Training time

Its time to get training for the season ahead. Better late than never! 24 days until Graduate racing at Donington Park (Live on Motors TV) and 45 days until the start of any potential Britcar races.

I completed a 6.2km run along the seafront this evening. It was actually very very nice. Amazing to be able to do something in the light after work. Having decided previously to start training for the season with limited success I have created goals. Having completed the Silverstone Half Marathon last year and swearing I would never run one again, having that type of goal does help to motivate me. So, I have signed myself up for the British 10K London Run on Sunday 13th July (137 days away!) and a half way run at the Lowestoft 5 mile promenade dash on Sunday 6th April (39 days). I've paid so I have to run! I've also now posted it on here so I have to do it.

My body is a template. Training has started. Roll on the season :-)

Ginetta G50

Snetterton 300 MSVT Trackday - Friday 21st February

Cracking day out in the Ginetta G50 at Snetterton with Ian Anderson and support from Lifetime Racing. The car is going very well and its new drivers are getting up to speed very quickly. Great to gain experience in both wet and dry running. A learning curve for driving a race car on wet tyres (A novelty for Caterham graduate drivers!) and also learning the power of slicks. Wow, we can't wait to race it with support from Lifetime Racing.

Thanks to Dan Eagling for preparing the car to such a high standard and roll on 2014.

BARC launch a new website

Nice to see they have used my first race winning photo from Thruxton for the club profile picture. Very chuffed :-) Roll on the start of the season. BARC

Success at the BWRDC Awards Dinner

Another fantastic awards evening for the British Woman's Racing Drivers Club on Saturday 1st February at Nailcote Hall Hotel, Coventry. I managed to win another massive collection of awards and was delighted to be crowned the BWRDC champion 2013 for the second consecutive year. 

For the second year running I was successful in achieving:

The VIP Adrenaline trophy for the best performance in a sports or sports racing car, present by Rob Austin

                    BWRDC Racing championship for the Goodwin trophy, present by Rob Austin

The Embassy Trophy for the Club Champion 2013, present by Rob Austin

And the trophy that I had an eye on from the start of the season!

Hillwood Jewellers Coupe des Dames, For most wins and fastest laps,
present by Rob Austin and Hillwood Jewellers

At least this year I was ready to make speeches! 

All the award women, 2013

Elite Gold Star Winner

What a way to start 2014. With a BWRDC Elite Gold Star award presented at the Autosport International Show, NEC Birmingham. Newspaper report

 

Amazing first weekend in the SigMax

Travelling out to Estoril in Portugal to race in the KIA 300Km Caterham 7 event with Ian Anderson.

My first run out in the SigMax/Supersport Caterham and we finished 2nd to Mike Hart and Terry Langley. Amazing. I matched Ian Anderson's pace who finished 2nd in the Caterham Graduates Sigmax Championship in 2013.

 Watch out SigMax drivers in 2014. Amanda Black is about!!

BARC Magazine Coverage

Amazing coverage in this months BARC magazine. Very chuffed.

And it reads something like this:

‘A day in the life of’

By: Amanda Black

Amanda Black is a newly appointed assistant head teacher at Skegness Grammar School, here she tells all about juggling teaching and motor racing.

There is one thing I feel adamant about in teaching and that is being a role model to pupils. You have to be someone for students to look up to and aspire to, to help increase motivation and create a desire to learn. I go to work to make a difference and to help pupils reach their true potential. I believe this can only occur if you are doing it yourself, striving to be the best that you can be.

I suppose my motor racing journey is an excellent example of having a dream and doing anything about it to achieve it and make it reality. I also have the added bonus of doing it in a male dominated environment which I believe is incredibly important for young girls to realise that anything is possible. At the age of 14 I had a dream of going motor racing and becoming a Championship winner. The motor racing dream only became a reality 9 years later when I entered Formula Women. It was an amazing experience. My first ever circuit racing experience at Pembrey I gained pole, fastest lap and a race win. Unfortunately the prize of winning a seasons racing did not come through and I was back to square one, truly believing that I had raw talent but would never go racing again.

