2020: My Year In Review

Introduction

2020. Oh. My. Goodness. 2020. 2020 has been one HELL of an insane year for every single one of us and I'm no exception.

In light of what's been an absolutely insane, bonkers and in some cases unbelievable year - I've decided to write not just a cheesy Facebook Post - but instead a "Megablog" - going through the top moments of each month throughout the year. This megablog will not just be an "extended" list of the events of 2020, but too about how and why 2020's "episodes" have affected me.

I know it's more than a half-hour read (35 minutes divided into 12 months/"sections" - each month being a 3 minute read) but I assume my older audience read books which are no doubt...longer than half an hour - so take this as a book. Sit down, get comfy, grab a coffee and enjoy.

Lastly, I'd like to apologise about the amount I mention iRacing (and little about my real life) but with the world being in the state it's been - and me being locked in for months (like many of us), iRacing has turned half a year into a half a dozen bearable months.

With the rambling done and out of the way, let's start by rewinding the clocks back to January 1st, 2020 when this whole extravaganza began.

January

The first few days of the year actually started pretty well. I wished my iRacing Account a happy first birthday and 5 days later, congratulated my own bones for making it 19 years outside of the womb.

One could argue that there was more of a celebration for my iRacing account hitting 1 year, than myself (19) but I didn't mind.

I still remember my very first day on the service (Jan 14th, 2019) like it was yesterday....

To give an idea of how big 2020 was for Kabort - an staggering 39 out of Kabort's 50 or so currently active drivers (Excluding bots and our Korean friends) were hired during the year 2020. In the meantime (Jan), Kabort still had a slightly sour reputation within the community. Some slightly less than perfect races and hanging around the near the back of the field meant that despite being gold in colour... we were certainly not there by standard. This was only worsened by an absolutely abhorrent (2hr 40 min) practice race for the Daytona 24 Hours in which I showed some incredibly appalling and disgusting driving standards. The Official iRacing Daytona 24 Hours didn't go much better either, a driver signing up for the wrong car meant that I - nor our entry (team) could compete. From here, things took a turn for the worst...

Late January saw the passing of the pilot, Kobe Bryant and 7 other passengers onboard a helicopter bound for a a basketball game at Camarillo.

I personally didn't know Kobe, nor did I know his name very well (bar the shouting of "Kobeee" at school basketball games), but it was hugely upsetting no matter.

The middle east and America also threw some missiles at each other and the world thought that world war 3 was upon us. Fortunately it wasn't and everything was stabilized, but it really set the precedent for the year.

February

The year only continued in heart-ache and pain as ferocious fires continued to rip through Australia - decimating everything and everyone in its path, this lasting for over 6 anguishing months.

After the fires were controlled, it was confirmed that 36 people perished as a direct result of the fire (445 later due to smoke inhalation).

46 million acres of land were burned with an absolutely devastating 500+ million mammals, birds and reptiles unable survive the deadly fires.

This was beyond tragic especially because of my unbeknownst love for the country.

In response to the fires, asked Milner Media (an iRacing Painter) if he could produce me some liveries for the iRacing Bathurst 12 Hours.

The three cars Milner would be painting were the: Audi R8, Ferrari 488 GT3 and Mercedes AMG GT GT3. Myself, Will (Burfield), Jonathan Kerns and Korean Jongpil Jung at the helm of the Ferrari.

Still to this day, in December 2020 - I'm absolutely baffled at how the Bathurst 12 Hours was still a part of this year - it felt like more than a decade ago!

I've discussed how the others got on in the the Bathurst Blog, but for us, despite drafting in Jongpil Jung at the very last minute, the 11 Hours and 15 minutes of Bathurst went sublimely - and we were even potentially on for a top 5 finish...

But it was the 12 hours of Bathurst, and I was in for the last stint.

After having had contact with someone at "The Cutting" I wanted to apologise to them (via iRacing's in-game text chat) along the Conrod straight. So I did.

In doing so, the car drifted onto the grass. Opon trying to return to the track, the car slid from underneath me - two overcorrections later and I was sliding. Hitting the wall was an inevitability. We'd finish the race in the pits.

This was beyond painful for me - I actually cried at one point - all this hard work (over 10 hours worth!) and it turned out to be for absolutely fuck-all-nothing. This was nobody's fault but my own, and I had to accept it. This certainly was a hard pill to swallow.

Granted, we finished 7th, but there's something about boasting about a top 5 at the "12 Hours Of Bathurst" that cannot be beaten. Especially when done whilst hot-seating with an incredibly close friend. It may have been a 12 hour race, but it all came down to the final hour and my actions truly marred what had been a simply phenomenal performance by all.

February ended with Luxembourg making all public transport completely free, a nice little positive to end the month on.

March In terms of my school/college work/educations - things weren't going so well. After smashing the first year of my Level 3 Media and ICT BTEC's (separate) the previous year, this year was a totally different story.

Partially to do with the fact that the the TA (Teaching Assistant) was no longer able to aid/support me due to the course regulations, I massively struggled during the academic (college) year of September 2019 - 2020.

I fought hard to "stay afloat" and keep up with my college work (Media, ICT and my hopeless attempts at GCSE Maths) and all bar one topic, I was only just managing to keep my head above the metaphorical water.

This one topic- this "anchor" if you will, was coding. With little to no help available, I was being drowned by the coding task - so much so that the teachers were beginning to get incredibly concerned at the amount of work I was doing during those lessons. I don't care if it was just to display text or whatever - it just went straight over my head and was just boggling to me. A teacher with a thick Frecnh accent probably didn't help matters either.

The (at the time) epidemic quite literally saved my arse. It was like being stuck out in the Atlantic ocean in a rubber inflatable dinghy and a giant cargo ship or coastguard comes and plucks me out of a pretty sh*** situation. In Mid-March (specifically, the 16th), the government announced a lockdown and forced schools, colleges (and I think uni's too) to close.

