posted on April 24, 2010 22:36
Thruxton Drama for McAleer
It was to be a weekend full of dramas not just for Nicole McAleer but for the whole Splash Racing team. The trouble began for the 18 year old when the team's early morning flight from Belfast was cancelled due to the volcanic ash, this necessitated a drive from Belfast to Dublin, where they were unable to catch the afternoon sailing as it was fully booked so they waited around until the evening before they got across to the mainland, then after a drive from Liverpool to East Midlands to pick up their camper van, before driving down to Thruxton, albeit about 24 hours later than planned.
Due to the volcanic ash distribution at the airports, unfortunately Nicole's mechanic Gerry Brennan was unable to make it over, so with a depleted team of just Nicole and her mum and dad, the three did their best to get on the grid, unfortunately an oil leak forced her into the Shoot Out race, but unfortunately she failed to make it into the final ten qualifying places, but despite the bitter disappointment of not making it into the race she did have the satisfaction of coming away from the track with ever improving timings.
The drama didn't stop at the track for Nicole and her family as they had a further mishap on the way back up the motorway to East Midlands, when they suffered a blow out on their motor home, thankfully Nicole's father who was driving at the time was able to pull up the vehicle without any damage. The entire Splash Racing team are now just glad to be putting Thruxton behind them and are now looking forward to the next race meeting at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday, where Nicole is hoping to get her Championship back on track again and be able to replicate her excellent qualifying pace at Brands Hatch during the opening round of the season.
nicolemcaleer.com