the B qualifiers were at the bottom.  I qualified 20th, just 1.8 secs behind pole position - there was then a 0.35 sec gap to the next person back.  I had seemed down on power as I could not even keep up with the cars in front of me when in their tow.

With so many cars, there was a heat race of the bottom 28 qualifiers which meant I was in 12th place on the grid for the heat, needing to finish in the top 19 to guarantee getting through to the final.  Getting off the line was good (as is now standard for me), but half way down the straight I was boxed in, and could gain no more places into Gerards corner.  I think we went down the back straight 4 abreast, reducing to 2 abreast for the Esses!  The hairpin was mayhem, but without contact.  And then the red flags came out as James Hughes (55) had piled into the crash barriers on the back straight.  A high speed accident, he was fine, if a little dazed and bruised; his car was in a bad state though.  I got a better start on the re-start and gained a couple of places.  My lack of power shone through again, and I could not keep up with the cars in front whilst going down the main straight.  Consistent driving, and keeping the car on the track, saw me finish 9th, but very frustrated as I didn't have enough power to be able to do anything about the cars in front.

This put me 18th on the grid for the final - 17th place gives 2 points for the championship, and all people that finish lower than that also get 2 points.  With an engine on its last legs, there seemed little point in trying, and I was down-heartened by it all.  But then the grid formed, and the red lights came on, and went out.  The race was on!  In the championship, I was 6 points short of Simon Read and 20 points ahead of Dave Black who had qualified 6th.  To be sure of keeping my place, I really needed a few more points, just in case Dave pulled it out of the bag and finished 1st or 2nd, which he will someday!  I found myself in a 4 way battle with James Kmiecak (81), Rob Fitter (34) and Mark Glover (36).  Every time we found a straight, they seemed to overtake me, and then hold me up on all the corners.  Eventually, I got past them all, and found just enough clear air that they became embroiled in their own battle.  This enabled me to pull clear of them by a few seconds, and the race finished (not a moment too soon), with me in 12th place.  The heavens opened 5 mins later, with rain like I haven't seen in a long while!

So, my 12th place was enough for me to secure my 10th place in the championship - I am extremely pleased to have finished in the top ten.  My 121 points would have been enough for 8th last season (when my 89 points took me to 12th place) - So clearly a big improvement over last year.  And I managed this without hitting anyone, without needing a marshal beyond his "routine" duties, without a 1-1 talk with the clerk of course, without being involved in any contentious issue with any other driver, and without having an illegal car.  Surely this is what we should all be aiming for? It made it a very cheap season for me :-) I look forward to 2005, when I will have "re-freshed" my engine, and be ready to improve on my 10th place!