The Vee festival in Brands is a great event and this year I was out in red 5, Morgan was in his own car and Leastone boss Paul Heavey was out in the UK car.
It turned out to be a weekend with plenty of drama!

We decided to go on Wednesday night catching the 9pm Stena Line to Holyhead then stopping for a kip in the services and driving the 350 miles to Brands on Thursday. Paul was driving the truck and Mark Reade was with us, helping out for the weekend while Morgan was flying in on Thursday night. The trip down was going well and we pulled in to get petrol 20 miles from Brands at 2oc, as we turned into the garage there was a bang from behind, not good. We all jumped out to see what happened and as we got to the back of the truck we could see that the hitch had broken on the trailer...
This was a major problem, there was no way of repairing it there and then so a phone call was made to John Bowles who's garage is only down the road, he organised a tow truck to collect the trailer and bring it to his place where Paul quickly repaired it. By 9oc we had it fixed and were at the track.

Friday
Up at 7.30 to get the cars unloaded and ready for testing. Morgan was doing the full day, Paul was just doing the afternoon and I just did a few laps at the end of the day.

9.30 Morgan heads out on track while I head to pit lane to keep an eye on him and catch up with old friends. He sets about learning the circuit and lowers his times as the day goes on.
Paul goes out after lunch sets a good pace before sliding off into the gravel at paddock mid afternoon, a few stones to be cleaned out and he's back out for the next session. I head out for the last few laps and when the flag comes out at the end of the day we're all happy and ready for qualifying tomorrow.

Saturday
It's raining, Happy Days, a wet track means that the slower Irish spec cars will be at less of a disadvantage. By 8.30 all cars are through scrutiny but Paul's car is refusing to start, a tow from Beirne and it's soon running. I'm in Q1 and the others are in Q2 which suits me, if Morgan has a problem I'll be in pit lane for him. Session 1 starts and I head out on to a wet circuit to try and get some steady laps. I immediately start passing cars and set pole early on only to slip back to 6th by the time the flag comes out, a position I'm delighted with.
As my tyres are better than Morgans we decide to put them on his car for Q2. Paul flies when the session starts and he qualifies 5th on the but Morgan struggles to get past slower drivers in faster cars and is near the back.

Heat 1. A wet track suits me and I make a good start moving up to 4th by the end of the 1st lap, Steve Ough uses his extra horsepower to pass me on lap 2 but I settle into a good pace and finish 5th, a good result I think.

Heat 2. Paul holds 5th after lap 1 and Morgan is moving up the grid having passed 4 cars. Lap 2 and Paul is in trouble, he rolls into the pits with a broken gear lever, we jam the car into 3rd gear and he sets off a lap down eventually finishing 17th behind Tony Mitchell. Morgan has a much better race carving his way up to 12th by the finish.

A bit of work to be done on the cars before we set some food in the Kentagon and then it's down to Sevenoaks for a few beers in JBs local.

Sunday
It's dry and sunny.
Semi final 1 sees me 5th on the grid and Morgan 12th. Lights go out and I move up to 4th by Graham Hill but I'm getting murdered on the straights. By mid race I'm back in 8th when Bob Higgens passes me at paddock but runs wide and hits me sending me into the gravel, I keep er lit and manage to rejoin at the bottom of the hill ( less my nose cone ) as Morgan flies past me on the way up to Druids. I check the car for damage but it seems OK so I start to chase down Morgan, who I pass 2 laps later, only to see Bob Higgens in the distance, I set about closing him down and pass him on the 2nd last lap to finish 9th with Morgan 12th.

Semi 2 and Paul starts 17th. When the lights go out he flies and is up to 4th mid race only to spin at Surtees dropping him to 7th where he would finish.

The final sees Paul 14th, me 18th and Morgan 24th on the grid. I make a great start and am passed Mick Sammon round the outside at paddock only to see Paul skating through the gravel at druids, by the end of lap 1 I'm up to 14th and when Javier spins a couple of laps later I gain another place. I catch a UK spec car but because of his better straight line speed I struggle to pass him, on lap 12 I get a great run on him through paddock and think I'm close enough for a pass into druids, I take a dive up the inside but he doesn't see me and we collide, we manage to untangle ourselves but my steering is broken so I pull off at Graham Hill corner, game over!!
Morgan has a great race moving up to 18th by the end, against the much faster UK cars. Although Paul is last after his gravelly moment at druids he recovers well and moves up to 13th by the flag. As we pack up for the 15 hour trip home we all agree that it was a fantastic event.

