Rather late than never but I forgot entirely about this blog due to all the excitement we had at East London.
This trip was planned close on to 9 or 10 months ago and it all finally came to a head on 27th August 2011 at the Prince Georges Circuit in East London, better know as East London GP track. Both our cars required that our ratios be changed as all calculations showed that we would both run out of revs half way between Potters and Rifle bend. The little Datti had a no options available in the differential department and our quick fix was to simply replace the 4-speed box with a 5-speed box while the already 5-speed 140Z needed diff ratios. After much looking around I managed to source a rather scarce 37:1 crown-wheel and pinion in JHB which I sent down to Cape Town and which was subsequently fitted. Everything else had been thoroughly checked and both Datsuns were finally ready for EL. The Datti was sent up by transporter along with 9 other cars while the 140Z was towed up on trailer in convoy with fellow racers and petrol heads.
Everyone including the cars arrived on the Thursday and the off loading of cars and the unpacking of race equipment, tyres, fuel and spares began. In between we managed to force down a few hydraulic sandwiches all while the sun had started to set. The smell of fresh sea air coupled with the smells of race cars just does that something to every race junkie. We finally locked up at the track and went to our 'rondavels' approximately 3km away from the track. Before long the fire was going, the jungle juice was flowing and the stories started coming out with plenty of laughter added. In between we managed to tan some meat and at least filled a gap. By 22h00 quite a few heads and eyelids were already getting heavy as most had traveled from around 03h00 to get to East London by 15h00 in order to still off load. By 11h00 we were horizontal and couldn't wait for the next morning as neither of us had ever been to or driven the EL once famous grand prix circuit.
Friday morning arrived with a cold and chilly wind with even rain predicted by late afternoon. We received our race schedule, completed the necessary documentation and had our cars scrutineered. Soon afterward we were told that the first practice session scheduled for 09h00 was canceled due to track repairs that needed to be completed. So we stood around, found some coffee and a toasted sarmie and paced around ever so eager to get onto the track.
At around 10h20 we finally got our chance and the 2 Datsuns set off heading for Potters at crawling pace as we warmed our tyres and brakes. It first seemed to carry on forever finally straightening out on a slight downhill towards Rifle bend which was not as long as envisaged but then got slightly steeper doiwnhill towards the sharp right hand Cocabana corner. By now we took the revs up a bit higher on a very slight uphill ans heading for the Esses,then Cox corner leading onto the up hill Back straight until we approached the very sharp and off camber Beacon corner which brought us back onto the main straight. Peddle to the metal and balls to the wall, this is what we waited for. Approximately 300m before Potters I hooked 5th gear for the very first time in the Datti and what a sweet sound it makes dropping just on 500RPM but by 100 meters the left foot said its time to break, you're going far to fast. So I dabbed the peddle and slowly floored it once again. Who ever said you can take Potters flat out. They're mad. Coming out of Potters man I felt like I was flying, the 140Z already off my radar detector and I was now heading for Rifle. Again a slight lift but no brakes ere necessary although it's still a little uncomfortable. Now we're downhill with Cocabana approaching at a rapid rate of knots. Out of Cocabana and now we're off at 8000Rpm up towards the Esses again braking hard just 50m before a sudden right, then a sweeping left and then a gentle right, short shift to 4th gear pulling 6500RPM up now towards the dreaded Beacon. At around the 70m mark it was hard onto the brakes only to find I braked too early but at least Beacon was now safely out of the way. Man this was an absolute blast. Another lap and it was getting faster on every lap, or so it felt. The 140Z was completely outta sight blitzing the East London tarmac. On my 5th lap coming out of the Back straight and heading up towards Beacon I was bumped and put onto the outside muddied field, holding it in a long slide and praying that the wheels don't dig in else it would be a certain roll over. I came to a halt only meters away from the marshals post and slowly crawled my way back to the pit. On arrival I was the only one back while the 140Z was still out there showing Potters who's boss. With only a totally destroyed left rear rim and some minor body damage I was happy to replace the set of tyres with a full spare set and was ready to go out again. By this time the 140Z had pulled into pit and we exchanged our experiences, race lines and brake markers. I had in the interim manged to get down to a 1:46 and off target while the 140Z was already down to a 1:37 and well within target range.
We refueled our cars, re-inflated the tyres and allowed the cars to cool down before we again took to the track. I had noticed the Datti breathing rather excessively during my first outing and was only concerned that the engine might not last for the entire weekend. We decided to just add some Wynns Charge as a safety precaution and that was that for now. On our next session was after lunch and with slightly warmer conditions we again took to the track. This time I was given some advice as to how I should approach Potters. The only concern was that the advice was coming from someone who was on 10" rubber while I was on old 7" rubber and the footprint was a completely different ball game. But I heeded the advice a was adamant to put it to the test. This time I was however more concerned with getting Cocabana, the Esses and Beacon spot on as this is the only place where the smaller car could make up any lost ground. The straights were simply too long, but oh so much fun. Upon our second return to the pits we were both relatively happy with our sessions although the Datti's engine was breathing like a well stoked steam train but we would now have to wait for qualifying which was to be done from 15h00 onwards. Again we filled our fuel tanks, re-inflated our tyres and did the all round check.
We got our eventually got our chance at around 15h20 to do our qualifying times and we both took to the track almost at the same time. The 140Z did not hold back and was gone in seconds. The Datti on the other hand likes to be warmed up a tad before stomping the loud peddle however the biggest concern was the breathing which I was trying to nurture. The 140Z was attacking every corner with aggression and took every bit of advantage of the long 1.8Km straight before bellowing down upon Cocabana corner. It was smooth yet almost at its limits through the Esses, through Cox's corner, short changing up towards Beacon before hard on the brakes to once again head down on the straight. The 140Z finally posted a 1:35.782 and was placed 2nd on the grid just 3 hundredths short of pole man in the Mazda Rotary. Meanwhile the Datti managed to post a 1:47.686 placing me 24th on the grid. I duly pulled in and called it a day. We made the decision to change the MSD settings and chose to play it safe rather than sorry. Some further adjustment were made with timing in this regard as well.
