Today I went to Mallory Park to watch some of the MR2 racing. I’d never seen the other cars before so it was a good chance to have a look around and talk to the drivers before I took the plunge myself. I already knew two drivers from iRacing who answer to the names of Shane Wright and Andrew Knight so I would have someone to chat too and cheer on. I also had a note to see Gareth Newton who lives just down the road in Stockport, and also Tony and Nina who I had spoken to on the phone just before picking my car up.

I’d never been to Mallory Park before either so it was another track visited to tick off the list. The roads off the M1 to the circuit are absolutely fantastic, but finding the circuit entrance was tricky, even with the sat-nav. It’s hidden away down what looks like the entrance to a farm, and things don’t improve when you wind your way between farm buildings. The only indication you have you’re going the right way is a number of the buildings are motor sport workshops. It’s a friendly place though and the cafe produces some awesomely tasty food.

Unfortunately Andrew suffered an engine failure in qualifying so he wasn’t racing, but he did point a lot of things out to me when watching from the banking. Shane was going great guns to finish towards the front but was suffering with boiling brakes meaning they had to be bled after each race. On the whole it was quite interesting looking around the paddock and seeing what people did, and how their car compares to mine. This is when I realised there is actually quite a bit you can do to personalise the car and make it easier for you to drive.

Overall I was very impressed with the way things seem to work and how friendly everyone is. The racing was also superb and clean, and while I may be bias, it was some of the best racing I’d watched in a long time.