People would complain that it (the lockdown) started much too late - and other than an excuse to stop coding (course) I didn't - and still don't have an opinion on the matter.

In the beginning, everyone thought that this would last at most a month or two (some even saying a week or two) before everything would return to normal, and we'd return to normality...how wrong we were...

For me, I hate to say it, but the lockdown came at a very good time.

On our last day at college - I told Emma, one of the SEN workers at my college, I'd use the week off (assuming it would be a week) to attempt to catch up - or at least make some sort of progress the coding "assignment" and make proper use of what was essentially was a "get out of jail free" card.

This was so that on the (then) high-ish chance that I'd return, I would be in a better position then when I left and maybe I'd be bumped up a grade at most or be able to begin to swim instead of just treading water.

Turns out...we didn't. We didn't return from the mid-march break, so my anxiety levels skyrocketed. The GCSE's were off in the summer months and there was no sign of the lockdown easing - and with currently no Maths GCSE - I was an anxious wreck - worrying about what would happen with my GCSE's - if I'd have to sit them later in the year, re-take them, or hope that my predicted grades would be enough to tell a positive story. To add to my concern, in late March, my father was diagnosed with Myeloma.

Myeloma is a form of non-terminal Cancer, after his physical condition started to deteriorate - I think, as a family, this was some of the hardest times - I remember during spring that I'd go out to the front wall of my house in a flurry of tears to sit and just cry - our last meal together was one not of peace, but of tension and tears - and one I hate to look back on.

Initially, there were thoughts that it could of been a fracture or other moderately-severe diagnosis, but unfortunately we were all proven very, very wrong.

From then on we didn't really seen each other too often. Yes I drove them to hospital, but with me being 23/7 (one hour sleep) on the computer/iRacing, there would be very rare occasions where we'd actually see each other. Probably my way of dealing with shock or what happened, but it reduced conflict (somehow) and though Anti-Social and selfish, the solidarity helped me live a semi-normal life inside.

~

Dare I say it, Joe Bradley was one of the ones who kept me out of misery

As stated in the "Starting Something New" blog, I suggested that because I thoroughly enjoyed them (the Watkins Glen, Phillip Island and Charlotte Practice Races) I wanted it to be turned into a league or something a little more more long-term and that's exactly what happened....

This was the birth of the "MOFO Covid Cup" (It being named during an earlier and less severe time during the pandemic)

This series/championship/league was an absolute blast and really helped distract me from the harsh realities of life.

What was so good about it?

I think that everything combined gathered together to create a very "warm" series.

Prior to the practice race at Watkins Glen, I had never driven a Skip Barber car before (me not yet discovering the joys of open wheel at this time.) Since driving it, I found out that it was one hell of a blast (despite not having the greatest top speed) especially when chucking it and sliding it through corners - aggression being the key to fast lap times. The competition wasn't bad either - aside from the "random" (normal/one-off) members joining just for the hell of it, MOFOalso had some long-term members including some pretty big names in the commentary scene such as the likes of Ben Constanduros, Joe Bradley and Nick Daman.

I think what also helped this series (and the fun factor) was the fact that there were "fixed" setups, meaning that everyone was running around in the same car narrowing the results down to pure driver skill instead of technical or mechanical advantage.

I may not have been up front fighting for Top 5's, podiums or wins - but there was a huge variety of talent - and nearer the back I had my own fun battling the guys at my own pace which was also really cool - the fact I didn't have to be "alien" fast to have a great race.

Finally the reason that the MOFO *ahem* Cup kicked off - the real world was - and still is - a dark, miserable place with lots of bad news circulating and we all needed something to cheer us up - and oh boy did it!

During this series, I'd make some life-long memories, including a monster pile-up at the start of the Silverstone round (Round 2), and an awesome battle with Joe Bradley at Spa Francorchamps, where he taught me a thing or two about racecraft. (don't go for every gap, sit behind and build up momentum over a lap to get the slip-stream on the back-straight) Silverstone

Spa Francorchamps

The championship/series/league would finish in May, and I'd finish in the top 10 in the drivers championship - which was an absolutely incredible achievement for me, one of the youngest/least experienced on the grid - and I'm actually quite proud of myself for!

Any Problems?

Honestly? Yes. A couple. I view myself as a young Max Verstappen - ambitious. Overly ambitious. Some of my moves were certainly questionable and I may've needed to be "reined in", and slightly calmed down.

My biggest problem was going for moves that weren't on, but over time I eventually learnt.

Just like in the real world with Max Verstappen - I too was "reigned in" and got a control of myself (eventually) and so has Max.

Off-Track

In terms for off-track, there was also a small issue - Blogs.

I loved doing them - and still do - but with a race on Tuesday and Thursday, I liked to do in-depth race-reports, and with a time-limit (of the next race) to pump the blog out, I got a little bit behind.

With the real-life issues I was already dealing with, this was an unnecessary load of stress and probably un-needed too.

In terms of official racing, it was the Sebring 12hrs and myself, Will and Lance Cropper (who made a brief appearance at Kabort before dissapearing into the mysterious dark depth (left))

It was an absolutely stellar performance from all and I certainly had a blast, even if I had a wobble or two.

Top Left: On the edge of adhesion

Top Middle: Finding An Escape Road

Top Right: Creating Track Art...Robin Style

Middle Left: The Sunset was blinding, but stunning

MIddle Middle: Crossing the line after 12hrs Middle Right: Crossing the line in darkness was a relief Bottom Left: Well earnt donuts. It was a well-deserved result

April

The entire month of April would pass by during the Covid Cup Skippy Series (every Tuesday & Thursday Night for 12 weeks), however April was also a massive month for me - both in iRacing and in the Real World.

