Race Report: 3rd August at Castle Combe Circuit

Event: 2024 CCRC Hot Hatch Championship Rd 7 & 8

Location: Castle Combe Circuit

Date: August 3rd 2024

Class: G

Car: Citroen Saxo 1.6

Photo Gallery: Take a look at our media teams’ photographs from the day here

Qualifying

TIMESTAMP 09:40:06.018: Green Flag

TIMESTAMP 09:55:10.408: Session Finish

Race 1 Summary

Mel Higgins

Starting Position: P25

Highlights:

TIMESTAMP 12:40:42.015: Green Flag

TIMESTAMP 12:54:19.518: Session Finish

RACE LAP 6: A small wobble in Bobbies, results in a time loss, despite Higgins regaining control quickly. 

RACE LAP 11: A faster class F car comes up on Higgins’ left side, Higgins temporarily loses control and the car spins at Quarry Corner, before regaining control. The car requires new tyres due to cuts in the tread but is otherwise fine.

RACE LAP 11: Red flag! Honda goes off at Tower Corner and requires recovery.

RACE LAP 11: Mechanical issue begins on stopping due to red flag- coolant temperature and pressure rises, coolant escapes out of expansion tank.

RACE LAP 11: Session ends under red flag with minutes to go. Full lap not completed and Higgins’ Lap 11 is not counted. RACE LAP 10 is counted as final lap – pre-spin.

Race 1 Results

Mel Higgins

Laps Completed: 10

Final Position: P18

Time: 14:32.240

Gap: 1 Lap

Best Lap Time: 1:24.112

Race 2 Summary

Lee Kenealy

Starting Position: P23

Highlights:

RACE LAP 1: Kenealy makes great progress at the start line, and pushes the car hard.

RACE LAP 2: Kenealy’s vehicle overheats and the driver pulls off at Esses to allow car to cool and assess the problem

RACE LAP 2: Kenealy returns to pitlane with mechanical issue – suspected water pump.

RACE LAP 2: Kenealy retires the vehicle.

Race 2 Results

Lee Kenealy

Laps Completed: 1

Final Position: DNF

Time: N/A

Gap: N/A

Best Lap Time: 1.39.152 

Incidents and Penalties

Race 1

Incidents

RACE LAP 11: Mel Higgins spins at Quarry Corner. Minor tyre damage sustained. Car in working order.

RACE LAP 11: Mechanical Issue – Coolant temperature spiked on return to paddock.

Penalties

None

Race 2

Incidents

RACE LAP 2: Kenealy pulls off at Esses after car overheats – allows car to cool before nursing it back to the pitlane.

Penalties

None

Analysis and Team Comments

Team Analysis

An unfortunate end to the otherwise overall positive race day, with a minor mechanical issue resulting in Lee Kenealy’s race ending after only one full lap. Lee had an excellent couple of laps in qualifying, and showed great promise for spectacular overtakes, lap times, and overall for future races.

Mel Higgins’ improvement from P25 to P18 within 10 laps shows excellent promise for future results, particularly as our drivers spend more time in the new-to-us car on track.

The car, apart from a water pump issue, is otherwise in excellent condition post-race. Minor repairs will be made prior to the team’s next race, and the outlook for future rounds is overall positive based on data gathered during Qualifying and Race 1. 

Mel Higgins

I had heaps of fun – especially during the Grid Walk for the Hot Hatch at lunch – a personal childhood dream. The car was wicked until the coolant pressure raised while bringing it in following the red flag, . Thankfully my spin half a lap previous wasn’t counted due to the race ending early.I’m really impressed with the timings, and achieved my PB at Castle Combe, considering how little seat time I had prior to the race – I’m really happy with it. I learned a lot too, lots of lessons, lots of great battles, especially with Deeprose in the Black Renault Clio, and good friend Ben Pemberton in the Supercharged BMW Mini Cooper, getting past both of them in a good clean over take. I was held up at one point by Pemberton & Gray’s battle for 3rd in Class, which was hard to navigate, but great to watch!  The car failing on Lee in the second race was a real shame but it will be a simple fix, and will be back on track really soon.

Lee Kenealy

Feeling a bit frustrated with the way the day went , honestly, although I did get a PB in qualifying at 1:25:101, which is a great place to build from. An issue with the water pump had the car overheating by the 2nd lap, so I ended up only completing one lap – and had to retire the car for its own good. I pulled off at Esses and let it cool back down to 90deg before I nursed it back to the pits. It’s a real shame and I’m gutted it ended so soon after a really promising qualifying session. Luckily the car is otherwise fine, just a simple problem to fix. We’ll be back on track soon, and I’m already feeling more positive about the next round.

With Thanks To

A massive thank you to Castle Combe Racing Club, Event Marshalls, and the other teams present, for a fantastic day of racing; as well as to our own team members including:

• Mel Higgins [Driver]
• Lee Kenealy [Driver]
• Laura Evans [Social Media Manager]
• Leah Halsey [Presenter and Social Media Content Creator]
• Katrina Muhsin [Presenter and Social Media Content Creator]
• Sasha Wynn [Web Content Manager and Writer]
• Abraham Fernández [Photographer and Videographer]
• Harriet Bluett – HD Media [Photographer and Videographer]

Also with many thanks to::

• Ninety2 Automotive
• Stormvault UK

And our supporters:

• Paddock Passion
• Emma Smith – Empowered Creative UK
• And of course, our friends and family who were able to join us in-person and online worldwide.

Report compiled with comments from both drivers, the team, collated and written by Sasha Wynn.