After finally shaking down my 2020 McLaren 720S GT3 at Snetterton, the world came to a halt as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. All my racing and university plans were put on hold, and all sporting plans were cancelled. What do you do as a driver when you can’t race?
This being an unprecedented time in motorsport, many drivers, myself included, turned to the world of simulated (sim) racing to fill the hole in our lives. Several motorsport series, whose racing seasons were postponed, created virtual replications of their series to keep fans engaged and involved, whilst the smell of petrol and burning rubber was left to memory.
The organising body of mine, British GT, created their own eSports series under the banner of SRO eSports, which was a great idea! It was organised well, and there were engaging races for both fans and drivers. The series was split into three classes, each had their separate races; Pro (for real world professionals), Silver (For eSports races) and Am (for anyone who wanted to try). Unfortunately, when this series started, I was still at University with my head stuck in books for my first end of year exams (and I’m pleased to say that I passed them all). My team, 2Seas Motorsport, entered the Pro series with two drivers. Ben Barnicoat, our McLaren factory driver, set about putting in a title challenge in the first few rounds at Silverstone and Spa.
Returning home from Oxford Brookes, I set myself up with my own racing simulator, so I could jump in on the whole eSports concept and keep myself sharp whilst real seat time wasn’t possible. Around two weeks later my sim setup was ready, and I was excited to jump online and race against factory drivers and even some of the top talents from single seater racing.
I was only able to enter for the series finale at Kyalami and I was keen to show my ability. I was confident in my pace entering qualifying, and it went better than I expected. I was one of two wildcards in this round and despite my inexperience, I was able to put in a time good enough for 4th on the grid. This was behind Formula 2 and Haas reserve driver Louis Deletraz, Bentley factory driver Jordan Pepper, and factory kart racer Luigi Di Lorenzo. All three of them having raced in their cars all season long. I out-qualified three more Bentley Factory drivers, three Ferrari racers and several more paid professional racers, and was the top McLaren by over 3 tenths of a second. How cool is that!?
I made a great start in the race moving up past Pepper’s Bentley on the first lap and made a bold move around the outside of championship leader Deletraz into turn 1 of lap 2 of the race. It was tight but I made the move stick and was up to P2 with some excellent race pace. Unfortunately though, all my hard work would be undone as I was hit from behind and spun. I was able to get going again but at that point I was at the back of the field. I started my recovery but when I was hit again a few laps later it totalled the car and ended my race. I made no mistakes and it was great to show my fans what I can do against the best in the world!
Though it’s been great fun sim racing and finding a way to hone my skills while at home, I’m excited to get back to real world driving as lockdown measures continue to be eased across the country. There’s no doubt in my mind it’ll be worth the wait when I get back out in the 2Seas McLaren again when testing resumes, and the smell of petrol and burning rubber will no longer be just a memory!
