Heated Exchange
It’s 09:00 AM at my local coffee shop, the Suns out and this place is crowded with non-concerned parents sharing anecdotal evidence of current affairs. Oh, and screaming kids run around whilst I review the in-car footage from the Saturdays action but I’ve blocked out the world through ear phones as it promotes the internal noises a race car emits. Going through the video from the race weekend and I can’t quite get my head around the neurological disconnect that occurs where short term memory loss plays out and all that you’re left with are the words “I don’t remember that…or did that really happen?“
Preparation
The week leading up to race day was a strange affair. On Fridays practice I was slowly getting up to pace, but the car just didn’t feel good. The clutch wasn’t disengaging correctly and I had a bad feeling that something worse was at play. That sense of anxiety is palpable. Immediately on return to the workshop, the polo got hoisted up on the lift and the gearbox was removed through a series of pneumatic drill pieces screeches. I digress that this is the universal sound of motorsport and which connects us all. The components were stripped down to establish who the culprit was. On close inspection it was found was to be a faulty torque converter plate which was rapidly binned and replaced with a new part where following which, allowed for silky smooth shifts a plenty. We were now ready for action.
Mnzanzi Magic
Photo Cred: Waldo Swiegers https://www.instagram.com/waldoswiegers/?hl=en
Qualifying
Clubmans have had their fair share of drama both off and on the track so it was not off to great start when the session got red flagged due to a fellow competitor going off track at Turn 4 before flipping and landing on the driver’s side. Driver unscathed. The same can’t be said about his bright green Golf Mk2. The track lacked grip being so early in the morning, but I managed to qualify P2 in class.
The weather. Let’s have a chat about it. The day delivered sweltering heat with temperatures soaring to 34 degrees and whilst most weekenders would be layering down, racing a motor car requires you to do the opposite. A fireproof multi layered overall is hardly the fashionable rage in an already hot motor car but function over form right?
Race 1
Race one and the lack of practical experience caught me out. Banging out practice laps is critically important but nothing quite schools you like ‘on-the-job’ training. My start was atrocious. I won’t mince my words. I was caught sleeping and the faster cars just out accelerate me into the first corner each time. Adding to that getting caught behind a slower car for lap and there’s way too much work to do. A few laps in and I found myself in no man’s land with no one around me to dice with. Lonely existence if ever I knew of one. I found myself pushing harder, desperately searching to close the gap and skating on thin ice at times riding the curbs as much as I could eventually miscalculating the exit on Turn 4 finding the side of the car fully engaged with the sand, resulting from a broken tire valve on my rear left. ‘’Foot down and keeping it buried is the only way out’’ is what they say. A lucky escape if ever there was one flirting with the limits. The end result…P3 in heat one wasn’t quite what I had aimed for but I’ll take it.
Race 2
The Polo showing off some tire scaring from an earlier paint trade off with a fellow competitor.
Photo Cred: Franky Funky’s Photos https://www.instagram.com/frankysfunkyfotos/?hl=en
With a changed wheel and some deep introspective internal dialogue, I arrived at the point where I needed to remind myself as to why I am doing this. Often, we get lost in our heads and thoughts get in the way. My goal was always to go out and have FUN. I needed to reaffirm this. Reverse grid applies where the first 6 finishes from heat one start heat two in the reverse order. Switched on and fighting the heat, I needed to push on. My start was a slight improvement compared to the first heat. The dividends were that by the end of the first lap I found myself involved in a bumper-to-bumper four car train that would carry on for a full 8 lap duration. Piloting an underpowered car with extra weight is a challenging task to tassel with as momentum is key and you need to look for other tricks in the bag to gain advantage.
For the seven laps, four class E cars delivered an excellent show for the crowd, swopping positions continually before I settled in knowing that something had to give and eventually it did with the two mk1 golfs involving themselves in a turn one tangle causing both competitors to spin out on the last lap. I then had some clear road to try and catch the current championship leader, Denver, on the last lap. Arriving into turn 4 and making the ground up, I knew that with a decent enough tow I could stay within striking distance. Denver had held the inside line and together with the increased power, would try and run me wide seven days out of seven in an instance like that and just power away on exit. I tried my best to out brake but outbreaked myself and was not in the best track position to exit with speed. With my line was compromised I had to concede the corner before slotting in and securing second place.
In my review mirror
Although I never quite achieved what I ultimately wanted out of the day, finishing 3rd overall is not something to scoff at and with the points updated after the weekend action, I’m still sitting in 2nd on the Class DEF championship. There have been several movements on the leaderboard and things are sitting tightly packed leading into the last two rounds remaining. This is brewing a cracking ending to a dream first season. That is for sure but for now I’ll be regrouping and working on my prep for the next race, which will be at the Extreme Festival on the 28th of September.
