Double Points Joy for Team JH Racing
Wednesday 5th October, 2011 at 12:10
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Ben Holland and Lee Watson finished the Eastern Airways British Formula One Sidecar Championship with a flurry of good results at Mondello Park Race Circuit, Ireland. The three race programme had the added attraction of double points and double prize money for the sidecars, running alongside the prestigious Adelaide Masters Races.
The weekend started with a whole day of practice sessions on Friday, however in the first dry session after feeling their way around the 2.4 mile circuit for three laps the LCR Suzuki's chain snapped meaning Ben and Lee would have to sit out the remainder of the session. The following sessions were wet as the heavens opened setting the trend for the rest of the weekend. The team spent the rest of the day optimising the wet set up for the tricky bumpy circuit.
Saturday lunchtime saw the sidecars qualifying session get underway. In wet conditions Ben and Lee were quickly on the pace. After 15 minutes the chequered flag came out and the Team JH Racing outfit was confirmed on the front row once again, second position, a huge 1.7seconds ahead of the third fastest time.
The first race of the weekend was on Saturday evening and good initial get away saw Ben and Lee hit the front, however underbracing in the slippery wet conditions into the first corner another outfit clipped the number 60 machine before spinning and beaching itself in the gravel. Luckily Ben managed to keep the outfit under control and set about catching the leading team. After keeping station with the outfit ahead for a few laps the pair started to drop off the leaders pace slightly, with some 14 seconds lead over the third placed outfit the team were happy to cross the line to take second place, matching the qualifying time from earlier in the day.
The second race of the weekend took place Sunday morning and an average start meant Ben and Lee had to settle for third into the first corner. The visibility was terrible as there was still a huge amount of standing water and spray meaning Ben couldn't get close enough to the pair in front to mount a challenge. In a similar fashion to race one the team put out a pit board indicating a 10 second lead which the pair managed to maintain until the chequered flag, securing their fourth podium in four races.
After the success of the two previous races the team went into the final race full of confidence, lying 4th in the British Championship knowing that if results went their way they could end up finishing 3rd in the Championship. The start didn't go to plan, with Lee not providing enough grip for the Suzuki GSX-R engine to pull away the pair were swamped by the following teams. Coming out of the final corner on the first lap in 7th the red flags were out and the race was stopped for an incident further down the field. Luckily no-one was seriously hurt and the race was restarted from the previous grid slots. This meant Ben and Lee were on the second row but by now the circuit was rapidly drying. All the teams set off for the restart on wet weather tyres and some great racing was to follow. The Team JH Racing outfit launched off the line towards the first corner alongside the fourth placed team. The outfits slid around the first lap with several "rubs" and "touches" and Ben and Lee fell down to 5th. An amazing four way dice for fourth place began and lap after lap the running order changed. At one point there were three a breast across the relatively narrow start finish line, Ben had the inside line at the first corner but had to yield to the team on the outside. A fine race to finish an action packed season, unfortunately for the team Ben and Lee finished in 6th place, meaning that they fell to a final championship position of 5th.
Speaking after the weekend Ben said; "To come away from Ireland with 3rd overall for the meeting and two podium positions has been a great way to end the championship. On Friday we had the problem with the chain and I was unsure if I particularly liked the circuit, however its grown on me throughout the weekend and produced some frantic racing in that last race!"
Lee reflected on finishing in the top 5 of the British Championship for the first time saying, "It hasn't fully sank in yet, the double points final round has certainly played in our favour but its been great to make things truly interesting. To have finished the season with 4 podiums in the last 5 races is awesome, particularly in this the strongest domestic championship in the world. I have to say a big thank you to all the sponsors, the team and the organisers who have put on a fantastic championship for us this year."
The team hope to finish the season with a club meeting at Thruxton (15th Oct), Ben's local circuit and possibly the Festival of Sidecars at Mallory Park (29/30th October) funds allowing.
The weekend started with a whole day of practice sessions on Friday, however in the first dry session after feeling their way around the 2.4 mile circuit for three laps the LCR Suzuki's chain snapped meaning Ben and Lee would have to sit out the remainder of the session. The following sessions were wet as the heavens opened setting the trend for the rest of the weekend. The team spent the rest of the day optimising the wet set up for the tricky bumpy circuit.
Saturday lunchtime saw the sidecars qualifying session get underway. In wet conditions Ben and Lee were quickly on the pace. After 15 minutes the chequered flag came out and the Team JH Racing outfit was confirmed on the front row once again, second position, a huge 1.7seconds ahead of the third fastest time.
The first race of the weekend was on Saturday evening and good initial get away saw Ben and Lee hit the front, however underbracing in the slippery wet conditions into the first corner another outfit clipped the number 60 machine before spinning and beaching itself in the gravel. Luckily Ben managed to keep the outfit under control and set about catching the leading team. After keeping station with the outfit ahead for a few laps the pair started to drop off the leaders pace slightly, with some 14 seconds lead over the third placed outfit the team were happy to cross the line to take second place, matching the qualifying time from earlier in the day.
The second race of the weekend took place Sunday morning and an average start meant Ben and Lee had to settle for third into the first corner. The visibility was terrible as there was still a huge amount of standing water and spray meaning Ben couldn't get close enough to the pair in front to mount a challenge. In a similar fashion to race one the team put out a pit board indicating a 10 second lead which the pair managed to maintain until the chequered flag, securing their fourth podium in four races.
After the success of the two previous races the team went into the final race full of confidence, lying 4th in the British Championship knowing that if results went their way they could end up finishing 3rd in the Championship. The start didn't go to plan, with Lee not providing enough grip for the Suzuki GSX-R engine to pull away the pair were swamped by the following teams. Coming out of the final corner on the first lap in 7th the red flags were out and the race was stopped for an incident further down the field. Luckily no-one was seriously hurt and the race was restarted from the previous grid slots. This meant Ben and Lee were on the second row but by now the circuit was rapidly drying. All the teams set off for the restart on wet weather tyres and some great racing was to follow. The Team JH Racing outfit launched off the line towards the first corner alongside the fourth placed team. The outfits slid around the first lap with several "rubs" and "touches" and Ben and Lee fell down to 5th. An amazing four way dice for fourth place began and lap after lap the running order changed. At one point there were three a breast across the relatively narrow start finish line, Ben had the inside line at the first corner but had to yield to the team on the outside. A fine race to finish an action packed season, unfortunately for the team Ben and Lee finished in 6th place, meaning that they fell to a final championship position of 5th.
Speaking after the weekend Ben said; "To come away from Ireland with 3rd overall for the meeting and two podium positions has been a great way to end the championship. On Friday we had the problem with the chain and I was unsure if I particularly liked the circuit, however its grown on me throughout the weekend and produced some frantic racing in that last race!"
Lee reflected on finishing in the top 5 of the British Championship for the first time saying, "It hasn't fully sank in yet, the double points final round has certainly played in our favour but its been great to make things truly interesting. To have finished the season with 4 podiums in the last 5 races is awesome, particularly in this the strongest domestic championship in the world. I have to say a big thank you to all the sponsors, the team and the organisers who have put on a fantastic championship for us this year."
The team hope to finish the season with a club meeting at Thruxton (15th Oct), Ben's local circuit and possibly the Festival of Sidecars at Mallory Park (29/30th October) funds allowing.
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