Max Bird

More Competitive at European GT4 Championship R2 – Misano

The second round of the European GT4 Championship underlined the progress that the team have made since the previous European round in France. The circuit at Misano is 2.6 miles long with 16 corners and 3 quite long straights. The weather for the entire weekend was dry and warm and the track was very sticky with tyre rubber so much so that on our track walk it felt like we were walking in mud!

We had a number of upgrades on the car, a wider front rim and tyre, different dampers and some larger front brakes, but unfortunately no more engine power although we were given less weight to carry which as it turned out doesn’t really help the car very much.

Our pace in qualifying was better that R1 with our best grid position being 14^th compared to 29^th at Paul Ricard, and we were about 1.4 seconds off pole position compared to 2.5 seconds previously.

I started Race 1 and was hit from behind by another car into turn 2 immediately after the start. What I didn’t know until after the race was that the impact had virtually closed up the tail pipe on the exhaust and as a result we were 30 bhp down throughout the race. Despite this we got up to 18^th place until with 1 lap to go we had a fuel pickup problem which dropped us to 24^th at the end of the race. The engine was getting hot due to the exhaust issue and the engine management system injects more fuel in an effort to cool the engine down and hence the problem with the fuel pickup at the end. Despite that, this was still our best finish so far.

Dexter started Race 2 in 14^th and drove well to get the car into the top 10 for me to take over after 30 minutes, but 1 lap into my stint the electrical system completely shutdown and the car came to a halt at the side of the track and that was the end of our race. Although a disappointing result, the fact that we were able to race inside the top 10 was a massive step forward from the previous race.

Overall a huge step forward by the team and definite signs of better things to come. I just hope we can get the extra power for the next round at Spa which will punish us otherwise compared to some of the other cars.

Learning Weekend at European GT4 Championship R1 – Paul Ricard

Our inaugural weekend in the European GT4 Championship proved to be a challenging one for the whole team, but we learned a lot and will come back stronger for R2 in May. The circuit at Paul Ricard is 3.6 miles long with 2 long straights and some very technical challenging corners. The weather for the entire weekend was dry and warm which doesn’t suit Supercharged engine in the Lotus, but is something we will need to come to terms in order to be competitive.

The European GT4 championship is contested by a wide variety of cars including Aston Martin, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Ford, Alpine, Mercedes and Lotus and the organisers apply restrictions to some cars in order to try and level the performance. Because the Lotus is a new entrant and the organisers don’t have much data on the car’s performance, we had a 10% power reduction applied to the car which had a considerable effect because of the long straights at Paul Ricard.

We struggled in qualifying because of the lack of power and were 2.5 seconds of the front row pace which put us down in 37^th place out of 49 cars on the grid. After qualifying the organisers reviewed our data and could see that we had been unduly penalised and gave us back a 5% power increase.

I started Race 1 and with the extra power was able to make up some places during my stint behind the wheel and at the pit stop for driver change we were into the top 20 cars, but soon after my co-driver Dexter took over the front nearside tyre failed and Dexter had to limp back to the pits for a new tyre. Dexter rejoined the race only for a driveshaft to break a few laps later and we had to retire the car.

Dexter started Race 2 in 29^th and drove well to get the car into the top 20 for me to take over after 30 minutes, but 4 laps into my stint the same left front tyre failed and I had to limp round to the pits for a new tyre. I rejoined the race down in 42^nd place and managed to get back up to 36^th at the chequered flag.

It was a disappointing weekend, but we made progress with both cars finishing race 2 and as a team we all learned a lot to take onto Misano for the next round

Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro Am Champion R8 – Brands GP

My first season in the Porsche Carrera Cup came to an end at the challenging Brands Hatch GP circuit. I entered the weekend 18 points in the lead in the Pro Am championship, but with 24 points available I couldn’t afford to relax and in a way I had everything to lose and my rival nothing to lose. The weather for the whole weekend was dry, sunny and really warm for the time of the year. The Grand Prix part of the circuit is extremely fast, with some blind corners where the apex isn’t visible when approaching the corner. I have raced on the track before but in a Mini which is somewhat different from the Porsche. I absolutely love the track and in the free practice 1 on Friday I was on the pace throughout. Free practice 2 wasn’t so good, I had problems with the brakes and ended up spending time in the pits trying to solve the problem, which we didn’t manage to do, so the team used Friday evening to strip the brakes and prepare for the qualifying on Saturday.

Saturday weather was fine and hot. It was decided to replace the brake pads in my car and to use an old set of pads because in qualifying there would be no time to bed in another new set. With Brands Hatch GP being a longer circuit than the Silverstone National where we raced last, there is a much greater gap between the fastest and slowest on the grid. On my first run I managed a time that put me 11^th on the grid and 2^nd in the Pro Am category. My second run was a bit hampered by a slower car that spoilt my first quick lap and I dropped back to give myself more space for another attempt and I managed to improve my time but dropped to 3^rd in Pro Am, just behind my championship rival which I was happy with, but he got 2 points for qualifying fastest which reduced my lead to 16 points.