For starters, despite the lockdown, I still got my Maths 1-1 sessions (try and put these behind me, don't really like discussing the m-word)

I'd like to dedicate this month - and this area to give a massive shoutout/mention to Emma Wicks, who was not only part of the Learning Support team at my college, by a personal tutor too.

Throughout April, her and I were in email contact, and she sent fairly frequent emails to ask me how I was getting along and allowed me to discuss (in any detail) about how I was doing both mentally, physically and with my work.

She really helped me talk/discuss my issues with regards to my father and what would happen in the summer. At the end of one Email she'd quote the legendary Niki Lauda which, looking back, I should have probably taken onboard or looked deeper into - but I'm glad that in November, I properly read it and could refer back to my life at that period.

"From success, you learn absolutely nothing, From failure and setbacks conclusions can be drawn.  That goes for your private life as well as your career." 

Just as my troubles were boiling comfortably in a pan of anxiety and stress, 2020 decided to take another absolute hero away from us. Stirling Moss on the 12th April at the grand old age of 91.

I know this is going to become all too common - especially as my heros and the people I know, love and look up to are going to grow older and eventually pass too, but this never prepares you for the breaking news and announcement and you never expect it to be one's "last day".

No doubt we'll lose amazing people in 2021 too - it's inevitable and unstoppable, we've just got to spend as much time as possible with those we love and cherish the most...although in the climate that's very difficult. Tell your loved ones you love them.

It's been a very tough 5 years for motorsport fans across the globe - motorsport has lost many true heroes - most notably Justin Wilson (1978 - 2015) (37) John Surtees (1934- 2017) (83) Charlie Whiting (1952-2019) (67) Antonie Hubert (1996-2019) (23)

Nicki Lauda (1949-2019) (70)

Stirling Moss (1929-2020) (91)

In more positive news, Kabort got their first two podiums!!

I've done blogs on each of these individual podiums (ELMS at Monza) and (Nurburgring vVLN) - me being a part of the latter squad!

Before going onto the events of May, I'd just like to say for about a week, I was a part of a group who were making the world on Minecraft - making a little start on my road...however judging by the sheer quality of the builds that have already been built I felt a little bit "worthless" and like I didn't quite fit in - so quicker than I joined I left again...but yes, I was a part of the team for a second.

Kabort continued to shine, as Lars Bachmann, Robert Land and Justinas Ribelis somehow managed to bag only Kabort's third podium in history in an LMP1 at the 6 hour ELMS (Endurance Le Mans Series) race at Road America - as a (then) team principal and team owner - this made me chuffed and incredibly proud

April's special event was the Nurburgring 24 Hours, and after a little bit of unnecessary livery drama on my behalf, we were ready to hit the track. Nurburgring Blog

May

May saw the second season of the MOFO Skippy league/championship start - and for me it went worse than expected with incidents/crashes in the first four races of the season (Watkins, Concord, Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta) before managing a points finish at Nurburgring (second of the season after Road Atlanta).

My MOFO Shenanigans can be read here:

Part 1

Part 2

Even during May, whilst I was filling out my student finance (4 months from the start of the next academic year) I had doubts of weather I'd actually be going to university - or weather I'd re-take the college year - each presented its own benefits - re-taking the year meant I could start from a clean slate and try again and try harder at my courses, whilst going to University would be a dream come true.

May slipped by pretty quickly despite the MOFO Troubles.

May also saw me learn to cook a new meal - sausages and pasta - and although simple - it was like tying shoelaces - year(s) to learn, seconds to master and remember.

I hate open flame, Food Tech at my secondary school was an absolute nightmare and I dreaded the hob - especially open flame and "could have liked the teacher more" Later in the year I'd find out that the uni would have an electric hob niccee

Before I knew it, it was the end of May - the 30th of May marking one year of Kabort's existence. It may have been a low-key celebration but to me it was a lot - having something I owned and created last a whole year - 12 months, 365 days is just - I haven't even had a relationship that long...the only things I own lasting that long are models and soft toys (deal with it).

The very next day something absolutely baffling happened...Evie (Reddick) messaged me saying that she found me someone that I may potentially have interest in (as I've been looking for a long-term girlfriend from before humans learnt to walk) - this wonderful woman turned out to be Annie Mae Segal...

and as cheesy and cliche it may sound - it truly was love at first sight.

She wanted the same out of life as I did (live independently, marriage, kids etc. - a detailed plan for the future) and wasn't half bad looking either! On 31st May 2020, we began dating.

It may not have been the smoothest of relationships - none are, but the fact we are pushing through, and despite one anothers flaws, we are still dating to this day.

A YouTuber I occasionally (rarely) watch said something about relationships in a recent (November) video - and I really, really agreed with it (of course, this was in a video format, so I got rid of much of the filler)

"Marriage is not always all good shit, there's a lot of days in relationships where you argue and you have bad days or you guys don't talk much, if at all, it's kind of what happens. There's kind of ebbs and flows in relationships and that's what keeps them interesting a lot of the time because if you agree on everything and everything's always perfect, at the end of the day, that's not really a healthy relationship"

A few disclaimers - Optimus is a YouTuber, not a scientist or relationship expert, so don't take this as factually correct or gospel.

This quote was taken from the middle of a video talking about Cardi B tweeting about her ("abusive?") relationship with rapper "Offset."

You can watch the whole thing here if you are that bothered by it - but yes, I believe that not every single relationship is perfect, but as long as you trust and love one another, stick by one another and don't verbally or physically hurt or abuse one another - a relationship with good and bad days is still a very good one - and at the end of the day - it should be between the dating couple weather they stick together or not. Friends and families can offer advice, yes - but at the end of the day it's up to the couple to split or stay,

June

June was the month of experimenting on iRacing.