Saturday morning up bright and early we prepped both cars as per usual and awaited our final moment of truth. At around 11h00 we got our chance. My stomach was full of butterflies in anticipation of dicing through Potters. Who would lift or back out? The rolling start was done at a rather slow pace but due to the size of the field probably the better choice. The 140Z being on the outside of the track probably had the better line going into Potters while the Mazda had to make the best of keeping it tight or possibly even backing out. The 140Z was not going to surrender and held out through Rifle and getting in and out of Cocabana first. Not long afterward the V8 Capri was also in the chase and soon evolved into a battle between the Mazda as to who would take second place. The Datti meanwhile was heavily involved with a dice between the Ford Anglia's of both Jaco Lambert and later even Claude Justice often loosing out on the legs down the main straight, but come the corners and the Datti was again all over them like a rash. The pressure was hot and relentless and Jaco eventually went wide and out braked himself into Cocabana. Claude manged to get past me down the main straight and drove well to hold me off till the flag. In the interim I had managed to post an improved time of 1:45.0 and finishing in 13th place overall. The 140Z went on to win the race as well and also posted an improved time of 1:34.635 with the Capri finishing 2nd and the Rotary 3rd having also posted a better than qualifying best of 1:34.4
For race 2 we made no other adjustments on the heavily breathing Datti except some mind changes and an attempt to try things slightly differently. The 140Z meanwhile now had to contend with a V8 Capri in second place on the grid and a rasping Rotary behind him. I again had both Jaco and Claude to chase. Race 2 was off at 15h15 again with a rather slow pace but hey, I was here for a fun time. At lights out the V8 Capri had the legs on the 140Z but was little match in the corners (when they eventually came). Ferdi jnr drove the wheels off that V8 to keep the 140Z at bay and no matter where the 140Z put it's nose, the V8 Capri held on only to pull a slight gap once back onto the straights. This pursued relentlessly for the entire race which had the crowd rooting big time for there favorites. A brilliant race was won by Ferdi with the 140Z crossing the line 0.860 seconds later. Further back in the pack the Datti was dueling once again with the Fords with Claude eventually pulling off after 3 laps. I pushed as hard as I could but used a different stratergy this time as planned in the pits with 'Mr Datsun'. It pulled off with me again running out ahead of Jaco who finished 6 seconds behind me while in the interim I manged to knock off another 2 seconds of my race 1 time posting a final 1:43.006 and finishing 11th overall out of 33 starters for race 2.
To say I was over the moon is an understatement. To say we didn't enjoy this trip is a blatant lie. We thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it and the Datsuns ran brilliantly.
Thanks 'Boet'
Sunday, 02 October 2011
Tuesday, 09 August 2011
Look Ma, no legs!!
Murphy's law, if you plan something it probably won't happen, if you don't it probably will. As many would already know by now, this month sees the Ford & Friends tour taking place at the East London Grand Prix circuit this year and one I definitely don't want to miss this opportunity as it may not happen again. As such, I sacrificed the club races of the 23rd July as well as the 06th August in order to ease costs for this planned away trip. To cut a very long story short, by last Monday (01 August) there were simply not enough entries to ensure that the event for classic cars could go ahead and in addition it was unlikely to count towards the championship as the rules state that a minimum of 12 cars have to start in order for such to happen. Now it is simply a fact that many (myself included) wanted to save our cars for the East London event and not have to endure any unforeseeable damages incurred by chancing a race beforehand. On the other hand, I couldn't allow a championship to potentially go out of the window due to it being short of one race car for one race, so I gave in and offered to come down to Cape Town and race the Datti.
Due to the late arrangements I only managed to jet in at around lunch time on the Friday which was still wet from overnight rain. As such I would only have a chance at the late afternoon and final session for classic cars of the day to do any testing. Just as well, as my session did throw a curve ball in that on my 3rd lap heading towards T4, the Datti simply died as in cut engine, 'mors dood, vrek' ignition lights still all ablaze. Not knowing what it was but for certain knowing it wasn't terminal nor that any noticeable smoke was ever observed in the rearview mirror I coasted to within 100m from parc ferme where I eventually ground to a halt and had to pull onto the right hand side of the track. A quick peek under the bonnet revealed absolutely nothing and I duly closed it again and waited in anticipation. After the session 'Mr Datsun' came over to assist. I explained the scenario and he popped open the bonnet, asked me to try and start it and 1, 2, 3 found the problem, accelerator linkage and come loose. A quick work around at least saw that I could start the car again and drive back to the pit where it was fixed properly. I made some quick arrangements with the marshals and I managed to squeeze in a quick 3 laps with the clubman session. At last I was satisfied that everything was now making the right noises, pops and squeaks and retired the car for the night. Of course without fail we lit a fire, tanned a few chops and sausage, washed it all down with a few hydraulic sandwiches where after we headed for home some 30 minutes just before pumpkin time.
Saturday morning was probably one of the colder days in the mother city and by my guess, perhaps too cold for any decent lap times. Although this sounds contrary to popular belief, the cold temperature ensured that any decent tyre temps were almost null and void. I tried to compensate for this by using different pressures from my usual tyre settings. On leaving the pit area I already spun the tyres rather unusually just leaving the pit lane, then started weaving to generate some heat into the tyres until just before reaching T1 where upon I gave it a blip on the loud peddle. Rudely and abruptly the Datti spat me out like a piece of used toilet paper in the middle of turn 1 leaving me rather red faced. I rejoined and tried again, this time being a tad more cautious. My final qualifying result produced a 1:30.6 just 0.2 seconds behind Ferdi jnr in the Alfa GTA and putting me 5th on starting grid.
Race 1 and we were afforded 2 out laps to warm up even although by now the temperature had warmed considerably compared to 07h30. I had made allowances in the tyre pressures but in hind sight, probably not enough in the end. Ahead of me was the Scirroco of Johan Swart, Ferdi van Niekerk to his right with the 7.0 litre V8 Chev Deville on pole ahead of Swart with Sandro Biccari in second place to the pole-man. The start lights were extinguished at the last second and I caught both Swart and van Niekerk off guard and managed to stick the Datti between the two of them, outrunning both into turn 1. I now found myself in 3rd place which I fought tooth and nail for going into turn 2, Swart now on my outside. I held on but by the Kink Swart had already managed to regain his third place. I managed to hold onto forth place with Ferdi close behind me as we headed towards turn 4 where the GTA had a lot more cornering speed that the Datti. Coming out of 4, he slip streamed me and then dived out making his way past me towards turn 5 where I maanged to break VERY late and in so doing once again caught up with him going side by side through turn 5. Onto the main straight and the GTA showed it legs once again but I was not going to give up that easily and once again managed to outbrake to regain forth position. This trading of places carried on until lap 5 when the Datti could no more as by now the tyres had got too hot and were sliding and thereby loosing time. Ferdi got one over me and there was little I could do.
