http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml The Jo Polley Website: Blog Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:10:24 -0500 http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/d049a1168bea25a63086b7cfe69c66b9_49f762b0.writeback Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:10:24 -0500 Just a short one as its busy-busy at the moment, the long awaited first round has finally been and gone and Im fairly happy that I finished reasonably placed in 8th and that Cadwell is out of the way and the car is in one piece for Snett this weekend. It was great to see all the Mighty Mini family again I have a great bunch of guys and girls to race with. Louise Inch was awesome finishing 3rd, we are going to have a good battle for the Ladies Championship. Chrissy Morgan and Ian Slark had a really good battle for the lead so its looking like this season is going to be brilliant and as close as ever. Looking forward so much to Snett, a circuit I am more confident with and its my Birthday weekend and one of the legendary Mighty Mini BBQs is planned. :) http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/fa8aad8618e5ea641f1f714b7e33373e_496f7c2f.writeback Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:10:55 -0600 Happy New Year to everyone! Its been a mad last couple of weeks after a quiet family christmas at home. We got the car back from the bodyshop about 4 days before it went to the Autosport Show and had loads to do but as always we got there at the last minute and it all came together and looked fabulous. Autosport was great fun as I got to drive a couple of the other Super Mighty Minis in the Live Action Shows which was awesome, thanks to Scotty and Pete Crewes for trusting me in their cars, it was like being back in a ministox again on the short oval circuit and in front of a big crowd. We were also entrusted with driving the Pistonheads super sports cars around the indoor arena, I got to drive a Lotus Europa Black Diamond worth £120k! Very nice apart from the fuel light was on all the time which I kept telling them about until it finally ran out of petrol in the middle of the arena and I had to be pushed off which was embarrassing but quite funny. Back to the serious stuff, I have been working very hard to get myself sponsorship to keep me racing this year and Im pleased that I have secured a deal with Richard Egger Insurance which is going to be a big help for the year. Lots of nice people have helped me with parts and stuff for the car aswell, please have a look at my sponsors page for the full list. I am so pleased that thanks to my sponsors I will be able to keep racing and my aims for this season are to do more testing and to do every championship round, to get my first podium finish and to retain the Ladies Championship for a third year as no-one has won it three times. My first round is at Cadwell Park on 19 April, I cant wait but there is some serious staying in, working hard and saving money to be done before then! http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/6ede397b9c2eaf1d1845d84680ca1086_492d9876.writeback Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:41:58 -0600 I cant believe how long it is since I last blogged. Sorry Im crap, I dont know if anyone ever actually reads it anyway, lol. Well since the last blog Ive raced at Oulton, Brands and Mallory. I loved Oulton Park, it straight away became one of my favourite circuits and I had my best finish coming 6th which didnt really do me justice I was 4th at one point and right on the first three. Brands was great I was in the middle of the battle for 9th,10th and 11th place it was so close and we kept changing positions it was really good fun. Mallory was incredible and truly was a proper hero to zero experience! I loved Mallory already and being a big oval I feel at home there and for the only time this year I did some testing, knowing that I am fast there we thought it was my best chance of a good result so we worked on the set-up and I fine-tuned my lines and it really paid off, I went out in qualifying confident with myself and the car and qualified on pole, woohoo! Unfortunately my glory didnt last and although I stayed in the front pack holding my own for 5 laps I ended up very hard in the inner Armco at Gerrards. One very sorry looking car and this years first and only DNF. Not only was it so disappointing because of losing the race, I knew that the car was going to the Autosport Show and it would take a lot of hard work to get it straight and looking pretty again in time. The only good thing was that the fastest lap in the race didnt touch my poletime ha ha I rule Mallory! So that was the end of the season for me as I missed the final around and night race at Donington. Weve now had the Awards Dinner Dance which was a great night and I was really impressed with my Ladies Championship trophy its a fabulous big crystal one (Cheers Rodger!). Now I am desperately trying to scrape together some sponsorship to enable me to carry on, it is sadly looking like I might not be able to race next year unless I can get some sponsorship, Ive spent hours on the computer creating letters, presentations, profiles etc and sending them out but so far with no joy. In the current economic climate I think motorsport is really going to suffer. I wont give up easily though, with all that Ive achieved over the past two years this is only the beginning hopefully, not the end. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/d3f0724f7ff81e27ba006698f9d5758c_4862a891.writeback Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:20:33 -0500 I have been meaning to do this for ages but time seems to fly by so fast, since my last blog the car has been finished hurrah, blasted round Snett for a mornings testing then straight out of the box I finish in the top ten twice which was amazing. Im so pleased with it, it looks fantastic and goes so much better now. I hope all the hard work by my Dad and Brothers and Barry was worth it when they saw how it went at Snetterton, I just hope I can keep it up now and bring in some better results. Anglesey and Cadwell were good and bad, some fast lap times but also some bad luck and a few steep lessons learnt but the car is still looking good and survived the carnage pretty well. All the rounds have been brilliant fun so far, the BBQs and drinking and socializing alongside the great racing really make Mighty Minis a great fun Championship to compete in. I have joined the British Womens Racing Drivers Club as a full member which I am very proud to be in, this means I get to compete for their Trophies which are based on points scored in your own Championship Events. I cant believe its half way through the season already but I still have my favourite two circuits to come, Brands and Mallory which I cant wait for. Next round is Rockingham which was my bogey circuit last year so I will be hoping to improve on that, then I have Oulton Park which Im looking forward to because I had to miss it last year