Sunday was very warm and it was great that so many people came to Brands to support me and it really helped me to raise my game and keep focused on the goal. Starting race 1 in 13 on the grid, I was on the inside line for the first corner, I made a good start but lost 1 place on lap 1 as everyone sorted themselves out. I moved up to 11^th place on lap 2 when 2 cars in front of me crashed on fluid that had been dropped on the track, which luckily I managed to avoid. A big accident on lap 6 brought out the safety car and due to the damage to the barrier the rest of the race was run under the safety car. My rival for the championship scored the maximum 11 points for a Pro Am win and fastest lap and I got 6 points for 3^rd place leaving me 11 points in the lead of the championship. This meant that I needed 1 more point to be sure of the championship, because if my rival won race 2 and set fastest lap he would get 11 points which would mean a tie on points and he would win the championship because he has had more race wins in the season.

For race 2 I just needed to stay out of trouble, finish the race and get at least 1 point to guarantee the Pro Am championship. I started 3^rd in the Pro Am category, I made a good start but dropped 2 places as the race settled down on the 1^st lap, just by finishing in this position was enough to claim the title, so I settled in to 5^th place in Pro Am, I had to manage the gap to the cars behind me and kept that at about 2/10th second for the entire race. What I didn’t know until after the race was that my rival in the championship had dropped down to 2^nd in Pro Am and didn’t have the fastest lap and so in that position he couldn’t win the championship and I didn’t actually need the extra point.

It has been a long hard road getting to this point, but I am now the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro Am champion of 2023, I can hardly believe it!! I couldn’t have done all this with the support of my team at Redline Racing, all my sponsors and partners and most of all my mum and dad, without whom none of this would have been possible.

I can now relax just a little bit and start thinking seriously about 2024.

Tough One at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R7 – Silverstone National

The championship was at the Silverstone National circuit for the penultimate round of the season, with again a mixture of weather to contend with. I missed the test day for Silverstone at the end of August because of the damage to my car at the last round at Donington and whilst I didn’t think this would be a problem, I was most definitely wrong. The Friday practice day started damp and I was 4^th fastest, which was just about the best session of the weekend as it went downhill from there. The track dried in the afternoon and my times were 4/10th second off the pace, which put me down in 17^th and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t improve. Reviewing the data after showed one particular corner where I was losing most of the time and armed with that knowledge I thought that qualifying would be better.

Saturday weather was fine and dry. On my first qualifying run in trying to brake later into the corner where I was losing time I locked a rear wheel and flat spotted a tyre and my best time was a 55.002. After a change of tyres I managed a 54.859 but that was still 2.5/10th second off where I needed to be and it put me 15^th overall on the grid, by far my worst qualifying of the year.

Sunday was very windy and rain showers came and went and then came again during the morning. It rained just before my first race and then as we sat in the assembly area waiting to go the rain stopped and it started to dry very quickly. Half of the grid changed to slick tyres but Redline Racing opted for wets and it was the wrong choice. I made places initially but soon lost out to the slick tyre runners and ended up finishing 12^th overall and 4^th in the Pro Am category.

For race 2 the weather was dry and starting from 12^th I thought I could move forward from there, but I released the clutch too quickly at the start, the car bogged down and my race was over before the first corner because I lost 5 places and then had to spent the entire race trying to make them back, and ended up 14^th and 6^th Pro Am with my main championship rival taking the win.

I am convinced that had I been able to test at Silverstone prior to the race weekend which all the others did, then I could have improved, but as it was I came away dropping 5 points to my main rival in the championship. I left Silverstone still leading the Pro Am championship by 18 points but it meant that the final 2 races at Brands Hatch were more crucial than ever if I was to win the Porsche Pro Am title.

Cruel Luck at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R6 – Donington GP

The championship returned to Donington for R6 and the weather wasn’t much better than the opening round back in April, with heavy rain at various times during the weekend and cold when the sun wasn’t out. This time we were racing on the GP circuit which includes the Foggarty Esses, a chicane taken at high speed and the downhill hairpin part of the Melbourne loop, the first time the Porsches had used this track configuration. The Thursday practice day was fine and dry and I got some good time in the seat but ended up being classified 19^th because we didn’t have new tyres to put on at the end of the day, but despite this I was happy with the car setup and knew I could improve in qualifying.