A big thanks to sponsors Leastone Racing, Stena Line, Total Lubricants, Dunlop and Cregornews.com for making this season possible.

A whole new driver line up this week with Cameron Campbell driving Dans Leastone, Mondello PR man Fergus Brennan driving red 5 and Ray Wallace also testing Red 5 and doing some set up work. While Ray and Fergus have plenty of racing experience Cameron has none, only doing his License course on Monday, the Mondello racing school on Wednesday and straight into a race weekend.

Saturday
I awake to find it's raining even though the weatherman promised me it would be dry for the weekend, not an ideal situation for new drivers to get used to their cars but you never know it might be wet tomorrow!
I arrive at the circuit at 8oc to see that Pat McCabe, my help for the day has got there before me and is scoffing a breakfast roll, he knows that might be the only food he gets all day!!
8.30 and the truck is unloaded, Cameron has arrived so we head out to walk the track for a few final tips and when we get back Ray has arrived, he's an expert in formula ford and general setup but has never driven a VEE so he's keen to get a look at his car. When the track opens Ray and Cameron head out with both drivers having to learn a new car on a very wet and greasy circuit. Ray adapts well to the conditions and does some steady laps but Cameron has never driven a racing car before and struggles to get used to the car in terrible conditions and spins off 5 laps in clips the barrier bringing out the red flag. We get the car back and check the damage which turns out to be only a damaged wheel, a quick change and he's out for the next session. As the track dries out Camaron settles down and starts to improve his lap times getting more used to his car, while we can start doing set up on Rays car. He makes some changes and is soon doing times that would easily put him at the front of the grid, very impressive considering he never sat in a vee before today.

By mid afternoon Ray is happy and hands the car over to Fergus Brennan, who's racing the car on Sun for the last couple of runs. Cameron has been pounding round all day and is getting quicker until a spin coming out of the esses causes him to meet the barrier again, a bit more damage this time so we call it a day and I set about repairing the car for the race tomorrow. Fergus goes out for the last couple of runs, steadily improving his times and declares himself happy when the day ends.
By 6.30 both cars are ready for scrutiny the next morning and i'm heading home absolutely exhausted.

Sunday
I awake early to discover yes it's raining!! As I head down the N7 I'm thinking Cameron doesn't like wet and Fergus hasn't driven the car in the wet, qualifying could be interesting! I arrive at 7.20 and see that scrutiny is open and there's no queue, happy days.
7.56 and I have both cars through scrutiny, a new record!, with a bit of time on my hands I head over to the racing school for a cuppa tea and a chat with the lads. When I get back both drivers have arrived so I do the final preps for qualifying.
9.30 and the lads head out for qualifying on a very wet circuit. They settle in well with Cameron learning from yesterdays experience and setting a time good enough for 14th on the grid. Fergus was quick from the outset but on lap 5 he turned the brake balance the wrong way causing him to lock his fronts going into turn 4 sending him into the gravel ending his session. This left him 9th on the grid which was pretty good considering his lack of laps. A quick check over on the cars and there's time for breakfast (a rare luxury on race day) before heading back to sort Philips mis fire. It's soon sorted and by 2.30 the cars are lined up in the assembly area ready for the race.

The lights go out and both drivers make good starts with Cameron moving up to 11th, a position he would hold until the end of the race, while Fergus moved up to 8th off the line and climbing to 6th by the time the chequered flag came out. With both driver having finished the race and leaving the circuit with smiles on their faces I'm happy and start to pack up.

Next stop Brands Hatch in two weeks where myself and Morgan will be driving Irish cars we'll be joined by Paul Heavey driving the UK spec Leastone.

Thursday Night
Having dropped Morgans and Dans cars to Mondello earlier in the day I was able to get the final few jobs done on my car and load up all the tools and spares. Chris was down to give a hand and we made short work of it, even having time to mould a seat for my car. By 9.30 we were finished up and ready for the morning.

Friday
On the road at 7.30 and the sun is out as I head down the N7 wondering what kind of weekend i'm in for, up for grabs are the rookie championship for Morgan, the national championship for Dan and on Sunday I'll be joining them to try and win the Leinster Trophy. A lot to be won or lost in a single weekend!
I arrive at the track and while Chris sets up I sign on for testing and take Morgan and Paula Moore around the track for one final lesson.