At the age of 27 I thought it was now or never. The financial implications of being a teacher that is a self funded racing driver can be very challenging at times but the bug bites you and you just want more and more. All other life luxuries go out of the window and I just wanted to go motor racing again. I bought a Classic Caterham and signed up for the BARC Caterham Graduates Racing Series 2011. Not knowing anything about cars, how to service them, how to set them up or even how to race prep them I took the gamble. I knew it was going to be a steep learning curve. At this point I didn’t even have a tow vehicle to get the Caterham to the racing circuit, in fact I didn’t even have a towing licence! My mother and I effectively did everything ourselves and just about got bye in the first year (And loads of phone calls to male friends and McMillan Motorsport for help later!) My first race was at Silverstone and I achieved the fastest lap out of a grid of 20. 18 of them being male made me think that my Formula Woman success was not because of a lack of competition but because I did actually have natural talent! I got pole by race 5 and had an amazing first season. In 2012 I narrowly missed out on a 3^rd place championship finish but did manage to achieve 5 wins and various fastest laps and lap records. The season was fully of highs and lows. Driving into the pit wall at Anglesey in the wet was the lowest of low and racing two cars in 1 race weekend at Cadwell was a major high. I was delighted to be announced the 2012 British Womens Racing Drivers Champion, an accolade I was not expecting but one that I value immensely.

Having such a massive passion for motorsport I was delighted to learn about the BARC British Schools Karting Championship and last year we entered for the first time. Skegness Grammar School held karting trials to gain a place in the team. The 3:30 bell would ring and I was ready in the school mini bus to drive to our local circuit. The pupils were buzzing and enjoyed every minute. As a teacher I believe it is enrichment activities like this that make school fun. If children are having fun and enjoying themselves they are more likely to engage in education and learn. A wide range of skills are developed in these types of activities that develop the whole child. Pupils also loved the fact that ‘Miss’ was out karting with them and going faster! A female teacher going fast, they really did think this was amazing and cool! I do hope that I have changed their views regarding female drivers! The school A team managed to qualify for the regional finals and did very well for a first attempt.

This year the interest in karting exploded to the point I had to ring up Mark Turner at BARC and beg for more entry slots. The next problem was they didn’t all fit in the school mini bus! 5 teams entered the initial rounds and pupils came from a wide range of backgrounds. Pupils with no karting experience to regular racers, boarders and day pupils, 13 year olds to 18 years old which created a great social aspect with pupils integrating outside of their peer group and socialising with others that they normally would not get the opportunity to mix with. I had sporty to non sporty pupils. The non sporty pupils had never accessed our extracurricular sports club programme before and were now getting their first taste of competition and representing their school in a sport. I was also utterly chuffed to be entering my first girl karter! My ambition next year is to enter a girls only team.

I was gutted to learn that the SGS A team qualified for the National Finals and I was not going to be able to support them as it clashed with my own BARC Caterham Graduates round at Castle Combe. Qualifying for the final was an amazing achievement for the team, in only our second year of entering the BSKC. They did very well but were over powered by more experienced drivers. The distance to the circuit also made it difficult to practice before the event. I wish I could claim all the credit for them reaching the final from my excellent coaching but life is about opportunities and I gave them that.

I have thoroughly enjoy arranging and organising the karting opportunities at Skegness Grammar School however it does end up being quite a timely commitment. Trip forms, letters, risk assessments and collecting money are all admin tasks that always take longer than you think! Our local BSKC circuit is a 3 hour round trip from Skegness. Adding the karting time and of course a naughty dinner stop at McDonalds, we would get back at 10 o’clock on a school night. However it is worth every minute. Many have grown in confidence and have greater self-belief in themselves. I have also developed a respectful working relationship with some challenging pupils that have not always met our high expectations in the school environment. Through my experience of the BSKC the pupils grow and shine. To see them get so enthusiastic about something and see a sparkle in their eye is a very special moment.

The 2013 season for myself saw a change of class to the Caterham Graduates Sigma Championship and a reduction in Friday testing due to work commitments. I have still managed to win 8 out of the first 10 races. My life time ambition of becoming a motor racing championship winner is amazingly realistic and achievable. It has not been an easy journey but one of learning and how we are learning all the time. This is a valuable lesson for all for, especially young people, that we never stop learning and we must challenge ourselves.

