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| | | | | 1. | Charlotte's 2011 | | | | | | | Tough Times for Charlotte Burridge in her Toyota at Rockingham
Charlotte Burridge was at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire last weekend for the latest rounds in the Fuchs Titan Race MR2 Racing Series.
Having never even driven on the circuit before, Charlotte would have a difficult task ahead of her but she was looking forward to the challenge in her Stoner racing MR2.
The day didn’t start well with Charlotte feeling unwell from a mild case of food poisoning. Not one to let things get her down, Charlotte pressed on and took to the track for the very first time in the Qualifying session. She intended to gradually build up during the session as she became more familiar with the track. Initially things were going well with Charlotte finding the limits in Rockingham’s many corners on it’s twisty infield course. But half way through the session disaster struck when a rival made a stupid move on her going into Pif-Paf, hitting the side of Charlotte’s car and sending her into a spin. The impact was so heavy it cracked the windscreen and so she returend to the pits for a check over. Although there was considerable bodywork damage there was no obvious mechanical problems so the teams sent her on her way.
By now though her session was ruined and charlotte was very angry. Her and the team looked into putting in a protest but there was not enough evidence and it would do little or nothing to help her grid position. Charlotte had ended up 14th out of 20, not a total disaster but many places lower than where she had hoped to be. She would have to try and fight her way through in the race. The team fixed the damage to her car as best as they could, but some of the plastic parts had been smashed and lost so the car was left looking a bit sorry for itself!
Charlotte got a good start off the line as race one got underway as was one of the fastest around the first corner that utilizes turn one of the banked oval. However as the field bunched up going into the Deene hairpin, Charlotte got shuffled towards the outside and dropped back down to 13th. However over the next few laps she battled with the group of cars ahead and gradually worked her way past them. Then on lap 6 disaster struck at the Deene Hairpin when amazingly she was hit in the same spot on the car as she had been hit in qualifying, again spinning her off. She rejoined in second to last place and set about trying to fight back once again. However it soon became clear something was wrong as the car had lost performance considerably. She kept going as best she could and crossed the line in a creditable 13th place, again a lot lower than she would have done had she not been hit.
Her team set about fixing the car once again and trying to investigate what had caused the drop in performance after the impact. Eventually the problem was diagnosed to sticking rear brakes. When Charlotte was braking into the corners the brakes were not releasing properly as she took her foot off the pedal and this then slowed the car down the following straights. The team worked hard to cure the problem but it was a race against time. Soon the call came to go to the assembly area for race two so they reassembled the car and Charlotte got ready to take to the track, hoping that it was back to full performance.
She again made an excellent start off the line and was looking good heading towards the Deene hairpin but as she applied the brakes it was clear that all was not well. The problem was still present and the resulting loss of performance was making it tough for Charlotte to even stay with the cars running at the back. These were cars that Charlotte would usually be racing well ahead of but she found them pulling away. Still it was better to continue rather than retire while the car was still drivable so she pushed on. She crossed the line in 17th place. She was very disappointed with how the day had gone; “It’s been a nightmare today with getting pushed off in both qualifying and race one. Then having the brake problems as well but at least none of the problems were my fault. We’ll have a new car for the next rounds so hopefully I can move to the front in future. I’m in tenth place now in the championship so despite having a bad day, I’m still doing well in the series. I’d like to thank Global car hire, Hertford planning services and Cateringwithintent for their continued support enabling me to keep racing in the series.”
It had been a very tough day for Charlotte but she had shown speed when her car was working and determination to finish when it wasn’t.
Her next MR2 series races are at Mallory Park on the 18th September although she also has a couple of invitation races to be held at Brands Hatch at the beginning of September.
By Marc Waller
Weight issues fail to spoil Charlotte Burridges day
After the issues in the Nippon challenge with handling and tyres the day before, Charlotte returned to Snetterton on Sunday to race her Stoner Racing MR2 in the Toyota MR2 championship.
This time her and the team hoped they had sorted the issues which had blunted her challenge before. It was to be a long day with qualifying held first thing and the second race not until the end of the day at 17:45. She also unveiled a new sponsor as Global Self Drive logos appeared on both her doors.
Charlotte headed out in Qualifying and found her car was now much better. It looked although she was heading for a positon in the top half of the field but it wasn’t to be.
