Preparations for the weekend weren't great - after the rebuild, the engine refused to run last Wednesday so had to get a mate round to sort it out - got it ok, but missing a bit on tickover - to sort out on Sunday morning before qualifying.
Qualifying came round and we hadn't located the problem, so decided to run it anyway to get three laps in and allow me to race. It did pick up a bit, but was still missing until about the 4th lap when one of the carb flaps stuck open and my lowest revs were about 4000rpm - went straight on at mansfield and had a little bounce over the grass and parked it. Still good enough to put 4 cars behind me on the grid!
In the gap between sessions a couple of faulty spark plugs seemed to address the problem and the car was good to go for the race! Got a much better start than previous rounds, stuck one up the inside of a 205 to go three-abreast into Coppice, which got too much for the 205 who spun to the outside.
A few corners later I had a big spin at the top of the Gooseneck, stuffed the whole entry up and lost the back end on the way through which relegated me to last but one. Then set about catching the pack! Got past a few cars whilst the car was developing a vibration whenever I turned right. It felt a little bit like a driveshaft knocking at first, so I just pressed on. Few laps later it was starting to get really bad, so parked up in a safe place for my first DNF ever.
On towing back to the paddock at the end of the race, the front left wheel decided to finally part company with the car and found a barrier to play with whilst the recovery truck dragged me along on my brake disc for several yards before stopping. The wheel coming off stuffed the wing in too, so there's a little bit more work to do before Donington in July.
Thanks to Whiteley, Tim and John for coming down to support, take pics and even muck in when needed!
Qualifying came round and we hadn't located the problem, so decided to run it anyway to get three laps in and allow me to race. It did pick up a bit, but was still missing until about the 4th lap when one of the carb flaps stuck open and my lowest revs were about 4000rpm - went straight on at mansfield and had a little bounce over the grass and parked it. Still good enough to put 4 cars behind me on the grid!
In the gap between sessions a couple of faulty spark plugs seemed to address the problem and the car was good to go for the race! Got a much better start than previous rounds, stuck one up the inside of a 205 to go three-abreast into Coppice, which got too much for the 205 who spun to the outside.
A few corners later I had a big spin at the top of the Gooseneck, stuffed the whole entry up and lost the back end on the way through which relegated me to last but one. Then set about catching the pack! Got past a few cars whilst the car was developing a vibration whenever I turned right. It felt a little bit like a driveshaft knocking at first, so I just pressed on. Few laps later it was starting to get really bad, so parked up in a safe place for my first DNF ever.
On towing back to the paddock at the end of the race, the front left wheel decided to finally part company with the car and found a barrier to play with whilst the recovery truck dragged me along on my brake disc for several yards before stopping. The wheel coming off stuffed the wing in too, so there's a little bit more work to do before Donington in July.
Thanks to Whiteley, Tim and John for coming down to support, take pics and even muck in when needed!
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