JAMES CATER is hoping to end the Ravenol Formula Vee Championship with a flourish as the Bromsgrove racer enters the final two races of the season.
The 40-year-old endured a difficult weekend as a fuel and oil leak hampered qualifying on a sunny morning in the Formula One pit garages at Silverstone.
Fixing the fuel leak proved easy, but with time a factor before the race, Cater had to try something temporary.
Starting from 20th place on the grid, he made a great start but the oil leak soon reached the clutch, and with that slipping, Cater had to drop to the back of the grid to ensure the high revs did not blow the engine.
Despite this, he tried to make the speed back through the corners and after a heated battle with Martin Snarey, he narrowly lost eighth place in Class B by a tenth of a second, bringing the car home in 22nd out of a 34-car grid.
Mechanic Glenn Hay had the engine out overnight and with the help of several other Formula Vee drivers, they replaced the blown oil seal and the clutch.
Cater then made the gird for race two to start from 22nd place.
From the start he made up some places but lost touch with the group ahead after Ian Rea spun in front of him at Stowe corner.
As Cater chased to draw the pack back in, current Class B leader Jamie Harrison caught him on the final lap of the race.
After swapping places a few times, Harrison eventually sneaked by with three corners to go and Cater was unable to retake the place over the finish line.
Cater missed out on third in class by a tenth of a second and finished 18th overall.
“It was a good weekend overall, despite the ups and downs,” said Cater.
“With several fast and experienced competitors coming back such as Daniel Hands and top racing drivers like Johnny Herbett praising the sport recently, the series looks to be getting stronger race by race.
“There are only two races left so I will be hoping to have a big push for the end of the season and pick up some trophies and hopefully some sponsors.”
Cater’s next race is at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, September 9 in the penultimate round of the championship.
