Thruxton

Qualifying - Sunday 25th May 

The team arrived at Thruxton the night before in good mood after the successes of the previous four rounds at Mondello Park and Brands Hatch. A good meal the night before qualifying was the order of the day and everybody went to bed looking forward to racing at Thruxton, a very fast but demanding circuit. The Formula Ford contingent were the first cars out on Sunday morning and the weather was sunny and dry although a little chilly in the north-west wind. James Harris out-qualified his team mate Tony Rodgers by one place on lap 3 and was 18th on the grid overall but he could not improve on his lap time of 1:17.777 because his engine let go in a cloud of steam after a water leak from a 
defective pipe. He was not a happy bunny when returning to pit lane. Worst to come 
was that Tony had his original time disallowed because of a ride height discrepancy but after adjustment he went out again and set a time of 1:17:786. Despite facing an engine change to James's car, the team were reasonably happy because James was 5th fastest in the Scholarship class out of 11 class competitors and at least Tony was not relegated to the back of the grid. Lesley Harris kept the team fed while James's engine was changed and we were all in confident mood when the cars lined up for Round 5 at around 3.00pm later in the day. 

Round 5 - Sunday 25th May 

James's race was a disaster. On lap 1 he was entering the Chicane and another 
competitor cut across his racing line and hit his car forcing him into a spin. Freshly cut grass entering the side pod resulted in a rapidly overheating engine but fortunately the alarm sounded and he pitted before another engine was destroyed. Team owner Jeff Harris went to Race Control after the race had finished but the observer on Post 20 had not seen the incident. However damage to the tyre of James's Ray and the other competitor's car were evidence of the 
incident and this was proved by the camera that was fitted to James's car. However it's very difficult for a protest to be successful without an Official's report. The only consolation for the team was that James proved his talent and speed by being the third fastest driver overall with a time of 132.6mph. Tony Rodgers as always drove a sensible race in a car that was not the fastest on the grid and made up eight places from nineteenth to finish 11th overall and 10th in the Championship Class. However the team gained satisfaction by beating Alx Danielsson, the official Ray works driver and winner of the previous round at Brands. 

Round 6 - Monday 26th May 

I arrived at 6.00am and the forecast was warm and sunny with little wind. Fortunately the cold wind from the day before had all but gone and it really was a very pleasant start to the day. I even dusted the cobwebs off my Motobuild tuned Rover Metro GTI, a rare occurrence. 

I decided to go out to the Chicane for the start of the race and I was not to be disappointed because James Harris was directly in front of me at the rear of the grid in 25th place. As soon as the flag fell, he absolutely flew up the track and I watched him gaining a lot of places as he disappeared from my view. I waited in anticipation for him to come round to start lap two but sadly only Tony Rodgers went past me. 

I gather that James was coming up behind another driver who suddenly slowed for no apparent reason and he was left with nowhere to go but over the top of him on to the grass and then into the barrier. Fortunately James emerged unscathed but three corners of the car were badly damaged. End of race for him and no points. A bad day at the office for young Harris. 

As compensation for the team Tony had another sensible and thinking race, gained two places at chequered flag from his grid position by finishing 9th overall and 8th in his class. It is a delight to watch Tony and his driving style and racing brain remind me a lot of Alain Prost's, one of my all time heroes.  Perhaps we should nickname him Tony 'Professor' Rodgers. 

However this is motor racing and James seemed unfazed by the weekend's events 
and is looking forward to Silverstone's next two rounds on Saturday 7th / Sunday 8th June. 

I am sure that lessons have been learnt and the team will be back in a positive mood. That is a certainty.

James Harris in the pit lane
Photo: Paula Hamilton


James Harris on the grid
Photo: Paula Hamilton


James & his fan club!
Photo: Paula Hamilton


James Harris
Photo: Paula Hamilton


James Harris
Photo: Paula Hamilton


Tony Rodgers
Photo: Paula Hamilton


Tony Rodgers
Photo: Paula Hamilton


Tony Rodgers
Photo: Paula Hamilton