Val de Vienne - I'll Get You One Day

It was a weekend packed with lessons-and a weekend that hurts. Pride takes the hit. Despite clear progress it feels like deja vu. Here is how the fifth round of my Historic Tour 2022 season went at Val-de-Vienne.

My First Time on a Circuit

My first taste of this track came 14 years ago at the Feu Vert J-Cup. Three laps total, only one at speed, on half the circuit. Basically nothing.

Back then two tenths in a slalom kept me out of the final.

This time I arrive buoyed by progress at the Grand Prix de France Historique. Val-de-Vienne is technical, but it suits my driving style.

Confident and Chasing Championship Points

Friday morning practice goes well; I quickly feel at ease in the Crossle 16F.

I was supposed to be back in the Lotus 69, but the engine still wasn't rebuilt after the Dijon incident-parts only arrived two days earlier. Thanks, Brexit.

So I'm in the Crossle usually driven by Federico. He broke his wrist. Get well soon, mate.

The Crossle behaves much more like a kart than the Lotus, and time at Paul Ricard helped me get comfortable near the limit.

I'm confident. Early laps look promising and put me in range of my main rival, Eric Lecluse.

Strong Qualifying

After a smooth practice day, qualifying kicks off early Saturday.

You can feel some drivers are chasing points. Everyone is passing everyone, blocking everyone. It's hard to string together clean laps without getting held up, or ducking out of the way for faster-class cars.

I overshoot a braking zone and beach it in the gravel. I keep the car rolling, crawl out, and head to the pits. Theo, one of the Classic Racing School mechanics on the Historic Tour, wants to check the car-no point risking a water pump or worse.

The dash shows a 1:53.2. Theo tells me I'm P4, just a tenth behind Eric. Two minutes remain-enough for one more lap if I nail the timing.

I dive back out and push like mad. Dive-bomb passes on corner entry, traffic everywhere, but the pace is there. I catch Eric easing off to pit. Cross the line-two tenths quicker.

Will it beat him?

In the end I stay fourth. Eric finds a second on his final lap. Ahead of us are Paul McMorran, Crossle's managing director, and Pierre-Alain Lombardi, who boasts five Le Mans starts.

Without traffic I know there was another second-maybe two-in the car.

A Real Debrief

Back in the garage we break things down. No sugarcoating. It's a proper debrief: where to brake, how to manage tyre temps, how to cope with traffic.

The team's feedback is brutal and exact. Exactly what I need.

Race 1 - Bad Luck and Rookie Lessons

Race day. I line up fourth. Lights out, good launch, hold position.

But the gearbox starts acting up-second refuses to engage. Cars stream past. I fall back to sixth.

I fight, claw back to fourth, but I'm in survival mode. The rest of the race becomes a damage limitation exercise.

Across the line, I'm frustrated. I wanted a podium. Instead, I'm left wondering if the gearbox will hold.

Race 2 - Same Mistake Twice

Sunday. Theo swears he swapped the gearbox.

I know he didn't.

He knows I know.

It's psychological. He wants me relaxed about the shifts that tripped me up the day before.

I start alongside Eric, behind Paul and Pierre-Alain. Getting ahead of all three would slash the points gap in the championship.

It was the goal Saturday. The gap only grew. At minimum I need to stop the bleeding.

On the grid, first gear engaged, focus razor sharp.

I'm on the inside line-perfect to dive into Turn 1 and emerge in the lead, even against the faster class cars.

Lights on.

Visor down.

Lights out. Go.

Four Hundredths

My reaction time: 0.04 seconds. Rocket launch.

Then second gear hits and the engine coughs, like it's bogging.

Eric blasts past. Then Regis. Then Mayeul.

I hang on down the straight, but the tach needle goes wild. Oil pressure? Good. Water temp? Fine. Deja vu of Dijon.

I refuse to grenade another engine.

Hand up. Coast back. Into the pits.

Lacking Racecraft

Back in the box I explain the symptoms to Theo. Turns out the kill switch wasn't fully clicked up. Vibration bounced it between on and off, choking the engine.

Stupid mistake, but now I know the fix.

I could have rejoined. But the leaders streamed past pit exit as I stopped. I'd be a lap down.

Frustrated, I park it. No sense risking a crash or mechanical issue from the back.

Minimal consolation: a new lesson learned. This was only my fifth race weekend ever, fourth in the Historic Tour.

Val-de-Vienne is not for me yet

Another defeat at Le Vigeant, nearly 15 years after the first. Still, I'm better for it.

I know what pace I can hit on a technical circuit.

I'll return stronger at Charade.

Huge thanks to Classic Racing School for the logistics, the Herculean work repairing the Lotus 69, and the Crossle loan at Val-de-Vienne.

Thank you Coraline for keeping the hospitality top-notch all weekend.

Thanks to Theo and Malivai for dealing with me even when I fell short of expectations.

And massive gratitude to our partners-none of this happens without you: the Vaillante Academie, the Volant Michel Vaillant x YEMA, the Circuits de Vendee, YEMA, and RRS.