Saturday weather was showery and the radar showed heavy rain for qualifying. But the rain came early and the sun came out and dried the track. On my first qualifying run I only managed to set the 4^th quickest Pro Am time, so I pitted, changed tyres and then waited until the track was less busy and went for a second run with just 8 minutes left which gave me time for 2 warmup laps and then 3 flying laps, I moved to 2^nd Pro Am on the 1^st flying lap and then was quicker on the 2^nd when I ran slightly wide on the exit for the chicane, so I slowed and prepared for 1 final lap, I crossed the line with seconds to spare and went on to set my best time that moved me into 1^st place in the Pro Am category and 6^th overall.

Sunday weather was again very changeable and it rained from about 08:45 for just under an hour, so we lined up for the first race on wet tyres, but the rain had stopped. I made a good start from 6^th on the grid gaining a place on the first lap before a safety car period. On the restart I made up another place, the track started to dry and I made a slight mistake into the final hairpin which dropped me to 8^th and with my tyres going off I held that until 2 laps from the end when I dropped down to 9^th and 2^nd in Pro Am, which I was happy with.

For race 2 the weather was dry and starting from 9^th, I made a good start but in the scramble at the first corner I got slightly baulked and let 2 of the Pro drivers who started behind me through. There was an immediate safety car to recover a car at turn 1 which lasted for a couple of laps. On the restart I was chasing hard the 3 cars in front of me and as we approached the Foggarty Esses, a chicane with tyre stacks on either side which we take at 100+ mph the car 2 in front of me hit the tyres on the right hand side of the track which dislodged them into the racing line for the car directly in front of me to hit and dislodge further and I had no chance of avoiding them. There was considerable damage to the right hand side of my car and I just managed to crawl back to the pits to retire, my first DNF of the year.

It was cruel luck for me at Donington, I was quick and definitely on for a second podium of the weekend before the incident, but at least I am still leading the Pro Am championship by a slightly increased margin with 4 races to go. Unfortunately because of the damage to the car I missed the Porsche official Silverstone test day on the 29^th August, which put me on the back foot for the next round at Silverstone.

Another Podium at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R5 – Knockhill

Knockhill race circuit in Scotland sits on the side of a hill with a wonderful view of the Firth of Forth and the Forth Road Bridge in the distance. The track is quite short and undulating, with great views for spectators and a real challenge for drivers. The local weather is unpredictable at the best of times and the race weekend was no exception. After sunshine for the Porsche official test day on the Wednesday before, Friday was grey, windy and wet mixed in with sunny spells for the pre race practice. As luck would have it both my practice sessions on Friday were in the dry and I was pleased with a combined 6^th placing overall.

Saturday weather was much the same for qualifying and this time we were not so lucky. Just 8 laps into qualifying with the slick tyres barely warmed up a red flag put a stop to proceedings while a car was retrieved and as that was happening the rain came down very hard and there was no chance of setting a better time, so I was slight disappointed to end up 2^nd Pro Am driver and 7^th overall for race 1 on Sunday.

Sunday weather was again very changeable, with wind, rain and sun at various times during the day. The grid at Knockhill is on an incline which makes the start more difficult, but for race 1 the weather was dry and I made a reasonable start from 7^th on the grid but lost a place on the first lap and then made a slight mistake through the chicane on the 2^nd lap which dropped me down to 12^th . I tried immediately to recover the lost places and went for a move round the outside at turn 2 and got pushed off the circuit into the gravel and the barrier, I managed to keep the car going, but my steering was badly damaged and I dropped down to 22^nd place. I started to fight back and despite the issues with the steering I managed to make my way back up to finish 14^th overall and 6^th in the Pro Am category, my worst result of the year.

It rained heavily before the start of race 2 and I was determined to make up for the result in race 1 and get on the podium. Starting 14^th, I made a good start but lost a place as we sorted ourselves out on lap 1 but then made up 3 places on lap 2 before a safety car. When we started racing again I had some good battles continually swapping places, the rain stopped, the sun came out and the track started to dry rapidly. Because I was battling hard my tyres started to overhead as the track dried, I made my way up to 9^th overall and 3^rd in the Pro Am category, which put me on the podium and enabled me to reclaim some of the points that I had lost to my main championship rival in the first race.

Knockhill was a challenging weekend for me, I scored another podium and still lead the Pro Am championship but by a slightly reduced margin. The next race is at Donington in the East Midlands on Sunday 27^th August.

Back on the Top Step of the Podium at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R4 – Oulton Park

What started as a difficult day on the Saturday came good on the Sunday with another win in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, so I have now had 3 wins and 4 second places from 8 races. Oulton Park is a technical undulating circuit with a mixture of fast and slow corners and is quite narrow in places. I enjoy the track and have been successful there in the past in both the Ginetta and the Mini, but never in the Porsche.

