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'
Showing posts with label 140Z. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 140Z. Show all posts
Tuesday, 05 July 2011
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'.
Tuesday, 08 February 2011
50th Anniversary Historic Race Meeting - Killarney
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.
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.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
10th David Piper International - Zwartkops
The 140Z has made inroads at almost every event it has taken part in and has made many sit up and take note so much so that 3 official letters from motoring authorities were eventually requested and obtained to confirm the 140Z's legality and conformance to the pre-77 rulings. That done it was now time to take the 140Z up to Zwartkops, a track it has to date never competed on. The trip up from CT was long and inconvenienced by trailer tyre problems all along the way to JHB. Eventually they arrived at around 18h30 at Zwartkops and we off loaded the car and stored it overnight in a locked up shed along with other fellow Captonian racers.
Friday morning we were up at sparrows as per usual and did nothing more than fuel the car and do the normal routine checks. The early morning session was an open practice which afforded us some saddle time as well as to get a heat cycle into a new set of NA Carreras. All early indications were that the 140Z was slowly coming to terms with the technically challenging track and times were around a 1:12. A second session proved to be as good and times dropped to 1:11.7 even though ambient temperatures were a lot hotter by then. The afternoon session was all reserved for qualifying and ours was scheduled for 14h00. Some tyre pressure changes were made to compensate for the heat and took to the track where the 140Z put in a qualifying best lap of 1:11.58 putting us 4th on the grid with the 745i BMW on 3rd, the V8 Sierra in 2nd and yet another Datsun 2.8 Skyline GTX on pole having posted a blistering 1:08.8. That left us pretty chuffed even although all 3 cars ahead of the 140Z were 10 years younger then the pre-77 complaint Datsun 140Z. As such another carrot was being dangled and we had to find a way of gaining another second or so to put us in with a chance of a top 3 finish. The amount of people that gathered around the 140Z after each outing was unbelievable, many totally gob smacked by the qualifying achievements. We tidied up and later headed for the cafeteria area to catch up on some late lunch and discussed the positives and negatives of the qualifying. We managed to single out 2 corners which 'Mr Datsun' felt could be improved on but we had to also take into consideration the local conditions and altitude. While everyone else was probably satisfied with their qualifying times, 'Mr Datsun' was never going to be. Eventually a phone call was made to a knowledgeable local race ace who analysed the feedback provided and eventually offered a solution. We went back to the car and implemented the 2 settings as advised and also to check if by chance new brake pads were yet a requirement. I then went to the COC and asked if we could have a few laps after the official qualifying was over for all the categories to which he was most accommodating. We only manged to get a test session at around 17h30 but it was good enough for us. The 140Z took to the track with only 2 other tin tops and on lap 3 the 140Z managed to clock a 1:10.49 putting us right up there with a far better chance. That was just what the doctor ordered and we settled in for an early nights rest.
Saturday morning we were again up at sparrows and performed our usual race ritual preparations for the race scheduled for 09h50 . The pace lap was fast which lead to a field being very wide spread but hey, pole man sets the pace and either you keep up to his pace or you loose. We found ourselves is 4th place as per the grid and on lap 2 overtook the 745i BMW going onto turn 5 on the table top under brakes. That gave us a chance to now chase the V8 Sierra in earnest. As the saying goes, 'there's no replacement for displacement' but the 140Z was not going to just lye down without putting up a fight. We had a strategy in place and intended to stick to it for the race. By lap 5 our strategy started coming into play and we slowly caught up to the V8 Sierra who was being pushed hard into every corner. It was only a matter of time before tyres and brakes would come into play on the bigger and heavier cars. On lap 7 going up towards turn 5 the 140Z had closed right up to the Sierra and knew his brakes were now fading fast as the 140Z was able to make up much ground under braking. Just one more lap and we were in with a possible upset. Lo and behold on lap 7 Ashley Lobb in a Fiat 131 spun and was unable to move the car from being in the middle of turn 8 which lead onto the main straight and due to safety conditions the race was red flagged. They finished Skyline, Sierra, 140Z with the 140Z putting in the fastest race time of 1:10.53, the V8 Sierra 1:10.99 and the Skyline 1:10.63.
