Well, that was embarrassing.

My turn on the Abbeville Race Track was less than impressive.

The last time I raced competitively resulted in me crashing at the top of the Val de Terres two weeks ago.

And as a result of that smash, our Mazda MX5’s entire rear suspension was replaced and it is loose to say the least and has a tendency to go a bit funny at speed and round corners.

With this in mind my co-pilot Manno was keen to stress the need to keep things safe as we went out, so I took it at a leisurely pace.

Also with the race going on the number of miles covered in 20 minutes and not on who took the chequered flag, Manno came up with a plan to stay off the racing line to go on the outside and weave about a bit to gain extra mileage.

It’s fair to say I took it too leisurely though.

I was lapped on the second lap.

Plus a pair of OAPs from Jersey must have been lapped at least eight times during the race.

The crowd of rally goers were not that impressed up on the bank.

But at least Manno was pleased that we had made it round in one piece.

It was then the turn of one extreme to the other as I sat with experienced racing driver Dale Crowley as he took James Bentley’s Island Fm MX5 round the circuit.

One of my old man’s favourite expressions is ‘scratch it, don’t tear it’.

Big Dale tore it.

He made the little 1.6l engine misbehave but it handled beautifully while I was holding on to dear life.

But then as we came to the last lap, Dale said ‘Lets make things interesting’ as he started to drift at corners like he was an extra in ‘The Fast and Furious’.

I couldn’t get out of the car quick enough when we got into the pits.

In fairness, I was just pleased that our car survived without any damage.

Some cars were not so lucky.

The Anchormen’s BMW is kaput after they slammed it into a barrier and Mark Maubec and Phil Sweet’s BMW is also out of action after the engine blew up.

Somehow Tim Davey’s Golf is still running despite now having a desk fan as a radiator fan and Peter Webber and John Sandiland’s Jag is still on the move despite their radiator having all sorts of issues as well.

We’re now in Rouen having a couple of beers before we set off tomorrow for Paris and the end of rally party.

I think it’s going to be an emotional end to an emotional week…

Other news:

Word has it that The BooZe Brothers team of Pierre Rive and Nick Russell saw out the nightmare that was Tuesday night, when the teams had to make their way from Split, Croatia, to a campsite high up in the Italian Alps, in considerable style. While some cars struggled in the pitch black with the now infamously treacherous icy pass that led to the camp, The BooZe Brothers reportedly gave up at the top mountain, pitched their tent, unpacked their BBQ, turned on their karaoke machine and partied through to dawn.

Respect.

Today’s playlist:

Mumford & Sons – Twice. They just keep getting better.

Hot 8 Brass Band – Manno can’t get enough of their version of Sexual Healing.