Even though we were at the track early Morgan is the only one ready to go on track when it opens at 9.30, my battery has gone flat and Dan's only just arrived! By 9.45 I'm strapped into the car and ready to hit the track. I get a jump start in the garage and head up pit lane only for the red flag to come out! This means I have to turn off the engine and will need a push. The session restarts and I get a push from Kev and Ray with the car firing first time, unfortunately as I left the pit lane I revved the cold engine too hard bursting the oil filter and leaving all the oil from my engine all the way up to turn 1, I spotted the problem when the oil light came on and killed the engine and rolled in the back gate while the marshalls cursed me.
Next session and all 3 cars are out with Dan having to take it easy on his new engine and me hoping to get some laps in. I have a wheel problem mid session and have to stop but the other cars are going ok so that's good. Session 3 and I wrongly get black flagged for dropping oil but decide it's better not to upset the marshalls and park the car for the session.The session ends and Morgan has lost his exhaust and Dan's car is misfiring and handling badly but the brakes are ...shit, a bit of work to be done!!
I think it's better to park my car and concentrate on Dan's while Chris sorts out Morgans exhaust and we get both cars out for the next session, Morgans car runs fine for the rest of the day but it takes several sessions to get Dans sorted leaving little time for me to get out.
By 4oc both drivers had done decent lap times and had parked their cars for the day so I could get out in the last session for a few laps.The session was a short one but I managed a reasonable time so I was happy enough. Time to pack up clean the cars and give them final checks before scrutiny in the morning.

Saturday
Leave the house at 7 with Dave tagging along whose making a film about the Leinster Trophy (keep an eye out!!) A good start to the day was that we actually got to the track (see racedays vee on u tube) and had both cars through scrutiny by 8oc.
We get lined up for qualifying and as the cars head out I notice Gavin Barr has a problem with his throttle so I give him a quick hand to sort it. Qualifying could have been better with Dan lining up ninth and Morgan 21st with Dan having brake problems and Morgan failing to get a clear lap.We eventually found the problem with Dans brakes so he was looking good for the race.

When the lights went out Dan made a good start initially but got squeezed out at turn 1 dropping him to 10th while Morgan was catching the cars in front.When the flag came out Dan was 7th and Morgan 14th with both drivers picking up places in the race. No problems with either cars so it's a quick check and a refuel before the next race. Race 2 and Dan gets caught in an 8 car battle for the lead eventually finishing 6th while Morgan works his way up the field before spinning twice on lap 5 to drop him back to 21st.

Championship over and Kelly's the winner (well done Brian) Dan's 5th in the national championship and Morgan 3rd in th rookies with both drivers scoring points in every round. Not a bad year for KERS motorsport! Anyway there's a barbeque tonight and the Leinster trophy tomorrow before the season is over.

Sunday
Stayed at track on Saturday night so up and ready to go at 7.30 on Sunday morning. I've got my car through scrutiny on Sat so we just have to prepare for qualifying, Morgan's in the first session and me and Dan are in the second.

Morgans session is without problems but Dan notices a problem on the way to the assembly area, a quick look tells us he has a broken front hub. There's no easy fix for this so he borrows Morgans car to do the mandatory 3 laps to get on the back of the grid. I head out for qualifying but it doesn't take long to notice my new seat is too big and with some small mistakes on the last lap I struggle for pace. When the flag comes out I'm 14th on the grid, Morgan is midfield and Dan is dead last because of his car change.Some frantic work starts to get Dans and my car sorted for the race but we only have an hour and clearly were not gonna get all 3 cars out for the race. Dan can fit in my car and there's no chance of getting his car fixed in time I reluctantly hand my car over to him.

As the cars line up for the qualifying race I tell Dan he needs to pass 10 cars on the 1st lap, he says he'll try. When the lights go out Dan makes a cracking start and by the end of the 1st lap he's passed 27 cars and is up to 5th!! Morgan has lost a few places while exploring the scenery on the opening lap but none of this matters as the red flag comes out on lap 2 meaning a full restart from original grid positions putting Dan all the way to the back of the grid. Meanwhile some clown is trying to get Moore excluded from the race for missing the original start but myself, Paul and Ray give him some advice and the COC decides he can start the race from his front row position.

At the restart Dan gets boxed in but still makes good progress through the field and Morgan is flying too. When the flag comes out Dan is 5th having caught the leaders while Morgan is an impressive 8th holding off the recovering Paul Sammin on the last lap. For the final Dan is 15th on the grid and Morgan is 18th.

