This was a right clanger. I was watching the Road America round of the GrandAm series for Daytona Prototypes (DP) and GT's on MOTORS TV a couple of days ago. It had been a good race on a fabulous circuit. Road America is four miles long and has three long straights and challenging corners and Formula One around here would be a sight to behold. As it is I've seen quite a few Champcar and ALMS races at Road America including the the fairly recent fantastic Drayson Racing win. This featured Jonny Cocker storming back to the front and taking the lead on the very last lap to take the win. Quite why Slot.It haven't re-produced this car rather than the Le Mans version baffles me, but that's another story. Anyway, the GrandAm race went to a full course yellow fairly late in the race and the Americans went off to adverts and left us international viewers with the live feed. This was the in car shot of the leader Ricky Taylor in the No.10 'Suntrust' Corvette DP, who seemed on course for another win. He was busy zig-zagging behind the pace car keeping his tyres warm.

Zig-zagging, zig-zagging, looking over the instruments, keeping an eye on the pace car, everything pretty regular and of background interest to us viewers. Suddenly, increase in engine noise, frantic flapping about with the steering wheel and then an obvious thump into the barriers followed by distraught thumping of the steering wheel. I was gob-smacked and said out loud something in the vein of "golly gosh, he's hit the barrier sat behind the pace car, how did he manage that?

To say that Ricky Taylor was disappointed would be a massive under statement. He was REALLY pi**ed off with himself and more or less had to be coached back to the pits by his crew. Well he won't make that mistake again in a hurry.