Despite the atrocious weather last Friday and Saturday, the Winton trip was still on.
Forecast for Benalla was pretty cold, but the chance of rain was quite low, far better than the weather that Melbourne received.
I headed off with Dad and Rick Dathan, who I think was a little disappointed in finding out that the picture of the Aston tow car was not 100% accurate, it was a picture I couldn’t resist taking though!
On arrival we secured a garage space and set about unloading. Incidentally Winton has had some work done there, with new garages, drivers’ briefing rooms and more bitumen areas, far more civilized than it has been in the past.
The Friday is an open test day, pay your money and drive till you run out of fuel basically, and is divided into roughly ½ hour sessions for open wheel cars, sedans and motorbikes. I ran with the sedans, which was the largest group (providing the most passing and the best option of directly comparing with other cars).
Initially I was fairly nervous and very conscious of listening for strange noises or any sign of problems, including the chain that had let go at Calder. Each session though, confidence grew, and the car was checked for any signs of failure or problems, of which none seemed to be appearing.
Only concern was that after about 20 minutes the water and oil temperatures would start to creep up, although a couple of slow down laps soon fixed that. I may have to investigate a fan on the radiator, since as it is significantly larger than the yellow cars’, it doesn’t seem to be getting enough airflow to it.
After four successful runs and about 30 litres of fuel gone, it was time to leave, check into the motel, and the pub for tea.
Saturday started well enough again.
With a full field of 115 cars competing, the car breezed through scutineering and then a quick practice of 4 laps.
I was now ready for my first competitive run in nearly 2 years!
The AASA Sprint Series, in which I compete uses a system of timing your best standing and best flying laps , the aggregate of which is your time for the day, and the lowest time of course being the winner.
I lined up against another competitor, John who I competed with 2 years ago I each of the 4 runs. He is the red clubman with the full front spoiler in the photos, and all day we had a great dice, with him ultimately coming off the better in the end.
I had a sinking feeling in the first run. When braking and when changing down gears I could suddenly start to hear the bang of the chain as it reverses the way it loads, which is often a sign that it is becoming too slack. Sure enough on the 3rd lap the chain let go again and I coasted to a lonely halt.
Once returned to the pits, the rear body of the car was stripped and the chain removed, fortunately again with no other damage.
By this time Paul Smith had arrived as well, so there were hands everywhere as the “pit crew” swung into action and readied the car. I decided to replace the “new” chain with a second hand one that I had spare, as I had lost confidence in the quality of the new chain.
When the joining links on the replacement chain were connected, it was immediately apparent that they were a lot more difficult to connect than the “new” chain, which reinforced my concerns on it’s’ quality.
The chain was readjusted and the car put back together for the next run, the whole process of which is much easier with a couple of extra pairs of hands assisting.
The car managed to run trouble free for the rest of the day, and as each session progressed I managed to stay closer and closer with Johns car, eventually managing to get past on the last run, though to be fair it was colder and his slicks were really starting to struggle to retain heat, but I’ll take it anyway! I seemed to have the advantage under brakes and through the sweeper and around onto the old straight, but coming out of the corners he seemed to have a little more initial drive. Something to work on!
So how were the times?
My best standing lap was 1.45.223 and my best flying was 1.38.918, done on the last lap of the day, for an aggregate of 3.24.140.
John’s best standing was 1.44.289 and best flying was 1.38.184, for an aggregate of 3.22.473.
Of the 115 cars competing, I had the only engine of less than 1000cc, with a “Harry Potter” Anglia next at 1300cc and then John with his 1500cc clubman.
My times gave me a second place in the clubman class and 12th overall.
Despite my time being slower than my best in the yellow car I was very happy.
In the cold conditions, the clubman cars often seem to suffer more than the others through a lack of grip, so although I was a little slower, relative to the other cars in the class I was very happy with my position for a first competitive run.
The car received a lot of positive comments and interest, with many people wanting to know what it was, and what is in it. By all reports it looked and sounded great on the track, and the body modifications and windscreen have done wonders in disguising the full size driver in a ¾ scale car.
Anyone want to buy the prototype yellow car?
Feel free to make an offer!
There are a few little maintenance items to attend to, but nothing major, so it’s just a matter of a good clean, and touching up the stone chips!
Thanks to Nev for the photos, any observations or constructive criticism, would be most welcome
Rick managed to get quite a lot of good video that I am trying to get onto you tube, so I’ll keep you posted on that.
Can’t wait for MSCA Calder Saturday 5th November!
Regards
Simon
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