The start of June marked the second Week 13 of the year (the first being during March between Season 1 & 2, had me having a blast in the Porsche 911 Cup).

The Second Week 13, which marked the end of Season 2, saw me trying out new content in the form of the Brand New BMW M4, although I only did 3 of the 7 days.

After a hugely enjoyable experience in the MOFO Skippy Series, I tried my luck at iRacing's official Skip Barber Series and immediately put it on the second row of the Grid for the second week of the season (missed week 1 because I hadn't thought about the official series back then)

If it wasn't for my stupidity of not fuelling up the car come the race, I think I would have been battling for the win - however, I did not, needed to pit and finished 8th after a legendary battle with Giuseppe Calderaro.

My stupidity would pay off at the next round at Mosport, as I remembered to fill up the car after qualifying...and in an absolute shock result I'D COME ACROSS THE LINE IN 3RD POSITION!!!!!

This 3rd place would be only my third after my podium at Lime Rock in my Rookie season and my podium in NEC in April.

Late June would see me go to Annie's house for the first time (with social distancing measures in place). This would see the start of frequent visits to see Georgia and family, Annie, Evie (and sometimes Evie's Boyfriend too) - at this time the restrictions being slightly reduced.

Worthing was an incredibly popular choice of destination for Annie and Evie. June ended with a rather Interesting MOFO round which will probably be remembered for all the wrong reasons!

July

My iRacing success would go strength to strength in July, finishing 4th at Zandvoort (3rd until competitor got my slipstream going onto the final lap and kept it ahead)

MOFO Season 2 Swiftly following this was the MOFO race at Monza - and really not a highlight of my year (just like the rest of S2 MOFO Skippies to be honest!!)

This time my error was pitting for tires whilst the rest of the competition only boxed for fuel - meaning that I lost a heap of time whilst they changed the tyres...and blew the ending of a truly great battle with Matt Riddles.

Oulton Park was the last race I did in the MOFO Skippy Series...and barely lasted a lap.

After a little bit of contact of early on in lap one, I hobbled my damaged car around the track, before crashing into an already spun Bradley.

The last three races of the season were missed due to real-life reasons

21/07/2020 Summit Point: 5am Start, Delivered Felix (brother)'s presents and cards to 5 or so people before going and having Dominoes in the car with Annie & Evie and Ben. I also got scammed (one of the first times for me) - it was a very shady transaction with so many red flags it may have well been the 2020 Italian (or Tuscan) Grand Prix....It was a card to cash ATM transfer - so pretty much, when it was gone...it was gone and never coming back...just like the guy who took it....

28/07/2020 Silverstone: Moving furniture into Georgia's new place as well as picking Felix up.

This Thursday was (30/7/2020) was the turn of the Radicals at Watkins - and I had significantly worse luck than the last time I hit the Watkins track ending the race as the last of the runners, being lapped twice...

~

Next up (after Zolder in Official Skippies) was the Spa 24 Hours, and despite a 15th place finish, spending 24 Hours with Will, (his fiancee) and Sam was a right blast - and definitely 24 hours well-spent - with a memory or two made along the way.

Not days after this - some more incredibly tragic news came to my attention - Grant Imahara had passed away.

Life had been great, I was having a blast on iRacing - and other than the worry of repeating a year at college, I was carefree.

I know things like these shouldn't affect me because they are celebrities, but damn this one hurt.

As a young kid - and through my teens too, I loved the Mythbusters. In particular I loved Grant - his enthusiasm, his looks, I don't know - he was just a really great presenter - and as with all the obituries before this one - I know I don't know a thing about them, and I have only seen them on screen my whole life, but damn - when a celebrity you know dies - it hits close to home - it was exactly the same as Bianchi - I was absolutely devastated and heartbroken - unfortunately more than when I lost my Grandfather - but when I hear an older gentleman speak German....I don't know why, but it's warming to me.

It was late July however, which will always stay in my mind...My first win.

MOFO frequently held "one-off" and "experimental" races.

On Thursday 23rd July, it was the turn of the SRF (Spec Racer Ford) at Watkins Glen - despite its sleek looks, it was actually considerably slower than the Skip Barber - which is potentially why some of the other drivers got bored and slowed up.

This gave me the opportunity to catch the front-runners and take a miraculous win - and my only outright unofficial win to date...but luck wasn't quite done with me yet.

The very next day was Skippies at Donington Park - and finishing every race I had entered in the top 10, I tried my luck....

AND CAME OUT ON TOP!!!!

I don't know Quite how I did it but I did!

From 7th on the grid, I got a good start, taking advantage of the carnage and passing 2 cars. 3 more shortly found their way past me by the start of the 2nd lap.

From here I was on a roll...as the tyres and track were both cold, mistakes from competitors were aplenty. One of the victims of the tricky conditions was the pole-sitter and up to that point was the leader...another being one that overtook me on the opening lap.

By the 4th lap, I was into the top 5. Despite losing two positions on the very next lap, I was still very much in the hunt for at least a top 5. On lap 7, the new leader slipped and had a spin - promoting all those below him up one position...gifting me 3rd on a golden platter.

I'd stay 3rd for 11 laps of the race - calmly lapping, waiting for the circuit - or luck to grab its next victim. Sure enough, a victim would be selected, but not in the way I had expected...

In an opportunistic I tried to go up the inside of P2...being blinded by the sun (an actual excuse in iRacing) P4, behind, got caught out by my (lack of) speed I was taking through the corner - and took very late avoiding action.

As seen by the video, I have no idea how, but I survived - and chased down P1 whom I overtook at Turn 1 of the final lap.

I've done a more detailed blog here

On 12th July, 2020, I officially announced that I would be stepping down as Team Principal from Kabort Motorsport...announcing that Will would be Team Principal.

31st July was also the day my academic calendar starts on - must be significant for some odd reason....

