Hurry Up & Wait

Yip it's August and you will not believe this quirk. There was NO DAMN RAIN. For 5 solid race meetings it threatened, it rained and was cold and terrible at times. The only month Classic Cars are given off and that I don't have to fly down to race.....bye bye rain. If only I still had any toys left in my cot!!

I somehow still remember as a young boy watching the movie with my dad called "Le Mans". There was a section in the movie just before the start of the actual race....there was deathly silence.....then perhaps a pushing of a button.......silence again.......Steve McQueen looking at the clock........silence..........back to the clock with the minute hand edging closer.........silence again.........(it seemed like an eternity) and then bang they all roared off. It feels as if I'm reliving the whole sequence again in slow motion.

Well not much if anything was done nor has happened since the last race and I'm sure by now the head and block of the Datti must be badly rusted and corroded from all the standing. Hopefully all the rust and corrosion will be removed just in time for the next race which is only in September. Now if my calculations are anywhere near correct, I think September and October will be the last two official races in the classic car championship. I am of course aware of the pending race in December but don't think it counts towards any championship points. If that is however the case, I will still have my work finely cut out.

Martin on the other hand has had a rather torrid and busy time. Firstly he decided to partake in the 'All Tar Rally' during July with the 200 SX and although he put up a show, rumour has it that the SX now has a slightly shortened front-end. Luckily the next race in the SX is only.......well a long time away. In the interim, having endured all the questioning and gossip around the Datsun SSS, he finally did his magic within the power train department again, wiped her down, oiled her up, made a few adjustments to the suspension and it seems as if she'll be ready to 'kick ass' again come 6th September.

In the meantime I'll be taking another month off patiently waiting for the next race and hopefully by then the price of racing fuel will also have returned to R120.00 a drum.

Oh, and I know you'll do your best again with my Datti boet, so just in case I do forget........

Thanks 'Boet' my Champ!

David(s) & Goliath

Saturday 7th June came and yip you guessed it......it rained again. This time around I was not too perturbed at all. I had been watching the weather pattern since the Tuesday and this time however I had pretty accurate weather info which actually held up to be true. By 09h45 the rain had stopped, the skies had cleared and remained so for the rest of the entire days racing.

Again we had no qualifying and a rather complicated (and not yet fully understood either) method had been implemented. I was allocated 3rd on the grid with the two previous class E drivers i.e. Wilsnagh and Davids having being drawn as positions 1 & 2 in class D. My initial thought based upon their previous best race times was that I should be able to pass with relative ease and win the race. As the saying goes, 'NEVER under estimate your opponents'. Our first race was off at 12h15 in dry and somwehat cool conditions allowing us to make use of slick tyres. A rolling start was again the norm and I stayed tucked up close to Davids' tail hoping to slingshot into the first corner. The lights went out and both Davids (Escort MK1) and Wilsnagh (Ford Anglia) gave it there all holding me back going through turn 1. By turn 2 little had changed and I positioned myself nicely for turn 3. I had the outside line and took Wilsnagh on the inside and Davids on the outside going into and through turn 4. The Datsun 1400 lived up to all expectation and ran away from the pack eventually wining by a comfortable 4.28 sec with Davids finishing second. Round 1 to Goliath!!

Race 2 was last off for the day at 17h15 and I had pole for the second race. I had a good rolling start and soon opened a gap on Andrews who was then ahead of Davids (Wilsnagh retired in race 1 with a slipping clutch). The pace was slow at that stage but it suited me for now. On lap 5 I noticed the car wanting to veer violently to the left going through the Kink between turns 2 & 3 as well as going down the back straight. I eventually backed off and allowed both Andrews and Davids to pass me going into turn 5. Not letting them get too far ahead I kept up the pace with the Datsun still wanting to dive to the left all the time. On the last lap and still in one piece I decided it was now DO or DIE and I again went for it putting in my fastest lap only in lap 7 at 1:34:6 finally out-braking Andrews going into turn 5 and hounding Davids to the finish line. I managed to catch Davids but not enough to grab the win with Davids finishing ahead of me by 0.15 seconds. Round 2 to David(s)!!