Charlotte had gone through scrutineering after the race and had been told her car was all fine. But when she had got back to the paddock, an official informed her and the team that her car had been found to be underweight. This meant she would lose her qualifying times and would have to start from the back. Mystified how a car that had been easily heavy enough the day before could suddenly be underweight, the team did some investigating. They added enough fuel to put the car back on weight and took it back to the weighbridge. Mysteriously the car now weighed a lot more than just the fuel that had been added. If they took the fuel back out, the car would still be easily above the minimum weight. This suggested that a mistake had been made when the car was initially weighed. However there nothing the team could do as once Charlotte had been waived out of scrutineering, the opportunity to appeal had gone. The fact that they weren’t notified until afterwards made the bad news all the more difficult to take. Charlotte was really annoyed;
“I’m very angry, I always ask if my weight is okay in scrutineering, I’ve done it since my karting days. I was told that everything was fine so I drove back here. Now they tell us that I’m underweight when it’s too late to do anything about it. I’ve got to start from the back now, it just doesn’t seem fair especially as we know I wasn’t underweight.”
For yet another race Charlotte would have to try and fight her way through the field. She was really fired up and determined to show she belonged at the front. The team also requested that her car be weighted after the race no matter where she finished to prove there was no cheating going on.
Charlotte rocketed off the line and before the first lap was even completed she had passed five cars. Every lap she picked off more cars, passing all around the circuit. As she moved up the field her progress past the cars ahead started to slow but she kept up the chase. She crossed the line in 15th place, having passed nearly 20 cars during the 7 lap race! Her car was weighed and found to be easy over the minimum weight. However several other cars were found to be underweight which promoted Charlotte up to an excellent 11th place. This also meant she would be starting in this position for race 2, giving her a really good chance of a top ten. Charlotte was pleased;
“That was a good race, I enjoyed passing all those cars and it’s given me a good starting position for race 2. My target for the next race is to get a top ten.”
With another red flag delay, it was nearly 6pm by the time the second and final race got underway, Charlotte got an excellent start once again and started battling with the pack squabbling for the final few top ten positions. She battled with them for lap after lap swapping positions and things looked to be going well. But Charlotte realised her tyres were starting to overheat. She was in tenth place and was well ahead of the rest of the pack, so rather than risk not finishing she decided to back off slightly and get the car to the finish. This saw the pack ahead pull away and Charlotte had a rather lonely final few laps to the flag. She crossed the line in tenth and achieved her target for the race. Charlotte was happy with her race but wasn’t so happy with everything that had gone on.
“I’ve got mixed emotions about the weekend, I’ve had a good time and I enjoyed the races but it was disappointing to have issues yesterday and then the problems after qualifying today. It’d be nice to be able to start from near the front of the grid for once, every time I qualify there something goes wrong!
I am really happy to welcome Global Self Drive to the team this weekend and look forward to future success with them. I'd also like to thank Hertford Planning services, Mr Injector and ‘CateringWithintent’ for their continued support."
Charlotte Burridge frustrated by tyre issues in the Nippon Challenge
Charlotte Burridge headed for Snetterton last weekend to race her Stoner racing Toyota MR2 at the Lotus festival race meeting.
First up on Saturday were the Nippon Challenge races. After he impressive driving at the previous round at Castle Combe, Charlotte was hoping to achieve some even better results at the Norfolk circuit.
It had been raining first thing on Saturday morning and the track still appeared wet as Charlotte Prepared to go out for qualifying. The car was prepared with a wet setup which seemed like the best way to go with the weather still being relatively cool. Charlotte was immediately setting quick times and was initially well up the grid. However as the session went on the track had started to dry quicker than expected and charlotte found her car was no longer performing as well. With everyone else now getting faster, Charlotte started falling down the order. Sadly as the Qualifying sessions are so short there was nothing she could do about it. By the end of the session she found herself in 29th and tenth in class, nowhere near she was expecting to be.
The track was completely dry by the time race one was held and so the car had a totally dry setup. She got a good start and was soon passing people and moving up the field, it looked like it was going to be another one of her fight-back drives that she is becoming known for. But on lap 4, the performance of her car “fell off a cliff” (To use an F1 term) She suddenly found she had no grip and the car was under-steering everywhere. Her lap times dropped off and she started falling back down the field. She ended up 23rd and 9th in class an improvement on Qualifying but still not where she wanted to be.
Charlotte and the team were mystified, they’d had the correct setup this time but the car didn’t behave the way it should have done. Charlotte had a chat with a Tyre technician and he suggested running some different tyre pressures. They made this and some other alterations hoping that the car would now allow Charlotte to race to her full potential.
