David Pittard Blog

David Pittard Blog: Season So Far & Summer ‘Break’

4 Mins read

Well… if you’d asked me on the KX Autosport stage in January: “What will you want to have achieved going into Snetterton at the halfway stage of the championship?” I would have replied: “Run top five in the championship, challenging for wins,” and if you’d asked me the same question about a week before the season started, I would have answered: “Finishes and starting to challenge for wins in the 2nd half of the season.”

As I’ve said previously I don’t think anyone could have predicted the amazing season we’ve had so far! Reading my blogs over the season so far, I remember each time thinking we had achieved a massive milestone, never thinking that I’d be writing in my next blog how we’d have achieved the next aim on our list.

It has been the dream start to my rookie season, and couldn’t have happened without the support, belief and determination from SV Racing Danny Buxton and the team he has put together, Rob Boston, Oscar Millar and Alex Ross, no one could have expected to have the success we have had, not even us!

There have been many highlights of the season, including even just getting to the grid at Brands Hatch. However there can only be one highlight of the season so far and yup, you guessed it! … Thruxton double win and triple podium!

Having highlighted Thruxton as a big issue at the start of the season due to its high speed nature and that I’d never seen the place before I predicted the worst! Qualifying 0.003s off pole, making three amazing starts to gain a huge amount of ground on my rivals on the first lap and two commanding lights to flag victories really showed we meant business in this championship!

For those of you who heard my Thruxton interview after my first win I was a gibbering mess on the circuit tannoy which was a huge amount of emotion and relief as I set high targets for myself! The other highlight was Croft race three which proved Thruxton wasn’t a fluke, however the race might have been, winning down on power and with a puncture!

The low point of the season has to be Oulton Park race two, having just taken the championship lead for the second time in the season I was let down by a mechanical failure. Obviously anything could have happened but that was almost a guaranteed second place and 30 points. So sitting 29 points off the lead currently, it winds me up thinking about it, however that is racing!

Pittard - Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Pittard Is Looking Forward To The Second Half Of The Season – Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Going to the second part of the season I’m more confident than ever. I’ve sampled the podium at four of the five circuits remaining so I feel the pressure is a lot less than it was at the start of the season. Also with the help of Ginetta we have discovered a small problem which was leaving us last the speed traps at Oulton and Croft, so it was great to feel I achieved those results with the fault I had!

Of the remaining four I go better at all of them compared to the first half which fills me with more confidence in my own ability, so I’m buzzing to get back in the car after a long summer break, having last stepped out of it after the Croft win!

While I haven’t managed any track time in my KX Akademy supported Ginetta, I have been extremely busy off track marketing David Pittard Motorsport Ltd to make sure we are able to complete the season. I am trying my hardest to bring in the relevant funding and I have a great group of friends massively helping out which I can’t thank enough!

However onto the more light hearted things I’ve been up to:

  • I’ve help out the Kart Force, karting for injured troops, team by coaching them at Rye House kart circuit to help them finish their inter service karting championship with some improved results!
  • I’ve attended my KX Akademy Training days where we reviewed our media presentation since the beginning of the year. Hoping to put the improvements into practice on the top step of the podium ;)
  • I helped out the BRDC as a “Rising Star” by instructing the England and Welsh Rugby team and Freddie Flintoff for the BRDC’s latest track day.
  • I’ve ridden the BHF London to Brighton Night ride, starting at tower bridge and finishing on Brighton sea front, raising money for charity.
  • I helped out the Tesco Kart 4 Life event at Rye House, coaching and driving for guests helping to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK.
  • I’ve been testing the new Elemental RP1 car as their development driver – www.elementalcars.co.uk
  • And I managed to go to the British Grand Prix and Silverstone Classic. It was my first time at both events and they were both fantastic fun and I worked hard to make them great networking opportunities!

I’m looking forward to going racing again for a break ;) If you want to see pictures of all the events, they can be seen on my twitter @David_Pittard.

 Both #KaptureKX competition and the #KXQT events will be back for Snetterton so make sure you snap your favourite KX Akademy drivers at the circuit (See previous winners and details here: http://www.davidpittard.co.uk/kapture-kx-photo-competition/) and hear what they have to say on Saturday evening along with your other favourite BTCC drivers!

If you’re coming to Snetterton please come and say hi and grab a signed poster at the SV Racing awning!

Thanks for reading,

David “Only as good as your last race” Pittard #30

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The Checkered Flag was set up in August 2009 and is dedicated to providing independent daily news and features from around the world of motorsport.
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