The 140Z was swarmed with people who converged around the little 'Giant Killer' and everyone said, if only you had 1 more lap you would have caught the V8 Sierra. TV crews with their cameras appeared and 'Mr Datsun' had to give an on camera interview of his race achievement conducted by Greg Malony. Unbelievable was the saying of the day.
Race 2 was to be much later in the day and the conditions throughout the whole day were sweltering hot. We managed to catch one or two of the more popular races but otherwise settled in and around the 140Z to be there for the interested onlookers. Our race was scheduled for 16h30 and rain clouds had built up by now and were looking threatening. It started raining but did not damper the racing spirit. By 15h45 we were still considering whether it would be a dry race or if we needed to pull out the dreaded wet tyres. Either way we were prepared but from a racers point of view, dry is what we wanted. By 16h10 the rain had stopped and by the start of the race we again had a bone dry track with a lot cooler conditions.
This time the Skyline took it a lot slower and the entire field bunched up nicely on the pace lap, the 140Z tucked right behind the Skyline in 3rd place with the Sierra to his outside in 2nd. Everyone was now very aware of the 'point and squirt' 140Z on this track with many having predicted that if the 140Z did ever manage to beat the V8 Sierra it would probably be the talk of the year never mind the race. This may well have been in the back of the mind of the Sierra driver and at the end of the pace lap the V8 Sierra pulled off (tail between its legs) into the pits and never returned. There was no sign of any mechanical failures after race 1 and it remains strange to have pulled off on a pace lap with no sign of any real problem. This offered another opportunity for a Datsun 1, 2 finish and would have had the crowds going mad if this was ever accomplished. The first few laps saw both the Skyline and the 140Z swapping places frequently upfront with the 140Z holding the Skyline on the outside of turn 4 on more than 1 lap going up towards turn 5. From where I was standing it had the spectators clapping and shouting for the 140Z and almost choked me up a little at times. The dice continued until 5 lap where due to the much cooler temperature conditions had now allowed the Dutch entry turbo charged Alfa the chance to close in on the 2 front Datsuns. The Alfa eventually caught up to the 140Z and split the 2 Datsuns for the remaining 2 laps and so ended race 2 in that order. A most entertaining race. This achievement brought out the likes of Colin Clay (former 140Y Wesbank racer) who congratulated Martin on both his races and even sat in the car in awe of this 'Giant Killer'. So too did Willie Hepburn turn up, so too did Roelf Du Plessis of Wesbank racing, Larry Wilford, Dick Sorrensen, Richard Sorrensen who were all offering congratulations for a brilliant race effort.
And so ended the weekend having won class B and unofficially taking 2nd overall for the day only to have been beaten by much bigger and more modern day cars but equally which were raced to their limits. We were all tired and a little sun burnt from the weekends glorious weather and we left soon after prize giving where 'Mr Datsun' headed for Bloemfontein for a good nights rest. Let's wait and see what the 3rd leg of the Springbok series brings to the Cape where hopefully yet another battle may just resume, then again most probably not.
Thanks 'Boet' for me being a part of your racing.
Friday morning we were up at sparrows as per usual and did nothing more than fuel the car and do the normal routine checks. The early morning session was an open practice which afforded us some saddle time as well as to get a heat cycle into a new set of NA Carreras. All early indications were that the 140Z was slowly coming to terms with the technically challenging track and times were around a 1:12. A second session proved to be as good and times dropped to 1:11.7 even though ambient temperatures were a lot hotter by then. The afternoon session was all reserved for qualifying and ours was scheduled for 14h00. Some tyre pressure changes were made to compensate for the heat and took to the track where the 140Z put in a qualifying best lap of 1:11.58 putting us 4th on the grid with the 745i BMW on 3rd, the V8 Sierra in 2nd and yet another Datsun 2.8 Skyline GTX on pole having posted a blistering 1:08.8. That left us pretty chuffed even although all 3 cars ahead of the 140Z were 10 years younger then the pre-77 complaint Datsun 140Z. As such another carrot was being dangled and we had to find a way of gaining another second or so to put us in with a chance of a top 3 finish. The amount of people that gathered around the 140Z after each outing was unbelievable, many totally gob smacked by the qualifying achievements. We tidied up and later headed for the cafeteria area to catch up on some late lunch and discussed the positives and negatives of the qualifying. We managed to single out 2 corners which 'Mr Datsun' felt could be improved on but we had to also take into consideration the local conditions and altitude. While everyone else was probably satisfied with their qualifying times, 'Mr Datsun' was never going to be. Eventually a phone call was made to a knowledgeable local race ace who analysed the feedback provided and eventually offered a solution. We went back to the car and implemented the 2 settings as advised and also to check if by chance new brake pads were yet a requirement. I then went to the COC and asked if we could have a few laps after the official qualifying was over for all the categories to which he was most accommodating. We only manged to get a test session at around 17h30 but it was good enough for us. The 140Z took to the track with only 2 other tin tops and on lap 3 the 140Z managed to clock a 1:10.49 putting us right up there with a far better chance. That was just what the doctor ordered and we settled in for an early nights rest.