Race 2 was the last race of the day and I again started from 5th position on grid. This time both Ferdi and Johan were well aware of the looming 1471cc Datsun ready to take any slightest advantage on offer, but it was not to be. Instead we found the 3 A class and 3 B class cars bumper to bumper going into turn one, no touching by any one and by turn 2 we were all still jockeying for position and a little too close for comfort. The V8 and nimble 2 litre plus Scirroco's took to the front and I once again managed to pip the 2 litre GTA going into turn 3 and held him off until reaching the back straight once again. This time Ferdi again had a good run onto me and passed me comfortably heading towards turn 5. This time the V8 up ahead was like a waltzing Matilda snaking its way into T5 and we all caught up to it. By now the Scirroco's had passed and it was obvious that something was wrong with the 'Titanic'. By T2 I had also managed to squeeze passed and there after it was a somewhat lonely race other than for a mistake made by Swart in his Scirroco which saw him run off at turn 5 and in so doing I now found myself in 3rd place overall. We ended like that with Ferdi taking the double for the day and me having to graciously admit that there is simply no replacement for displacement and that I simply didn't have the legs to keep up with the much bigger engine cars. But don't write me off just yet as I am determined with the help and the race ingenuity of 'Mr Datsun' to still come back later this year stronger and even more determined.
To say that I had a brilliantly prepared car that ran like absolute clockwork is an insult, it was far better than that. My only asking is that it stays together and that she runs as brilliantly in East London on the 27th August.
Thanks 'Boet"
Due to the late arrangements I only managed to jet in at around lunch time on the Friday which was still wet from overnight rain. As such I would only have a chance at the late afternoon and final session for classic cars of the day to do any testing. Just as well, as my session did throw a curve ball in that on my 3rd lap heading towards T4, the Datti simply died as in cut engine, 'mors dood, vrek' ignition lights still all ablaze. Not knowing what it was but for certain knowing it wasn't terminal nor that any noticeable smoke was ever observed in the rearview mirror I coasted to within 100m from parc ferme where I eventually ground to a halt and had to pull onto the right hand side of the track. A quick peek under the bonnet revealed absolutely nothing and I duly closed it again and waited in anticipation. After the session 'Mr Datsun' came over to assist. I explained the scenario and he popped open the bonnet, asked me to try and start it and 1, 2, 3 found the problem, accelerator linkage and come loose. A quick work around at least saw that I could start the car again and drive back to the pit where it was fixed properly. I made some quick arrangements with the marshals and I managed to squeeze in a quick 3 laps with the clubman session. At last I was satisfied that everything was now making the right noises, pops and squeaks and retired the car for the night. Of course without fail we lit a fire, tanned a few chops and sausage, washed it all down with a few hydraulic sandwiches where after we headed for home some 30 minutes just before pumpkin time.
Saturday morning was probably one of the colder days in the mother city and by my guess, perhaps too cold for any decent lap times. Although this sounds contrary to popular belief, the cold temperature ensured that any decent tyre temps were almost null and void. I tried to compensate for this by using different pressures from my usual tyre settings. On leaving the pit area I already spun the tyres rather unusually just leaving the pit lane, then started weaving to generate some heat into the tyres until just before reaching T1 where upon I gave it a blip on the loud peddle. Rudely and abruptly the Datti spat me out like a piece of used toilet paper in the middle of turn 1 leaving me rather red faced. I rejoined and tried again, this time being a tad more cautious. My final qualifying result produced a 1:30.6 just 0.2 seconds behind Ferdi jnr in the Alfa GTA and putting me 5th on starting grid.
Race 1 and we were afforded 2 out laps to warm up even although by now the temperature had warmed considerably compared to 07h30. I had made allowances in the tyre pressures but in hind sight, probably not enough in the end. Ahead of me was the Scirroco of Johan Swart, Ferdi van Niekerk to his right with the 7.0 litre V8 Chev Deville on pole ahead of Swart with Sandro Biccari in second place to the pole-man. The start lights were extinguished at the last second and I caught both Swart and van Niekerk off guard and managed to stick the Datti between the two of them, outrunning both into turn 1. I now found myself in 3rd place which I fought tooth and nail for going into turn 2, Swart now on my outside. I held on but by the Kink Swart had already managed to regain his third place. I managed to hold onto forth place with Ferdi close behind me as we headed towards turn 4 where the GTA had a lot more cornering speed that the Datti. Coming out of 4, he slip streamed me and then dived out making his way past me towards turn 5 where I maanged to break VERY late and in so doing once again caught up with him going side by side through turn 5. Onto the main straight and the GTA showed it legs once again but I was not going to give up that easily and once again managed to outbrake to regain forth position. This trading of places carried on until lap 5 when the Datti could no more as by now the tyres had got too hot and were sliding and thereby loosing time. Ferdi got one over me and there was little I could do.
Race 2 was the last race of the day and I again started from 5th position on grid. This time both Ferdi and Johan were well aware of the looming 1471cc Datsun ready to take any slightest advantage on offer, but it was not to be. Instead we found the 3 A class and 3 B class cars bumper to bumper going into turn one, no touching by any one and by turn 2 we were all still jockeying for position and a little too close for comfort. The V8 and nimble 2 litre plus Scirroco's took to the front and I once again managed to pip the 2 litre GTA going into turn 3 and held him off until reaching the back straight once again. This time Ferdi again had a good run onto me and passed me comfortably heading towards turn 5. This time the V8 up ahead was like a waltzing Matilda snaking its way into T5 and we all caught up to it. By now the Scirroco's had passed and it was obvious that something was wrong with the 'Titanic'. By T2 I had also managed to squeeze passed and there after it was a somewhat lonely race other than for a mistake made by Swart in his Scirroco which saw him run off at turn 5 and in so doing I now found myself in 3rd place overall. We ended like that with Ferdi taking the double for the day and me having to graciously admit that there is simply no replacement for displacement and that I simply didn't have the legs to keep up with the much bigger engine cars. But don't write me off just yet as I am determined with the help and the race ingenuity of 'Mr Datsun' to still come back later this year stronger and even more determined.
To say that I had a brilliantly prepared car that ran like absolute clockwork is an insult, it was far better than that. My only asking is that it stays together and that she runs as brilliantly in East London on the 27th August.
