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Dryden delighted with double podium finish to the season!! 

Knockhill 21^st October Final 2 rounds of Scottish Smartycars.com Mini Cooper Cup 

The Podium after race 2, Mark Dryden(right) looks very pleased with the result, however its about to get better...pic R Pascal

Its not quite Formula 1 but the Scottish Mini Championship could have been won by 3 different drivers on Sunday. Paul Wilson, Kenneth Thirlwall both from Haddington and Ian Milton from Dundee. Vic Covey from Pencaitland and Mark Dryden from Dunbar also were fighting it out for 4^th place so there was a lot a stake on the next 2 races!! 

Race 1: 

Thirlwall was on pole with Wilson 2^nd, Dryden 4^th, Milton 5^th and Covey down in 7^th. It had started to rain while the cars were in the holding bay so most people went for a wet set up. The lights went out and the race got under way, Thirlwall made a terrible start and was 3^rd by the first Corner. Wilson led from Butcher but Thirlwall managed to nip past to make it a straight fight with Wilson. Meanwhile Dryden was challenging Butcher and made it through on lap 3 at Scotsman’s Corner to take 3^rd. Thirlwall and Wilson were battling it out while Dryden had his mirrors full of a fast approaching Vic Covey who loves the wet conditions. Thirlwall knew he had to win to keep his championship alive and with Milton being down in the 6^th, he knew he was no longer a threat. Kenneth made his move on Paul and Paul knew he had to finish so he let Kenneth have the position and the win. It was Kenneth second win of the season and his title hopes were very much still alive. Dryden drove a very wide car and held off intense pressure from Covey for the final podium position his best finish in a wet race.  

Race 2: 

The top 7 finishers from the previous race were reversed for the grid of race 2. This put Milton on the front row, Covey 4^th, Dryden 5^th, Wilson 6^th and Thirlwall 7^th. They all got away with no dramas but Thirlwall made another poor start and got involved in a 9 car tussle whereas Wilson hade made a great start and was 2^nd by the end of lap 1 with Milton leading. 3 laps in and the race had been stopped. Kenneth had had to take avoiding action of a car spinning in front of him at Clark’s Corner. This had put him a few other cars onto the grass with Kenneth’s car slamming into the barriers and ending up on its roof. Fortunately Kenneth was OK but his title chance had just evaporated.

The restart was from current race positions and Milton made a bad start with Wilson taking the lead. Dryden from 4^th on the grid made it up to 2^nd with Milton dropping to 3^rd and Covey 4^th. Wilson and Dryden both put in some very quick laps on the now dry track and broke away from the chasing pack. Covey got passed Milton but was too far back from Dryden to mount a challenge. Milton got turned around at the exit of the Hairpin but managed to keep going. Wilson took the chequered flag and the Championship. A further drama was to unfold though. Wilson’s car was excluded from Race 2 for a ‘technical infringement’. The win and the new Lap Record were handed to Mark Dryden. Covey was elevated to 2^nd with newcomer Alistair McGowan getting 3^rd his first podium. As Thirlwall had failed to finish and Milton was too far down the order to collect sufficient points Wilson still held onto the Championship. A real dramatic finish to what has been an incredibly competitive season. Thirlwall got 2^nd place in his rookie season which is a great achievement with Covey collecting 4^th and Dryden making one place better than last year in 5^th. 

Dryden comments: “It has been a learning curve of a season for me. There has been a lot of wet races which is something I have had to adjust to. I have proved I can be a race winner in the dry but I need to work on some wet testing over the winter to improve and also to gain some confidence in the wet. I will be returning to the Minis next year with my sights firmly set on the overall Championship. I feel running with Craig Noble Motorsport I have the right package to do very well next season. I would like to thank my sponsors who have supported me this season: William Waugh Metal Recyclers, John Clark Mini, Anderson Butchers and Dalkieth Transport.”

Rounds 4&5 Knockhill 

After a serious shunt in Ireland it was important to get some testing in to see if the car was back together and the geometry was all in order. Craig Noble my race engineer got the car right back on the button and a big thanks to SP Cars for all their help with the body work. The Celebrity Driver for this weekend was none other than David Leslie the ex BTCC Driver, Le Mans Driver, Sportscar Driver…. The list is too long! A huge thank you from all the drivers. It really has helped raise the whole profile of the series. 

Qualifying: 

I dropped back from the pack to get some room and put in a couple of quick laps but due to timing error my team could not tell me where I had qualified from the wall. I had in the end qualified 2^nd behind Pole sitter Ian Milton. Did I mention, I out qualified David Leslie! (He does get his own back) 

Race 1: 

Milton started well, but I managed to hook up another cracking start. I was a half a car ahead but I was on the outside of him going into the first corner. Fortunately there is enough room for 2 cars through there and I managed to slip through to take the lead by the bottom of Seat Curves. Milton was right on my heels and I could see Paul Wilson not far behind him. I knew this was going to be a long & hard 10 laps! Milton seemed to gain on me through the straights but I managed to keep ahead through the corners and Wilson was now in on the action as well. This was great, as Milton had to turn his attention to him rather than me for a couple of laps. I was able to get a small gap but I made a mistake through Carlube Corner and the pair of them were back on my heels again. The last 2 laps were faultless and I drove a wide but fair car. I came up to the hairpin which is the final corner and was ready to take the chequered flag until….. I missed a gear!! I crossed the line just .001 seconds ahead of Milton! I don’t think many people will win a race by a smaller margin. I certainly won’t do it again as I think it would kill my race engineer and if it doesn’t, he will kill me!! Nevertheless it was a victory and my first of the season. I badly needed points from this weekend and that was a great way to start. Milton was 2^nd, Wilson 3^rd, Thirlwall 4^th, Grosset 5^th and Covey 6^th  

Race 2. 