Saturday morning we were again up at sparrows and performed our usual race ritual preparations for the race scheduled for 09h50 . The pace lap was fast which lead to a field being very wide spread but hey, pole man sets the pace and either you keep up to his pace or you loose. We found ourselves is 4th place as per the grid and on lap 2 overtook the 745i BMW going onto turn 5 on the table top under brakes. That gave us a chance to now chase the V8 Sierra in earnest. As the saying goes, 'there's no replacement for displacement' but the 140Z was not going to just lye down without putting up a fight. We had a strategy in place and intended to stick to it for the race. By lap 5 our strategy started coming into play and we slowly caught up to the V8 Sierra who was being pushed hard into every corner. It was only a matter of time before tyres and brakes would come into play on the bigger and heavier cars. On lap 7 going up towards turn 5 the 140Z had closed right up to the Sierra and knew his brakes were now fading fast as the 140Z was able to make up much ground under braking. Just one more lap and we were in with a possible upset. Lo and behold on lap 7 Ashley Lobb in a Fiat 131 spun and was unable to move the car from being in the middle of turn 8 which lead onto the main straight and due to safety conditions the race was red flagged. They finished Skyline, Sierra, 140Z with the 140Z putting in the fastest race time of 1:10.53, the V8 Sierra 1:10.99 and the Skyline 1:10.63.
The 140Z was swarmed with people who converged around the little 'Giant Killer' and everyone said, if only you had 1 more lap you would have caught the V8 Sierra. TV crews with their cameras appeared and 'Mr Datsun' had to give an on camera interview of his race achievement conducted by Greg Malony. Unbelievable was the saying of the day.
Race 2 was to be much later in the day and the conditions throughout the whole day were sweltering hot. We managed to catch one or two of the more popular races but otherwise settled in and around the 140Z to be there for the interested onlookers. Our race was scheduled for 16h30 and rain clouds had built up by now and were looking threatening. It started raining but did not damper the racing spirit. By 15h45 we were still considering whether it would be a dry race or if we needed to pull out the dreaded wet tyres. Either way we were prepared but from a racers point of view, dry is what we wanted. By 16h10 the rain had stopped and by the start of the race we again had a bone dry track with a lot cooler conditions.
This time the Skyline took it a lot slower and the entire field bunched up nicely on the pace lap, the 140Z tucked right behind the Skyline in 3rd place with the Sierra to his outside in 2nd. Everyone was now very aware of the 'point and squirt' 140Z on this track with many having predicted that if the 140Z did ever manage to beat the V8 Sierra it would probably be the talk of the year never mind the race. This may well have been in the back of the mind of the Sierra driver and at the end of the pace lap the V8 Sierra pulled off (tail between its legs) into the pits and never returned. There was no sign of any mechanical failures after race 1 and it remains strange to have pulled off on a pace lap with no sign of any real problem. This offered another opportunity for a Datsun 1, 2 finish and would have had the crowds going mad if this was ever accomplished. The first few laps saw both the Skyline and the 140Z swapping places frequently upfront with the 140Z holding the Skyline on the outside of turn 4 on more than 1 lap going up towards turn 5. From where I was standing it had the spectators clapping and shouting for the 140Z and almost choked me up a little at times. The dice continued until 5 lap where due to the much cooler temperature conditions had now allowed the Dutch entry turbo charged Alfa the chance to close in on the 2 front Datsuns. The Alfa eventually caught up to the 140Z and split the 2 Datsuns for the remaining 2 laps and so ended race 2 in that order. A most entertaining race. This achievement brought out the likes of Colin Clay (former 140Y Wesbank racer) who congratulated Martin on both his races and even sat in the car in awe of this 'Giant Killer'. So too did Willie Hepburn turn up, so too did Roelf Du Plessis of Wesbank racing, Larry Wilford, Dick Sorrensen, Richard Sorrensen who were all offering congratulations for a brilliant race effort.