Thanks 'Boet"
Tuesday, 05 July 2011
Wet, Wet, Wet
Another month has passed since the last race and again the Datsun's threw everything they could to torment us, but give up we didn't. Probably the easiest part was the overhauling and replacement of the gearbox on the 140Z, simple and straight forward. Then Mr Datsun decided that as I had done a good job on destroying the cylinder head on the SSS it would be far easier to fix the Datti. That too suffered a gearbox failure (3rd & 4th gear) and that too was replaced with a spare. For some or other reason the motor was also breathing ever so slightly which in Datsun speak is not right but at least was still raceable. Given the amount of abuse the poor engine has to endure at 8000 RPM, the safest bet was to replace the rings. The rings were replaced with a brand new set and the bearings were checked while at it. The car was taken to the track to be checked and tested and to our dissatisfaction was still breathing. Back to the workshop she went and was again stripped down. A different thought of approach was adopted and the rings were manually made to fit along with some other adjustments. A subsequent test was again done on Saturday 25th and the all clear was given. The 140Z was also put through its paces and having obtained 2 readings in performance it provided some interesting direction as well.
I arrived on the Thursday and that evening we went down to the track as the 140Z still needed last minute fine tuning. Among such tuning was the checking of tappet clearances. To our horror we discovered that the crankshaft pulley bolt had disappeared. Upon finer analysis we ascertained that the bolt had actually broken off inside the crank and we were starring disaster in the face. Given the likely weather for race day it was far simpler to withdraw but that is not the spirit of classics and through persuasion and some motivation we decided to attempt a repair. Such repair was not quite as simple and involved that 'Mr Datsun' had to get to work at 4AM on the Friday morning, remove the engine and had specialists on standby by 06h30 to attempt removing the remaining piece of the bolt inside the crankshaft. The first 2 attempts yielded no success and at the last and final attempt with hardly any metal left of the bolt it was finally removed. A new HT bolt was sourced and replaced and the 140Z was back at the track by 12h00 on the Friday.
I went down to the track on the Friday and as per usual expected to do at least one practice session providing all was well. Lo and behold on the warm up lap I could already sense that the brakes on the Datti were not performing as they should. I carried on and took a flying second lap. Approaching turn 5 I hit the brakes with the car violently swerving to the left making it impossible to race. I pulled in. The 140Z had already completed his test session to the satisfaction of 'Mr Datsun's ' high standards and was put to rest until race day. Quickly I explained the problem for which he had a quick fix. Having then cleaned the brake calipers I wanted to still get out still in the 1st session but was just too late and it meant that I would have to wait until the next session scheduled for 16h30. I duly sat and waited and finally took to the track, the brakes much better but not yet perfect. I put in as many laps as I could in order to shake off the cob webs and tried hard to build a good rhythm. My best time I managed was a 1:30.1. I was comfortable and new with such a time I could still put up a reasonable race with others in class B.
Saturday morning was cold and wet as predicted with a rather very declined field for the race. Our qualifying session was for 09h00 and although it had stopped raining the track was still wet. Being the 4th qualifiers for the day we both took the chance of going out on slicks. At first it seemed not as bad as initially thought but on lap 2 I was spat out on turn 2 right in front of the Scirroco of Sandro Biccari. I once again took to the track and tried again. I had not yet cracked a sub 2:00. Approaching turn 5 I saw the Scirroco recovering from and off moment and merely went by. The tyres somehow seemed a little more grippier and I managed my way around for another lap. Lo and behold on the exist of turn 5, I gave it just a bit too much 'welly' and around she went again. Once again I tried and eventually manged to post a 1:53.99 as a qualifying time. For whatever reason the 140Z only managed a 1:54.09
Race 1 we decided to go out on wet tyres even although the rain had yet again stopped. Conditions were a lot easier to deal with this time and made controlling the car just that little bit easier and I managed to force the Datti ahead of Bernstein's Alfa and sat right up close behind the other 2 Alfas of Andrews and Alhadeff. I followed and watched their race lines but decided there were better ones to follow. The brakes were still not 100% and the feeling was made worse in the wet conditions but I was able to cope and tried my best not to lock up my front wheels I eventually passed Andrews and then Alhadeff and although we remained reasonably close I held both off until the finish line. Of course the 140Z was a different ball game in the wet and although he initially allowed the Escort of Powell through in turn 1, by turn 3 he caught him running wide and the 140Z went off into the distance.
Race 2 was a let down in the sense that only 10 cars took to the track while others had either broken down or simply withdrew due to the conditions which had worsened. Wet tyres were undoubtedly the right call and we again made the best of the situation. This time I was ahead of the Alfa of Alhadeff on the start and right behind the Escort of Jaco Lambert. A wet rolling start made sure that visibility was poor especially from the spray from the car up front and met we all had to be extra cautious. At lights out I personally felt that the pace was too slow and that it was too cautious as I had an easy opportunity to stick it in the middle between Lambert in the Escort and the Scirroco of Biccari. By reaching turn 1 I realised I had made the correct decision not to chance it as my right front brake caliper had once again failed to operate causing the left to lock up and loose traction. This meant I would have drive extra cautious which made me loose a lot of time and allowed the Escort to disappear up ahead. I still managed to hold off Alhadeff for most of the race but a slight lock up entering turn 4 on the final lap made me loose time and allowed Alhadeff to close up and catch my slipstream down the back straight. He was just too close and pulled next to me under braking into T5. We went through T5 together and came out side by side. The 2 litre Alfa simply had better drive to the line and beat me by 2 tenths of a second. Excellent all said and done.
The 140Z simply dominated in the wet and won comfortably.
All said and done the weather put up a challenge for everyone and we all had to endure the same track conditions and simply make the best of it. Some did, others simply didn't even bother.
Thanks 'Boet'
I arrived on the Thursday and that evening we went down to the track as the 140Z still needed last minute fine tuning. Among such tuning was the checking of tappet clearances. To our horror we discovered that the crankshaft pulley bolt had disappeared. Upon finer analysis we ascertained that the bolt had actually broken off inside the crank and we were starring disaster in the face. Given the likely weather for race day it was far simpler to withdraw but that is not the spirit of classics and through persuasion and some motivation we decided to attempt a repair. Such repair was not quite as simple and involved that 'Mr Datsun' had to get to work at 4AM on the Friday morning, remove the engine and had specialists on standby by 06h30 to attempt removing the remaining piece of the bolt inside the crankshaft. The first 2 attempts yielded no success and at the last and final attempt with hardly any metal left of the bolt it was finally removed. A new HT bolt was sourced and replaced and the 140Z was back at the track by 12h00 on the Friday.
