SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well Lydia, the long trek up to uh Nock Hill, over and done with, and uh a session this morning. I'm just looking at the sky above us. The session was dry, but there might be some rain on the way this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Well it is Scotland, we've had everything else so far, so yeah, that wouldn't uh wouldn't go amiss. But um yeah, I mean I love the wet, so if it rains I'm not bothered, but it's uh it would nice just for everyone else watching and the team and everything for it to be dry because it's there's no protection here, is there? You do get fairly wet here.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

No. No, and nearly every driver loves coming to Nock Hill for a whole raft of reasons. Not least of all, it's a short lap, it's a challenging lap, huge crowds as well. But what makes Nock Hill so special?

SPEAKER_01 0:38

No Hill's never particularly nice to me, unfortunately. I mean I love Nock Hill, I think it's such a quirky circuit. We don't really have another circuit like it, really, in the UK at all. Uh the fans are, like you say, they're very passionate. I think it's nice always to cross the border and see a load of new people that we don't get to see at the other circuits. But yeah, I think for me it's just such a close track. When we look at the qualifying time sheets, the times are so close, and obviously, because it's only a 50-second lap, that's quite a normal characteristic, isn't it? But I just I think Knock Hill just provides some great racing and some great action, so yeah, I think it's a brilliant track.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

You're continuing to develop nicely in this car. I mean, when you're sort of halfway through the season, uh, number of races to go, but you're looking more and more comfortable, and your lap times are more consistent, and just watching you you go around, and I can see you growing into this this championship.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Thank you. I think yeah, consistency is the one. I think previously my times weren't consistent at all. And now, when you look at the at the timings and things, I am a lot closer with all my times. Um, so yeah, it just goes to show that I am getting more comfortable. And actually, when I I think back previously the jump was quite big and I thought the car was quick. Obviously, the car's still quick, but I've forgotten how the club sport felt, which I think goes to show that I am feeling more comfortable in the car now, and I I'm not comparing it to the club sport anymore and how quick this one is in comparison. So, yeah, it's definitely steps in the right direction. I think we were just uh battling against it really with the lack of time in the car. But now that I'm getting that mileage, I think I'm feeling a lot more comfortable for sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Perhaps many of your supporters and followers uh back home may not know Nock Hill particularly well. So just give me a brief chat through that 50 seconds of a lap here at Nock Hill.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Well, first of all, it's 30 degrees at home and it's only 14 here, so it is quite chilly. But um Nockhill is basically a big oval with some um mostly blind corners actually. So turn one's blind, uh the chicane is completely blind. So you still I actually walked the track the other day and you stand at the chicane and you cannot see the second part of it, which is mental really when you're travelling into it at goodness knows what speed. Um and then we've got a tight terpin to finish up the lap, which is again uphill and Nockhill, given the name, it's very undulating, very hilly, so a lot of the a lot of the corners aren't flat at all. So trying to get a car set up nicely to deal with all of those different types of corners, quite tricky. But the team have done fantastically. We've got a brilliant setup on the car, car feels great. Um but yeah, Nockhill is just it's just unlike any other circuit, but we love it.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

There's there's two things that always strike me about Nock Hill, and that's the final corner of the hairpin. You then it doesn't necessarily always obvious on the television, you come uphill uh along the pit straight, don't you? Before levelling out and then dropping into that right hander at the end of the street. And that that takes its toll on on you need to get it right and carry speed coming through that final corner, don't you?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yeah, you do, and you can almost ruin two laps to be honest with it, because you can ruin the lap that you're on if you don't do very well, and then also if you don't get good exit, you've then of course ruined the next one as well. So yeah, it's um it is a tricky corner. I think everyone thinks it's just a hairpin. I know we've got a hairpin at every every circuit, haven't we? But this one is just a bit different and it's almost shows the floors a lot more because it is so uphill. It's um I walked it the other day and it's actually a battle to get up it on foot, so yeah, you don't realise you don't realise in the car actually how important it is because of how uphill it really is.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

You mentioned the chicane as well. I mean the curbs can be quite brutal here, and we very often see cars up on on two wheels uh over there as well. I mean that unbalances the car. Do you hold your breath going over those?

SPEAKER_01 3:58

I shut my eyes. No, I mean it's a fantastic set of corners in fairness, but yeah, you can't actually see the exit, and obviously they're very hot on track limits, so knowing where to pick the power up to avoid the track limits that you can't actually see at that point is quite challenging. But um, yeah, it's just one of those things. We're all sat so low in the car anyway, so what we can actually see is usually pretty minimal anyway. But when it when we're climbing up a mountain, it's um yeah, it's even harder. But yeah, it's a it's a great corner.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Races to come this weekend, all will be covered on the TOKA package on ITV, live TV, which goes around the world. Important not just for you but for all the the organisations and people that support you.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Yes, it's brilliant. The coverage, you can't get better coverage than ITv4. Obviously, it's um very well followed, isn't it, with the touring cars. So yeah, I'm hugely fortunate to be on the package and to get such support. And of course, it's really important for first of my team and my family, everyone watching at home, but also the partners that are all putting so much effort and you know funds into it to actually get me to the track in the first place. It's no secret that I've really struggled for budget and the partners have really pulled through and uh are keeping me going and and bringing new partners on throughout the season as well, which I I feel really lucky to do. So yeah, it's great for them watching at home. Not many of them have made the trip, obviously. It's a long, long way, but um yeah, I'm sure they'll all be watching it at home, which is happening.