The time difference over both races still allowed me to take overall honours for the day with Davids second and Andrews taking third.

(Oh, the veering to the left problem was found to be caused by a damaged castor rod bush!!)

Martin on the other hand would rather want to forget the day as it was not a good day in the office for him!! The Clubman guys qualified at 08h00 on a soaking wet track and although times were slow Martin only managed to secure 18th place on the grid out of 62 entrants with a time of 1:46:2. The race itself went off at 10h10 still on a wet track. Martins decision NOT to go full wets cost him dearly. He basically went backwards finishing in a disheartening 26th place with a best time of 1:48:9. The track was dry by 11h00 resulting in that he at least got a dry second race. The second heat was off at 15h10 and starting from 26th position he peddled the Nissan SX200 like never before posting a best race time time of 1:24:79 and finishing a more respectable 8th place. That's a full 18 places made up in 8 laps. Not bad going there 'boet'. Unfortunately it wasn't his day and I guess he'll have to try again next time.

Hang in there boet, we all know what you are still capable of.

Thanks 'Boet'

Un-Stoppable but Almost

It always happens. Every time I go down to Cape Town for a race event, you better believe it - it will rain. This past Saturday again lived up to expectation but my weather judgement, positive thinking and as always determination to get a dry race won the day over.

However the Friday threw a few curve balls of its own and had its moments of 'patience testing' in which and I almost gave up and retired the Datsun 1400. The first practice session resulted in producing a left front damaged brake calliper causing me to almost loose it in turn 2. I cruised back to the pits and Martin subsequently removed the calliper and made arrangements for it to be overhauled at a nearby brake repair workshop. That was sorted , replaced and back in business ready for session 2. Lo and behold that session also resulted in disaster because of low fuel and again I could not post a reasonable time at full race speed. I further managed to squeeze a 3rd session with the Clubman Cars practice session which, you guessed it..... again ended in disaster with the same left front calliper failing and had me going around turn 5 at a speed I never dreamt of. Once again I safely returned to the pit area which was now at 17h30 and most if not all businesses, scrap yards and repair shops already closed. Martin once again removed the previously repaired brake calliper and smoke started bellowing out of his ears from an intense thought process which was taking place deep within his cerebral cortex. It was at this point which I stated, "I think this is a subtle message telling me to withdraw my race entry". Ja right, it's not that easy with Martin around. I somehow remember my motivational pep talks to him at the last race of the last season. This time it was his turn. I also recalled a recent famous comment by president Thabo Mbeki stating 'Crisis, there is no crisis'? A phone call later and some unknown terrestrial was on his way from the Northern suburbs to deliver not one, but two front brake callipers for a Datsun 1200 currenlty being broken up for spares. By George!!!....so there you have it, miracles are still actually performed in 2008. By 20h00 the job was completed, brakes bled and a well deserved braai was awaiting our company along with a few well deserved sundowners no doubt.

Saturday, yip, rain and all started the day with many not quite sure which way the weather would turn out. My information was that the rain had been somewhat downgraded from an 80% to a 60% to finally only a 30% chance of precipitation . As lady luck would have it by 09h00 it had started clearing with patches of blue sky appearing. First off was Martin in his Nissan SX200 at 10h15 in the Clubman Race on a dry but cold track and still with intermediate tyres. Having made some additional changes to the motor he managed a solid performance but she did not quite deliver the results he was quite hoping for.

Race 1 for the "classics' guys was only off at 12h30 with a draw again having been previously done from the 'hat' as time was just not available on the day for everyone to post a qualifying time. Martin in his Datsun SSS had pole position in CLS A while I and my Datsun 1400 GX Coupe was placed 26th on the grid and 9th (last) in CLS D. Having had 2 previous brake failures without any further testing done, this was going to be a real tester for me. Martin controlled the start to a pace which technically suited him and managed a brilliant rolling start, leading the field for lap one. By lap two the BIG guns started passing him pushing him down the order. I on the other hand sat right on Mervin Ellis' rear (in 24th grid position) and as the lights went out dived out from his slipstream and past the 1st half of the class D guys by turn 1 managing to take the rest by lap two. I went on to win the class (finishing 15th out of 33 entrants) for the 1st heat posting a best time of the day at 1:33:0 while Martin managed a 6th place finish in class A also with a blistering 1:26:7.

