Skinner Scores a Point on FSR ACE Debut

Photo: The ACE field heading towards Turn 1 at Monza on Lap 1 of the Italian GP

Last weekend Elise Skinner took to the track in the Formula Simracing series' ACE division. The series recently allowed for Privateers/Independents to join the series for free and race alongside the current grid on a "first come, first serve" basis. Elise was inside the 30 Allocations for the event and was given permission to race. After the race we managed to grab a word with Elise about her experience of the series and if she would consider returning there at all in the future.

Elise. Well well well. Points on your FSR debut. We must ask. Did you ever think that was a possibility?

It honestly was a thought in my mind. I have been aware of the attrition rate in FSR throughout the 2015, 16 and 17 seasons so i had a small feeling that if i just got to the end and was classified i would have a point. Somehow that actually worked out! Now everything has calmed down a bit and as we prepare for the first round in VLMS. what were your opinions on the way FSR runs it's race weekend as a whole? I've always been a fan of how Kris Kobb has run the whole of FSR and the way the Race Directors run the weekend so to me this was a brilliant way to kick off my racing introduction to the FSR series. I still firmly believe this is how it should be done. However, VLMS will most likely change my opinion of things but i will see. It's a totally different series with a totally different set of cars and teams.

What was going through your mind throughout the whole weekend? I was constantly worrying about causing a stupid accident which could have been easily avoided but i was also worried about being soo far off the pace that i wouldn't even bee classified. Practice: It was an interesting few days of practice. Getting in as many hours as i can from Thursday evening after GPVWC, Friday and the morning of Saturday before Qualifying.

Thankfully i had Jacob Reid (former Drillers FSR PRO driver) helping me out by giving me a setup to use for Qualifying and the Race and giving me some extra tips on how to drive the car a bit better.

Qualifying: I didn't really expect to get anywhere. All i wanted to do was manage to get near/match my PB from Practice to show i could set a decent qualifying lap for a rookie who have never really driven the car before. Monza is not my strongest of tracks either so this was set to just be sheer pain trying to wrestle the car around the Italian velodrome of speed. However i got close to my PB and i think i actually beat it. However i was quite off the pace which i expected but obviously it took a hit to my confidence of which was already hit by my lack of car knowledge and me not being strong at Monza. Last of the qualifiers with two cars pit starting meant i would have to worry about cars behind me off the start. Not such a big problem normally but when it's Monza you are having to watch every single pixel of the car otherwise you could end up being torpedoed by someone having an accident anywhere from turn one to the start finish line at the end of the lap on Lap 1.

Race: The race was pretty bog standard for me but i somehow got a better start than my GPVWC colleague Chris Williamson who then shortly passed me into Turn 1 as i was being supremely cautious to try and avoid any chaos that happened. This did work as there was a few cars off at Curva Grande meaning i made up a couple of places. Sadly one of those cars involved was Chris meaning he had to retire from the race but he stayed on to spot for me whenever traffic got nearby. Jacob was solidly inside the points so that was a positive.

The end of lap 1 saw me let through the Flag To Flag car that started in the pits and also saw me have a three corner fight with one of the Invictus cars. Him getting through at turn one with my cautious braking zone.

About 11 laps in the leaders came through to lap me so i kept out of the way as much as possible so i didn't cause any issues. I've also learnt that Monza isn't the easiest of tracks to get out of the way at so that's always something i will be extra understanding of if i ever am in that position again. But then a couple of laps later i ended up in the barrier at the exit of Ascari due to me making a simple mistake that sent the car flying into the wall. This gave me a fair bit of suspension damage but thankfully not enough to warrant me to have to retire. So 40 off laps with that damage did kill the tyres a fair bit. Nothing else really happened in the race but i MUST make a severe apology to Dewald Nel and Ivanov(?) (i am still unsure to this day) for the issue at the exit of the 2nd chicane. I just misjudged where you two were going and i went to move over so you guys could go through but the accident was caused and there was some flying bodywork. If you wish to have a word with me on the matter i will 100% be happy to talk personally about it.

Towards the end of the race i was sat in P17 and two places off the points. At this rate it was a case of finishing inside classification in case anyone got VERY severe penalties from the race. However, i ended up gaining a place for one retirement from i think Rabey(?) and then a few laps later as Jarrod VDW blew his engine on the start finish straight. This in turn allowed me to score my debut point and as the leaders crossed the line i was 5 laps down and inside classification. As much as Michael Eyres (Flag to Flag PRO driver + ACE commentator for Monza) mocked me afterwards i was happy to score the point and finish the race where i did.

What are your future plans for FSR?

Currently, there aren't any as there is supposedly a switch up in managment so i want to wait at least a year before i plan anything to do with FSR. Hopefully something can be done for the future however. I, myself, don't plan to race any further due to my lack of pace and other commitments with VLMS and VEC.

Thank you Elise and we wish you and the Idos team the best for VLMS this week which starts at 2:45PM UK time on the Simracing.club youtube channel on Saturday the 30th of September 2017.