COMEBACK queen Christie Doran piled up the points in her VAG Trophy B Class campaign, but admitted: We did it the hard way.
The racer, from Falkirk in Scotland, was determined to get her season on track after a difficult start at Rockingham.
She did an afternoon with Base Performance in Banbury, working on the Brands Hatch GP layout because the test day was on the Indy circuit.
She said: “It was a really worthwhile experience. The guys at Base are so professional and worked me through each corner and each sector. I felt that I made major gains in time and confidence,
“It was frustrating to be testing on the Indy circuit but we used that data for the next VAG Trophy in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Doran posted an excellent early qualification time on the GP circuit – good enough for P3 but then had “a moment” when she locked up the front wheels at the top of Paddock Hill Bend, corrected it but then the car whipped round and she was in the gravel.
She said: “It was a shock. I felt the lock up and thought I had sorted it. I floored the throttle going down the hill and genuinely thought I had I had saved it but it whipped round and I clattered into the gravel. That shook me up a bit but Slidesports did an amazing job to patch the car up for the first race so I was determined to pay them back.
“The conditions were ropey – very slippery and greasy – but I kept it out there and took third place in class. That was for the team.”
Race two was more straight forward and the drying conditions saw the Scot rebuild her confidence. She said: “I felt more comfortable but it was still tough so I had to be happy with fourth place in class. I had to dig deep this weekend and I am proud of the results but I must have run over a black cat or something – I just need my luck to change.” By Alister Jonhstone
