Team PH: Ginetta G20 Championship

Across many sports there are guys who are right at the top of their game. Names like Hank Haney, Toni Nadal and Bob Bowman are a few that are incredibly successful at their chosen sport with many world titles under their name. Those with more astute knowledge of the sporting world may recognise these names, but for those who don't know them they are the coaches for Tiger Woods, Raphael Nadal and Michael Phelps.

For some reason the motor racing world seems intent on letting the driver develop their own skill rather than use a coach. Lewis Hamilton was quoted last year after the Canadian pit-lane incident "I want to do it on my own. I got to where I am on my own, with my family." But there is one driver who breaks this tradition and he isn't shy of a world championship himself - Andy Priaulx - employing former Formula Ford ace John Pratt.

I am not sure if the lack of using driver coaches is a macho-egotistical trait or seen as a self-confessed admittance of not being the best driver in the world. Personally I am not shy on trying to improve in anything I do and if it is good enough for Andy, then I will give it a go. For this weekend's Ginetta rounds at Rockingham I decided to be coached by British GT winner and BRDC "Rising Star" Matt Nicoll-Jones.

The other factor that sports people consume by the bucket load is practice. When it comes to racing cars this can get a little expensive and it'swhere bigger budgets hold a definite advantage. Unfortunately the PH budget is financed from change we found in the back of the test cars when giving them a clean and thus we are not filled with that pleasure. This is the first time in the car since the last meet at Oulton back at Easter.

A Ginetta race weekend does give the chance for 15 minutes of free practice and, with the sun warming the morning track, I set out with video recorder attached, on a track configuration I had managed to avoid driving at any point in the past 12 years. The resultant circling left me 4.5 seconds off the pace - and with a lot of coaching to be done.

Anyone who has used driver coaching when on track will know that having a second set of eyes in the car is a great help. It may result in something as small as a slight modification to a line into a corner, but it can result in seconds saved across a lap. As Matt coached me through my laps on the video he said "Like any driver who hasn't been in a race car for a couple of months, you are tending to turn in too early for each corner. I do it; everyone does with lack of practice."

After continual reviews of the video and analysis against the sector times, it is clear that there are vast improvements to be made for qualifying. As I head out to set a quick lap I hear Matt's voice in my head with the instructions he has given. Heeding the advice I aim to smash the four-and-a-half seconds I need to clinch pole and, with every lap, the car feels quicker. Surely pole is in sight.

Jumping out of the car I turn on the laptop and download the time sheets. My efforts haven't had the impact I had hoped, as I scroll down the list and see my name 10th. Encouragingly, though, I had got the gap to the leaders down to two seconds and was only four tenths off fifth. With a little more coaching from Matt and another two seconds found, this should result in the first podium of the season - but I'm always the optimist.

After qualifying, Matt keeps me behind class so we can walk the track and scrutinise the track further. Back in my sprint and hill climb days this was a habitual task before any event or during the lunch break. Unfortunately race tracks are not as easy to access on foot. Standing on the surface the track takes on a whole different perspective: undulations, surface changes and kerbing are far more noticeable at walking pace.

With the final guidance around the track Matt passes on his final words: "Don't think about it when out in the race; when you start following someone it will all come together. Just focus in the distance at the next corner and you will start driving quicker." Strange words, I thought, after such in-depth analysis while walking the track, but worth a try.

The long straight to Rockingham's hairpin off the banking means that any of the first five rows has a chance of taking the lead by the time the corner appears. As I approach it for the first time it's five abreast - from the cars I can see - and, finding myself on the outside, I opt to take them all that way. Unfortunately five into one takes a little sorting and I find myself 8th as we enter the infield.

Not trying to think about lines, but instead racing the other cars around me seems to be working. As I enter lap three, I have moved up to 7th and have the two cars in front lined up. With a move inside the two cars - busy battling between themselves - I move up to 5th place and set about catching fourth. The cars relegated down a position are not giving in for the next corner, however, so I move to the inside to defend. An optimistic lunge up the inside by one of them and a smash in the rear of the car sends me circling.

I find myself back down to 9th with a ten-second gap to the cars I was battling with. Angry at being spun out for the third race in a row, I set about catching the pack again but, with only a few laps to go, I have to settle for picking up a spinner and finishing 8th. It had promised to be a good result.

The second race adds more disappointment to the PH camp after a positive start helps me jump to 8th from the lowest grid position of the year of 11th. But on lap five, while closing on the 4th to 7th battle, the driveshaft decids to disintegrate inside the rear CV joint and the car clunks to a halt.

It may have been a bad weekend for results, but having a mentor throughout the weekend was a definite positive. I think all drivers can benefit from coaching - even if you are the best driver in the world. If it isn't improving the race lines that can help, then it is mental preparation and words of encouragement that will increase your performance at a race track. Perhaps Lewis Hamilton should take note.

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