And so ended the weekend having won class B and unofficially taking 2nd overall for the day only to have been beaten by much bigger and more modern day cars but equally which were raced to their limits. We were all tired and a little sun burnt from the weekends glorious weather and we left soon after prize giving where 'Mr Datsun' headed for Bloemfontein for a good nights rest. Let's wait and see what the 3rd leg of the Springbok series brings to the Cape where hopefully yet another battle may just resume, then again most probably not.
Thanks 'Boet' for me being a part of your racing.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Gone with the Wind.
The long and much awaited 'Ford & Friends Festival' eventually arrived and many made the journey up to to the 'friendly city' by car and in convoy. We departed in the early hours of Thursday morning and duly arrived just after lunchtime. By late that afternoon we had off-loaded both our cars and unpacked the cars finally covering them for the night where after we settled into a festive mood at the track. We had both set our personal goals and targets for the weekend and finally hit the sack by around pumpkin time.
Friday morning we were up early and headed for the track by 7.30am and duly preformed our ritual in preparation. Sadly and very disappointingly, history repeated itself again and once again prevented me from racing the Datti as it so also did in 2007. On my out and warm up lap with oil pressure at a good 4.5 - 5 bar on leaving the pit, by the time I had got to Chevy Sweep it was down to 1.5 bar and by Goodyear, 150m further ahead, it was down to less than 1 bar. I simply pulled back into the pit and there it remained for the weekend under cover. This meant I would now concentrate my efforts in helping where I possibly could in reaching the personal goals set by my 'boet' for the weekend. It was no doubt a tall order (no pain no gain I guess), but through careful calculations taken from previous visits to the track with similar machinery, we had a good idea of what we felt as doable. New tyres for a start were not available and he started off with a used set of 8 x 13" slicks. The morning session eventually produced times of around 1:12. With nothing having to be adjusted on the engine, it was down to getting saddle time and finding the limits of the tyres given the track and surface conditions. He again attempted a session after lunch with a few new ideas in mind as to where time could likely be made up. We re-corrected tyre pressures and took to the track once again. Although a further improvement was achieved that with posting 1:11's it was eventually accepted that the maximum had now been extracted from 8" rubber. Wanting to call it a day, I made the suggestion to put on the 10" rubber and get another heat cycle before Saturday mornings qualifying. He agreed and we made the change. Again we made the due tyre pressure corrections taking current track and air temps in consideration. Out he went again and after 3 laps he achieved his first personal goal, that of breaking the 1:10 barrier. In fact, unofficially the clock stood on 1:09.7 and whatever happened here after suddenly all became irrelevant. We called it a day with everyone congratulating the maestro in his achievement.
Saturday morning was again up early as qualifying was now to be done and we had prep to do beforehand. We duly went about making all the necessary checks and adjustments and made compensation for the early morning track and air temp conditions. Knowing how close the opposition was to our times, it was going to take a concerted effort to repeat the times we set our goals to. Lo and behold the 'magician' put his head down and on lap 4 put in a blistering official 1:09.956 and claimed pole position for race 1. I don't ever recall a 4-cylinder engine single overhead cam posting such official times around Aldo and a new benchmark had in all probability been set.
Race one saw the 140Z on pole with the 700HP 'Wesbank' late Owen Ashley built Capri Perana in 2nd position. By all counts the V8 should have had the legs on the straight to out run the 140Z going into turn 1, but at lights out for the start the 'giant killer' lead the Capri into T1 and opened up a gap through the tight back section of Aldo. By turn 8 (Goodyear) the 140Z had opened up a 200m lead only to have it closed to within a few meters at the end of the main straight going into T1 again. So the race went on with the 140Z consistently opening a gap sufficient enough to breath safely, or so we thought. By lap 5 they started catching the back markers and traffic was heavy, not everyone watching their mirrors closely enough as the express train approached with blazing headlights. This allowed the gap to be narrowed and on the last lap both the 140Z and the Capri Perana were side by side coming out of Toyota corner with the Capri on the inside race line and the 140Z on the outside. With neither driver prepared to relinquish their track space, the Capri touched the left back-end of the 140Z resulting that both went off in Chevy Sweep. It was now a case of who kept a cool head and got going again. The 'maestro' hooked second gear and rooster tailed it out towards Goodyear and came out sideways into the main straight. By now Robbie Smith (SMURF) had also got the Capri back on track and the express train was once again at full bore chasing the 140Z to the finish line. The 140Z took the finish by a mere 0.767 seconds ahead of the Capri and making it a very closely contested and well deserved race.
