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Category: Race Reports

Oct 3 2009
Class win and 3rd at Silverstone GP

With the Production BMW season already over, I couldn't resist the lure of the Silverstone GP circuit with the Toyo Tyres Racing Saloons series. And with 36 Production BMW cars entered, it was pretty much like a normal race weekend.

Qualifying was pants. Keen to make the most of my tyres while they were at their best, I tried to get up to speed quickly and promptly threw it off at Priory on lap 2. Managed to straighten up and head straight across the gravel trap onto the National straight. Still needed to snatch 2nd and power out the other side though. The kitty litter is a lot more effective at slowing BMWs than F1 cars it seems! Thereafter, I couldn't get my head together and the massive wheel wobble was distracting.

I got lucky to qualify 3rd of the PBMWs. Even luckier to be at the front of group B and pole position for the first race on Saturday. It was a nice feeling, leading the pack around the GP circuit on the green flag lap.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Aug 8 2009
Oulton Park - Two second places to clinch second in championship

The final two championship rounds are already upon us. Oulton Park is quite possibly my favourite UK circuit and we'll be using the full International layout for the first time. The parkland setting looks glorious in the August sunshine but I wouldn't have minded at least one wet race this year!

Sharing a pit garage with Mike Dugdale, who is keen to get out early for qualifying, means that I ended up first in the queue at the end of the pitlane. Rob Smith, the new champion, is behind me. The last time this happened, he followed me around Castle Combe and pipped me to pole by less than a tenth. As the session gets underway I nail it from the off and try to shake Rob off for some isolated laps. The loud clunking from the rear end is a little unnerving for the first few corners before I realise that I've left my son's pushchair in the boot! Putting that to one side and knowing that my tyres will be at their best on lap 2 or 3, getting up to speed quickly is important. I can't lose Rob but nor does he come past me, despite appearing to be a little quicker. Ultimately he goes a tenth quicker to clinch another pole but second is good enough for me and guarantees a front row start in both races.

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Jun 28 2009
Cadwell Park - A win at last! (and a crash!)

A foggy morning in the Lincolnshire Wolds meant that qualifying was effectively abandoned, as we ran for three laps behind the safety car in order to fulfil the MSA's requirements. After much speculation, the grids were announced to be set by championship positions. Good news for me, as my solid results all year would put me in second position for race one and pole position in race two.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Jun 14 2009
Snetterton - Action, drama and a podium finish

Our one and only weekend double-header meeting of the year brings us to Norfolk. Snettertin is not a favourite circuit of mine but I've had some good results here.

Qualifying reminds me why I don't get on here when despite feeling comfortable with the car I only manage to secure 6th position on the grid.

Race one gets off to a better start when I get up to 5th off the line and then pass Tim Wilson for 4th. I then start putting Tony Smith under pressure for 3rd and get a good run on him on the exit of Coram and get alongside him on the run down to the Russell chicane. In my pursuit of third place, I don't notice the yellow flags waving at the chicane and wonder why Tony doesn't relinquish the place to me. He's wondering why I'm trying to overtake under yellow flags! Consequently, we pass through the chicane side by side which spits me out very wide onto the grass and stones on the outside.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
May 4 2009
Castle Combe - A day of minor disappointments and a nice surprise

Just the one race at the Wiltshire circuit this year but it's no less popular, with 49 cars heading out to qualilfy. I'm pleased to get a clear lap in early on, which I'm then unable to better, but I'm pleased to be able to keep Rob Smith behind me. Back in the paddock I discover that I held pole position until the very last lap when Rob pipped me to it by 16-hundredths of a second! I've very rarely secured pole positions in the past and I'm gutted to have missed out by such a small margin. However, I'm very pleased to have good pace and it promises a good result.

Despite a decent start I'm unable to do anything about Rob off the line and settle into second place. I can keep in touch with him but there's no opportunity to make a pass. Meantime, behind me, Tim Wilson is keeping me honest. A mistake at Quarry corner at half distance allows him to stick his nose up the inside into the Esses and demote me back to third. I do my best to contain my frustration and hang on as best I can. As our tyres start to go off towards the end of the race I get a sniff of a pass into Quarry but get the braking all wrong and give Tim a slight tap on his rear bumper. A less gentlemanly driver would have kept his foot in and forced his way past but that's not my style and I let Tim recover.

