Hurry Up & Wait

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks 'Boet' my Champ!

Slip Sliding Away

Round 5 of the Classic Car racing was held on the 5th July in AGAIN miserable wet and cold conditions, not something I particularly aspire towards nor enjoy. Race officials have it on record as one of the worst race seasons in years and cannot recall such ongoing adverse weather conditions. As I stated early in the year (see February blog if you don't believe me) I would have to adapt to the conditions as 'mother nature' sure as hell 'aint gonna' change for me. My weather information early in the week indicated severe weather conditions forecasted for the race weekend and I made the decision to buy a set of 'wets' to tackle this situation head on.

Earlier in the month Martin ordered the required parts to fix the Datti's front suspension which had caused me to somewhat loose out on the previous race event. That now being all repaired, wheel alignment done and a thorough check of all the under carriage works and all was ready for race day. We replaced the set of slicks with a set of proper wets and were as prepared as could be. Lo and behold came Friday and the rain poured as predicted. I eventually got down to the track at about 13h00, did my usual pre-practice routine checks and was ready for a soaking track. Believe it or not by 13h30 the rain had subsided and the track had somewhat started drying. I eventually took to the track on schedule at 14h00 and only managed 2 laps before I pulled in as the track was simply not wet enough for wet tyres and I sure as hell wasn't going to destroy them by trying to be heroic.

Sadly the rest of Friday was a total waste and I never got any further practice time as the rain simply held off. I settled for Saturday's qualifying without much wet weather practice under the belt and hoped for the best. As luck would have it Martin and I rose extra early on Saturday morning as qualifying was scheduled for 07h45 (even although statistics showed that sunrise was only at 07h51) all while the rain gently fell and ensured that wet weather was here for the day. Having fueled the Datsun the previous night already I began by warming the engine and ensured a repellant windscreen was ready for the rain conditions. I strapped in, pulled onto the pit apron and awaited the go ahead from the pit marshals to enter the track along with everyone else patiently waiting as well. 5 Minutes before the scheduled qualifying time the C.O.C called it off due to poor light and bad track conditions. Man I was peeved off. This was now the fifth time without setting a qualifying time. Back to the garage we all went and awaited further instructions which again turned out to be a draw from the 'Hat'. This time round though it worked in my favour and I was drawn for pole position in class D. Not that it meant much in the rain!!!

Not much else of interest really happened throughout the day save to say race 1 was held in very wet conditions causing many drivers to spin and some even digging in on the infields never to get out again. (See recent photos) I played it relatively calm and settled for a comfortable second place behind 'old dog' Nick van Rensburg who has many years of oval track and wet weather racing under his belt. Nick incidentally started last in class D and ran away from the rest of us in conditions which he loves.

Race 2 was in even worse conditions as it rained quite heavily and made it super slippery out there with poor visibility. Again I settled for a comfortable second place again behind Nick who made it 2 wins for the day. I must say however that the wets played a major role in my personal above average results as 'intermediates' just don't work for me in these conditions. So much so that Nick and I even lapped some drivers twice in 8 laps!! Money well spent I'd say.

Again I must give credit where credit is due and thanks again to Martin (Martin incidentally sat out of classics with the intention of competing in the 2Hr endurance race) who made sure that every nut and bolt was tight and ensured it never missed a beat once. I only ever recall genuine Swiss watches to be so reliable and accurate. Must be something the Japanese never told us about. Keep 'watching' (pardon the pun) this space as the season heads towards year end with about 3 race meetings (September, October & December) to go. This 1400 Datsun GX still has a thing to prove yet!!

Next race is only in September. Till then!

Thanks 'Boet'

David(s) & Goliath

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks 'Boet'

In Full Suspension

The month of May is a rather quiet one for us 'classic car' racers simply because there is no race for classic cars this month. Somewhat boring all said and done.

Well OK, while there is no on-track work, there is quite a bit to do off-track to both the Datsuns (SSS and the GX Coupe). Firstly the SSS is rather tired and really needs a lot of work to get it back into full race trim. For one the engine needs refreshing (rings and bearings) for a start and the rear suspension needs some work as well. Tyres are still reasonable but ideally a fresh pair would do nice. Unfortunately the budget is simply not enough to do everything all at once. Also remember there's a Nissan 200SX as well which must be tweaked to do REAL battle in Clubman Cars. All a trifle much when the only real sponsor is the back pocket (Mr Wallet).

As for the little GX Coupe, what can I say? For one, the front suspension really needs some serious work done soon as she's rolling a little too much nowadays around corners and is definitely rubbing down on the tyres under braking. The little 1400cc engine is now going on for 11 months without a hiccup or misfire and will sure need a little refreshing very soon. Unfortunately the same problem exists as above with Mr Wallet. On a more positive note, the reliability and endurance that this motor has performed to is absolutely gob smacking to say the very least. Currently I am now 17 points clear in class D and lead with a comfortable cushion between second place, while overall I am currently lying 2nd in the championship. While this is not in any way important nor what I am all about, it is very reassuring to know that this little Datsun GX Coupe is super competitive in it's current class and format, all while I have yet so much to learn as far as being a race driver is concerned. For now I just wish to continue on this learning curve in my first ever full race season and ideally want to finish the season well which I know will mean the WORLD to my 'Boet' whom meticulously prepares my car for each race.

Rumours are that some class D competitors have already rebuilt engines with even more power, are changing gearboxes and diff ratios and some have or are even building complete new cars to be more competitive in this class. For now though I'm still safe. For how long, I don't know!!

So, while May month appears to be all quiet, behind the scenes it actually seems many are busy with serious preparation for the upcoming races which lay ahead. June and July months are going to provide some really interesting and competitive 'Classic Car' racing. Till next time then.

Thanks 'Boet'

Un-Stoppable but Almost

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks 'Champ'