http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/7.shtml The Jo Polley Website: Blog Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:20:33 -0500 http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/7.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/7.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/7.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/7.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/7.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/7.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/7.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 http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/7.shtml/9b6055e147fb460dbf6b2f85182bc07e_466db263.writeback Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:36:51 -0500 Finally its nearly racetime again, seems like an absolute age since the last round at pembrey and I am itching to get back out there. Its been non- stop stock cars and things goin on so the mini has been a bit neglected lately but that changes tomorrow when she gets a trip to the rolling road. Shes got some new stickers in an attempt to tidy her up a bit but no matter what I do she still looks a bit like a battered stock car, dont think that will change all the time Im driving her. Ive come to the conclusion that I am the worlds worst at putting on stickers, urgh I hate it they never go on straight and theyre always full of airholes and it ends up looking worse than it did before, oh well I dont care what she looks like really its how she goes that matters. I was going to put on new bumpers and arches but the way Im going they would be hanging off again after Snett so I think Ill leave them a bit longer. Fingers crossed for a good day at Snetterton on sunday although I have the F2 British Championship to survive first with my better half and brother competing for the black and white chequered roof on saturday night and we are on at a stupid time sunday morning so I will have a nice late night and early morning, all good fun I cant wait. http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/7.shtml/9b545a4ea560257c9b20cc976a01e70b_464ddf82.writeback Fri, 18 May 2007 12:16:50 -0500 I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of a wonderful lady who was a dear friend to me when I first started racing. Jean Ruston loved stock car racing, she travelled everywhere with her son Dan and husband Brian and she was a huge fan of my Dad, and a great fan and friend of mine, she was always so encouraging to me and supported me wherever I went. She was a photographer and has taken many many photos of me with which her memory will always be with me. Many of the ministox photos on here were taken by Jean. She was a wonderful lady who was always happy, cheerful, polite and lovely to everyone who she met, her many friends at stock cars will miss her, especialy me. RIP Jean at the race track in the sky x x x x http://jopolleyracing.zoomshare.com/7.shtml/836090e6b824cfdfc17cd573d9169309_464a1d01.writeback Tue, 15 May 2007 15:50:10 -0500 I was expecting it to rain at Pembrey being in Wales but my god it hardly stopped all weekend. I drove the van and trailer there and running on normal Polley time we were late leaving and arrived at 3am friday morning, up and out for testing at 8am which was good I liked the circuit, the car felt good and was handling alot better than at Rockingham. Qualifying went well and I was happy at qualifying 11th, 6th row inside on the grid, the race was frustrating though I really need to work on driving defensively as I think I let people past too easily, I was having some good battles but got a big old tankslap on coming out of the fast 3rd gear hairpin and went off across the grass which lost me a few places and I finished 15th with the car looking like Id been grass track racing, I did the 9th fastest lap in the race which was some consolation but the result of the race was the grid for sundays race so I was starting in 15th half way down the grid in the torrential rain. This was my first wet race and it was actually quite fun to drive in although a bit hard to see when I was up behind another car the spray was phenominal, I swapped places backwards and forwards a couple of times but was more concerned with finishing with no damage so was erring on the side of caution more than normal and I ended up finishing 15th when the race was cut short after just 11 mins. I wasnt overly impressed with myself but really its not bad for only my 3rd and 4th races and first go in the wet, I need to stop being so hard on myself and expecting to do brilliantly straight away, I have a lot to learn about this circuit racing lark, its a long way from ministox!