Oh yes, my first DNF in the Official Skippies - this can be explained in one word: Nordschliefe. Skippies at Nordschliefe. Need I say more?

August

If I've got to allocate a "Month Of The Year" for 2020 - It has GOT to be either August, September or October - but August I believe was the more significant.

We're returning to "real life" for a moment (real life - what's that?) where a massive explosion decimates Beirut Port after it is stored unsafely.

This does not affect me personally, but the sheer size of the explosion, shockwave, damage caused, people killed (220) - only slightly fewer than all of those who have died on reported plane accidents during 2020 (176 Tehran, 97 in Pakistan, 19 in India) - 292 Total.

After my attempt at racing the Skip Barber and Nordschliefe, I tried my luck at ELMS (Endurance Le Mans Series) at the Nords - but the same sort of result came of it....it may have been 30th - but it was a fun 30th.

Tijmen and Spencer, however, seemed to have vastly different luck - gifting Kabort it's first podium since April.

Spencer Kemble (USA) and Tijmen Berends (NDL) managed to guide their HPD (LMP2) car to a smooth third place. Whilst the official side was going well, the MOFO/Hosted side could have seriously gone better. Now with equipped with a radical - the rebranded "MOFO Freshers Series" was a lot more difficult. In the half a dozen or so races I competed in I would not finish in the Top 10 in one of them. My best result being 11th of 13 at VIR.

The only exception would be in a "non-championship race" where I'd finish 9th.

I'd have potential though - getting high up in the points/positions at the start of the race before falling down as I ran out of talent...or the others caught back up

With or without me, August continued.

With lockdown easing all the time, I went down to the beach (Worthing) with a friend . Twas fun, weather was nice and we went on the pier. Finishing Racing Up

By August, I had a pretty solid idea that I would be going to University, I just needed the confirmation email...so, on the 8th August, 2020 I began wrapping up my racing career - finishing up the 12hr iRacing Endurance Series at Barcelona with a two very good mates of mine - Berkley Cox and Sam Thurtell.

We may have finished 12th in class - but it was a good experience just to hang out with them.

On the 12th August, I'd say one last goodbye to Georgia, Charlie and Amelia (baby) as I headed off for University within the next month.

During this week, I got just the email I was waiting for...

(The rest being personal information) - It was absolutely incredible and unbelievable. Weather I "deserved" predicted grade or my teacher took pity on me (wanted to get rid of me) for doing it so many years in a row, I will never know - and it's something, personally, I don't want to know. The important thing is/was that I got a 4 and by jingo did I get it.

Things were going a little well, and unfortunately, after being called to "Uber" a friend and her (then) boyfriend down to Worthing beach to help sort their relationship - I found out it was just a ploy to get me to drive them down to the beach and their relationship was fine back then....

Despite this, I still kept preparing for uni - getting all the documents ready - even enrolling!

Next to finish up was ELMS (Endurance Le Mans Series) - with a solid P16 in the Ferrari 488 GTE, I could definitely say that me and Berkley ended my ELMS Career on a high.

With one month until I started uni there were just a handful of series I ha- wanted to complete.

All during this time I was getting things sorted with University, including going for a massive shopping spree getting all sorts of Uni essentials like pots, pans, bowls and even a suitcase!

To just go out and buy "adult" things instead of clothes and toys - I don't know, it gives me a sense of independence and "maturity" if you will.

After finishing second in what was supposed to be my last Skippy race, I had 954 iRating - only a smidge more and I would have completed the impossible....

But it would have to wait until after my final NES (Nurburgring Endurance Series) race with Dominik Gahlow - we finished in a respectable 25th, whilst the fellow Kabort car (Audi R8) we were sharing the split with managed a bloody impressive 6th...

My break couldn't come quickly enough - and on the final week of the season, it finally came...1,022 iRating.

The track was Detroit (Belle Isle) and the car was a Skippy - and after being strong all season (bar Nords) - a 4th place would be impressive...but not as impressive as the achievement of iRating.

After over a year of being judged, being in low splits and being looked down upon in society I finally managed to get my iRating above 1,000. The last time my iRating was this high must have been at least in my rookie season when I destroyed it.

The date was the 26th August 2020. Save The Date.

But first a quick trip to London to say hello to Georgia, Amelia and Charlie again - Amelia is so cute and I couldn't resist! Watching Rush and eating Pizza was a highlight. It was a busy week for Kabort and things up top were also changing in terms of management. On 27th August 2020 - Andy Jones, who had helped me endlessly since his arrival back in January - He'd go on to reform life into this once struggling team - and as I was off to Uni in less than a month, this was almost life-saving - the operation and life of this team can still go on, even if I am not there to run it.

This wasn't the only change either - the 30th (3 days later) there was a vote about the livery and name - the name would remain the same - but the livery...they wanted something slightly "changed" about it.

I suggested dropping the "Affinity" (Black and Gold) liveries and just make the highlighter (yellowy/green and black) livery our full time livery...and so it was decided.

Step by step on how to make a highlighter livery

Step 1: Ask for it as a back-up livery for one of your cars (Top Left & Middle)

Step 2: When the Team Principal asks about liveries you suggest scrapping the black and gold (top right) Step 3: New Car! (bottom)

Our naming convention also changed to a much simpler "K1 - K6" system for the regular cars, and T1 and T2 for "ad-hoc" teams which include drivers that don't usually run.

Over the next couple of months I'd rebrand everything - from the team's logos, cars and website, to vans and lorries.

Thus far only the Ferrari has received the spec-map treatment.

The final weekend in August would mark my final 24 Hour race - The (Hosted) Zolder 24 Hours - which would mark one of my last hosted events...for a good while, with only MOFO series remaining (Sept.)