Finishing third is tainted with disappointment but it's a good result and I'm further rewarded by being presented with the "driver of the day" award. The good news is that I retain my second position in the championship standings but I've allowed Rob Smith to extend his lead.

Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Apr 19 2009
Silverstone - good progress towards 2nd place

We were supposed to be racing at Donington Park this weekend but that got cancelled when work started (and then stopped) on the F1 improvements. Instead, MSVR and the various series organisers managed to move the meeting to Silverstone over the course of the preceeding weekend!

I don't much like the Silverstone National circuit but I'm just happy to be racing at all. I've never gone well here. Today we have two races but just one qualifying session. So that will set the grid for race one, the results of which will set the grid for race two. And it's another popular meeting with 43 cars out to qualify which makes it extremely difficult to find a clear lap. Yet again, my best is only good enough for 7th on the grid which is a tough place to start from if I'm to score some decent points today.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Mar 15 2009
Brands Hatch - Two podiums to start the season

It's the start of my sixth season in the Production BMW Championship and it's more popular than ever. With 51 cars entered, qualifying is split across two sessions with each driver then racing in two of the three races. I struggle to find enough space for a clear lap in qualifying, eventually putting in my fastest time on the last lap of the session. It's a little disappointing to only post the 7th fastest time which will start me 2nd and then 7th in my two races. I won't explain the qualifying-grid system here!

Race one gets off to a very good start as I get off the line ahead of polesitter Tim Wilson until a mistake on cold tyres at Graham Hill bend allows Tim to come back past me. As Tim stretches out a lead, I'm comfortably holding position from Richard Thomas. However, my comfortable second position soon becomes anything but, as Tony Smith gets past Richard and then starts to close me down. There's nothing I can do to hold him off but once he's past I realise where I'm losing time and manage to hang on to Tony until the end of the race. A disappointing result to finish 2 places behind where I started but a podium finish is a good way to start the season.

Sitting 7th on the grid for race two, my chances of repeating a podium finish are looking slim. But another good start sees me up to 4th place on the opening lap and this time my new-found speed allows me to keep in touch with the leaders. This time I'm able to pull away from Tony Smith behind me which serves to annoy me further about my race-one performance. As the race enters the final few laps, the engine of third place man and long-term rival, Alan Wileman, expires dramatically right in front of me. This gifts me third place at the expense of a windscreen which gets cracked by a lump of disintegrating engine. That's a price I'm more than willing to pay for a second trip to the podium!

So after a shaky start, I head home with a couple of trophies and holding third place in the championship.

Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Sep 23 2006
Snetterton - Another win and Pre-93 title!

So we're at the last race of the season and with the championship already won. No pressure other than my unbroken run of finishing on the podium at every race so far this year. I really want another podium today!!!

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Aug 28 2006
Pembrey - 2 podiums secure the championship!

A second and third place at Pembrey last weekend was enough to build an unbeatable lead in the championship, with 2 rounds left to run. Mission accomplished :-)

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Liam EmailNews, Race ReportsPermalink
Aug 5 2006
Oulton Park - Pole position to race win! (but not without a fight)

I've been looking forward to this for weeks. I fell in love with Oulton Park on our visit there last year and have been wanting to go back ever since. On the days leading up to the race I find it harder and harder to recall the circuit and reading the circuit guide reinforces just how difficult some of the corners are. On arrival at the circuit (the evening before the race) I'm disappointed with the brake feel as I manoeuvre off the trailer and so quickly bleed the brakes before walking the circuit.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Jul 2 2006
Croix-en-Ternois - 2 second places but disappointing performance

For the third year in a row we're racing at Croix in France and this year it's going to be a hot one. With temperatures into the 30's, four layers of Nomex in a closed car with little ventilation is going to be uncomfortable... but at least I know what to expect. For some extra track time I've also entered the Pre-93 Touring Cars races. Both series will have one qualifying session and two races. The results of the first race setting the grid for the second. As such it's absolutely critical to qualify well and then equally important not to mess up in the first race.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink
Jun 10 2006
Lydden Hill - Great battle to take second place!

It's so good to be back at Lydden. This is where I raced for the first time, in the first round of the championship's first season back in April 2004. So it's fair to say that I know my way around the little 1 mile track. One problem of the small grid at Lydden is that our now bigger series won't fit... as a result we're split into two groups for practice. The fastest 2 cars will automatically qualify for the championship race and the remainder will battle it out in a qualifying race to make up the rest of the grid.

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Liam EmailRace ReportsPermalink

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