I went down to the track on the Friday and as per usual expected to do at least one practice session providing all was well. Lo and behold on the warm up lap I could already sense that the brakes on the Datti were not performing as they should. I carried on and took a flying second lap. Approaching turn 5 I hit the brakes with the car violently swerving to the left making it impossible to race. I pulled in. The 140Z had already completed his test session to the satisfaction of 'Mr Datsun's ' high standards and was put to rest until race day. Quickly I explained the problem for which he had a quick fix. Having then cleaned the brake calipers I wanted to still get out still in the 1st session but was just too late and it meant that I would have to wait until the next session scheduled for 16h30. I duly sat and waited and finally took to the track, the brakes much better but not yet perfect. I put in as many laps as I could in order to shake off the cob webs and tried hard to build a good rhythm. My best time I managed was a 1:30.1. I was comfortable and new with such a time I could still put up a reasonable race with others in class B.
Saturday morning was cold and wet as predicted with a rather very declined field for the race. Our qualifying session was for 09h00 and although it had stopped raining the track was still wet. Being the 4th qualifiers for the day we both took the chance of going out on slicks. At first it seemed not as bad as initially thought but on lap 2 I was spat out on turn 2 right in front of the Scirroco of Sandro Biccari. I once again took to the track and tried again. I had not yet cracked a sub 2:00. Approaching turn 5 I saw the Scirroco recovering from and off moment and merely went by. The tyres somehow seemed a little more grippier and I managed my way around for another lap. Lo and behold on the exist of turn 5, I gave it just a bit too much 'welly' and around she went again. Once again I tried and eventually manged to post a 1:53.99 as a qualifying time. For whatever reason the 140Z only managed a 1:54.09
Race 1 we decided to go out on wet tyres even although the rain had yet again stopped. Conditions were a lot easier to deal with this time and made controlling the car just that little bit easier and I managed to force the Datti ahead of Bernstein's Alfa and sat right up close behind the other 2 Alfas of Andrews and Alhadeff. I followed and watched their race lines but decided there were better ones to follow. The brakes were still not 100% and the feeling was made worse in the wet conditions but I was able to cope and tried my best not to lock up my front wheels I eventually passed Andrews and then Alhadeff and although we remained reasonably close I held both off until the finish line. Of course the 140Z was a different ball game in the wet and although he initially allowed the Escort of Powell through in turn 1, by turn 3 he caught him running wide and the 140Z went off into the distance.
Race 2 was a let down in the sense that only 10 cars took to the track while others had either broken down or simply withdrew due to the conditions which had worsened. Wet tyres were undoubtedly the right call and we again made the best of the situation. This time I was ahead of the Alfa of Alhadeff on the start and right behind the Escort of Jaco Lambert. A wet rolling start made sure that visibility was poor especially from the spray from the car up front and met we all had to be extra cautious. At lights out I personally felt that the pace was too slow and that it was too cautious as I had an easy opportunity to stick it in the middle between Lambert in the Escort and the Scirroco of Biccari. By reaching turn 1 I realised I had made the correct decision not to chance it as my right front brake caliper had once again failed to operate causing the left to lock up and loose traction. This meant I would have drive extra cautious which made me loose a lot of time and allowed the Escort to disappear up ahead. I still managed to hold off Alhadeff for most of the race but a slight lock up entering turn 4 on the final lap made me loose time and allowed Alhadeff to close up and catch my slipstream down the back straight. He was just too close and pulled next to me under braking into T5. We went through T5 together and came out side by side. The 2 litre Alfa simply had better drive to the line and beat me by 2 tenths of a second. Excellent all said and done.
The 140Z simply dominated in the wet and won comfortably.
All said and done the weather put up a challenge for everyone and we all had to endure the same track conditions and simply make the best of it. Some did, others simply didn't even bother.
Thanks 'Boet'
Wednesday, 08 June 2011
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Another month had now past and the 4th June was now upon us. The Datti has until now been parked awaiting re parts and I simply did not have the funds to repair the engine, only to then strip have to strip it again and to then put the new race parts in and instead decide to give it a miss. My boet was not having any of this and more or less sort of forced me to drive the SSS while we wait for the parts to arrive. He found some second hand tyres which were in better condition than the wooden slicks that were on the car, replaced the aging brake pads, changed the number and class stickers and that was that. Quietly in the back ground meanwhile over some 2 or more months he also went on about replacing the worn suspension parts on the 140Z, securing some aero-quip hose connections and fittings on the dry sump and also went over some of the more finicky engine settings with a fine-tooth comb. At last both cars were now ready.
We arrived at the track at around 11h00 having forfeited the first practice session along with my printout of the afforded practice times for the day. We both went about setting tyre pressures, fuel levels etc. for our practice session which was apparent;y next scheduled for 14h05 with one last session at 17h35. Having finished prepping both cars we then went to for a quick lunch at the clubhouse. Midway through chewing a hamburger someone threw down a piece of paper with the revised practice times. Half choking on a french fry we found that we had now already missed 2 sessions as the new revised practice times were sent out (without changing the revision number) as the formula Libra's had subsequently withdrawn. Just brilliant!!! Here I suddenly found myself with a car that I've never ever driven, a set of race pads still to bed in as well as to get used to racing with a 5-speed box instead of my accustomed 4 speed. It may all sound easy but getting used to double change downs and double heal and toeing takes more than a few laps to perfect, at least in my case that is. Anyway we suddenly realise that 14h45 was our one and only chance to do what we had to do. The 140Z took all of 3 laps to get down to a low 1:23 after which he pulled her in and parked it. Some adjustments were later made. I in the meanwhile was out on a learning curve and waiting ever so patiently for the backend to step out under acceleration as I was duly warned about. I took it easy for the first few laps while the brakes were getting better and better but step out she wouldn't. I at times floored the bitch hard out of the corners but tail happy she wasn't. In all honestly I was battling to break 1:32's where I should be doing 1:27's with reasonable ease. I stuck it out and eventually on lap 8 and some three quarter way down the back straight in 5th gear she let go with a plume of smoke bellowing out of the exhaust which exits from the passenger side. I merely coasted into parc ferme. That was the end with a damaged cylinder head and a probable hole in piston as well.
Not to loose heart, I settled down to the fact that I was still among great camaraderie and friends and that I would now concentrate my efforts on helping my boet to perform at his best. For now we had a braai that needed to be made and a traditional ritual to perform.
Saturday morning we got to the track at just on 07h00 and prepped the car for qualifying, streamlined what we could and gave the red baron a good clean. Clouds threatened with rain, something we believed wouldn't happen but the air temp was perfect for doing times. At 08h45 and some 4 laps later the 140Z set a time of 1:22.51 enough to take pole position for the first race and just enough to keep the others at bay. We refueled the car, set tyre pressures again and went off for a bacon & egg with coffee at the clubhouse. Having just sat down to eat, the most unexpected and dreaded call came through that our pit garage was on fire. We rushed as quickly as we could only too glad to find the 140Z unscathed and standing out in the dizzle. As for the garage well we salvaged what we could and threw the rest away. It could have been a lot, lot worse. We tried hard not to pay to much attention to the damages and tried to stay focused on the race that lay ahead. A big thanks once again to Dirkie Kruger and Baby Jakes for saving the car.