Whilst the Kabort Porsche 911 Cup of Perry, Jones, Bachmann and Weber went on to finish P2 In class, it was a whole different story for the BMW M4 - scuttling around the back before a retirement to put us out of our misery. Certainly not one of my finest points of this year.

With all that said and done - the enduros were finished, (ELMS Sebring happening during the Zolder 24hrs) and only a handful of events remained - it was time to head into Week 13.

In real life, it was the first step to a rather long process for my cat. 28th August saw me give Inka's (my cat) blanket to my brother, who'd be the new owner of Inka after she got increasing uncomfortable at our house - producing all sorts of liquids possible - shit, vomit, piss - any way catly (instead of humanly) possible to tell us that she wasn't happy kitty.

Also on this day, I'd take Annie and Evie to go up to weatherspoons - however, the plan foiled in on itself, and I'd drive them back down to Surrey after a personal problem. Felix and his boyfriend Alex also have a cat called Flynn - so an experiment to see how they'd react to one another's scents was under way. Fortunately, it was a pretty positive experience for all.

What wasn't a positive experience was totally fucking up an article I told Will I'd complete - completing this would come with a list of incentives - however, I didn't and "A Brief History Of Motorsport 2" never came into existence - but personally, despite all the things I was missing out on, I think university was an easier way into it - and had a definite reward after it - a degree and almost certainly a job - if not, the ability to do a masters after.

August ended with me and Annie going for a nice, but cold, picnic in the dark at Box Hill for our third month anniversary.

September 2020

We arrive at September - less than two weeks separates week 13 and the start of University.

A final road-trip up to London to say goodbye (and look at a motorbike) - before immediately going on a last trip to see Annie and Evie (sleepover) finished up seeing friends before buggering off to Uni in roughly three weeks - this was one hell of a sleepover and one I won't be forgetting anytime soon...some for good reasons, others for not so.

I won't go into why I'll remember it, that's sort of personal, but Day 2 we planned to go Longleat Animal Park, however - I massively fucked up the cost of fuel (there and back), tickets and any goodies we'd get whilst there - a "financial conundrum" if you may.

Much to my mother's disappointment - I finished my racing mere days before University - Week 13 taking place 13 days before my first day at University - 20 as I was considering staying over Sunday to Monday.

Week 13 would start with an experiment - trying out how the Formula 3 car sounded and felt - and to my utter surprise it was honestly a dream come true - it sounded so beautiful and felt like an oversized go-kart with very agile steering - I say I'm not too into the "Open-Wheel" stuff on iRacing - but truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in both the Skippy and the F3.

The build including the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R was supposed to come out on Wednesday 9th September, in addition to going out to a viaduct with Evie, there was no sign of the Chevvy until about 9pm at night.

On the 10th, I'd do two races in one day for week 13 (a first) - Firstly the Open Wheel Series (officially called "Battle Of The Small Wings") at Lime Rock where I'd finish 11th after a fun little battle...

After a mediocre start, the REAL result of Week 13 came in the "Shiny New Shakedown" where I'd finish 2nd in GTE Class! Not only my first finish of Week 13 (after an internet disconnect and ram up the arse) but also first GT podium - (first of Multi-Class kind too!!)

What an amazing day.

Despite a lovely walk the next day, I'd miss a relatively important meeting which was to do with my laptop and how to use the software on it. This was also the 19th Anniversary of the 9/11 Twin Tower Attacks.

On the 12th September (morning) I'd do another "Shiny New" series race - finishing 6th in class and 25th overall at Imola, before heading off to Georgia's.

12th September didn't go so well either - whilst attempting to pick up a dog for Georgia and Charlie, the owner only informed us that they had sold the dog ON THE WAY to picking it up - even when it was sold the day prior and the dog was in cornwall...and we went all the way.

The 13th September saw two retirements in one day - another retirement at Charlotte "Battle Of The Little Wings" and a retirement from "Shiny New Shakedown" where I was driving a bit terribly at Sebring - at least I was in a Split with Bruno Senna...or does that make things worse?

14th September was a hilarious one - Evie, Annie and I drive out to a field, sit under some bushes having a picnic - before the cows wanted their bush back and slowly, but intimidatingly took it over, we'd shortly walk back to the car - but I thought I recognised the place...

I cycled this along this very path during the 2019 Off-Road London to Brighton cycle road!

Sam Thurtell would be promoted to "Driving Onboarding Manager" on the 14th.

Season 1, 2020

I wasn't really supposed to do Week 1, 2020 - but the opportunity presented itself and I took it .

The two races I did were Ferrari GT3 Challenge (Brands Hatch) and iRacing Formula 3 Championship (Watkins Glen)

September was drawing to a close - and University Starting was only a matter of days away.

MOFO would also finish up - a MOFO Festival (Le Mans cars of all eras) which I won the GTE Class (the other GTE Car DNF'ing after 12 Laps (me completing 17 of the leader's 18)

The results:

LMP2 Winner: Barry Baldwin Nissan GTP Winner: Darren Wood

Corvette Winner: Robin Truswell Aston Martin GT1 Winner: Matthew Riddles (DNF) Riley Daytona Prototype: David Jimenez (DNF)

Corvette C6R GT1 Winner: Maxwell Kollmann (DNF)

The last MOFO race I'd compete in was the MOFO SR8 at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) - the penultimate race of the season. The last race was at Silverstone which started after Uni did.

The next series after this would be the "Skippy Short Track Series" all tracks being under a minute long. The Tuesday I returned home was the final race of these series.

The series following this would include a RUF that I don't own and one I'm not too bothered about not owning. This series wraps up on the 19th January - a week or so before I'm expected to back to University for Lectures.

Also after Uni was the Bathurst 1000km where we got a single entry - however due to technical issue - this team never started.

University

On the 20th September 2020, I'd drive up to Wolverhampton with a boot full of home accessories and unload them at my accomodation for the next three years.