I had drawn 6^th on the reverse grid and this put Vic Covey on Pole. I started alongside Milton but I couldn’t emulate the same start and I had in race 1 so I had to just slot in behind him. Wilson made a great start and I think he made it from 4^th to 1^st by the 2^nd corner! Milton had a big dive down the inside of Grosset at Scotmans and it was enough to send him out wide with Milton getting past but badly affecting his exit speed. I got through as well and was carrying good speed but Milton hadn’t seen me up his inside and moved across. I had to take to the grass to avoid contact. That was enough to give him 2 car lengths and for me to have few laps on my own. The rain then started to fall and we had opted for a dry set up. My car was all over the place and I could see the Celebrity Driver David Leslie really pushing hard and I knew it would just be a matter of time before he was on me. It was fantastic racing with David and I defended well but he showed his class in the slippy conditions and got past me with 2 laps to go. I finished 6^th which I was quite happy with as I knew we had got the set up wrong for the race.1^st was Wilson, Milton 2^nd, Thirlwall 3^rd, Leslie 4^th, Covey 5^th. 

This takes me up to 5th in the Championship. 

Round 3 Kirkistown 

Round 3 of the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup took a trip over the Irish Sea to Kirkistown. Nicknamed “Ireland’s Fastest Circuit” Kirkistown is an old airfield. It is very flat and has 2 very long and fast straights and some very challenging corners. This round was to be 30 lap endurance race, which was uncharted territory for the Scottish Minis. 

Qualifying: 

We had tested well on the Saturday and I felt that we had a good chance of qualifying on the front 2 rows. I led for most of the session but slipped to 3^rd by the end. I was still happy being on the correct side of the circuit and on 3^rd. 30 laps is a long time for something to happen.

Race: 

I lined up 3^rd on the grid and when the red lights went out I dropped the clutch and I knew I had got a good start. Wilson who was 2^nd had also got a good start and we both passed Milton by the first bend. I then tucked in behind Wilson and hoped that we could make a break on the rest of the pack. We got away and ran nose to tail for 10 laps until I made a mistake with my braking for the hairpin and I ran wide. This then dropped me back into the clutches of Milton. We ran very close for a few laps and but my brakes were really struggling to stop me at the hairpin which you approach at over 115mph. Milton got into my slipstream and pulled out at the first corner to take 2^nd away. Mitchell was close behind in 4^th and he got by me as I couldn’t defend because I couldn’t trust my brake pedal. Mitchell then suffered the same fate as he got up to 2^nd from Milton and ran wide at the hairpin. With 2 laps to go Mitchell again got by me at the first corner and then he lined up Milton with the same move I thought I could then get close to Milton again but as I braked my pedal was rock hard and slid very quickly into the back of Milton. My bonnet was very badly bent but more importantly I wasn’t out the race and neither was Milton. I would have been gutted to go for 30 laps and retire on lap 29. I brought the car home in 4^th. Wilson won with Mitchell 2^nd, Milton 3^rd. Covey Jnr who was leading the Championship finished 5^th and Kenneth Thirlwall 6^th. 

This takes me up to 7^th in the Championship 

Next race:         Knockhill 27^th May

Knockhill Rounds 1 & 2

The 2007 Smartycars.com Mini Cooper Cup got underway at Knockhill last Sunday and I was very excited about the new season. We had some good testing 2 weeks ago and everything was going really well but in testing on the day before the race the gearbox let go after 1 lap and we forwent the rest of the test day. We would need to qualify on a 2^nd hand gearbox. 

Qualifying:

We only had 6 laps to qualify with, so every lap was vital. I put in 3 really nice tidy laps and then I got the news from the pit wall that I had secured my first ever pole position. It was quicker than my own lap record at a time of 1:03:612, 2 tenths quicker than anyone else.

 Race 1:

I was alongside Paul Wilson on the front row of the grid and as the red light went out I pulled away from him, I then had what can only be described as a “brain out moment” at the first corner. Cold rear tyres and too quick into Duffes Dip and I ended up sideways the whole way down the hill. I thought I had caught it but it flicked me round to the inside gravel trap where my car beached. I felt so disappointed as I had to watch the rest of the race from the infield. Vic Covey Jnr went onto win with Milton 2^nd and Wilson 3^rd.  

 Race 2:

Due to my none finish in race 1 I had to start at the back which meant 12^th place and with only a 10 lap race I knew I had to take every chance that I could to move up the field. I couldn’t see the lights from my start position so I had to wait till the car in front moved. I got 11^th place at the top of Duffes and snatched 10^th up the inside of Scotman’s. I then made up another couple of places at the hairpin. I was passing well and my lap times were good but I was just running out of laps! I went 3 a breast up the start finish straight with Gronkowski and Milton and missed the last lap sign. I had a good chance to take Ian Milton at Clarks and with it 4^th place but he positioned his car well and I had to wait till the Hairpin, I went round the outside as he had defended the inside, he then moved wide and put me onto the gravel which slowed us both down. We both lost a place and I finished up 6^th. Wilson won with Covey 2^nd and Thirlwall 3^rd. The positives from the weekend are that we have great pace round Knockhill and I will just need to build on that pace for good results from here on in.

Next Race:                               28^th April Kirkistown (Northern Ireland)

Race 1 - when it all went wrong!