and it looks like my type of circuit! :) http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/21c46031cbcde23f31e832b1d5400d44_480ce8d7.writeback Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:19:51 -0500 Unfortunately the car was not done for the first round it still has so much work to be done, it has been almost totally rebuilt it was a wreck and the engine was knackered so it was work that had to be done and now most of it has been done but the process of putting it back together is slow with everyone who helps me having heavy workloads and racing cars of their own it is slow going. Barry has put in loads of hours and my Dad is still building my engine between his masses of other work so it is starting to come together. The painter has done a fantastic job it really looks like a brand new car. Im still hopeful that it will be finished in time for the second round as I would hate to miss that too. I went to Silverstone and watched Round 1 and the racing was excellent it was really entertaining but I was gutted I wasnt out there. I had some fun having a photo shoot with the other girls, we have 6 girls competing in the Mighty Minis this year so I think we will be having a laugh and I will have more competition for the Ladies Championship. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/74500794c5db7c9fc337374c08eb5d57_47f3b7ba.writeback Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:43:38 -0500 A week and a half from the first round and it is looking sadly like the car is not going to be ready in time, in fact nowhere near, as I write this it is still at the bodyshop, we should be picking it up tonight which is exciting I cant wait to see it, but my new engine is not finished and everything needs putting back together which realistically cannot happen in time for Silverstone. Im gutted, its not a good start to the season missing the first round but the same old problems Im up against time and money - not enough of it! http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/c8e7765aa089e39caebd9c700e243d87_4784c643.writeback Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:04:03 -0600 Its been a long time since I updated my blog as the past couple of months have been pretty chaotic even without any racing. My first season is now finished and I was really pleased that I won the Ladies Championship. We've had two great nights out at the BRSCC Awards and the Mighty Mini Dinner and Awards where I was presented with my Ladies Trophy. I am intending on continiuing for another year in Mighty Minis in 2008 providing I have the continued support of my sponsors without whom I couldnt race. The mini is undergoing some serious repair work, it has the engine and subframes out and is badly rotten underneath so its having new panels welded in here there and everywhere, poor Barry has been spending many hours out in the cold workshop on it. Once all the underneath work has been done its having a whole new front end on it and my Dad is building me a new engine, then its being resprayed in the family trademark purple all ready for the new season which starts on April 12th at Silverstone. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/2d94da6389fd8e2420e2efc45afc2cb2_46e7002b.writeback Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:52:59 -0500 Wow Brands Hatch is a fantastic circuit and my car was back on song after having an engine once over and a new set up, I couldnt afford to test before I went so I was straight out on the circuit first time for qualifying and it was great I qualified in a much better 9th position, I totally loved the circuit all the corners are fast and mostly right handers and suit my skating the arse out driving, I loved it. So with things looking up I was really hoping to get a better result this time but just my luck on the start I missed 3rd gear which we put down to a last minute seat and gearstick reposition, but that was my race overwith really I was at the back with everything to make up and everyone against me, I was appalled at some of the driving standards at the back of the field, all the boys that I caught up ran me off the track, I dont think the big egos could cope with being passed by a girl so they resorted to dangerous blocking and running me onto the grass at every opportunity, I was pushed over the curb at the top of paddock and sent flying down the steep grass bank and by some miracle pulled it back and kept it lit and got it back on the track but it was a really dangerous move and I was lucky not to have rolled over, I should have put a complaint in really to the CoC but its not my style to whinge, if they want to play dirty they have picked on the wrong girl. I finished 17th which was at least a few points but piss poor really when my lap times in the race were 8th fastest. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/c011e89cc01a75a8f5299b9cbf85e8ff_46b244a4.writeback Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:55:00 -0500 Unfortunately I have had to cancel the Powernight at Donington and the next round at Oulton Park which I am gutted about. To be totally honest I cant afford to do them, the entry fee alone for Oulton Park is £310! Despite wanting to stomp my feet and say its not fair I know that I am lucky to have done what I have this year, despite the odds I got myself a car and have raced at some amazing circuits and made some great new friends and there will be plenty more to come, Ive had highs (first round) and lows (nearly all the others) but most importantly Im out there racing and Im loving it, I know Im not going to win the Championship straight away, or even the Novice Championship, which is a bit of a joke as the driver leading it is far from a novice but thats another story and I cant expect to do every round in my first year. The engine has been out and is hopefully cured now and I will be back with avengance for Round 10 at Brands Hatch on 9 September. In the meantime I have supporting my brother and other half in the F2 semis and World Championship to keep myself occupied with and who knows I might even put some new arches on the mini. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/42aeda0bc5795dd0a5ea57338072bd6f_469fd270.writeback Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:06:56 -0500 Snetterton was bad enough that the car was flying and the clutch kept going and then I crashed into someone so I had my first DNF, but Cadwell just got worse, the car got slower and slower as the day went on, driving round it felt like it had about 80% of its normal power which left me fighting at the back of the field for the last few places. The engine is 'pinking' a word that I had not heard before the weekend but now I know what it means and its not too good. As always during the high racing season nobody has any time to look at it so with work needed and the budget problems Im suffering its looking doubtful that I will make the next round at Oulton Park, or the Powernight at Donnington that I was looking forward to. boo hoo