As this was such a huge step in my life, I decided to start a blog documenting my life and experiences at University. I'd call this UniBlog. The USP (Unique Selling Point) of these blogs is me being brutally honest about everything - and not hiding anything (other than personal information) from my readers.

Welcome week was a week of no lectures, getting used to the Uni life and sadly only a one-off set of lectures including meditation, mental health, budgeting and even an introduction to the Writing Association Society.

Lectures started on the 28th September. The very next day my cat would be driven to my brothers house to live there - and from the sounds of things - despite a little hissing at the start, it went down very, very well.

October

October was also one hell of a significant month for both myself and the team - by October I was totally comfortable and set into the Uni Rhythm.

On the 10th, I came down to Surrey just to say hello to the parents.

During my visit, I jumped into my rig and I smiled from ear to ear - being so far away from my rig, I had sincerely missed it - and did two races - the first, an F3 race at Suzuka - enjoying the feeling of Force Feedback, vibrations, and sound of the F3 once again...it was beautiful - I didn't care where I finished - I just loved the experience which I think should be the primary reason to race - to enjoy it - and enjoy the battles you're having.

The second race was a lot more interesting however - throughout practice, it stated that only 2 cars had registered for the V8 Supercar race at Le Mans I was planning on doing....by the time it was time to qualify, this had dropped to one. Me.

There's a blog which delves into much more detail, but what follows this was me driving a V8 Holden Commodore Supercar around the Circuit De La Sarthe all by myself for the best part of an hour. Was it official? Nope. Was there any point? Coz I wanted to, was a fun idea and I was curious to see what would happen.

I gained Safety Rating out of it which was nice...

Whilst I was at home, the Kabort boys were absolutely smashing it at ELMS (Endurance Le Mans Series) Road America - first it was an outright podium from Lars Bachmann (GER) and newcomer Thomas Jensen (DEN) in the LMP2 - marking Kabort's first ever win - it was an absolute pleasure to watch my guys as kabort absolutely dominated - from what we were at the start of January to what we are now...it's almost as if I'm looking at a totally different team.

Then Daniel Weber (GER) and Tim Perry (GBR) won the GTE class on the very same weekend. It was certainly a weekend to remember - and one I won't be forgetting in a looong time!

(blog) October also saw my Kia (my mother's car she handed down to me this year) breakdown - a battery replacement being needed.

I was honestly SO lucky that I hadn't gone out anywhere - or in fact that she (Kiara, the Kia's name) decided to rub out of battery right in the University Car-Park...instead of somewhere far out...like Birmingham.

This was also interesting - and gave me good experience on what to do if I break down at home.

During University, despite witnessing a scam on the first night, I'd see a lot of incredible places like the main shopping centre/mall, local park and Dudley Zoo.

With the COVID-situation still present worldwide and nationally around the UK, there were still lockdown measures in place - and with 6 people to a corridor in accomodation, we were each-others "bubbles" - and we weren't allowed to meet up/visit other corridors.

One of the people down my corridor, Jya, is a vegetarian and has given me vegetarian options of popular meals (Richmonds, stir-fry and non-spicy chile con carne)

all of which were surprisingly delicious.

Of the three lessons I have (News Writing on Mon, Representing The Real on Tuesday and Key Concepts Of Journalism - Thur) only one of which am I on campus.

Just a day before going back down to Surrey, the car would be done at QuickFix - I'd fill her up and then head down to Surrey the following day to get my camera to take pictures at that weekend's GT Cup - my only motorsport event of 2020.

October would also see me see me go to see Annie and Evie another time whilst going home to get my camera to take some pictures at GT Cup - which would turn out to be my only Motorsport event of 2020.

GT Cup wasn't just for leisure though, it was also to get some pictures for an assignment I planned to write.

Saturday I'd drop by my parents house to say "hi" before zooming as fast as I (legally) could to pick up the girls and have a Pizza in the car with them - yes it was late, but the pizza was delish!!

Sunday's GT Cup was an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyable as I hadn't been to a motor-race that year - my favourite was the track-attack series - which was "race-spec" 2000's hatchbacks racing one another - it was like a mini-btcc but with double - if not quadruple the amount of cars on track meaning there was battles up and down the grid, even for last.

The champagne would keep flowing for Kabort as Daniel Weber and Tim Perry would take the Kabort K2 car to an (AM) GTE class win at the Nurburgring GP circuit in a league series we were doing. This would put us 3rd in the GTE AM championship standings for the next round at Monza on the 14th November.

To celebrate one year at university, I had cake to share around!

In the official series, the weekend of the 24th and 25th October would be Kabort's, and Kabort's to own with a podium in class in LMP2 from unstoppable duo Tijmen & Spencer AS WELL AS Lars Bachmann and newcomer Ken Kylyshbek at the home of endurance herself - Le Mans.

The following week we were given detailed information on our assignments and a billion ideas flew around my head.

Finally, I'd produce the latest in the short line of three or so trailer liveries - the first submission from someone who "liked" my "work".

November November was very much a (brief) summary of 2020 in one month - from soaring highs to absolutely devastating blows.

November started with a little bit of rubbish news that neither Sam Thurtell nor Owen Price could do NEC - putting both cars out of racing in the final race of the Nurburgring Endurance Series/Championship.

This was made up for the fact that 7 of Kabort's drivers were promoted from just drivers to series co-ordiantors - these individuals were:

J. Bouwmeester A. Jones

T. Perry A. Pearce T. Berends S. Thurtell B. Cox

of course, November was 2020 - and naturally would have to have some sort of crazy event in - and, sure enough a national lockdown was put in back in place after British Corona Cases were soaring through the sky. According to reports, this would last until December the 2nd - so there goes any chance of going to any BTCC rounds this year. (West-Midlands would be put into tier 3)

November also saw me finish my first piece of work - a film review on "Shattered Glass" - it wasn't for the assignment or anything, or contributing to my grade - but completed work is completed work. Also, on the last day of October/first day of November - when I was particularly bored, I'd decide to create my third series (aside from Kabort News and UniBlog) where I'd count down the days to christmas by going on two massive road-trips on Google Maps - the first being around the Eurafrasian (Europe, Africa, Asia) continent, followed by the second which went to America - Still to this day I cannot honestly gauge how popular this was - probably not very.

