2009 Season review

Oliver White proved to be the man to beat in what would be the closest Saxmax championship ever on record. He took 5 wins, 2 second places and 2 third places with also the lap record at Brands Hatch. Ryan Ratcliffe had a very encouraging year coming 3rd in the Rookie Championship. He had never raced in his life before joining DNA and showed some of the more experienced racers that he wasn’t afraid of mixing it at the front.

It all started of at a very cold Snetterton in March. It was the first time Oliver White had got into a race car since December, however he was immediately 3 seconds quicker when he last raced at Snetterton. It was a very good weekend with Ollie taking 4th in Race 1 and then getting his maiden podium with 2nd in Race 2. Ryan showed impressive speed on his debut by qualifying 6th - six tenths quicker than his nearest rookie rival. He managed to finish 10th in Race 1 and 7th in Race 2. The team were very optimistic about the next round, knowing there was more speed yet to come.

Brands Hatch hosted Rounds 4 and 5 for the Saxmax championship. Friday testing had gone very well, and this showed in qualifying with Ollie placing his car 3rd on the grid - less than a tenth off Pole position. With that he converted his best ever qualifying position into his and DNA’s first ever Saxmax win. Ryan managed to qualify 10th and moved up the order to finish 7th. Continuing his fine form Ollie gained his first ever Pole position for Round 4. Ollie finished the weekend with a 3rd place, and with Ryan taking 9th.

Anglesey proved a very eventful weekend. The team had never raced there before so had a lot of set-up work to do on the test day. Fortunately DNA got the set-up spot on with Oliver White taking Pole position by over 7 tenths from his nearest rival! Ryan Ratcliffe also scored his best ever qualifying result with 5th position. The weather took a turn for the worst when it came to the race, of which Oliver White continued his fine winning form taking 1st position by over 15 seconds! Ryan Ratcliffe was having his best ever race in 5th position until he made a mistake at the first corner and crashed into the armco barrier causing heavy damage to the car. The team had to work into the morning to get it repaired in time for qualifying. Ollie took another pole position and Ryan qualified 11th. An eventful race saw many crashes, with Ollie gaining suspension damage which limited him to taking only 9th position. Ryan finished the race in 6th position.

After the disappointment of Anglesey the bad luck turned into ultimate domination for Brands Hatch. Oliver White took 2 Pole Positions, 2 Race wins, 1 fastest lap and the Lap Record. With this he moved up the championship table to become the Championship Leader. Ryan took an 8th place in Race 1, and then took 6th place in Race 2.