Spalding racer Andy Molsom is hoping to finish a difficult season on a high note at Spa-Francorchamps next month.
Molsom, who made the choice to take on a new car and enter the Caterham Graduates Racing Club’s Sigmax Championship over the close season, has endured problem after problem this year.
Having missed two race weekends over the summer due to car problems and then a knee injury, a difficult return at Snetterton has forced Molsom to give his car a break for the rest of the season.
But he’ll be back in his old MegaGraduate class ride at Spa in late September as he bids to rediscover his smile.
“This year has been very frustrating, with much soul searching.
“I have decided to give this car a break for the rest of the year and I will be racing my old car at Spa-Francorchamps in the MegaGraduate class.
“The car wont be upto the full specification allowed, but I need an enjoyable race weekend to finish the year and put the frustrations of this year to one side.”
In what was his last outing in his new car this year, Molsom arrived at Snetterton in the midst of the heatwave.
However, after solving a few issues with the front of his car during testing, Molsom was now encountering oversteer on turning into most corners.
This was mostly put down to the high track temperatures and use of old tyres for testing.
However, trying out some newer tyres in the last session became futile as a major component on the rear axle broke which ended the test day early.
Molsom started both races in a lowly 23rd position out of 30 cars, just not getting to grips with the car despite fresh tyres.
The first race saw Molsom make a great start and he made some good moves to progress up the field.
But, once the first lap had settled, the oversteer made it difficult to keep up with the lead pack and he was left in a three-car battle for 18th place, eventually finishing 20th.
The race on Sunday, where Molsom tried brand new tyres, saw another good start, but again he couldn’t keep pace with the main pack – and after a lonely race he finished in 20th place again.
Molsom added: “Despite changes being made throughout the race weekend, the oversteer issues were never solved, and putting brand new tyres on actually made the handling worse as the rubber blocks were moving around more and reducing grip.”
