Race report - Pembrey
Well first time for me here at Pembrey. The circuit is flat and featurless with few opportunities for overtaking and includes the dreaded hairpin bend. This one is at the end of the straight so it’s an odds on cert somebody will run into the back of another competitor.
We spent Friday ironing out the running problem which was finally traced to a faulty injector! After spending all that money taking advice from so called experts the only thing wrong was a simple injector which was changed in 15 minutes.
Out for qualfying and I had no track time so it was a case of following the best driver on the grid and championship leader. I strategically parked myself on the bumper of Sam’s car and spent the whole of the session trying to hang on to him. When the results were published I was in third. Not bad considering the amount of time I’ve been away.
Race 1: I got a good start but the car seemed to want to understeer everywhere and I just couldn’t hold off Sam, Rory and Neil. Fourth place was a disappointment but about the best I could expect given the circumstances. It could have been worse as Kev experienced gearbox failure and was catching me also.
Race 2: Another good start, I could see Sam and Rory tripping over each other so began building a margin. The car was much better as we changed the springs and pads overnight. By lap 7 Rory caught me and was too good under braking for the hairpin, he got by me and proceeded to pull away. As the chequered flag came out I’d managed to stay in second. I later learned Sam was taken out by another car going into the hairpin (as I predicted) so again I feel a bit lucky with the runner up spot.
Fourth and second is about the best I could expect for this weekend. The series has attracted some star drivers which in turn bodes well for the future. Not sure when my next race is as I’m supposed to be getting a Mk2.
Drivers note: That was my last race in a Mk1, the cars up for sale on ebay and I’ve been up to a little mischief. There seems to be an element of backbiting that’s entered the series with accusations flying around, mainly from drivers who seem to display more ability steering a mouse than a race car! There’s a clue in the ebay heading ‘MR2 challenge winner’ If you remember I have never won the MR2 challenge, the rest of the advert should be treated with the same amount of scepticism.
For those of you who still don’t get it and actually read to the end of these reports here is the news.
CAR 78 COMPLIES FULLY WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE MR2 CHALLENGE. IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY ENGINE MODIFICATIONS SAVE THOSE ALLOWED FOR. ON THE DYNO IT MADE 88BHP AT THE WHEELS WHICH EQUATES TO APPROX. 117BHP AT THE CRANK! PRINTOUT IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. THE REASON WHY IT IS FASTER THAN YOUR CAR IS BECAUSE THE BLOKE BEHIND THE WHEEL IS A BETTER DRIVER!
Don’t think I can get any clearer than that.
George