They say that your car always goes extra well just before it blows up. I have no reason to doubt that.
A large meeting with lots and lots of BMWs. That class has certainly taken off. Forty entries, close racing and relatively cheap to build and maintain. As long as you don’t hit anything or anyone! There were around 250 entries altogether, so large and varied fields, some close racing and unfortunately quite a lot of damage, both mechanical and panel. After the double tragedy the week before there was a rather sombre atmosphere.
As a lot of the normal hard chargers were missing. Condolences to Alan. Competing in the Bash, or in Australia at the Melbourne GP after competing at Philip island in the Formula Junior races, it was decided to open the field up to higher horsepower, more modern single seaters. There was some concern amongst the slower cars (all of us) about this but it worked out alright.
Practise was practise. Beowulf dropped a spark lead. Chris Havill found that new tyres need running in, and untill they are the handling is interesting. He should have kept the old air and used it again. Everyone else had no problems that I heard about. New Lotus 7 driver Steve Sharpe was gpoing extra well, his car looks great and is well driven. A bit more experience and sorting and he will be seriously quick.
For the first time we had rolling starts as some of the more modern cars and drivers were concerned about getting away cleanly. Warm up lap, form up behind the pace car who pulls into the pits after a lap, over the top of the hill in formation, 70kph over the start line and away. I was doing 5000rpm in third over the start line, about 70mph and struggling to hold position. Passed a couple in the sweeper and Rodin Wooten in the Brabham up the back straight. A slipping clutch causing his withdrawal from the meeting. When did Rodin last have a DNF? (answers on a fish and chip wrapper to Alan). Steve gave me a hard time for a couple of laps but I was able to ease away and harass a couple of Formula Fords for the rest of the race. Brian Service and Chris Havills U2s gave no problems. I had upped the tyre pressures in Beowulf which improved the handling enormously and got down to 1.14.1 best time ever apart from an obvious mis-time several years ago.
Second race, and first race for us on Sunday. The rolling start was even faster this time, about 5000rpm in top, around 170kph! All went well untill the third or fourth lap. Just before the kink in the back straight there was an ominous rattle and as I switched it off a bang and a cloud of smoke. I was hard over on the left so pulled onto the grass and coasted to a stop opposite the hairpin. I hate being towed in. A small consolation was a lap time in the high 13s.
A quick look under the bonnet, the hole in the block that was too big to Araldite, so it was onto the trailer and back to Cambridge. I missed the last two races so cannot comment on them. I did see the Melbourne GP though. Go McLaren. Thinking about it I would rather have missed Melbourne and had the motor in one piece.
The damage? A hole in the block, a broken number 4 con. rod and a cracked piston. A 3 piece camshaft and a damaged crankshaft.
Wanted:
– 4 Twin Cam or similiar pistons.
– Dry sump pump, sump and tank.
– 4 forged con rods to fit a crossflow crankshaft.
I have always had a problem with low oil pressure in the corners so dry sumping it will solve that problem. I have a spare block and crankshaft and am chasing a camshaft on Trade me. Two hours to go and my bid.
That is it for my season, not a good way to finish but thats motor sport. Target is Manfeild in November.
Richard Wright.