Minor suspension damage was endured in the coming together between the two and we duly borrowed the calibration tools and made the necessary wheel alignment adjustments as required. In the interim we had acquired 2 brand new 10 x 13" tyres from a local Ford supporter and decided now was the best time to put such weaponry to use. So we had them fitted at the track and duly sported a new set of front boots, ready for race 2.
Race 2 was to be very much of the same as race 1 or so we anticipated. At lights out though, things changed very quickly with the Capri getting ahead of the 140Z and Rose in the Porsche RSR now also alongside the 140Z heading into turn 1. No way would a 'hammer' out corner the 140Z and the Porsche duly slotted into 3rd place with the 140Z tucked right up on the Capri's back bumper. Turn 1 is a long right hander and the moment that Robbie looked up into his rear view mirror he had made the fatal mistake and locked up the front going into the esses and ran very wide. This allowed the 140Z through and this time there was to be no second chance. 'Mr Datsun' put his head down and peddled that 140Z as if there was no tomorrow and again opened up a substantial gap that put paid to anyone catching him unless through some mechanical failure or mistake. Such was not to be either and try as he may the 'Wesbank' V8 Capri Perana was given a thourough driving lesson on the tight 2.48Km track of Aldo Scribante.
Veni vidi vici.
Due to my unfortunate DNS my 'boet' offered me the chance to drive the 140Z in the 1 hour race. Not being one to want to race another mans race car (not even my own brothers) I humbly accepted with the provision that I would NOT attempt to finish the full 60 minutes nor attempt any heroics at lap times. This is one car I cannot afford to pay and have fixed. Well, all that is left to say is that it was absolutely and utmostly enjoyed even although by now the back tyres were finished and the tail was quite happy to hang out at any given opportunity. In total I managed to finish 16 laps on a 18 liter fuel tank and my best time posted was 1:15.7 during the race. After 16 laps I pulled in satisfied that it takes a better driver than me to make that red rocket fly in the 1:09 bracket.
Thanks again 'Boet' for all the efforts made in getting us to PE.
Friday morning we were up early and headed for the track by 7.30am and duly preformed our ritual in preparation. Sadly and very disappointingly, history repeated itself again and once again prevented me from racing the Datti as it so also did in 2007. On my out and warm up lap with oil pressure at a good 4.5 - 5 bar on leaving the pit, by the time I had got to Chevy Sweep it was down to 1.5 bar and by Goodyear, 150m further ahead, it was down to less than 1 bar. I simply pulled back into the pit and there it remained for the weekend under cover. This meant I would now concentrate my efforts in helping where I possibly could in reaching the personal goals set by my 'boet' for the weekend. It was no doubt a tall order (no pain no gain I guess), but through careful calculations taken from previous visits to the track with similar machinery, we had a good idea of what we felt as doable. New tyres for a start were not available and he started off with a used set of 8 x 13" slicks. The morning session eventually produced times of around 1:12. With nothing having to be adjusted on the engine, it was down to getting saddle time and finding the limits of the tyres given the track and surface conditions. He again attempted a session after lunch with a few new ideas in mind as to where time could likely be made up. We re-corrected tyre pressures and took to the track once again. Although a further improvement was achieved that with posting 1:11's it was eventually accepted that the maximum had now been extracted from 8" rubber. Wanting to call it a day, I made the suggestion to put on the 10" rubber and get another heat cycle before Saturday mornings qualifying. He agreed and we made the change. Again we made the due tyre pressure corrections taking current track and air temps in consideration. Out he went again and after 3 laps he achieved his first personal goal, that of breaking the 1:10 barrier. In fact, unofficially the clock stood on 1:09.7 and whatever happened here after suddenly all became irrelevant. We called it a day with everyone congratulating the maestro in his achievement.
