Up to speed before the finale

So I've had another couple of months break from writing for love:mini magazine but I'm back and I've got LOADS to fill you all in on (and it's mostly good news this time!).
 

The last time I wrote for love:mini, I was in a state of despair at how badly my season was going both on track with my results and also off track financially my season was looking to be coming to an end. Luckily, I landed back on my feet. I managed to pick myself up, dust myself down and muster up the motivation and will power to carry on fighting to secure the budget needed to get back on track and I'm so glad I did because since my return at the MINI Festival in August, it has proved to be somewhat of a considerable turning point for me. 

Since then I have achieved my best qualifying position, my best comeback after an accident mid-race, my first ever OVERALL podium and then as if one podium wasn't enough I managed to go on and get another - one step higher! Now with just one final round left remaining of the 2015 Scottish Mini Cooper Cup, I have one step left on the podium that I haven't quite managed yet. 

With the absence of a couple of my closest competitors forecast for the final round, can I manage to finally get that overall win? Or has my lucky spell come to an end? Who knows, but I will be trying my very best to achieve what I thought at the start of this season would have been an impossibly unrealistic result.

As I have a few rounds to update you all on I will try and keep them fairly brief with a short-ish summary of how each round since (and including) the Mini Festival in August went.
 

Oulton Park MINI Festival, August, Round  5
After a great day's testing prior to raceday, I managed to pull my best qualifying result out of the bag with a 5th place! I got off to a great start and flew right up into 4th place when Joe Tanner seemed to have missed the start lights. Frustratingly I went wide going into Cascades sending my car flying across the grass before rejoining mid-pack. I then tucked back in behind Joe who was also recovering from his bad start and had planned on following him through the field back up to the front but that plan was short-lived as I was collected by Reis Robertson - when he had a moment at the first corner - and I was sent into the barrier. It was unfortunate but unintentional - just one of those wrong place at the wrong time kind of incidents. However my team were very impressed with how I came back from that accident as I managed to get the car going again before it even came to a full stop after hitting the wall and managed to catch the pack and gain a couple more places with a heavily damaged car all before the chequered flag a couple of laps later! 

Personally, that was quite an achievement for me as the Hannah of old would have got out of the car after it stopped crashing and sat on the tyre wall in an almighty tantrum with floods of tears. I am liking this newfound determination! The second race was just as crazy as the first but luckily for me I managed to only just avoid the lap 1 carnage at Island Bend and was on a mission to redeem myself securing another top 10 finish with 6th place.

Knockhill, August, Round 6
I went into this race weekend not knowing what to expect. I had a slight uneasy feeling that after such a great time at Oulton, I'd be disappointed by a poor performance on my return to my home circuit. Testing also didn't help, I wasn't driving well and ever the tough crowd to please, my team Minimax Motorsport weren't at all satisfied I was driving to my full potential and made me get back out and try harder but I'm glad they did! Qualifying I managed another 5th place even after hitting the wall in the second lap! 

Race 1 was the rescheduled race that had been cancelled in May due to the fog so for that I started 11th and had a great time working my way up to finish 6th. Race 2 I started P5 (from quali') and was enjoying a good battle with Chris Reid until I was knocked off at the hairpin by another driver but I got back on in 10th and finished 7th - so still a good race! Now for Race 3, reverse grid time! I was promoted to 2nd on the grid and after a great race I managed to hold onto 3rd and achieved my first ever podium! The reaction I received from that was just amazing and made it so much more worth it. I was certainly feeling the love from everyone and was so humbled by the amount of people that have been rooting for me!

Knockhill, September, Round 7
Another brilliant weekend racing with my team Minimax Motorsport! The weekend didn't actually get off to a great start. Admittedly I was slightly disappointed by qualifying position of 8th. Then getting another awful start in race 1 to drop down to 9th where I sat patiently behind the car infront for a few laps before choosing the right moment to pounce (at the hairpin). Annoyingly they tried to come back at me by driving into my rear quarter on the straight but luckily it wasn't me who came worse off from their failed and somewhat desperate attempt to get back past. I finished the race in 6th. 

Race 2, the heavens opened and the track was fully wet and then some! Starting 6th, I dropped a couple of places but fought my way back up to finish 7th putting me P2 for the reverse grid. Race 3 - back on the front row! For once I had an absolutely amazing start and went straight into 1st and built up a considerable lead by the end of the first lap. It felt surreal leading the race having no-one infront to chase (but I wasn't complaining! I could get used to that!). 

Sadly yet again it was short-lived as I made a mistake under pressure on the wet track and slid off onto the gravel at the chicane and at that end of the grid you can't afford to make any mistakes! I lost two places from my off road excursion and followed Joe and Oly with the intention of losing no more ground. Devastatingly for Joe (my teammate from the previous season), his car broke down with 1 lap to go as he was leading the race promoting Oly to take the win and me to take my second podium one step higher in 2nd place - so thanks Joe, but sorry about your lack of luck :-(!

Overall, I am so glad to be doing my sponsors, friends and family proud by getting the results after such an abysmal start to the year so a big thanks goes out to everyone who has stuck by me and carried on believing in me even when things were looking hopeless!

Congratulations to my teammate Kenny Thirlwall who managed to secure the overall championship win a round early. I will be sad not to have him around at the last round but wish him all the best in his future plans to move to bike racing!

Now to focus on the final round. I look forward to the excitement and inevitable dramas that it will bring. Wish me luck!!