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Following a busy day of practice at Oulton Park Race Circuit on Friday April 7th Shane had set some good unofficial times, and spirits were high as the race team had dinner at the Quality Hotel in Northwich - worth a mention because it is actually a floating hotel, moored on a river! You sleep in a "Cabin" the kitchen is the "galley" - Shane thought it was "bad". Saturday morning qualifying was all-important - Shane had to set a fast time to ensure a place near the front of the grid - the championship regulars weren't going to be pulling over for no pop-star! So it was an early start for the drive to the circuit, and it was great to see that a few dedicated Boyzone fans were already there to greet him. The team reckoned top six was on the cards - and so it was - Shane set the sixth fastest time in qualifying so was to be sixth on the grid. Qualifying took place from 11am to 11:30 and Shane's Ginetta Race was due at 4pm - so there was plenty of time for autograph signing, an interview with Vicky Butler-Henderson of the BBC's Top Gear programme, and tactical discussions with Sceptre Racing who look after his Ginetta. Time also had to be taken for meetings with his sponsors for the weekend - "Lee Cooper" clothing, "Mission" loudspeakers, "Dunlop" tyres and Red Bull. He also managed a half hour snooze in his road going Ford Mondeo ST200! I was time for the race and the Ginetta's lined up on the grid. As the red lights on the start gantry lit, the grid became a frenzy of engines revving, seconds later the red lights changed to green and they were off. Shane had a great start and by the first corner had moved from 6th to 4th jostling at speeds of up to 100mph with the other cars around him. 2 laps later he was third and in a fantastic show of driving, on lap 5 Shane "slipstreamed" the second placed Ginetta and scraped past it at the end of the start/finish straight. He was SECOND! This was fantastic! On only his first proper championship race Boyzone's "Mr Cool" was proving that he was not only a nifty mover on the concert stage - but was damn cool on the race track too! The team was ecstatic - there was much shouting, jumping, hand-shaking and hugging on the pit lane wall as the team watched Shanno fly by on the next lap in SECOND PLACE!!! Typical Shanno - he waved to the team as he speeded by! But the man in third was not giving up and kept the pressure on, forcing Shane into a 360 degree spin on the "Lodge Corner" - but Shane's excellent car control kept the Ginetta on the road, and he was back to the fray in seconds. The spin had dropped him to fourth but he gave chase in a desperate attempt to climb back up the leader board. But as Shane closed in on the third placed Ginetta ready to pick him off, the 15 lap race had come to an end and Shanno took the chequered flag in a superb 4th place on his first proper, serious outing. This puts Shane in fourth place in the championship and first in his (novice) class. He won a small trophy and as you can imagine is really looking forward to racing again next weekend (April 15th + 16th) at Pembrey Circuit near Llanelli in South Wales. Finally - apologies to the fans from Birmingham who were told Shane was at Brands Hatch and almost missed the action travelling a couple of hundred miles in their efforts to see Shane. It was great to see that you at least got there to see the celebrations. See Shane on "Top Gear" on BBC2 this Thursday (13th) at 8:30pm. |
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