This weekend’s racing at Brands Hatch went fantastically well for Rebecca and the team.
Progress is being made every time Rebecca gets out on track and this has been one of the most rewarding weekends so far this year.
Rebecca said: “The weekend at Brands Hatch was the best of the season, I’m settling into driving a GT car and the lap times are competitive. The whole idea of this season was to get to grips with this car and a gen1 997 [Porsche 911] with no driver aids is the best way to learn how to drive one!”
The race on Saturday went brilliantly for Rebecca as she enjoyed excellent battles with two other 911s, keeping her on her toes. The first managed to get past but Rebecca was able to fend off the other until a white flag signalling a slow car meant she had to drop her speed. The number 74 911 nipped past but was carrying too much speed into Surtees causing it to go straight on and Rebecca Racer calmly regained her position.
From there the pressure seemed to ease but then the number 88 Ginetta G55 was hot on the tail of the Turtle Porsche, Rebecca managing to hold it off until the chequered flag where she brought the car home in fifth in class.
Despite finishing in the same place as the last time she was at Brands Hatch – which was earlier this year – Rebecca’s lap times have improved immensely. Earlier in the season Rebecca achieved a 1:37:9 at the track, but during this weekend she managed to find more pace, bringing the times down to consistent 1 minute 35’s.
Rebecca is very pleased with her pace compared to her more experienced teammate, Mike Sellar, who has been driving the Porsche for the last two and a half seasons. He is very quick, having picked up a number of trophies in the GT Cup over this time. Rebecca managed to get within two tenths of his qualifying times but, for the first time this season, he couldn’t quite match the race pace of Rebecca Racer!
This is just the second time Rebecca has raced on the Brands Hatch GP layout of the frequently visited Kent based circuit, however, she feels her time spent developing her race craft with Strakka Racing has really helped her to improve. She said: “My work with Strakka in the simulator has really helped me to learn this track well.”
Rebecca went on to say, “I’ve also been strength and endurance training with Stew Wild of Strakka Racing, and he’s helped me to tame a very physically demanding car with its manual sequential gear box. I’m so much stronger than I was last year and it’s really noticeable in the way I’m driving.”
Despite not having a competitive car for its class (due to lack of driver aids such as ABS and traction control), the team is working really well together to consistently improve.
This couldn’t be achieved without a great team of people and all of Rebecca’s sponsors. Thank you to Turtle Wax, VBOX, F.O.Y., Ryan Motor Insurance, MAS Commercials, Ultimate Ears and Snoozebox.
