This blog's been neglected a fair bit, for which I am quite rightly ashamed. Last update was our 2nd race at Brands! A fair bit has happened since then...
To sum: we've had a few races at some awesome circuits, painted the car, had some good battles, nearly crashed, nearly crashed again, actually crashed, fixed the car, learnt loads, had our first sponsor (gocompare.com), finished joint 10th in the championship and had a few mini family holidays all over the country. It's been great!
.So what have we learnt? Loads, generally. A good indicator i guess, is how the race weekends for us as a family turned into a routine, rather than a stressful ordeal. We'd come back from a weekend, pack all the kit away, the next couple of weekends I'd get small car jobs done, we'd find the next hotel / campsite, find stuff nearby (beaches, softplays, parks, shopping centres...) to visit, get the stuff ready, and go again. Even the new circuits we weren't familiar with weren't a concern. It all became routine. The winter, to be honest, was a welcome break. Sounds ridiculous, but sometimes with only a 3 week turnaround it started to wear on us. But I think by about Christmas we were ready to go again!
A quick line on going as a family with young kids. Honestly it's be torture before now, and not recommended. Especially having to leave them with my partner, or try to help keep them in check between race sessions. I cannot overstate how much you need time to yourself to get your head straight and compose yourself, it makes a huge difference to your laptimes. Chasing after them, telling them off, getting them food and drink just before getting in the car is a disaster for your head. But our kids are just at the age where it's become so much more manageable. And my partner is an amazing support. Our youngest was 3 during the year, and him plus the two older brothers are at an age where they can keep each other occupied. Plus, they are amazing in the car on our 'roadtrips'. And most importantly, they love the variety and the mini trips away!
Taking all the pictures and video footage we took, here's a montage of our 2018 racing year. Please enjoy!
And next up...? Another season in 2019 with PBMW for us, as many races as we can, and a quicker lighter car (and hopefully driver!). We can't wait.