Race two was right at the end of the day and due to a long stoppage in an earlier race, it had to be shortened. Charlotte again got a good start and the car felt good. This time she moved up the field in the early laps but didn’t have the drop off in performance that she’d felt in the earlier race. She was moving relatively easily through the field until she came across Jeff Mcall in number 23, a car you can’t miss, being as it’s painted like a New York city cab! He put up a very robust defence and when Charlotte did pass him he chose to run into the back of her, lifting her rear wheels clear of the ground. Charlotte kept control in the following hairpin and stayed ahead. It wasn’t the sort of driving you expect in circuit racing and Charlotte wasn’t impressed. She kept her head though and crossed the line, this time 19th overall and 8th in class. Although this was a big improvement, Charlotte being a very competitive person wasn’t happy.
“it’s been a frustrating day. I had a much better time in that race but things could have gone better today. I’m not impressed with that yellow car, that’s the driving you expect in banger racing not on the track!”
It had been a frustrating day but charlotte’s driving had managed to get a decent result despite the problems. Charlotte and the team now looked forward to the MR2 Championship races the next day.
Poles and Podiums for Burridge
Monday the 30th of May saw Charlotte take to Castle Combe race circuit to take part in a packed day of racing with the opportunity to compete in two race championships on the bank holiday. The decision was made by Charlotte and her team that due to her lack of experience and only learning the circuit on the previous Wednesday that competing in both the Nippon Challenge a race series for Japanese and Asian built race cars and her usual Toyota MR2 MK1 championship she would gain more race experience.
On what was an extremely wet day Charlotte managed to gain pole position in the Nippon Challenge but not only did she gain pole position she also managed to qualify 6th overall in the whole race! Therefore having many cars with more power sat behind her on the grid this was a fantastic achievement. “I never expected to gain pole position, it was the first time I had driven my MR2 in the wet so I was uncertain of what to expect, but it was a great feeling to know I was quickest in my class and quicker than many other of the faster cars on circuit”. Charlotte finished 3rd in both of her Nippon Challenge races which is a great achievement as this was only her third race meeting.
The main championship in which Charlotte was focusing on was her usual Toyota MR2 MK1 series were full of confidence she qualified 5th on the grid with many of the usual front runners behind her for the first race. However on the grid her car mysteriously lost all power and the electrics failed resulting in Charlotte having to painfully watch the race from the side lines of where her car was pushed off. This meant Charlotte had a real challenge in what would be her last race of the day having to start from 35th on the grid. This was made even harder with the knowledge that Castle Combes time restriction was drawing ever closer and her race was cut down to 11minutes instead of the usual 15. Getting a brilliant start Charlotte made it up to 14th within just 4 laps; however a car further up the fields engine set on fire leaving oil on the circuit were Charlotte became a victim and spun her car and became a passenger of the MR2 however amazingly the car landed in the right direction and Charlotte was able to get back up to 19th position as the chequered flag dropped.
After her consistently impressive drives
throughout the day in both championships in extremely difficult conditions Charlotte showed she has raw pace and has the maturity of a driver who has been racing for many more years than herself she was awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ and was awarded a trophy by the Red Dragon Race Club. Charlotte commented, “Today has been a rollercoaster of emotions, it was my first time to drive the car in the wet but to get the results I did has been fantastic and a massive confidence boost. Obviously I am really disappointed about what happened in the first MR2 race but it was a great come back in the second race, and I’m so happy about my pole position and two 3rds in the Nippon Challenge.
Charlottes next outing will be on the 25th and 26th of June at Snetterton.
Driver of the day for Burridge
Silverstone National brought the first test for Charlotte to see who she was up against this year at an invitation race held for MR2 series drivers. After a disasterous qualifying with Charlotte not even making a lap after a fuse going she stormed through the field in both races from last on the grid to take a end result of 24th in her first ever car race. Charlottes strong and solid performance was noticed throughout the day and she was awarded driver of the day! “From such a bad start to the day to end up with a solid finish and driver of the day was a fantastic result, I am very much looking forward to Brands Hatch after the experience I have gained today and I will maintain the positive momentum and keep on pushing for round 1 of the championship.”
Charlottes next outing takes her to Brands Hatch in Kent on the 1st May for rounds 1 and 2 of the MR2 MK1 series.
