Rounds 7 & 8 of the BTCC were always going to be interesting, with changeable weather forecast for the bank holiday event. For Peter, again driving the number 89 Honda Accord, this was an opportunity to shine if the weather would catch out the faster cars.
After suffering a broken exhaust and wayward handling throughout qualifying, Peter lined up 13th for the Sprint Race and 9th for the Feature, despite a lurid slide at Copse corner. "The car was really down on power since the exhaust manifold was cracked," commented Peter. "Our speed trap times were slowest of all so I had to make it all up on the corners!"
As the start time approached for the Sprint Race , so did the clouds and it began to rain shortly before the drivers had to commit to their tyre choice. Like his team mate Jim Edwards, Peter went for wets as the rain intensified but as he drove around the out lap to the grid he changed his mind! "I could see the weather was brighter to the southwest. Therefore I decided to dive into the pit lane to change tyres and the team did a great job switching the car over to slicks before the green flag lap. This meant I would start from the back of the grid but if the track dried sufficiently, I would have a unique tyre advantage". During the first few laps, the car was sideways everywhere and Peter did a great job to stay on the track behind the squabbling pack.
"There was very little grip from my slicks - I was aquaplaning everywhere and I had Stuart (team manager) on the radio telling me to take it easy! It was a case of tip-toeing around at my own pace and hoping that a dry line appeared". Peter was in good company - Muller, Thompson and Reid had also opted for slicks. After only a few laps the rain stopped, but the track did not dry as quickly as expected and ultimately there were simply not enough laps to catch up to the pack, although Peter did pass a couple of tail enders in the last few corners. "It was a close thing" he smiled afterwards. "Another ten minutes or a few laps behind the safety car and we would have won that race. On the slicks, we were lapping around 5 seconds faster than everyone else at the end! At least we came away with fastest lap."
The Feature Race was always going to be dry, and with a small power steering fluid leak fixed, Peter was raring to go. On the green flag lap he had a minor problem with second gear and dropped back, but was able to make a run up to the line and pass several cars into Copse and on the run to Becketts. There was the usual chaos ahead on those first few laps but Peter was able to keep out of trouble and move up to third place after several cars became involved in a tangle at Luffield. "I was looking to establish a gap in that position but unfortunately my team mate had a blank moment and hit me at Copse, which pushed me wide and bent the steering. After that, I had great difficulty getting second gear, having to use third instead or risk a mis-shift".
This meant he fell back into the clutches of the Alfa of Blencowe and the Civic of Allan, both of whom passed Peter out of what should have been second gear corners. Welshman Mark Thomas was the next to catch him but in his eagerness to try and pass, Thomas smashed into the back of Peter's Accord as the cars braked for Abbey hairpin. "Unfortunately the impact broke the exhaust again, where the manifold meets the tail pipe and the car after that was robbed of power. I hoped he would have holed his radiator but he managed to carry on." After around ten laps of resolute defending from Peter, Thomas was able to pass, again out of a second gear corner as Peter struggled with his gear box.
However, it began to rain shortly afterwards, and Thomas was clearly not at ease in the slippery conditions. Peter was able to reel him in and after a few laps, went to pass him out of Bridge and into the left hand Priory corner. With the cars side by side, Thomas decided he was not about to give up the place and turned into Peter's car, causing both to spin. Fortunately Peter was able to continue without losing a place and drove on to take a fine finish, fifth in the points, whilst Thomas slid off into the gravel trap. Meanwhile team mate Jim was scrapping with front-runner Spencer Marsh, but unfortunately then suffered a major gearbox leak and had to retire.
"The result was really salvaged from a weekend of difficulties, in which the team have excelled. We have had so many problems here, with Jim suffering an engine failure and my car needing a new exhaust manifold, it's a real credit to Stuart and the guys that the cars were turned out on time and ready to go."
Now we are looking ahead to the Donington test and the next race at Mondello in Ireland (22/23 June), where a new damper system will be fitted to Peter's car, putting its suspension system on a par with Jim's machine. With this equipment, Peter will be doing his best to give the team, the fans and the sponsors the result we are all waiting for!