Race 1 was off at 11h15 but by now the track was still wet as it had rained at around just before 10h00. With only a trace of a dry line they set off well aware that copious amount of oil had been discharged onto the circuit earlier at about 10h25. The rolling start was at a good pace and at lights off the 140Z opened a gap leaving the 2nd & 3rd place Rotary engined qualifiers well behind all while the 2 litre pinto engine Escort was making good ground. On lap 3 there was carnage on the back straight when Andre Mouton in the Studabaker slammed into the arm-co barrier badly damaging the entire right hand side of the car which resulted in the race being red flagged. At the restart all driver re-assumed their original starting positions and the race was reduced to a 6 lapper. This time the 140Z acted as the pace car and again blasted off into the distance while the Rotary and Escort dueled for 2nd place. On the second lap the Escort had taken 2nd place and had a clear run ahead in chase of the 140Z. There were some signs of a sticky 3rd gear and he backed off slightly to prevent any unnecessary damage. The Escort was closing and on lap 5 managed to pass the 140Z going into turn 1 much to the delight of the Blue Oval fans. It was however short lived as the 140Z regained the lead and took the chequered flag for the win.
Race 2 was only again off at 15h30 and one or two changes were made since race 1 in the hope of some improvement. The 140Z was again on pole with the Escort 2 liter Pinto now beside and strong opposition was expected from not only the Escort but also from the Rotary in 3rd place just behind the 140Z. Again the pace was good and at lights out the 140Z was again out in front this time with the Escort and Rotary dicing for 2nd position. This time the Rotary had the upper hand in the dry track conditions albeit it in very misty conditions. The 140Z had a constant 4 -5 car length gap on the Rotary throughout the race with the 3rd gear still playing up again but at least still there lasting until lap 7. This time halfway down and approaching turn 5 the 5th gear cried enough. That now allowed the Rotary to close in eventually taking the lead going into turn 1. Coming out of turn 1 the 3rd gear now also finally cried enough (both 5th and 3rd gear being on the same elector hub) slowing the 140Z drastically down. He managed to find 4th gear and kept it going to take 2nd place some 12 seconds behind the black Rotary. A well fort hard race which saw gremlin number 3 take revenge on this weekend. None the less a brilliant drive by Chris in the Rotary who fought all the way never once letting up. Sadly the blue Oval faded to grey finishing some 43 odd seconds behind the leaders.
To sum up then, we lost an engine, half a garage and some expensive race parts and a gearbox but we never once lost heart. We finally locked up and left and headed for a nice hot shower and discussed our next approach for the next upcoming race. We will now rebuild the Datti in the meantime while we now rest the SSS all while we still await race parts still being manufactured. We also pulled out some race literature and a calculator, performed some wacky calcs and found more answers that put a smile on our faces. For those who thought the 1:22.51 and the 1:22.79 was good, watch this space.
We may well have come out of this weekend a little poorer rough the losses, but a lot more determined.
Thanks and well done 'Boet'.
We arrived at the track at around 11h00 having forfeited the first practice session along with my printout of the afforded practice times for the day. We both went about setting tyre pressures, fuel levels etc. for our practice session which was apparent;y next scheduled for 14h05 with one last session at 17h35. Having finished prepping both cars we then went to for a quick lunch at the clubhouse. Midway through chewing a hamburger someone threw down a piece of paper with the revised practice times. Half choking on a french fry we found that we had now already missed 2 sessions as the new revised practice times were sent out (without changing the revision number) as the formula Libra's had subsequently withdrawn. Just brilliant!!! Here I suddenly found myself with a car that I've never ever driven, a set of race pads still to bed in as well as to get used to racing with a 5-speed box instead of my accustomed 4 speed. It may all sound easy but getting used to double change downs and double heal and toeing takes more than a few laps to perfect, at least in my case that is. Anyway we suddenly realise that 14h45 was our one and only chance to do what we had to do. The 140Z took all of 3 laps to get down to a low 1:23 after which he pulled her in and parked it. Some adjustments were later made. I in the meanwhile was out on a learning curve and waiting ever so patiently for the backend to step out under acceleration as I was duly warned about. I took it easy for the first few laps while the brakes were getting better and better but step out she wouldn't. I at times floored the bitch hard out of the corners but tail happy she wasn't. In all honestly I was battling to break 1:32's where I should be doing 1:27's with reasonable ease. I stuck it out and eventually on lap 8 and some three quarter way down the back straight in 5th gear she let go with a plume of smoke bellowing out of the exhaust which exits from the passenger side. I merely coasted into parc ferme. That was the end with a damaged cylinder head and a probable hole in piston as well.
Not to loose heart, I settled down to the fact that I was still among great camaraderie and friends and that I would now concentrate my efforts on helping my boet to perform at his best. For now we had a braai that needed to be made and a traditional ritual to perform.
Saturday morning we got to the track at just on 07h00 and prepped the car for qualifying, streamlined what we could and gave the red baron a good clean. Clouds threatened with rain, something we believed wouldn't happen but the air temp was perfect for doing times. At 08h45 and some 4 laps later the 140Z set a time of 1:22.51 enough to take pole position for the first race and just enough to keep the others at bay. We refueled the car, set tyre pressures again and went off for a bacon & egg with coffee at the clubhouse. Having just sat down to eat, the most unexpected and dreaded call came through that our pit garage was on fire. We rushed as quickly as we could only too glad to find the 140Z unscathed and standing out in the dizzle. As for the garage well we salvaged what we could and threw the rest away. It could have been a lot, lot worse. We tried hard not to pay to much attention to the damages and tried to stay focused on the race that lay ahead. A big thanks once again to Dirkie Kruger and Baby Jakes for saving the car.