Charlotte joins Mr2 grid for 2011!
This year Charlotte will be racing in the MR2 MK1 series. She will be one of only 2 females in the highly competitive field and be taken across the country to 7 of the country’s finest race circuits including Brands Hatch and Rockingham across the year. “I am extremely excited to be racing in this series this year, we have done a lot of research and feel this is a great car and series to learn all the new circuits and gain experience in. I will be pushing hard from the start to get good results and look forward to what the forthcoming year brings”. | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 2. | Charlotte's 2010 | | | | | | | 27th September
Charlotte starts her studies at the University of Hertfordshire. She will be taking Psychology and Sports Studies BA/BSc hons
29th April
Charlotte is appearing in this month’s version of motorsportmedia.co.uk e-magazine. Check out the interview on pages 37/38/39 on the following link. www.motorsportmedia.co.uk/
23rd March
Charlotte has been reqruited as the newest member of the Motors TV blog page. She will blog throughout the year with all her news. blog.motorstv.co.uk check out her blogs here.
Charlotte Burridge: Stepping up to the (Ginetta) Challenge
Posted by Charlotte Burrdige in Ginetta Challenge
I’m delighted that I will be writing blogs on the Motors TV website this season and keeping everyone up to date with this year’s racing as I’m sure it is going to be a fantastic year. This year will be my first year in car racing and I will be competing in the Ginetta Challenge in a new Ginetta G40.
The seven rounds of the championship will take me to circuits all over the UK including Silverstone GP and Brands Hatch GP. The first round will take place on the 3rd of March at Oulton Park which is known for being technically very demanding, but I am certainly up for the challenge! The key to this year will be consistency and pushing myself to the limit, so far I have learnt a great deal and I am relishing the chance that I have been given.
The G40 will be new to the Ginetta Challenge grid this year as it is a new car which was launched at the Autosport show in January. I believe the car will be very strong and it suits my driving style perfectly. Only two new G40’s will start the season and I will be the only girl in the Championship which is certainly very exciting.
15th March
Today Charlotte went to Silverstone race circuit for the Ginetta Press day. She took to the track in her Ginetta G40, and made great progress and turned many heads. To view pictures click on the link www.motorsportmedia.co.uk/search.php?search=charlotte+burridge
24th February
Charlotte went to the Ginetta factory in Leeds to see her new Ginetta G40 being made, and meet the team. ‘’ I am really pleased to be racing the Ginetta G40 this year, I have tested it and I really enjoyed the way the car handled, it suited my driving style perfectly’’. This year will see Charlotte racing her newly built Ginetta G40 in the Ginetta Challenge.
15th January
Today saw Charlotte compete in the Autosport International Karting charity event. Charlotte raced alongside some of the world’s best drivers such as Danny Watts (A1GP driver), Andy Priaulx (3x British Touring Car Champion). Charlotte managed to post the second quickest time of the race, and helped to raise £50,000 for charity.
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Back to top | | | | | | | | | 3. | Charlotte's 2009 | | | | | | | Mini Max contender Charlotte Burridge has made the move to the reigning European & British Championship winning RL Race Team.
In a mid-season swap the Hertfordshire girl is delighted to have now joined the ultra successful Suffolk-based outfit, who hold a large amount of silverware from the last 2 years, both UK and abroad.
Team manager Steve Armstrong is also very pleased to take Charlotte into the RL squad and is confident under the team's direct supervision she will make a great impact in the UK Mini Max class after a difficult first three Super 1 rounds yielding no results.
Charlotte will shake down the Tonykart EVR this weekend at Larkhall in preparation for round 4 of the Super 1 Series in Scotland next month.
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Back to top | | | | | | | | | 4. | Charlotte's 2008 | | | | | | | Charlotte and her team mates win the Autosport International 24 hour Kart Race
The second 24-Hour Kart Race at Autosport International delivered outstanding racing that went right down to the chequered flag. Inaugural Autosport International 24-Hour victors, triple Le Mans 24-hour champions and double British champions, team Equipe Vitesse, returned to defend their title against 11 highly-competitive teams, including team Mat Cleaning from Spain.
With the teams closely matched, as the race entered the final 30 minutes team Magnificent Seven led from Equipe Vitesse with both teams on the same lap. The pace did not relent but despite Equipe Vitesse’s efforts, Magnificent Seven crossed the line a marginal two-tenths of a second ahead after a staggering 3877 laps, crowning Charlotte Burridge, Chris Rogers, Ashley Sutton, Jack Harvey, Luke Candle, James Dixon and Jason Parrott as the 2008 champions. Mat Cleaning finished third on 3863 laps.
