Hi Guys. I just got back from Tasmania where I competed in the
Rally of Tasmania/Heritage Rally. I was in the bugeye ("redcar").
This was a bitumen "special stage" rally with Tulip diagrams,
overnight impound and the lot. It was a first for a circuit racer like me.
I had done the 3 Peaks Rally in '96 but that was a navigation rally
not a drivers rally. This was 3 days of full on driving on closed road
stages.
John Sprinzel of "Spritely Years", Speedwell and Donald Healey
Motors fame also competed in a bugeye. There were 11 sprites,
2 midgets (and 1 lone MGB Ha!). Of the 11 sprites, 8 were bugeyes.
There also was a lone 100-4.
John Sprinzel is a wonderful fellow and it was a joy and privilege to
be in the same event. He was not really driving hard (he certainly has
nothing to prove). I enjoyed talking to him and I picked up a few hints
(like it is a must to use pace notes next time!)
A new team was created just for me - Just in Time Racing - team motto
is "It will be OK in the end". Let me just say we did (finally) get the car
finished just in time for scrutineering and miraculously we did finish the
event. I did cop a lot of flack for it though. We had brake problems
throughout the event (my wonderful carbon/Kevlar pads ate the brembo
rotors so badly during the course recon that we had to start the event
on virgin standard road pads. We wore them out after less than half
the event and had to re-install the C/K pads on the side of the
road. We were checking the rotors after every special stage! I was using
handbrake only on transport stages! At one stage the brakes jammed on
(a stone in the pedal box) and I couldn't do more than 2nd gear under full
noise - we though that would be the end of us.
I was chasing a deficit of 2 or minutes at the start of the last day and
realistically didn't think I could do it. That wasn't stopping me trying
though!
Suprise surprise at the presentation dinner I was announced class winner by
40 secs. The 2nd place guy was a very experienced and successful bugeye
rally driver and he was not happy!! He lodged a protest over what turned out
to be
a timing error on one special stage and it turns out we failed to nail him
by
just 8 secs. I was catching him hand over fist - one one special stage
(Hellyer
Gorge reverse I took 30 secs out of his lead! (9:25 vs 9:55). Oh well. I had
fun
trying.
I also cooked redcar's motor so by the 2nd day we were burning 4 litres/day
of
Mobil 1. We definately lost top end and redcar's motor will need a good
check
and freshen up before she competes again.
This friday night we have a 40th anniversary of the sprite dinner with John
Sprinzel
talking a bout the cars we love most. It will be fun too!
cheers, Mike
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