Race 1 was off at 11h15 but by now the track was still wet as it had rained at around just before 10h00. With only a trace of a dry line they set off well aware that copious amount of oil had been discharged onto the circuit earlier at about 10h25. The rolling start was at a good pace and at lights off the 140Z opened a gap leaving the 2nd & 3rd place Rotary engined qualifiers well behind all while the 2 litre pinto engine Escort was making good ground. On lap 3 there was carnage on the back straight when Andre Mouton in the Studabaker slammed into the arm-co barrier badly damaging the entire right hand side of the car which resulted in the race being red flagged. At the restart all driver re-assumed their original starting positions and the race was reduced to a 6 lapper. This time the 140Z acted as the pace car and again blasted off into the distance while the Rotary and Escort dueled for 2nd place. On the second lap the Escort had taken 2nd place and had a clear run ahead in chase of the 140Z. There were some signs of a sticky 3rd gear and he backed off slightly to prevent any unnecessary damage. The Escort was closing and on lap 5 managed to pass the 140Z going into turn 1 much to the delight of the Blue Oval fans. It was however short lived as the 140Z regained the lead and took the chequered flag for the win.
Race 2 was only again off at 15h30 and one or two changes were made since race 1 in the hope of some improvement. The 140Z was again on pole with the Escort 2 liter Pinto now beside and strong opposition was expected from not only the Escort but also from the Rotary in 3rd place just behind the 140Z. Again the pace was good and at lights out the 140Z was again out in front this time with the Escort and Rotary dicing for 2nd position. This time the Rotary had the upper hand in the dry track conditions albeit it in very misty conditions. The 140Z had a constant 4 -5 car length gap on the Rotary throughout the race with the 3rd gear still playing up again but at least still there lasting until lap 7. This time halfway down and approaching turn 5 the 5th gear cried enough. That now allowed the Rotary to close in eventually taking the lead going into turn 1. Coming out of turn 1 the 3rd gear now also finally cried enough (both 5th and 3rd gear being on the same elector hub) slowing the 140Z drastically down. He managed to find 4th gear and kept it going to take 2nd place some 12 seconds behind the black Rotary. A well fort hard race which saw gremlin number 3 take revenge on this weekend. None the less a brilliant drive by Chris in the Rotary who fought all the way never once letting up. Sadly the blue Oval faded to grey finishing some 43 odd seconds behind the leaders.
To sum up then, we lost an engine, half a garage and some expensive race parts and a gearbox but we never once lost heart. We finally locked up and left and headed for a nice hot shower and discussed our next approach for the next upcoming race. We will now rebuild the Datti in the meantime while we now rest the SSS all while we still await race parts still being manufactured. We also pulled out some race literature and a calculator, performed some wacky calcs and found more answers that put a smile on our faces. For those who thought the 1:22.51 and the 1:22.79 was good, watch this space.
We may well have come out of this weekend a little poorer rough the losses, but a lot more determined.
Thanks and well done 'Boet'.
Monday, 02 May 2011
Revenge of the GREMLINS
Well since the last update I can confirm that the camshaft was indeed stripped and that having eventually stripped the motor it was soon discovered the reason why the motor would not turn. Overnight the engine had obviously cooled and at some time the valve seat had dislodged itself and fell out preventing the valve from closing and as a result prevented the engine from turning. So, we replaced the camshaft albeit with a different specification to what we normally use, re did the cylinder head and fitted new valve seats and put it all back together. Admittedly the motor sounded crisp and as fresh as ever and at last we ready for our April race.
I arrived in Cape Town on the Thursday afternoon and we headed straight to the track for a testing session, something I've never before done but with all the public holidays around, this time was somewhat different. We set the tyre pressures and headed out. This time we also connected up an AFR meter to take the guess work out of jetting the carbs. By all counts the car pulled very strongly out of the corners but simply had no top end and would not rev cleanly to 8000RPM. We made a few adjustments and re-jetted the carbs as per AFR indication. Our second and last session at about 17h15 again proved unsuccessful and again we re-jetted as well as made some further setting changes. We then left it as such and would again try on the Friday.
Friday morning we arrived early, setup and fueled up and did the first test session at 10h45. After only a few laps it was clear that this motor was not on song and would now no longer rev past 7000RPM. My 'boet' had in the interim also decided to rest the 140Z and had dusted down the old 'boxy' SSS and decided to give it a go on set of 2 year old hardened tyres. Everything sounded OK and hey the ol' 'boxy' was as crsip as a fresh lettuce leaf. Soon after his session, Mr 'Datsun' made a call and we finally agreed the camshaft was wrong on my Datti and we headed for the workshop and pulled the motor (again) where upon we replaced the cam with our preferred tried and tested own specification. By 14h45 we were back at the track ready for one last session of the day which was only at 17h15. By then the temperature had also cooled down and offered us a fair chance. This time I could clearly hear the difference as well as feel the difference in performance as she once again hit the 8000RPM with ease. Although she pulled well the times were on the wrong side of 1:30 but I was happy and felt I was still in with a chance. However, the gremlins were still out to hamper our efforts when I soon discovered that it kept jumping out of 4th gear along the back as well the main straights at about 6800RPM. In addition our jetting was again way out since changing the camshaft. We again made jetting changes for qualifying and packed up for the night which ended with our traditional 'pit braai' and liquid refreshments along with some regular mates.
Saturday was up at sparrows as per usual and our day began by making final adjustments to the Datti. Both Datsuns were fueled and ready to do our thing. The SSS managed a somewhat slower time of 1:27.4 securing second place on the grid while the Datti only managed a 1:30.4 still some 2 seconds of pace. What the heck, I was here for a fun time and settled to the fact that we had done everything we could and we had to use whatever we had to our best advantage. Race 1 saw the SSS slowly slip down the race order and was out done by the V8 Capri Perana, the BMW MLE 530 and worst still by 2 Scirocco's who were both blindingly quick. The Datti on the other hand landed up with a brilliant dice with Dave Alhadeff in the 2 litre Alfa GT Junior which I lead for 3 laps and in the interim managed my best lap time of 1:29.9 for the day but on lap 4 I now had 3rd gear jumping out as well which eventually allowed him through . I was now having to drive with only one hand having to hold it in gear in both 3rd and 4th through the fastest corners on the circuit and cost me some time. Dave drove well and held on to beat me by 0.7seconds at the chequered flag.
