“Rounds 8 and 9 were held on the full Silverstone GP circuit, so we were expecting a couple of very close races.

“Testing went well on the Friday; we tried the RP-X’s sister pad – RP-1 – for the first time for these sessions. The braking power was almost on par with RP-X, and the wear rate was even better, but you had to work the pedal harder – something which a lot of drivers like as it can give you more control. Throughout the day, we focused on doing our own laps away from the tow and the pack, to see where we sat with pace.

“For qualifying, I opted to run at the back of the pack, away from any other cars. After Brands Hatch and Snetterton qualifying, which were both very messy as people chased the tow, I knew we could do just as good a time if we nailed every corner on our own.

“We held provisional pole up until two laps from the end, when we were pipped by 0.08s. We were pretty happy considering we did that on our own, and everyone else was running with tows!

“I changed back to RP-X pads for the races. Knowing I could do the same times as the others but on my own, my plan was to try and get the lead and break away early. The plan worked exactly as I wanted; taking the lead on the brakes into Stowe, and pulling a 1.5-second gap over the rest of the lap.

“Unfortunately, the wind had changed direction since Friday, and we had a huge headwind into Stowe. This meant that the following pack managed to close the gap and take the lead just in the one straight. So, we accepted that pulling a gap was highly unlikely and that we would just have to make sure we were in the right place on the final lap.

“After 30 minutes of racing and late-braking moves, we found ourselves in P3 with half a lap remaining. Taking P2 at the F1 pits, the driver behind tried to hold around the outside which meant we both dropped a couple more car lengths from the leader than we would have liked. With a distant tow into Brooklands for the last time, I braked as late as I dared to close the gap, and we pulled right onto the back of the leader with one corner to go.

“With the extra corner speed we had, the leader went to take his normal line and left a small gap on the inside. Knowing we needed a win to keep the championship open, I dived to the inside. As I got alongside, he turned in and squeezed me onto the kerb. We made contact, dropping us both off the podium.

“After the race I was dropped back behind him, which meant the championship was all but over, but left us starting P5 on the reverse-grid second race.”

“With the wind dying down a little for Race 2, this allowed an opportunity for an early breakaway. After taking P2 into the first corner, I held back to make sure I took the lead into Stowe. The plan worked and we led the round until the first corner of the second lap. Here, I was happy to drop back to P2 to allow me to once again take the lead into Stowe. It worked again, but this time I had a slightly bigger gap. For the rest of the lap, I managed to build on it further while the others battled for second. This allowed me to open up a 1.6-second lead by the end of lap two, and 2.9 seconds by lap three.

“From here I had broken the tow and so had to settle down into a rhythm to not allow the others to catch. We lapped every lap within a second off my fastest, which meant the following pack couldn’t get near. The car and brakes were spot on for 25 minutes of flat-out racing, with no hint of fade or drop in performance.

“By the end of the race, we had built up a 13.5 second gap to take our first win in Caterhams.

“Thanks as always to 91´«Ã½ for their last-minute help on the Thursday night to get us some brakes for the weekend, and their continued support to make sure we have the best brakes on the grid!

“We now only have two races left in the Championship to try and fight for an overall second position.�

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“We arrived to round 3 at Snetterton 300 with a new car thanks to Fulvia Classics. The good news was that I would now be fighting in equally-paced machinery, but the bad news was I had a new car to get used to before qualifying!

“Free practice 1 was a bit of a mess, as we were still trying to find my comfortable seating position.

“Free practice 2 went better, and we were setting competitive lap times.
Then, we started with the new brake pad testing. The new car has different front brakes, and therefore new compounds to try from the ever-growing 91´«Ã½ Racing range!

“We began by bedding in the Bluestuff NDX pads and trying those (same compound as we ran in the old car). The car instantly felt familiar, with the nice progressive feel I was so accustomed to from the previous car. The times were the same as we had set in FP2, but the track had got slower for everyone else, so we were looking very good.

“For the final session, we bedded and ran the 91´«Ã½ Racing RP-X pad (keeping Bluestuff on the rear). RP-X was the same compound we had used successfully during the Honda Civic campaign in 2021. I was a little apprehensive about using such an aggressive pad on such a light car, but I was quickly proved wrong. They bedded in very quickly, and although they were easier to lock up than with the Bluestuff pads, when you got them up to temperature, they were absolutely fantastic! You could literally stop on a sixpence, albeit with a bit more modulation on the pedal!

“Entering qualifying, we stuck with the RP-X pads. The brakes warmed up straight away, and on our first lap we instantly went to the top of the table. Even with some silly ‘F1-esque’ queuing at the last corner ruining a couple of good laps, we managed to get a final quick lap in to secure pole position.

“For race 1, we started with our first pole position of the season, and although we knew we wouldn’t be able to pull away (as is always the case with Caterham racing), we were confident we could at least try and break up the group a bit.

“As it happens, we managed to get away with just two other cars, so we were left to sort out the podium places. With places swapping every other corner, and a different leader over the line each lap, it was all going to boil down to last lap tactics. We were so strong on the brakes, it felt as though we could overtake at will! I took the lead onto the final lap and knowing it was going to be a drag to the line, tried my hardest to stop their momentum out the last corner. Unfortunately, we were just pipped to the line by 0.049s, with third place only 0.019s behind us!

“It meant we started race 2 from P2, but again, I knew we just had to work as a group to try and get away from the chasing pack.

“With some late braking moves, the same three of us eventually created a gap with about five minutes to go, so once again, I started planning my final laps. At one point, I came out of the final corner second and rehearsed a drag to the line, just pipping the leader.

“Knowing where I wanted to be exiting the final corner, I sat comfortably in second, a couple of car lengths back as we came round to start the final lap. Although it wasn’t… I had miscounted, and a ‘last lap’ board hadn’t been shown as it had been in race 1, so I was too far back on run to the line. Second again…

“As it happened, third place also thought we were on the penultimate lap, so he wasn’t putting me under pressure for second either!”

“The third race of the weekend was a reverse top 10 from race 2, so I lined up 9th. This was my final chance to try and take our first win of the season, but I would have to do it from further back!

“Starting so far back, we really relied on the RP-X pads, and they worked perfectly from the opening lap. We could brake later than anybody else, without a worry of running wide! By the end of the first lap, we were 5th, and by lap 3 we were in the lead!

“Once again, the same two cars latched onto the back of us and we started working together to pull a gap.

“I took the lead onto the final lap, but onto the back straight, tried to let second place through. He knew exactly what I was doing and wouldn’t take the bait!

“By this point, we had slowed so much that 4th place was now in our group. Concerned that any more games could leave me off the podium, I pushed hard into the final sector to try and get a gap. Exiting the last corner, I had more of a gap than race 1, but it still wasn’t enough. We lost the win by 0.036s.

“I was absolutely gutted to lose out in all three races by virtually nothing, but it showed that with the new car and the EBC RP-X pads, we are definitely a contender for the final two rounds of the championship.

“A big thanks to Fulvia Classics for helping us get hold of the new car, and EBC for their hard work in providing us the very best brakes we could ask for!�

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