http://www.completekitcar.co.ukKIT CAR MOTORSPORT
September 2019 77A couple of days after returning from Germany, we were racing
at Castle Combe. I had only been there once before, but had done
well, so was expecting good things. Unfortunately, there was no test
day, so we were all going in blind. Qualifying went well, but I was
getting blocked by cars from another class. We are quicker than
them in the corners, but they have more power on the straights so
could pull away. is can get very frustrating, but can also be good
fun trying to get past them. I quali ed fourth in class for both
races. In race one I made a cautious start after what had happened
at Brands Hatch, got squeezed onto the grass and ended up in last
place in class. During the seven laps at the Nürburgring, I had been
ne-tuning my new ATR mono tube dampers, and had got them
feeling really good. I got my head down and began making up
places, with some really enjoyable racing ending up third in class.
In race two, I had another mediocre start, and found myself
in sixth place. I was feeling con dent with the car and began
to push hard. I came through the eld into third place, and was
comfortably quicker than the guys in front of me, but just as I
caught them my front left tyre exploded putting me out of the
race! Earlier in the race my front wing had come loose, which had
meant the wing stay had been bent which had in turn rubbed on
the tyre. It was a frustrating end to the race, but I took solace in
the fact I had achieved the fastest lap of the race in class, and was
0.03sec away from the lap record. e car is now starting to feel
really good, so I am con dent that going forward we can start to
get some results that I feel we (as a team) deserve.F
ollowing the big accidents during the previous round
at Brands Hatch, we decided my car needed some
major surgery. Over the past year, I had been involved
in far too many bumps, from small racing incidents,
to full blown crashes. ey had all taken their toll on
the front end of my car, and so Richard at SRB Racing cut the
front end o , crafted me a new one, stuck it on, and made a new
rear panel. is was long overdue with the old one being bent in
multiple places. e new front end was nished just in time for
my annual driving trip out to Europe with a group of close mates.
is year we are doing a trip to the Alps in September, but a
couple of us fancied a trackday at the Nürburgring so had booked
onto the May date with Destination Nürburgring. I have been
going to the Ring pretty much every year since 2010, but usually
just take in a few laps during tourist sessions so this was the rst
proper trackday. It’s something I had been wanting to do for
many years. We took our wives and kids along, which made a nice
change, so I towed the Locost out in the trailer. Unfortunately,
the weather wasn’t on our side, and I only managed around
seven laps before the rains came. I did a lap in the rain, but the
Ring is notoriously unpredictable in the wet, and after a few big
moments I decided that A040 race tyres weren’t the right choice
for the conditions, and so I parked the car up and called it a day.
We had a nice few days with the family, and I took them all out
for a sedate lap in the Range Rover (a nice story for my ten-
week-old baby).Following the Brands crashes, Ollie’s car... ...received new bodywork and chassis straightening. At the Nürburgring’s Karussell.Under the SRB Racing gazebo. On-board at Castle Combe. Tyre was being rubbed, and then went pop.BACK IN ONE PIECE
Following two crashes at Brands Hatch, Ollie’s car has been thoroughly
rebuilt ready for the Nürburgring and Castle Combe.
OLLIE
BATTEN
Discipline:
Circuit racing
Races:
Locost
Championship/series:
Ma7da Locost
Championship
Age: 35
Occupation:
Runs a training companyUnder the SRB Racing gazebo.074 Race Diaries.indd 77 01/08/2019 12:47 pm