Well Lydia, I'm pleased to say you've made it to the end of the season as well. A lot of toing and froing as uh as whether or not you were going to be here at Brands Hatch for the the season finale, but you're here which obviously you're pleased about.
SPEAKER_00
I am. It's a huge relief to be honest to get here. I think at the start of the year I didn't really know if I would get to the end, and even you know, last weekend at Silverstone I wasn't sure whether we were going to make it. So yeah, I'm really pleased to be here. It's a huge thanks to my team and all my partners. Uh yeah, it's been quite a year really. It's uh obviously all came together last minute, but to actually be stood at Bryant Hatch, round number six, and still be here is quite a miracle, really.
SPEAKER_01
It must be nice to know that those partners want to continue to support you, and you've got a huge social media following as well. I mean if that could count for an extra tenth of a second, you'd you'd be doing even better.
SPEAKER_00
Oh well, I think I need a bit more than that then. Um but yeah, I mean it's uh it's lovely that so many people want to be a part of the journey, and obviously the partners feel uh as invested as I am, really, in it, which is nice. They come along, and yes, they are a partner and they're helping me get to the grid, but actually they feel part of the team, which for me is really really important. They're uh as invested as I am and want it to go as well as I do, so yeah, it's really nice.
SPEAKER_01
We've stood here in Park for May after qualifying in the sunshine, pure blue sky, uh but a very, very cold track. Difficult getting heat in the tyres.
SPEAKER_00
It is, yes, 9.30 in the morning on a cold October day. It is uh was a bit challenging, but once you got the heat in, they were nice, but it's uh it's a long lap, isn't it? So you don't get too many laps, and obviously we want to save the tyres for the race anyway, so we're strictly limited to the number of laps that we are allowed to do. But uh yeah, it's uh it's a fabulous track. I always love racing around here, so I'm looking forward to the races this afternoon.
SPEAKER_01
It's such a different lap here because it's the GP circuit rather than the the short indie circuit. When you go out onto the the back of the circuit, it can get very damp because of the trees that are around it. I mean it's almost like a circuit, very much of two halves, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00
It is, and the problem is when you stand here in Assembly Park Burmay, all you can actually see is the indie part. You can't actually see the challenging bit out the back, so it's almost when you get to it the first time, you're kind of figuring out what's what and where the damp patches are and things because you physically cannot see it until you're there. So it's yeah, it's an experience. I always love brand GP, I always say it's my favourite track in the calendar, so yeah, to do it here at a weekend where I wasn't sure whether I was going to make it is just lovely.
SPEAKER_01
And another incredible qualifying for you, you're in the middle of the pack, which is good, which is where you've been all season, which which is good, and it's we've talked about this before. It is just that extra step, isn't it, that takes you into that top five, uh, which is going to make the difference.
SPEAKER_00
It is, I think a little bit more testing pre-season would have helped that. I haven't really had any testing throughout the year. I mean, all my competitors were here a couple of weeks ago having a proper test day, and I've kind of rocked up yesterday and tried to figure it out. So I think when you're doing it that way, it does make it more hard or more challenging for you, it's harder for you. But um, yeah, I mean we love a challenge, but I think next year you know it would be nice to get some proper, proper testing and then actually give myself a fair shout, really, because I I try and figure it out in two sessions yesterday. I mean, we had one wet session in the morning, so we only really had one session in the afternoon, and to be fair, it's a converted grid. One session in the afternoon is not quite enough, really, to get to the front pack. But you know, we've made improvements throughout the year, and it's uh it's all we can ask for, really.
SPEAKER_01
And and better to be consistent, consistently in in that that middle band than one minute at the top, next minute at the bottom, and not knowing where that that delta, that disparity is.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, it's um to be honest, I've got a uh we've got really quick teammates, so I've been learning a lot from them, looking at their footage uh till late last night, trying to figure out where I need to go quicker, and honestly, it's just confidence. A lot of it is just the high speed rolling off the brake, which I think you only really manage when you have a lot of proper seat time. Uh, I mean Matt's third in the championship at the moment, he's doing really well, but he's got seasons under his belt, and he's a really experienced driver, so I think that probably is coming more naturally to him than it is to someone like me. So I think I just need a little bit more practice, a little bit more testing, um, and hopefully, you know, going into next year, fingers crossed, we can secure the budget a little bit earlier to do those vital miles pre-season.
SPEAKER_01
Just finally looking ahead to some some good races this this weekend. Uh, I mean it's gonna you you're gonna want to sign off this uh this season on a high, aren't you? And feel that you've done the best that you can.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I am. I think I'm realistic with what we can achieve to be fair. I mean, we're still very much close in the talent pool championship, which is reassuring. But um, yeah, I think for me I'm just gonna try and enjoy it as much as I can. It's one of those things where you you know it's the last round, you've got to give it all you've got, and um it's the last weekend of this car. So it was it's nice to go out with a bang. Hopefully we enjoy it and uh yeah, fingers crossed we get some good results.