Saturday morning was again up early as qualifying was now to be done and we had prep to do beforehand. We duly went about making all the necessary checks and adjustments and made compensation for the early morning track and air temp conditions. Knowing how close the opposition was to our times, it was going to take a concerted effort to repeat the times we set our goals to. Lo and behold the 'magician' put his head down and on lap 4 put in a blistering official 1:09.956 and claimed pole position for race 1. I don't ever recall a 4-cylinder engine single overhead cam posting such official times around Aldo and a new benchmark had in all probability been set.
Race one saw the 140Z on pole with the 700HP 'Wesbank' late Owen Ashley built Capri Perana in 2nd position. By all counts the V8 should have had the legs on the straight to out run the 140Z going into turn 1, but at lights out for the start the 'giant killer' lead the Capri into T1 and opened up a gap through the tight back section of Aldo. By turn 8 (Goodyear) the 140Z had opened up a 200m lead only to have it closed to within a few meters at the end of the main straight going into T1 again. So the race went on with the 140Z consistently opening a gap sufficient enough to breath safely, or so we thought. By lap 5 they started catching the back markers and traffic was heavy, not everyone watching their mirrors closely enough as the express train approached with blazing headlights. This allowed the gap to be narrowed and on the last lap both the 140Z and the Capri Perana were side by side coming out of Toyota corner with the Capri on the inside race line and the 140Z on the outside. With neither driver prepared to relinquish their track space, the Capri touched the left back-end of the 140Z resulting that both went off in Chevy Sweep. It was now a case of who kept a cool head and got going again. The 'maestro' hooked second gear and rooster tailed it out towards Goodyear and came out sideways into the main straight. By now Robbie Smith (SMURF) had also got the Capri back on track and the express train was once again at full bore chasing the 140Z to the finish line. The 140Z took the finish by a mere 0.767 seconds ahead of the Capri and making it a very closely contested and well deserved race.
Minor suspension damage was endured in the coming together between the two and we duly borrowed the calibration tools and made the necessary wheel alignment adjustments as required. In the interim we had acquired 2 brand new 10 x 13" tyres from a local Ford supporter and decided now was the best time to put such weaponry to use. So we had them fitted at the track and duly sported a new set of front boots, ready for race 2.
Race 2 was to be very much of the same as race 1 or so we anticipated. At lights out though, things changed very quickly with the Capri getting ahead of the 140Z and Rose in the Porsche RSR now also alongside the 140Z heading into turn 1. No way would a 'hammer' out corner the 140Z and the Porsche duly slotted into 3rd place with the 140Z tucked right up on the Capri's back bumper. Turn 1 is a long right hander and the moment that Robbie looked up into his rear view mirror he had made the fatal mistake and locked up the front going into the esses and ran very wide. This allowed the 140Z through and this time there was to be no second chance. 'Mr Datsun' put his head down and peddled that 140Z as if there was no tomorrow and again opened up a substantial gap that put paid to anyone catching him unless through some mechanical failure or mistake. Such was not to be either and try as he may the 'Wesbank' V8 Capri Perana was given a thourough driving lesson on the tight 2.48Km track of Aldo Scribante.
Veni vidi vici.
Due to my unfortunate DNS my 'boet' offered me the chance to drive the 140Z in the 1 hour race. Not being one to want to race another mans race car (not even my own brothers) I humbly accepted with the provision that I would NOT attempt to finish the full 60 minutes nor attempt any heroics at lap times. This is one car I cannot afford to pay and have fixed. Well, all that is left to say is that it was absolutely and utmostly enjoyed even although by now the back tyres were finished and the tail was quite happy to hang out at any given opportunity. In total I managed to finish 16 laps on a 18 liter fuel tank and my best time posted was 1:15.7 during the race. After 16 laps I pulled in satisfied that it takes a better driver than me to make that red rocket fly in the 1:09 bracket.
Thanks again 'Boet' for all the efforts made in getting us to PE.
Sunday, 06 December 2009
Retro Datsuns
Well after a long wait and preparation it was game on. You may recall that I had posted a video of a lap of Kyalami as well as references to a website in which a full lap description was available. I used this as reference and guide to a track that most of the Cape Town guys who traveled to the 9-Hour retro race had never ever raced on and I believe that to degree it helped at least some.