When the Leinster Trophy Gets underway Dan quickly moves into the top 10 and Morgan is also gaining places before a mid race spin drops him down the order.Dan works his way up to 7th when the race is stopped because of an incident, with Morgan having little time to make up for his spin leaving him 21st. Garry Newsome wins the race and takes home the Leinster Trophy after a great drive, Well done Garry.

Next race is the Vee festival in Brands at the end of October with Morgan competing and I might have a go myself. A big thanks to Leastone racing, Stena line, Total lubricants and Cregornews.com for all their help throughout the year.

We arrived in the park on Friday afternoon taking two trips to drop the four vees up. Morgan was in his own car while i borrowed Dan's car Dave Heavey was in the spare car and Paul was driving Ray Moore's new vee. By six o clock we were through scrutiny and set up for the weekend and we could chill out for the evening.

Up at 7.30 on to get ready for qualifying which would be 3 laps behind the safety car and then 10 minutes to get 2 fast laps. The fastest lap would be grid position for race 1 and the 2nd fastest being your grid position for race 2. On the last pace car lap the field slowed and Paul hit the back of another car breaking his rear suspension which wasn't a great start. I managed to catch and pass a few cars and even though the engine didn't feel right i felt i'd done reasonable times. When I came back in I found out I was 2nd on the grid for both races behind Stapo so that was good, Morgan was 12th and the 2 Heavey's at the back of the grid, Paul because of his suspension failure and Dave because of a slipping clutch. Saturday was full of delays so our 1st race was postponed til Sunday morning meaning we had no work to do on Saturday night.

Sunday morning was another early start and a morning warm up was on for anyone who needed it. Morgan felt he needed more laps to learn the circuit and Dave and Paul went out to make sure their cars were ok, I was happy enough to sit it out. No problems this run and all cars came back in one piece and all drivers happy. For the race I was determined to nail Stapo off the line. When the flag dropped I got off the line ok but dropped to 5th on the run to the 1st corner but got back to 2nd around the outside of turn 1 settling in behind Garry Newsome. Robbie Allen Was then putting me under serious pressure and we swapped places a couple of times but he eventually got ahead and pulled a gap. My engine problem wasn't helping and a couple of small mistakes meant I'd dropped to 9th mid race in a very close battle. Then coming out of Furry Glen Mark Horan hit the back of Stapo and went straight up in the air. An opportunist move saw me gain 3 places because of the incident and I worked my way back up to 4th when the flag came out.
Unfortunately I was the only KERS Leastone to finish the race, Paul going out early on with gear selection problems, Dave hit Stapo late in the race and damaged his steering and Morgan retired on the last lap with clutch problems. Not a great race for the team but well done to Garry Newsome..

There was a lot of work to be done on the cars in the 2 hours before the next race for the Emmerson Fittipaldi cup. Dave fixed his steering while Paul sorted out his gear problems, chief mechanic Chris set about changing Morgans clutch and i worked on oil pressure problems on my own car. We managed to get all the cars ready with minutes to spare and were all back on the grid for the big race. I lined up 2nd with Morgan 12th and Paul and Dave coming from the back. When the flag dropped I managed to jump Stapo but again Garry flew into the lead from the 2nd row. I settled into 2nd and was pushing hard to catch Garry when i clipped the exit of the chicane and was lucky not to damage the car. Robbie Allen was again on my case and my engine was getting slower every lap! Robbie got past me and I was loosing ground to him when the safety car came out due to an incident involving Kershaw,Stapo and David Parkes.
On the restart Garry and Robbie pulled a gap on me but more importantly i had a big gap to the car behind. I knew i couldn't win the race because my engine was getting worse so all i could do was push like crazy to keep Springy and Stapo behind me who I could see getting closer and closer in my mirrors. Meanwhile up front Garry and Robbie were going at it hammer and thongs swapping the lead between them when suddenly on the last lap Garry's car slowed coming out of the last corner and I was up to 2nd. Behind me Stapo had passed Springy and was right on my tail and trying everything to find away around me. However I was able to hold him off for the last couple of corners and crossed the line just ahead of him and Springy.
Congrats to Robbie Allen on a great win.

2nd was a good result considering my engine problems, Dave also having a great run to 5th from the back of the grid and Morgan having his best ever finish of 7th. Paul's bad luck continued with another dnf. All in all it was a great weekend with a good turn out of spectators. KERS motorsport would like to thank the organisers for the huge effort they put in to making the event happen.