Snetterton TDC 2019 - Mini Cooper S R53 180BHP/TON

Onto our local circuit, Snetterton, for the 2nd round of the MSV Trackday Championship with the Norfolk Cars Mini Cooper S and we were hoping for a better result here. A test before the race where we tried some different setups still didn't get us any further forward with our mid corner understeer issues disappointingly, but we were hoping the circuit layout would suit the overweight Mini better. Managed to get a clear lap in quali even though the tyres were a bit too hot and put it 2nd on the grid which we were really pleased with. Andy started the race, got a good start, but tucked in behind the leader to see how it would all play out with the tyres. Safety car then came out straight away due to a stall at the start, which is pretty scary and we were really glad to be in front of that. Not a bad restart when the safety car came in and after a couple of laps realised we were never going to keep up with the leader so tried to settle down to manage the gap to 3rd. Pit stop time and a decent change over, which was still slightly too conservative compared to the Apple Car Centre's Clio, which came out on Neal's tail and unfortunately Neal crossed the blend line coming out of pit lane landing us a drive through penalty. A decent stint by Neal kept us in the running still though and although the penalty put us down to P4 we ended up 3rd in class so we still managed to get on the podium! Really pleased with that result - still hoping we can make the tyres work better for us going forward so we can keep up with the Clios again. Looking forward to Oulton in July, even though Andy has never driven there and Neal's last visit didn't end well! Onwards and upwards!