On the Thursday night the Datsuns arrived, one having been towed up while the other (1400 Datti) was on a transporter together with 10 other cars all from Cape Town. We duly unpacked and prepped our allocated space in the pit area all in preparation for the Friday. Friday morning we were up at sparrows and the Cape Town guys we duly greeted by the Friday morning traffic. A journey that takes 5 minutes took us 30 minutes in the traffic. Then it was down to business. We had already fueled the cars before leaving Cape Town and only had to make tyre pressure checks and changes. Obviously minor pre-checks such as oil levels, brake fluid and water levels etc. were also done. Peter Lindenberg had arranged and made the effort to drive us the race lines for those that had never turned a wheel here before which was most helpful.
At 09h00 and already at a temperature of 23 degrees we were on for the first time and on lap 7 the 140Z put in a lap of 2:02.8 first time out ever. The second session was skipped and in the 3rd session the 140Z got down to a 2:02.3 still on 8" rubber. For the qualifying we decided to change the rubber and on lap 2 during qualifying a 2:00.4 was done to utmost satisfaction. Sadly the 1400 Datti suffered with a miss for all 3 of the practice sessions including the qualifying. We new that it was fuel starvation although we had already replaced the fuel filter (which was dirty) and for the qualifying session we eventually put our original CT jets back in desperation only to confirm that it did not solve the problem either. After the qualifying session had ended the Datsun guru went through the fuel system with a fine tooth comb and worked his way from the back to the front. Upon taken the carburettors apart it was eventually discovered that a piece of black rubber (probably fuel line hose) was the cause of the problem on the back carburettor blocking the fuel bowl from filling correctly. The floats were then also thoroughly checked for any possible leaks. Having now found the problem, I used the post '73 - pre '84 qualifying session to test and duly posted a 2:14.6 which I was more than happy with as it now at least revved cleanly all the way to 7000 rpm. Arrangements were then subsequently made with the COC to allow the time for the pre-77 classes EFG which he duly agreed to. I also duly arranged my original entry form classing to be amended to reflect correctly and was duly assigned to class F based upon my best time officially posted. We sealed the afternoon off with a few welcome liquid refreshments and set off for home and a reasonably early night.
Saturday morning dawned and as per norm we arrived at the track at approximately 07h00 for our traditional race preparation routine. There was not more we could do other than put all we had learned into practice. Race 1 for class ABCD was off at 10h10 and the 140Z was driven hard into third place behind the V8 Capri Perana (Z181) and the BMW 3.0CSL (batmobile) of Uli Sanne and in the process manged to post a fantastic 1:59.4. The fourth placed car finished a full 25 seconds later behind him. The little 1400 Datti had one heck of a dice with a very sideways on every corner 280E Merc for the first few laps which I managed to get past, after which he then fell right off the pace due to excessive tyre wear I guess. I then had a humongous dice with my local JHB race buddy Ted Young in an Anglia for the remainder of the race. I cannot explain the closeness of it and I only hope that the TV coverage will display some of the close action. In the interim I also managed to post a 2:12.0 which was my target time zone anyway (2:10.0 to 2:13.0).
Race 2 was almost a repeat of race 1 with the 140Z again finishing in 3rd place behind the 'batmobile' while the fourth placed Robin Forbes in the V8 Corvette finished a full 30.1 seconds later. This gave the 140Z an overall 2nd in class C. The Datti meanwhile managed to keep the 280E Merc and the more powerful and fatter tyred Escort MkI of Gert Botes well at bay this time round and again landed up with a full 8 lap dice with the class E Anglia, that of Ted Young. The closeness and overtaking opportunities were aplenty on every conceivable lap with Ted holding on to the finish line to beat me by 0.8 seconds. My hat off to Ted for withstanding the pressure for a full 8 laps all while his tyres were fading fast. I managed in turn to take overall in class F for the day, a result most unexpected, yet most appreciated. To say that I was tired is a gross understatement, but one race event that I'll never forget.
Kyalami is undoubtedly a very challenging track to say the least but we managed to get the better of it albeit this time round anyway, never once losing control or letting it get the better of us.
Once again 'Mr Datsun' came up with all the answers and solutions and let both Cape Town Datsuns do the talking. A brilliant way to end a season and again I must thank my 'boet' for just making it so much easier with perfect race prep for each and every race this year.
Thanks 'boet'.