Race 2 in his Nissan SX 200 was done on full slicks this time and times were at a more acceptable 1:27:4 however still not at the envisaged times wanted. He managed a good dice with some of the BMW's but again only managed to finish 3rd in his class. He won 3rd overall for the day and his efforts were thus not all a loss.

Heat 2 in 'classics' produced some fast and close racing up front with Martin in the SSS mixing it up with the class B guys this time. A brilliant dice ensued between Peter Gough, Louis Powell, Martin and Charles Arton with 0.3 seconds difference between them. Their race time said it all, everyone of them posting in the 1:26's with only a 10th of a second difference between each of them. (see the full race report here.) On the last lap Peter and Charles touched causing Charles to run wide thereby letting Martin straight through the middle with Louis following in close persuit. Gough won it from Martin who lead from Powell. Charles end up 3.6 seconds behind at the flag.

I again had little opposition without Jaco Lambert (Ford Escort) having already retired in the 1st heat, as well as the absence of Nick v Rensburg (Fiat Sport) and so won class D comfortably from Billy Mathee in his well prepared Fiat 132. Overall I won class D for the day much to my delight as the initial drama had other ideas, which thanks to Martins 'mechanical genius' resulted in a brilliant days racing.

Thanks 'Champ'

A fabulous threesome

In our favour and largely thanks to a brilliant race engine builder (Martin Richards) there was little or no work to be be done on either the SSS or the GX Coupe other than an all round spanner check. Due to a very full race program we (Classic Cars) were exempted from qualifying and grid positions were done by drawing positions from a hat. (We've now done our bit towards limiting the 'greenhouse' gas environment.)

Saturday was a busy day with the first classic car race off at 11h40 with the SSS in 9th position and the GX Coupe in 17th. Weather conditions were good, the track was hot and clean and fast race times were clearly reflected. The SSS managed to finish 8th in Class A amongst the big guns with a most respectable time of 1:27:10. My little GX Coupe managed a blistering 1:32:76 (almost a breakout) in lap 6 while dicing with Nick v Rensburg in the Fiat 124 Sport and I finally finished 1st in class D after starting 4th on the grid.

Race 2 was off at a slightly earlier unscheduled time due to an oil spill and although times were generally slightly slower than the first heat, good racing was still managed amongst all competitors. Martin in the SSS managed to finish 7th after putting in an even better race time at 1:26:35 in lap 6 while my GX Coupe again finished 1st in class D at a slightly slower time of 1:33.19. (Guess you'll know why!!!) My sincere thanks again go to my 'Boet' Martin for ensuring a reliable and very well prepared & competitive little race car.

While the off season was enjoyed by many a racer relaxing and soaking up the sun, Martin had other ideas which resulted in him producing a 'Magnificent' red Nissan 200SX (which almost hugs the ground) for its first ever outing in the Indy Oil Clubmans series. (To the best of my knowledge, this is the first ever Nissan 200SX to be raced in South Africa) While it would be acceptable that most new comers to a new race series encounter some teething problems that inevitably side line them for the day, Martin's preparations had none of the kind. Having to compete as a class X entrant for the first time out in the SX he posted an above expectation race time in qualifying and ran in a brilliant 1:27:41.

Race 1 was off at 13h45 where Martin finished a most respectable 8th place and right up there with the class B guys and having put in another 1:27:78. Race 2 was again similar finishing 7th comfortably and overall far ahead of the much rated Ford Focus of Philip Booysen.

I guess a better finish to the weekend could not have been asked for with a resounding impact slowly being made upon the 'Ol faithful' Datsun and Nissan supporters around the Killarney race track.

Thanks 'Boet'