Facebook

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new revised practice times were sent out (without changing the revision number) as the formula Libra's had subsequently withdrawn.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'.