Charlotte rubs shoulders with racing ace and Fomula 1 test driver Gary Paffet at the launch of the Motor Sports Association Let’s Go Karting campaign at Buckmore Park
Charlotte finishes 25th in her first season in the Elf Super 1 National Mini Max Kart Championship.
Charlotte gains her Internation Kart Licence | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 5. | Charlotte's 2007 | | | | | | | Sky Sports interveiw Charlotte live at the London Cup
Charlotte has a major accident a P F International in the rain.
Charlotte makes her first apperance on GMTV
Charlotte contiues to race at clubs up and down the country and gains her National A licence
Charlotte wins her final novice race at Hoddesdon Kart Club and gains her National B licence
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Back to top | | | | | | | | | 6. | Charlotte's 2006 | | | | | | | In October Charlotte begins her racing career by racing karts at Hoddesodon Kart Cub | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 7. | Loughborough University | | | | | | | Loughborough University grant Charlotte elite fitness status | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 8. | Torque magazine | | | | | | | Charlotte hits the front cover of Torque magazine.
A publication written by racing drivers, for racing drivers.
www.torque-online.co.uk | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 9. | Lotus Exige | | | | | | | Charlotte test drives a Lotus Exige at Silverstone | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 10. | Coles Racing | | | | | | | Charlotte signs with Coles Racing for the 2009 season www.colesracing.co.uk | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 11. | Silverstone Racing Academy | | | | | | | The British Racing Drivers' Club has announced a new initiative to train up young drivers. The Silverstone Motorsport Academy. The Academy is founded on the Silverstone Racing School, the latest in a long line of racing schools to be based at the Northamptonshire track.The BRDC hopes that the Academy will become "Europe's centre of excellence for racing driver development" and will launch youngsters on their road towards Formula 1. The Academy will offer not just courses for new racers but also a championship. The Academy will often a range of courses in advanced circuit driving and rally driving techniques. | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 12. | Autosport International Charity Celebrity Race | | | | | | | Charlotte finishes 6th in the Autosport International Charity Celebrity Race.
Racing 4 Charity’s BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded Kart Challenge on Friday combined with the Racing 4 Charity auctions, held throughout Saturday and Sunday on the F1 Racing display, raised over £47,000. Thanks to the efforts of a plethora of stars from across the motorsport spectrum, a host of charities are set to benefit, including: Bliss (The Premature Baby Charity), Richard Burns Foundation, Whizzkids, NARA (The Breathing Charity), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, Christies Hospital Cancer Ward (Manchester), Breakthrough Breast Cancer, The British Heart Foundation, The Multiple Sclerosis Society, WOMAC and The Butterfly Appeal for About Face, Cerebra and Karting for the Disabled | |
Back to top | | | | | | | | | 13. | Motos TV | | | | | | | Charlotte Burridge: Stepping up to the (Ginetta) Challenge
Posted by Charlotte Burrdige in Ginetta Challenge
I’m delighted that I will be writing blogs on the Motors TV website this season and keeping everyone up to date with this year’s racing as I’m sure it is going to be a fantastic year. This year will be my first year in car racing and I will be competing in the Ginetta Challenge in a new Ginetta G40.
The seven rounds of the championship will take me to circuits all over the UK including Silverstone GP and Brands Hatch GP. The first round will take place on the 3rd of March at Oulton Park which is known for being technically very demanding, but I am certainly up for the challenge! The key to this year will be consistency and pushing myself to the limit, so far I have learnt a great deal and I am relishing the chance that I have been given.
The G40 will be new to the Ginetta Challenge grid this year as it is a new car which was launched at the Autosport show in January. I believe the car will be very strong and it suits my driving style perfectly. Only two new G40’s will start the season and I will be the only girl in the Championship which is certainly very exciting.
I am on a driver development programme with Bamboo Engineering and this year will be Bamboo’s first year in the World Touring Car Championship so I wish the team all the best for the coming year. I work alongside instructor Neil Riddiford on Bamboo’s simulator to help improve my driving technique and learn the circuits before each test and round, this has been an invaluable source of driver training so far and will continue to be a key source of training for me throughout this season.
I will continue to keep blogging throughout the year with my progress as it is certainly going to be a hard but very rewarding year.
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