Race 2 was not as good as the first race as the tyres on the SSS had eventually cried enough and there was simply no grip left at all which eventually spat him out on turn 1 on the second lap leaving him stuck in the thick loose sand. He eventually go out of the loose sand and finished the race but in an unusual 10th place. I have a feeling this 'boxie' SSS will have to be taught a lesson as to who is the BOSS. Maybe next time. As for the Datti it was also not our best outing as I was again head of Dave off the start and lead him until reaching the back straight were here came past me and that was the last I saw of him. The Datti had started breathing quite a bit signaling the start of ring failure. The Mustang of Ferdi Snr was soon catching me and in lap 6 managed to overtake me on the main straight. I managed to catch him in turn 1 him pulling a slight gap up towards turn 2 but I managed to hold him on the outside of turn 2 and passed him through the kink. This lead I again held through turn 3 and turn 4 when once again on the back straight he passed me pulling at least 2 car lengths on me. The heavy weight V8 hit the brakes at about the 75 meter mark but hey the Datti only throws out the anchor after the 50 meter mark and again I caught him going into turn 5 coming out side by side with the Datti on the outside. On the main straight he again pulled a gap and crossed the line ahead once again but lo and behold I was not going to give up this chase. By turn 1 I had again caught the Mustang and held on to him with me on the outside of turn 1 this time with him now on the outside heading up to turn 2. I managed to again out brake him going into turn 2 and I got through and ahead of the Mustang and opened a reasonable gap through turns 3 an 4. The Mustang fell further and further behind apparently due to a slipping clutch but at the end of the race the Datti had managed to be the victor of the dice and a brilliant clean scrap it was indeed.
I was most satisfied with the days racing even although I knew we can do a lot better. On this day it was not to be (not for a lack of trying) but it was great to once again be involved with some close racing. All this would not have been possible if was not for the sheer effort and determination of Mr 'Datsun' who insisted we try harder and opened up his workshop to remove the engine and make the required changes to at least compete with some saving grace. As to what we do from here is now unknown but I do still have plans for the rest of the season as does 'Mr Datsun' still have some unfinished intentions with this little Datti and I therefore await with abated breath the next move.
Thanks 'Boet'
I arrived in Cape Town on the Thursday afternoon and we headed straight to the track for a testing session, something I've never before done but with all the public holidays around, this time was somewhat different. We set the tyre pressures and headed out. This time we also connected up an AFR meter to take the guess work out of jetting the carbs. By all counts the car pulled very strongly out of the corners but simply had no top end and would not rev cleanly to 8000RPM. We made a few adjustments and re-jetted the carbs as per AFR indication. Our second and last session at about 17h15 again proved unsuccessful and again we re-jetted as well as made some further setting changes. We then left it as such and would again try on the Friday.
Friday morning we arrived early, setup and fueled up and did the first test session at 10h45. After only a few laps it was clear that this motor was not on song and would now no longer rev past 7000RPM. My 'boet' had in the interim also decided to rest the 140Z and had dusted down the old 'boxy' SSS and decided to give it a go on set of 2 year old hardened tyres. Everything sounded OK and hey the ol' 'boxy' was as crsip as a fresh lettuce leaf. Soon after his session, Mr 'Datsun' made a call and we finally agreed the camshaft was wrong on my Datti and we headed for the workshop and pulled the motor (again) where upon we replaced the cam with our preferred tried and tested own specification. By 14h45 we were back at the track ready for one last session of the day which was only at 17h15. By then the temperature had also cooled down and offered us a fair chance. This time I could clearly hear the difference as well as feel the difference in performance as she once again hit the 8000RPM with ease. Although she pulled well the times were on the wrong side of 1:30 but I was happy and felt I was still in with a chance. However, the gremlins were still out to hamper our efforts when I soon discovered that it kept jumping out of 4th gear along the back as well the main straights at about 6800RPM. In addition our jetting was again way out since changing the camshaft. We again made jetting changes for qualifying and packed up for the night which ended with our traditional 'pit braai' and liquid refreshments along with some regular mates.
Saturday was up at sparrows as per usual and our day began by making final adjustments to the Datti. Both Datsuns were fueled and ready to do our thing. The SSS managed a somewhat slower time of 1:27.4 securing second place on the grid while the Datti only managed a 1:30.4 still some 2 seconds of pace. What the heck, I was here for a fun time and settled to the fact that we had done everything we could and we had to use whatever we had to our best advantage. Race 1 saw the SSS slowly slip down the race order and was out done by the V8 Capri Perana, the BMW MLE 530 and worst still by 2 Scirocco's who were both blindingly quick. The Datti on the other hand landed up with a brilliant dice with Dave Alhadeff in the 2 litre Alfa GT Junior which I lead for 3 laps and in the interim managed my best lap time of 1:29.9 for the day but on lap 4 I now had 3rd gear jumping out as well which eventually allowed him through . I was now having to drive with only one hand having to hold it in gear in both 3rd and 4th through the fastest corners on the circuit and cost me some time. Dave drove well and held on to beat me by 0.7seconds at the chequered flag.
Race 2 was not as good as the first race as the tyres on the SSS had eventually cried enough and there was simply no grip left at all which eventually spat him out on turn 1 on the second lap leaving him stuck in the thick loose sand. He eventually go out of the loose sand and finished the race but in an unusual 10th place. I have a feeling this 'boxie' SSS will have to be taught a lesson as to who is the BOSS. Maybe next time. As for the Datti it was also not our best outing as I was again head of Dave off the start and lead him until reaching the back straight were here came past me and that was the last I saw of him. The Datti had started breathing quite a bit signaling the start of ring failure. The Mustang of Ferdi Snr was soon catching me and in lap 6 managed to overtake me on the main straight. I managed to catch him in turn 1 him pulling a slight gap up towards turn 2 but I managed to hold him on the outside of turn 2 and passed him through the kink. This lead I again held through turn 3 and turn 4 when once again on the back straight he passed me pulling at least 2 car lengths on me. The heavy weight V8 hit the brakes at about the 75 meter mark but hey the Datti only throws out the anchor after the 50 meter mark and again I caught him going into turn 5 coming out side by side with the Datti on the outside. On the main straight he again pulled a gap and crossed the line ahead once again but lo and behold I was not going to give up this chase. By turn 1 I had again caught the Mustang and held on to him with me on the outside of turn 1 this time with him now on the outside heading up to turn 2. I managed to again out brake him going into turn 2 and I got through and ahead of the Mustang and opened a reasonable gap through turns 3 an 4. The Mustang fell further and further behind apparently due to a slipping clutch but at the end of the race the Datti had managed to be the victor of the dice and a brilliant clean scrap it was indeed.
I was most satisfied with the days racing even although I knew we can do a lot better. On this day it was not to be (not for a lack of trying) but it was great to once again be involved with some close racing. All this would not have been possible if was not for the sheer effort and determination of Mr 'Datsun' who insisted we try harder and opened up his workshop to remove the engine and make the required changes to at least compete with some saving grace. As to what we do from here is now unknown but I do still have plans for the rest of the season as does 'Mr Datsun' still have some unfinished intentions with this little Datti and I therefore await with abated breath the next move.
Thanks 'Boet'
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