Euro Hillclimbing: St Goueno

Disaster strikes as Charlie's return to St Goueno goes a bit pear-shaped [Updated with vid]

Too fast, too soon Suddenly there was no noise. Just a dreadful silence broken only by the distant sound of whistles in the background and the four letter word repeatedly filling my helmet. It almost seemed surreal - one minute I was driving flat out, next thing I knew I was running into a bank as parts tore off the car with the front right wheel bent back at 90 degrees. I'd just crashed the Formula Renault. This wasn't meant to happen.

Mental focus just as important as car prep

The weekend started well enough. I'd had a relaxing five days spent running and cycling. There had been rain forecast for Sunday and, although the severity of the weather reports was changing daily, a wet race day looked a certainty. Saturday was set to be warm and sunny though. And after a fantastic result at St Goueno last year I felt more confident to push the car. In hindsight I'm kicking myself for not being more restrained - nobody wins in practice and this was a schoolgirl error when only last week at La Pommeraye I was telling myself to focus on consistency.

The first run went well. I'd ridden the hill that week on bikes and the scooter, pored over my previous videos and had the 3.2km sequence of corners firmly lodged in my mind. St Goueno is quite narrow with no run-off and fast too through wooded sections, meaning on sunny days you can be quite dazzled by the staccato contrast between light and shade. My first practice went well, if a little quicker than I'd perhaps intended. The gearbox in the Formula Renault is that much quicker you often end up snatching a higher gear before slowing for a corner, compounding the feeling I'm approaching quicker than a year ago. At Fer a Cheval hairpin I accidentally went deep under braking before the front bit and I had the back of the car fighting for grip for the first time. Nonetheless, the car felt good and when I timed the video it matched my previous PB of 1min 37sec in the Westfield.

Keeping your head clear is all part of the challenge

Pause for thought
There were a lot of entries that weekend including six of us in Formula Renaults. A lot of crashes meant the meeting was running behind. My second run didn't actually start until 5pm, albeit I'd been sitting in the car at pre grille and on the start line queue for over an hour. I'm not using this as an excuse (that's coming in a minute!), but for anyone not familiar with hillclimbing this can one of the biggest mental challenges.

It's one of the most crucial elements to this discipline of motorsport - you need to be able to switch yourself into race mode from the instant you leave the line and drive flat out with your whole run already mapped out and visualised in your mind. It takes a lot of concentration and focus to block out things that can distract you. And delays can really throw you a curve ball.

You get ready, go through your routine, close your eyes and visualise what's coming, subconsciously you maybe start to breath slower and deeper as you tighten your belts one last time, edging forwards as the cars in front go one by one, your heart now beating faster as everything else fades away and there is just you, the car and the hill you are about to drive.

Then red flag, engine off and you have to wait.

Could parts be scrounged for a competitive run?

Mental reboot
After five minutes sitting in the car and getting too hot you maybe walk around, chat and then have to go through the whole mental preparation process again, perhaps rushed this time as the organisers try to get back on schedule. At the same time your adrenaline level is going up and down, meaning that you can suddenly feel quite tired and almost doze off at times. It's a scenario you have to master like anything else. But I think maybe it got to me and I forgot what I should be doing. And instead did what I wanted to do - see how fast I could really go.

I went off like a rocket, the car moving around underneath me from the first corner. By the 1.8km split I was over a second ahead of the next driver in class; I was on it for sure and although aware I was pushing hard everything felt good. Coming out of a fast left/right I'd decided to take fourth instead of third and as the car started to straighten I fed the power in a little early and the rear pushed wide. Correcting the slide caused the rear to hit the earth bank on the inside, breaking the lower wishbone. For an instant I thought maybe I would get away with it and keep the car level. But it ran into the bank diagonally, ripping of the front wing and most of the front right suspension before coming to a stop. Marshals ran over to check I was OK. Thankfully I was and I jumped out to inspect the damage, devastated and disbelieving at what I'd just done. Why had I gone off so fast? Deep down I knew the answer. I let the pressure get to me and drove too hard.

Car and driver will be back!

Back in the paddock people came to ask if I was OK and figure out how to load it back into the van, which took some effort but helped me keep it together by having something to focus on. I just wanted to sit and be alone, but everybody was so kind and it picked me up. Before long I was going through what could be saved and making a list of what would be needed to get the car running again. At one point it looked like Krafft Racing's stock of spares might be enough to get me running but it wasn't to be and we called it a day.

Sunday arrived with rain as predicted and it was cold and windy too. I attempted a lie-in but my brain had other ideas so I emailed the various people I needed to prime for spares and repairs the following week. I spent the day chatting in the parc des pilotes and watching the action. It looked very challenging out there but even so I was sorry not to be driving. I focused on what was needed to get the car ready for Beaujolais in three weeks' time - I will have the car ready for sure and as I sat replying to emails next Monday morning on the ferry home I'd priced everything up and should have the parts needed to start bolting everything back on at the weekend. Right now all I want is to see the car sat ready in the garage so I can get back out and start driving again.

Charlie Martin - Formule Renault 2...by VIDEO_CONCEPT

Charlie's first run (without crash!)

Previous reports:
Euro Hillclimbing - a dream realised
Euro Hillclimbing - gearing up
Charlie Martin on PHTV
Euro Hillclimbing - Hebecrevon
Euro Hillclimbing - Le Pommeraye

For more see Charlie's blog

Photos: Clement Luck

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MarJay

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176 months