Throughout late 2020, my girlfriend and I have been watching Glee - from Episode 1, Series 1 - and as much as I hate to admit it - I am bloody loving it - It's soo good - and not like the high school musical rip-off I thought it'd be.

It actually deals with some pretty hard-hitting issues in today's society.

November 6th saw Netflix - or my internet get on as well as oil and water...

Next up was the tomfoolery that was the XRL 24 Hours...some questionable driving standards from many - and a DNF from us meant that this one was one to forget for us. This can be read in the bottom quarter of this article.

Mid-November saw me totally renovate Kabort's Head-Quarters - an accidental all-nighter that was not supposed to happen - but one which saw many of Kabort's old articles updated.

November went at an absolutely stupid rate at before I knew it I was in the last week of November...a little dumbstruck. I had already been at university for four months - where on earth had the time gone?!

The silly little Google Maps trip also switched over to the American continent in late November.

Despite countless issues throughout the month with both Netflix and Yahoo (Mail) I managed (only) just to survive.

On the last day of November, I'd realise how close to December and my deadline I was an have a little bit of a panic - I missed how quickly time just went by!

December

December - the last 31 days of 2020 - finally we can put this absolute shambles of a year behind us.

December started with me having to sort my MOT out for the very first time which was a little more difficult than it originally seemed as I had an assignment due on the 7th (same day as MOT), wanted to come home preferably on the 8th, the MOT Garages having limited availability and lectures having a massive priority.

It all worked out surprisingly well though - me managing to get a slot on the first of December between 8am - 12am, him taking the car, me attending a lecture, and him returning with a car that passed!

I'd follow him back to the garage, pay the fee of £50 or so and then have KFC - a rare treat for me.

I also tried to record/edit a video to upload on the channel during every day of December but this quickly fell through.

The Government then created a corridor for students like myself to go home between the 3rd - 10th December. Kabort continued with normal operations - competing in the 1.5K Miles of Sebring, VEC 24hrs Le Mans and ELMS (Endurance Le Mans Series) race at Spa.

December also saw the first anniversary of me owning my Playseat Revolution.

On the 7th, I submitted my very first University Assignment - a huge celebration.

Since coming home on the 8th, It's been a like a slide - very enjoyable and no control over how fast time goes. As I returned home, it was Week 13 and iRacing surprised us all with an absolutely STUNNING Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo - Week 13 was one massive joyride in the Lambo and a thrill to drive - especially at Donington!

The weekend of the 12th - 13th December saw me try to compete in a 24 hour race in a Volkswagen Jetta at Laguna Seca, but due to technical issues this fell through.

Week 13 ended on Tuesday 15th December - 10 Days until Christmas.

I'd have a sneaky trip up to Georgia, Charlie and Amelia's house just days before Surrey was thrown into Tier 4 - a last "hurrah" from 2020.

The 16th December saw my second Uni Assignment being submitted - clearing the rest of 2020 of any any assignments needing to be submit.

I'd also try and experiment with the VRS Sprint Series on iRacing - but having to sort fuel out for a late pit-stop proved very difficult for me.

The very next day, I recorded a road-trip with Bonehead around Iceland which was an absolute blast

Following this, I'd return to my F3 (Formula 3) duties on Friday, before the 12 Hours Of Daytona on Saturday.

We wouldn't finish due to incredibly significant damage and being VERY down on speed - Will Burfield was in another team - and managed to get it across the line in a very respectable Top 15.

Being in Tier 4 meant scrapping all Christmas plans, including seeing my girlfriend, which was absolutely devastating and must be re-organised. Some 2021 plans were also ruined.

On Tuesday 22nd December I went from Nordkapp to Surrey in Euro Truck Simulator - a large portion of this journey (Kirkenes To Opole, Poland) with Bonehead.

Last year on this exact week, I did a road-trip to Helsinki - so it was sort of ironic that I was doing another road-trip.

Other than spamming all my friends a very lovely Christmas message, Christmas was a very quiet affair for the Truswells, which can be read about here but I had an enjoyable time and it was a nice, quiet little Christmas - us seeing the cousins over video call on Christmas Day and my brother (I believe) on boxing day (26th December).

The 26th - 31st of December have seemingly been the quietest days of the year with pretty much no action other than working hard on my upcoming assignment and a rather difficult race at the Nurburgring.

And with that, I thank you - thank you for reading - I know it's long-winded but it's been a big-ass year!

I'd like to end on a positive note - and I just have some absolutely HUMONGOUS thank you's to the following people:

Firstly, Barry Bennett for sorting me out with a laptop and software which went with it - the laptop has been used endlessly and without it I was be in quite a bad situation - the software is also massively helpful and will continue to be helpful as I progress through uni - I honestly don't think I'd be in the position I am in now (confidence, comfort etc.) without Barry Bennett.

Secondly my mum. I don't care how cheesy it sounds - but she's a hero - in fact beyond that.

To power through the year she has and still be fighting strong is absolutely incredible and I am actually speechless at how well she's done. I admit it, I made things during the lockdown a lot, lot more difficult than they needed to be, and had I been compliant, we could have avoided some of the confrontations we had, but here we are in November 2020 - Dad's in remission and I'm at university doing a course that I'm having a blast on, I think as a family we've won - and overcome the negative which was so cruelly put onto us.

Thank you and Happy New Year!