In September I start my new role as Assistant Head teacher. As part of this I am in charge of Behaviour and Rewards. I will be using the BSKC and my own motor racing experiences as a tool to help embed a success culture and raise aspirations to achieve. If there is something you want to do in life you have to strive for it. It may not be easy. You might not get there straight away but where there is a will there is a way.

Skegness Grammar School House Bands Competitions

How many famous people can I get to wear one of the House Bands from SGS? How many can you name?

If you can help, please email me amanda.black@hotmail.co.uk

2013 to date

Sorry for not writing soon. I’ve had such great results and should have been shouting about them. I must from now on!

This year to date has been amazing and I’m loving every minute. Preparations for the new season started late but went very well. Over the winter I had sold my beloved Orange Caterham Classic (Called Tigger) and had upgraded to a 1.6 Black Sigma Caterham, now christened Roo! With the roll cage painted bright orange I was ready to go! With limited in season testing this year I was keen to learn the car quickly and get to grips with new tyres. The Caterham Graduates first round was at Pembrey and a nice long trek to increase the anticipation. 2 laps into qualifying I managed to knock a relay out of the electrics and the car stopped dead. Luckily I managed to qualify for the race but was to start at the back of the grid for both races. To come away from Pembrey with a double win was amazing and what a way to start the season.

Silverstone was an amazing opportunity to race on the F1 circuit but with no testing prior to qualifying I had my concerns. We had 3 classes sharing the grid, the Supers the fastest with my Sigma 2^nd and Classics 3^rd. I managed to qualify right in the middle of the faster Super class, 10^th. Out qualifying 12 faster cars and with my nearest Sigma competitor starting in 21^st! For the rest of the weekend I didn’t see any of my Sigma competitors. I was playing with the big boys in an inferior car. Silverstone was a double win and lap record weekend. 4 out of 4!

The second May bank holiday weekend saw me trying the impossible. Is it possible to go to Monaco to watch the F1 on Sunday afternoon and sign on to race a double header at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday at 7:00am. Yes it is! Monaco was amazing. If you can only go to one GP in your lifetime it has to be Monaco. Amazing! To then return back to England and go racing myself was phenomenal. I won race 1 in the dry with a comfortable 25 second lead, claiming fastest lap and a new lap record. Making it 5 race wins out of 5. Wow! Unfortunately the heavens opened. I played it save to get championship points and finished 2^nd in race 2. What a weekend and what a start to the year!

My school karting team had successfully qualified for the British Schools National Final. However I was gutted that it clashed with my own racing, I was at Castle Combe. It was only the second year that I and the school had entered a team. Unfortunately no female racers in the qualifying team. But I did have one girl start the competition and I hope that she will continue next year. Castle Combe race weekend was interesting for me. I woke up Saturday feeling very under the weather. Sore throat, cold and sever fatigue (Probably because I’ve been trying to cram too much in!).

To achieve a double pole and a race win in race 1 and in a wet second race achieve 4^th place. I was very happy with. I was also leaving Castle Combe with a car in 1 piece (Several Caterhams badly damaged over the weekend!) and an increased championship lead, with half the season completed already! With Brands, Donington, Cadwell and Spa left. Rock on the rest of it.

Easter Weekend 2013

Easter Weekend and 3 circuits!
A track day on Friday at Donington Park to sweep the cobwebs of the car (Roo). The Caterham Graduates exclusive track/test day at Silverstone on Saturday. Today I have been to Mallory to see fellow female racing driver Sian Stafford compete in the first rounds of the Locost series.

Donington was an interesting experience. Never thought I would be on track with snow at the sides. Love Donington its a great circuit, it was a good opportunity to sort little things out like my seat and belts and also to scrub in some new tyres. I was not 100% confident in the car – I was actually thinking ‘How in the hell did I drive this so fast at Cadwell and achieve a lap record!’.

It wasn’t until I arrived at Silverstone that I thought I was on the pace and 100% confortable with the car. The car is looking and running very well. The fluro Orange roll cage looks amazing. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it, which was a bit silly – you’ll have to wait until Pembrey! I also picked up my new helmet design, which I’ll post some photo’s of in a bit.

Password: Caterham   How novel!

Very much now looking forward to Pembrey. Can’t wait. Watch out Sigma Grad’s!