Down To The Wire by Nik Johnson Nov 2002

2002 proved beyond doubt to be my most difficult year in motorsport, and yet it has been the most rewarding. Having won the 2001 championship, I knew that I could either retain the championship or go backwards. The later not being a thought that I really wanted to entertain, but one I found that I spent all season trying to dispel.

The first race at Silvertsone was where I was going to put my marker down for the year. I knew that the competition was going to be tougher, with the front runners having spent time over the winter developing their cars, but to aim to retain my title I needed to finish the first race with a good haul of points, preferably 15. Oh how I was mistaken. Excellent drives from Rupert Russell and the race winner Jonathan Loader, who led from the front, saw them take the spoils, with me having buried the car in the kitty litter on the third lap. Not the way to do it! I had to endure watching the dice at the front where I should have been, from the sidelines for what seemed an eternity.

The rest of the season was going to be spent playing catch-up, and with the knowledge that I could not afford any more non-finishes either through driver error or mechanical failure. In retrospect that first race made me improve greatly, from the way that we prepared the car, to the way that I drove. A more professional approach to our tactics and strategy both on and off the circuit was required. A fantastic race with Jonathan at Oulton where we spent most of the closing laps side by side, yet without a single touch, put points on the championship board, but Jonathan was two wins out of two and looking very strong to go on improving. I must mention the very unfortunate accident that befell Mark Jackson at Oulton nearly destroying what was a perfectly turned out shrike P-17. Mark was a fantastic racer in his shrike, and it is a great pity that we have lost him from the series. On to Coombe where I faired little better with a tyre overheating problem, and a third behind an improving Colin Rodger and a few more points. Roll on Brands.

Our festival at Brands Hatch was a huge credit to all those in involved with Sports 2000. A wonderful spectacle of cars that represented the history of the Sports racing at its best and with an atmosphere to match. The weekend did not produce the points I had hoped, following a black/orange flag in my heat race. I did however manage to qualify for the final through the last chance race. From the back of the grid in the final, and with 25 laps to do my best around the tight Brands Indy circuit, I battled up to fifth place in one of my most memorable drives. My drive up the grid was halted after running out of laps and being held in the end by a determined Trevor Dyer in his swift, to keep the chance of the title alive. Congratulations to Colin Rodger for the day, it was great to see the smile on his face at the end of the festival final, and to second place man Mike Dodd, our beloved Chairman, in another swift who is now always in the reckoning at the Kent circuit.

The competition was getting tighter at the front as the season progressed, as shown at the Donington round, with great drives from Anthony Wilds, Nick Bates and the ever fighting Chris Abel. It was clear that we needed to make some gains with the performance of the Van Diemen. We had thought that we had a reasonably balanced set-up, but we just needed to find more grip. We settled on some fairly radical spring rate changes, and a few other set-up tweaks, and we went back to Silverstone eager to show better form. We did not disappoint, although I finished second behind a determined Rupert Russell, I had been leading before hitting a large oil spill through Becketts. The day ended with Van Diemen’s finishing one-two-three, with Mike Turner having the best result of the season so far in third, after some extended engine troubles in the earlier rounds. We went home decidedly happier, having found a better set-up and keen to carry on the development. Jonathan had a mechanical problem that put him out, so we had now both dropped a race and knowing that if I made good points at the remaining Brands Rounds, the title was still there to be won.

I like most drivers in the series have a love-hate relationship with the Brands Hatch venue, and with only having one outright win, the festival in 2001, in many visits to the circuit, history was not really on my side. I was however determined to build on the marked advances with the car and prove to myself that there should be no reason why Brands was my ‘jinx’ circuit. The last two races at this track proved to be rich pickings with championship points. I felt that the car had excellent drive out of Clearways and on to the start/finish straight, and this was highlighted in some quick lap times. I rounded out the 2002 season with two pole-to-flag wins encountering very little on track hassle or drama. It was only after the last race had finished that I realised that I had clinched the title as Jonathan had struggled through the race and failed to finish high enough up the grid.

Looking back through the year, it was clear that the damper changes that we had made at the beginning of the season had not given the car the right balance. With some testing time during the season and a few experiments we managed to come through at the end when it had looked like we had thrown it all away in April. It was not a roller-coaster ride of emotions, but a steady climb from the depths, as both car and driver managed to improve and show what we knew we were capable of.

I have of course many thank-you’s. Firstly to Les my father, who once again sacrificed his own racing for the sake of mine. To my wife Caroline for her unending support, and to Paul, a good friend and invaluable help. Thanks also to the help behind the scenes from my Mum and Ancaster Kart Racing

To all Sports 2000 racers, organisers, sponsors and enthusiasts who make the SRCC what it is…The greatest racing in the UK. See you next year!.

Nik Johnson