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Race Meeting 4 July
Thursday I woke up with flu, only worse. I stayed in bed until lunch time when I got the car from work and headed down to the track only because Deon Joubert had agreed to drive the car that day. Many thanks to him for taking the time out of his day to do so, I learnt a lot. Thank you. I headed home as soon as I could and crashed back into bed.
Friday wasn’t too much better. I went down to the track just to do a session or two to make sure I was comfortable with the feel of the car (we had to raise the car slightly on Thursday night as the driveshaft was rubbing on the chassis) then planned to get back home to rest and prepare for race day. During the 2nd session (and what was supposed to be my last) I broke a CV joint. After getting some help to identify the problem I got down to business and stripped it. I had some help putting it back together and went out for the next session. Alas all was not well. I took the car to Deon Joubert’s workshop where he and Brian Maunder eventually diagnosed the problem. It was by now late in the day and the remedy consisted of again stripping the driveshaft and getting Brian to work some magic on it. Many, many thanks to Brian for working late and my dad for coming through after work to help me get it sorted out. (Thanks also go to Mom for, yet again letting us come home late on the eve of the race and not showing too much displeasure J ).
My dad and Mike Cameron suggested I try to race both Clubmans and Challenge this race meeting in my quest for more racing experience. Many thanks guys – I learnt a great deal as having raced in the Clubmans races on the day we were able to experiment with SET UP which has made the car easier to drive and also a bit quicker.
Race day dawned clear - a gift. An early start was necessary in order to have the car ready for the 2 early qualifying sessions and then the 4 sprint races throughout the day. Thanks to Mike for all the support throughout the day, it was much appreciated to have you there.
Qualifying went reasonably well, I placed 3rd in class for Challenge for both races at a 1 minute 32.5 sec.
Race 1 was off to a great start until I was punted off the track on the first lap going into turn 3 by an ambitious but misguided class A car. I was very lucky indeed to miss the wall and keep it together. I rejoined the track in last place and spent the race playing catch-up. I kept on the charge and managed to finish 4th with a best lap of 1 minute 32.5 sec.
Race two went off substantially better. I got a good start and on lap 3 caught up to Gerard who was in 2nd place. I then spent the race doing my best to keep him behind me. During the course of the race I managed to put in my best lap time ever! I did a 1:31.8 whereas my previous best was a 1:32.5. This let me finish ahead of Gerard with a well deserved (so I think) 2nd place and just 1.5 seconds behind the winner..!? Unfortunately due to the “off” in the first race even with this lap time I was unable to grab 3rd for the day.
But that’s racing and I’ll be back next time…
Thanks to the following for their invaluable advice and input:
Mike Cameron – my brave driving instructor and pit crew for the day
Owen Ashley – for the continued advice on the car set-up and suspension
Francious Louw – the master engine builder
Dick Bate - my amazing father and biggest supporter. Thank you.
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