Saturday was not quite as hot as it had been on the Friday and just before we started qualifying it started to spit with rain. In the first part of qualifying I initially set a reasonable time on a slightly damp track, and then pitted. The rain stopped and everyone else was going quicker and I dropped down to 17^th overall, so we changed tyres and I went out again but just as I was getting up to speed a red flag put a stop to qualifying.. On the restart with just 5 minutes left on the clock I left the pits put in one lap to warm the tyres and then set a quick lap that moved me up to 5^th overall on the grid and fastest Pro Am driver which was a great result.

In race 1 on the Saturday, I made a disastrous start and then got pushed off the circuit at the chicane to end lap 1 in 11^th place. The trip off the circuit had knocked my tracking out and I struggled to stay with the cars in front of me due to the understeer that I had and so didn’t manage to make up any places and finished 11^th overall and 4^th in the Pro Am category which was disappointing. After the race 2 drivers in front of me received penalties and so I was reclassified as 9^th overall but still 4^th in Pro Am.

Sunday was dry and warm after rain overnight and I was determined to get on the podium after my result on the Saturday. Starting 9^th, again not a great start and I lost a place off the line but regained it going into the first corner. A crash behind me in turn 1 caused a safety car that lasted 5 laps before we got racing again and I made up 1 place after 2 laps and another on the last but 1 lap to finish 7^th overall and to take the win in the Pro Am category.

So after a difficult start to the weekend I came away with another good haul of championship points and increased my lead in the championship to 26 points. The next race is at Knockhill in Scotland on Sunday 13^th August.

Two More Second Places at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R3 – Thruxton

I had another very successful weekend of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, with two more second place finishes, so I have now had 6 podiums from 6 races. Thruxton is the fastest circuit in the country and so the test day prior to the race weekend was useful seat time for me, as I have only raced at Thruxton once before, and that wasn’t in the Porsche.

Saturday was hot and the track at Thruxton is very abrasive, so the tyres don’t last long and have only 1 or 2 really good laps in qualifying before they start going off. On my first set of tyres I managed a lap that put me 8^th on the grid, I came in after 6 laps to change tyres and let the car cool down and then went again for another run. I was on a mega lap, nearly 0.5 second up on my previous best time when a yellow flag came out because of an incident at the chicane and I had to abort the lap. It took sometime to clear the incident and I never got another flying lap without traffic, so ended up 8^th overall on the grid and fastest Pro Am driver which I was happy with.

Sunday was another hot day and after practicing my start routine on Friday I came to the grid hoping to make a better start than I did at the last round at Brands. I had been advised to get as much heat into the rear tyres as possible on the warm-up lap, but when the lights went green although the initial getaway was fine the car bogged down when I changed into 2^nd gear and I lost 4 places into the first corner. I then had 22 laps of great racing to work my way back up to finish 9^th overall and 2^nd in the Pro Am class.

In Race 2, starting 9^th on the grid I think I finally cracked the start and was up to 7^th at the end of lap 1 and then up to 6^th on lap 4 and I spent the rest of the race challenging the lead Pro Am driver, but despite being just 0.4 second behind going into the last lap I decided to take the points rather than make a late overtake that could have ended in disaster and I settled for 2^nd in the Pro Am class which is where I finished.

So I came away from the weekend with another good haul of championship points and I am now 24 points clear of the 2^nd place driver in the Pro Am championship. The next race is in 2 weeks at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Sunday 18^th June.

Double Podium at Porsche Carrera Cup GB R2 – Brands Hatch

Another very successful weekend of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. The test day at Brands Hatch prior to the race weekend was dry and was useful seat time for me, we used old tyres all day and so my times were never that great but I was still within 1/2 second of the fastest driver in both sessions.

Saturday started damp and got progressively worse as the day went on. By the time we came to qualify it was pouring with rain. I started qualifying on a used set of wet tyres and changed to new wet tyres about 1/3 of the way through the session and I set a time that put me 6^th overall on the grid and fastest Pro Am driver which I was very pleased with.

Sunday was a completely different day, dry and quite warm. The start line is on a slight incline and as I sat in my place on the grid the car started to roll forward and because I didn’t want to jump the start I had to use the brake, clutch and accelerator at the same time and when the lights went green I was slow getting away and lost 3 places into the first corner. The first 5 laps were behind a safety car after an accident in turn 1 and then when we restarted I had a 7 lap battle with one of the Pro drivers who I eventually let passed and then I held my position until the end of the race to finish 10^th overall and 2^nd in Pro Am with the fastest lap.

In Race 2 my start was no better and I again lost 3 places into the first corner, dropping me to 4^th in the Pro Am class. But from there I had a fantastic race swapping places a few times with one of the Pro drivers before making the move stick and then catching and passing 2 Pro Am drivers to put me back up to 10^th where I started and 2^nd in the Pro Am class where I finished, once again taking the fastest lap.

So I came away from the weekend with a good haul of championship points and still in the lead in the Pro Am championship. The next race is in 4 weeks at Thruxton on Sunday 4^th June, I think I need to practice my starts before then!!