2026 MSV Miata Trophy
Rounds 7 & 8 – Anglesey Coastal
Motorsport can be cruel! I had high hopes following our success at Brands Hatch and the work we had done on the car.
The end of July was time to take the trip to North Wales, to race at Trac Mon on the island of Anglesey. We had an inauspicious start by getting a puncture on the trailer while travelling up. I was hoping this wouldn’t be a sign of things to come… but it was!
Performance on track was dominated by tyres – the newer the tyres, the faster you went. We think it could be something to do with the abrasive track surface, perhaps caused by the sea air. Due to the limit on the number of tyres we can use in the year there were several strategies going on.
In qualifying I was 0.7 seconds off pole, but it’s so close that I was 10th fastest! Due to the reverse grid regulations though, qualifying isn’t as important as it used to be.
Race one was fun. I had a strong race and picked my way through, defending at the end and finishing fifth, which I was happy with. We were only a stone’s throw from the fight for third.
I started race two in sixth position, as the top 15 from qualifying are reversed for the race two grid. I was hopeful for a good result as I had chosen to fit newer tyres to the car. Unfortunately, three cars in front came together at turn one and I had nowhere to go. While I was sitting there with the road in front blocked, I was hit from behind and took a lot of damage.
Amazingly there was another crash in the restarted race two, so in terms of points that round is null and void, which is handy for us. We’re now halfway through the year and I’m fifth in the standings, so the obvious goal is to move forward! Only a couple of points off fourth but a bit of a way off third. However, anything can happen.
Digital Programme
Results
| Position | Best Lap Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | 10th | 1:18.048 |
| Race 1 | 5th | 1:18.507 |
| Race 2 | DNF | – |
Full Results
Coverage
Race 1
Race 2
Gallery
Images: Rikki Palmer / Gary Hawkins Photography
