No sooner had the Zwartkops event finished and the next one was again upon us in Cape Town, home of the Killarney raceway which celebrated it's 50th anniversary. This weekend turned out to be a good one after all for both Datsuns yet once again. The 140Z was as ready as ever with only a need to change worn brake pads. As for the power-plant, not much attention was required there at all. The little Datti was finally sign written which I think turned out quite OK. Everything else we left just as it was raced in JHB last with only the jetting corrected for the altitude change. On the Friday's second practice session indication was that the clutch was slipping and most definitely had an effect on the initial times being posted which were around 1:34. This was merely adjusted and we again tested it on the last practice session only to still suffer from a slipping clutch syndrome. We decided not to take any further chances and subsequently replaced the clutch and pressure plate which did the trick. The 140Z merely went out to bed brakes and was thereafter parked ready for the Saturday.
Qualifying on the Saturday morning saw the 140Z posting a 1:22.69 putting him 4th on the grid but 1st of the classics behind the Trans-Am cars. The Datti on the other hand chose to do qualifying with the class DEF and pre-66 guys as were not sure of the times we would post. It turned out to be above expectation and we settled for a 1:31.55 which effectively put it 6th on the grid behind the behemoths up front. Having posted such time I opted to move to the ABC & Trans-Am class in fairness to the others.
Race 1 on Saturday was off at 14h00 and was done in hot and dry conditions with the 140Z holding on throughout the entire race and finished in the same order as they started. It was evident from the start that the V8 cars enjoyed the longer straights which afforded them to display their superior power not to mention the turbo charged IMSA Alfa which was indecently quick once that turbo had spooled up. Further back the Datti landed up doing battle with the Scirrocos, Alfas and while it lasted also the Opel Super Boss which soon ended in tears. Having initially got ahead of the Superboss the Datti held up reasonably well with the bigger engined cars but was soon again passed on the back straight by the bigger engined Alfa of Pierre de Waal. I held the outside line while he overtook to the inside. No sooner was he next to me then the Superboss tried a suicide move by trying to overtake the Alfa on his right side resulting in the Superboss putting 2 wheels on the dirt. This resulted in him loosing control and narrowly missing both of us on his way to the barrier on the back straight. 6 love, game, set and match no tie breakers!! Shortly thereafter the race was red flagged due to oil on various sections making it too dangerous to continue. In the interim, the Datti had posted a 1:31.2.
Race 2 on the Sunday was again a carbon copy for the 140Z which again finished in 4th place behind the 3 Trans-Am cars and posted an identical time of 1:22.8. The Datti this time found itself now behind the V12 Jaguar of Clive Spolander on the grid with the Scirrocco of Paul Amman alongside. The start was a good one going into turn 1 right up close with the V12 but the Scirrocco was the chicane going into turn 2. Both crept ahead initially and I was left to duel with the BMW CSL of Derek Hulse. It turned out to be a great dice between the two of us, him having the legs on the Datti down the straight whilst I made his life hell going into the corners. On about lap 4 I managed to catch the BMW going into turn 2 and held him to the outside and through the kink but found myslef soon running out of road and put 2 wheels into the dirt. I managed to hold it straight lining it back onto the track for turn 3 but had lost vital ground again and had to do it all over. A lap later my exhaust broke clean off on the flange on the branch which then held me back due to huge power loss. The Datti had managed to post a 1:30.1.
Race 3 was off at 14h00 and again the 140Z was not going to give up trying even although the chances we now all but gone. On lap 2 the V8 Sierra cried enough and pulled off with some unknown damage leaving the IMSA turbo Alfa out in front, followed by Robbie Smith in the V8 Capri with the 140Z in hot pursuit. The Capri probably having been over driven all weekend was obviously running out of grip and now sliding all over the show with the 'Red Devil' in chase like a whippet after a hare. On lap 5 heading for turn 4 with the 140Z tucked right behind the V8 Capri with no intention of braking the Capri lost grip and headed for the tyre barriers coming out of T4 putting paid to his race. That left the IMSA Alfa out in front and the 140Z settling for a second place. As it would be, an in car TV camera caught all the up front action which should add some added excitement if ever broadcast.
The Datti meanwhile had to continue with a patched up broken exhaust with the remaining length of the exhaust all tied up underneath. This time the Datti was alongside the BMW CSL on the grid with the Scirrocco of Paul Amman again ahead of me. The rolling start was once again of a decent standard but this time the Scirrocco was a moving road block in front of me. I remained closely tucked up and almost into the boot of the Scirroco finally diving to his left under brakes going into turn 2 and driving around him on the outside to get ahead and now once again in chase of the CSL. The dice was even better than the last one with some very close racing between the 2 of us, never once getting too close for comfort though. No matter how hard I tried at every corner, I would either catch him going into a corner or hold him going through one but ultimately there is no replacement for displacement and Derek finished ahead of me in a well deserved race. In the interim the Datti had finally posted a brillaint 1:29.8 thereby again putting me into a class B time slot for the start of the 2011 season.
The Datti must now under go an engine transplant for the start of the new 2011 season as the engine we raced is deemed ineligible in Cape Town all while it is perfectly legal and allowable in Johanessburg under the HMC national regulations for 2011. Crying therefore about spilled milk is not going to help us so we will move on and do what has to be done and control what we can control. The HMC has given its full undertaking into resolving the engine block rule in the interim but for now we must prepare and concentrate on the season that now lies ahead. I am reasonably confident that our engine plant that we will use will be more than adequate to compete and if my judgment is correct it should hold its head well above water in class B.
So, with some outstanding issues regarding the time slots for the big boys out in front we will have to see whether the 140Z will continue in the 2011 season as defending either the 140Z's ability and or its eligibility is no longer an option that will be dwelled upon and will as such not be further entertained. By all counts we now have ample proof of what the spectators (country wide) want and appreciate but we still remain in the dark as to what the powers that be want or will ultimately decide upon.
Thanks 'Boet' for once again providing and preparing 2 ultra competitive Datsuns all weekend long.
