This weekend just passed, we loaded up and headed West to the beautiful Welsh sunshine as Pembrey hosted the second round of the British Truck Racing Championship. If you’ve never visited Pembrey, it really is a breathtaking backdrop. Unfortunately, and despite our amazing opening rounds at Brands Hatch, the sun did not shine on JP Racing in Wales and the deep breaths were for a very much different reason than we’d have hoped.

We were initially plagued with suspension issues on Saturday which made the truck handling very difficult for John even though he did manage a 3rd place podium. Imagine throwing a 5 tonne truck around a race track, at speed, with other competitors alongside, without proper handling…and still attaining a podium finish…

Having scratched our heads for a bit and then resolving the suspension issues, more problems then loomed, this time in the mechanical variety as the gearbox failed and John could not get top range.

But worse was still to come. A free-for-all tussle in the first hairpin on the last race on Sunday saw John’s truck badly damaged after several drivers failed to adhere to the yellow flag in what proved to be the end of a very competitive weekend. Front panels, bumper, steering and shock absorbers were all badly damaged. Luckily these trucks have amazing safety features and reinforcement, but nevertheless, John’s truck returned with some very visible scars.

We think we can take some positives from this though and it was my no means all doom and gloom, because John fought on to finish all his races. Whilst we are no longer leading the Division 2 Championship (as we were after Brands), those points won were all vital toward our challenge and could help determine position in the championship at the end of the season.

We now have a break until the next rounds at Thruxton 9th/10th July, during which time we will carry out repairs and turn the gearbox around and we’ll start Thruxton with a clean sheet and with the fire back in our belly.

We would again like to thank you our loyal and trusted team for all their hard work, you were certainly kept busy ‘out West’, and thank you also to our sponsors for all their valued support.

All races races from the event are available to view on British Automobile Racing Club YouTube channel