Rounds 7, 8, 9 Knockhill 13th/14th June

Alex came away from his weekend at Knockhill somewhat frustrated at not achieving his first win of the season after starting from pole position and from 3rd on the grid in two of the three races. He can however, be greatly encouraged by the fact that he was one of the quickest drivers all weekend and will be even more determined to get a result at the next race at Snetterton.

Saturday started really well with Alex showing the kind of form that has made him a potential race winner. Along with eventual pole sitter Ben Barker he set the pace in qualifying finishing 3rd quickest overall, just 0.03 secs behind Barker. His times were also good enough to secure pole position for the second race on Sunday.

However at the end of the qualifying session Alex had quite a large accident on his flying lap when his throttle stuck open. Fortunately he was not injured thanks to the safety barriers. The problem was later traced to a stone jamming the throttle, picked up on track following an earlier excursion into the gravel by another driver. In the interval before the first race Alex's team made a fantastic effort to get the car raceworthy again and Alex made it onto the grid with his Spectrum fully rebuilt. Nevertheless this "off" would eventually come back to bite Alex in the first race, but given his speed and grid position expectations were naturally very high.

Alex made a great start to the first race and passed McKenna to move into 2nd place with a daring move on the outside just before Turn 3. An exciting duel continued for a couple of laps with slight contact between the two cars working in Alex's favour and he started to build up a gap behind him. With leader Ben Barker comfortably ahead Alex looked like he would realistically achieve 2nd place. but then on lap 9 his gearbox main shaft sheared and his race was over. It seems most likely that the problem was a result of the earlier incident in qualifying.So after the highs of qualifying 3rd and on pole, Saturday ended in frustration for Alex.

Sunday was to be another mixed bag of fortune. On pole for the first race and with the knowledge that he had the speed there was a good chance of a race win. However Alex was possibly a little too eager to get away quickly and made a jump start. Although he then led the first lap he was forced to come into the pits on lap 4 and dropped to the back of the field. Emerging in 19th place he then drove a brilliant race, demonstrating great skill and determination to cut his way right through the pack and get up to 9th place. With a couple of laps to go he made his move for 8th place but was hit by the driver he was passing which took them both into the gravel and out of the race ...........!
 

To compound matters grid positions for the final race of the day were determined by lap times from the second race and as Alex had to battle his way through traffic he was unable to put in a fast lap time and so qualified 9th on the grid. With a need to get a finish and score some points Alex drove a strategic and slightly more cautious race running in 7th and 8th place for most of the race before settling for an 8th place finish.

After a very tough weekend which had looked so promising after qualifying Alex was still upbeat and wanted to record his thanks to the Kevin Mills Team who worked so hard to repair the car and get him out in the races. "The team were brilliant - everyone pitched in and worked relentlessly to get me back out there. Thanks guys!"

He certainly didn't get the luck he deserved after his performance in qualifying and in the first two races and so he will be even more determined to get a result at the next race at Snetterton on July 4-5th.

Full results here

Alex has won valuable backing from Elite Cymru, a programme run by the Sports Council for Wales, aimed at providing elite and potentially elite sports competitors with a wide range of support to assist them to fully achieve their potential. It is an achievement in itself to be included as a member of the scheme and Alex is naturally thrilled to be included. He is also one of the first motor sport competitors to be taken on. Membership will be reviewed annually against clearly defined performance plans and targets.

Rounds 7, 8 & 9: Rockingham: May 30th-31st

A lovely sunny start to the race weekend at Rockingham. Friday's test had not gone to plan for Alex and he went into Saturday knowing he would have to dig deep to qualify well. "I just have to get on it and nail it as best I can," commented Alex before the session. And that's what he did, qualifying on the 4th row of the grid for both Race 1 and 2 in 8th & 7th position respectively, with just 4/10ths of a second separating him from pole.

Saturday 3.30 pm Race 1:
After the unfortunate round at Oulton, Alex knew he had some points to catch up so the aim for this race was to get a good start and finish as high up as possible. He got away well gaining 7th place by the end of the first lap. Already creating a gap behind him he looked like making further progress, but deployment of the safety car for a short period put paid to that allowing the field to close back up. Alex then enjoyed trading places in an intense battle between him, Daniel Erickson (team mate), De Wit, Chrissy Palmer, and Liroy Stuart for 5th place, Alex ultimately finishing where he had started in 8th place.

Sunday 12.55 pm Race 2:
7th on the grid, Alex did not make the best start and lost a few places before the first corner. Recovering well he retook the places "scything through the pack" was the comment. An aggressive move on the first hairpin backfired, however, as he locked up and went off track losing several places, but recovered places over the remaining laps to finish in 11th position. Disappointing result for Alex but an exciting race.

Sunday 16: 4.47 pm Race 3:
A good start from Grid position 7 saw Alex up to 5th before the first corner. On pace and with a podium in his sight he was called up for a dubious drive through penalty, but fought back valiantly to cross the line a respectable 12th.