Well, the 2006 season has finally drawn to a close! What a season it has been. All in all Ryan can look back with great satisfaction on a season which included several wins, podiums, pole positions, fastest laps and a level of performance and consistency that enabled him to finish in a credible second place in the Championship, just one point behind the eventual winners Matt Allison and Jonny Lang.
All of the season’s positives do not however, lessen Ryan’s disappointment in not actually winning the GTC Championship and we are surely many of you will have read in the motorsport press the saga of the appeals. The GTC Championship was finally decided in front of the National Court of Motor Sport at the MSA Headquarters in Slough on 27 October 2006, the very morning of the Awards dinner!
Despite Phil Keen’s best efforts in proving to the Court that his move on Allison on lap 9 of the Brands’ Race was an "entirely legitimate racing manoeuvre", the Court decided to effectively reinstate the Clerk of the Course’s decision to impose a 10 second time penalty on the #3 car (the subsequent loss of places losing Ryan 5 Championship points) and a 3 point endorsement of Phil’s licence had actually been overturned by the Championship Stewards at an appeal hearing at Silverstone, despite stating at the start of the hearing that they would be hearing the case as new, and that they would not be considering any previous decisions that had been made in relation to the incident. The result was extremely disappointing for both Phil and especially Ryan, as he had nothing to do with the incident for which the car was penalised as he was sitting in the pit lane at the time!
As the line is drawn under the 2006 season, and we take away the many positive experiences, whilst accepting the final outcome we also hope it opens the wider debate of clarity, openness and most importantly consistency regarding the issue of determining and enforcing penalties when the need arises.
Given Ryan’s stellar performance this year and good grace in losing the Championship in such a way, we think that its time to pop the bubbly in any case and raise a glass to the 2006 season and hopefully an exciting 2007!
A message from Ryan...
"I would like to say a big thank you to my family and friends who have supported me this year, and who continue to do so. A special thank you goes to my father Colin - who without him I wouldn't have even started a racing career - I still pinch myself quite regularly!
My second big thank you goes to Jim Whipps from Firesure - who has sponsored
me for 3 years now - I'm very happy that this year Jim has been able to see me have a good year (and be champion for a month!) . I am very grateful for all your support
My third thank you goes to Rebecca Hobbs, who does all my PR services, newsletters, website updates - without her, my news wouldn't be brought to you, and I wouldn't get half the coverage I have had - Thankyou.
I'd also like to thank Action Resources for their support, Lifeforce and all my team at Trackspeed. Whilst I had many team-mates through the year it was a privilege to drive alongside each one. Additional thanks goes to Dave Stokes at Msport for some stunning shots that captured the year.
AND my last thank you goes to all my fans, and supporters who have wished
me well through the years.
All of the season’s positives do not however, lessen Ryan’s disappointment in not actually winning the GTC Championship and we are surely many of you will have read in the motorsport press the saga of the appeals. The GTC Championship was finally decided in front of the National Court of Motor Sport at the MSA Headquarters in Slough on 27 October 2006, the very morning of the Awards dinner!