Dan's parade rained off

Severe weather curtails a dominant display

“We might as well all go home now” …

… sighed a rival’s father after Daniel drove from 18th to 1st place in his first race at Shenington yesterday (13 May).

Competing in the 3rd round of the televised Stars of Tomorrow Championship, the 15-year old was so in control of the wet conditions that he was able to finish nearly 5 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.

And to prove that this wasn’t just a fluke, he did it again in the second heat.

Starting from 4th on the grid, Daniel benefited from having a clearer view than the drivers behind, as the rain increased. Through the spray and exhaust smoke, he got a great start and used his exceptional wet weather skills to snatch the lead after the first lap and pull away. Team-mate Max Hawkins was on the move from the back of the grid but couldn’t catch the Yorkshire Air Ambulance ambassador who took his second win of the day - with 3 ½ seconds in hand over runner-up Hawkins.

Several of the championship front-runners were having a terrible day - and this served to inspire the Huddersfield ace even further. Needing only to finish 7th in the next heat, Daniel was confident that he could secure pole position for the Final.

Then disaster struck…

As the conditions worsened and the track staff tried in vain to clear standing water off the circuit, a huge pile-up in the Junior Intercontinental A class brought proceedings to a halt. With the meeting abandoned in favour of driver safety, Daniel was left empty-handed and understandably frustrated, “This is the 3rd time this has happened to me - where I’ve been driving really well and odds-on for a great result and the meeting’s been cancelled. In Stars’ we get points for the heats as well as the final, so I should have been on for some massive points towards my championship goal. Max [Hawkins] was the only other person who could get anywhere near my lap times today, so it would have been a great final.”   

With only 2 of the 3 scheduled heats run, it also seems unlikely that points will be awarded, leaving the championship table unchanged. “I think a lot of people were thinking ‘thank God for that,’” Dan said wryly.

With a two week break until his next race, Daniel will now be concentrating on his studies at Huddersfield Grammar before returning to racing duties at PFi on 10 June in the British Super 1 championship.

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