On the Thursday night the Datsuns arrived, one having been towed up while the other (1400 Datti) was on a transporter together with 10 other cars all from Cape Town. We duly unpacked and prepped our allocated space in the pit area all in preparation for the Friday. Friday morning we were up at sparrows and the Cape Town guys we duly greeted by the Friday morning traffic. A journey that takes 5 minutes took us 30 minutes in the traffic. Then it was down to business. We had already fueled the cars before leaving Cape Town and only had to make tyre pressure checks and changes. Obviously minor pre-checks such as oil levels, brake fluid and water levels etc. were also done. Peter Lindenberg had arranged and made the effort to drive us the race lines for those that had never turned a wheel here before which was most helpful.
At 09h00 and already at a temperature of 23 degrees we were on for the first time and on lap 7 the 140Z put in a lap of 2:02.8 first time out ever. The second session was skipped and in the 3rd session the 140Z got down to a 2:02.3 still on 8" rubber. For the qualifying we decided to change the rubber and on lap 2 during qualifying a 2:00.4 was done to utmost satisfaction. Sadly the 1400 Datti suffered with a miss for all 3 of the practice sessions including the qualifying. We new that it was fuel starvation although we had already replaced the fuel filter (which was dirty) and for the qualifying session we eventually put our original CT jets back in desperation only to confirm that it did not solve the problem either. After the qualifying session had ended the Datsun guru went through the fuel system with a fine tooth comb and worked his way from the back to the front. Upon taken the carburettors apart it was eventually discovered that a piece of black rubber (probably fuel line hose) was the cause of the problem on the back carburettor blocking the fuel bowl from filling correctly. The floats were then also thoroughly checked for any possible leaks. Having now found the problem, I used the post '73 - pre '84 qualifying session to test and duly posted a 2:14.6 which I was more than happy with as it now at least revved cleanly all the way to 7000 rpm. Arrangements were then subsequently made with the COC to allow the time for the pre-77 classes EFG which he duly agreed to. I also duly arranged my original entry form classing to be amended to reflect correctly and was duly assigned to class F based upon my best time officially posted. We sealed the afternoon off with a few welcome liquid refreshments and set off for home and a reasonably early night.
Saturday morning dawned and as per norm we arrived at the track at approximately 07h00 for our traditional race preparation routine. There was not more we could do other than put all we had learned into practice. Race 1 for class ABCD was off at 10h10 and the 140Z was driven hard into third place behind the V8 Capri Perana (Z181) and the BMW 3.0CSL (batmobile) of Uli Sanne and in the process manged to post a fantastic 1:59.4. The fourth placed car finished a full 25 seconds later behind him. The little 1400 Datti had one heck of a dice with a very sideways on every corner 280E Merc for the first few laps which I managed to get past, after which he then fell right off the pace due to excessive tyre wear I guess. I then had a humongous dice with my local JHB race buddy Ted Young in an Anglia for the remainder of the race. I cannot explain the closeness of it and I only hope that the TV coverage will display some of the close action. In the interim I also managed to post a 2:12.0 which was my target time zone anyway (2:10.0 to 2:13.0).
Race 2 was almost a repeat of race 1 with the 140Z again finishing in 3rd place behind the 'batmobile' while the fourth placed Robin Forbes in the V8 Corvette finished a full 30.1 seconds later. This gave the 140Z an overall 2nd in class C. The Datti meanwhile managed to keep the 280E Merc and the more powerful and fatter tyred Escort MkI of Gert Botes well at bay this time round and again landed up with a full 8 lap dice with the class E Anglia, that of Ted Young. The closeness and overtaking opportunities were aplenty on every conceivable lap with Ted holding on to the finish line to beat me by 0.8 seconds. My hat off to Ted for withstanding the pressure for a full 8 laps all while his tyres were fading fast. I managed in turn to take overall in class F for the day, a result most unexpected, yet most appreciated. To say that I was tired is a gross understatement, but one race event that I'll never forget.
Kyalami is undoubtedly a very challenging track to say the least but we managed to get the better of it albeit this time round anyway, never once losing control or letting it get the better of us.
Once again 'Mr Datsun' came up with all the answers and solutions and let both Cape Town Datsuns do the talking. A brilliant way to end a season and again I must thank my 'boet' for just making it so much easier with perfect race prep for each and every race this year.
Thanks 'boet'.
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