| Goodwood Revival 2007 |
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A superb weekend by anyones standards, not just the cars and the racing but the whole event. The Glam Cabs taxi rank was a great success yet again, our thanks go to Darren for keeping the fleet on the road and to all those who volunteered their cars for the duration of the weekend.
as an aside to dressing up, going to parties and living in a time warp (everyday routine for some of us) we had the small matter of a race . . . I was lucky enough to be paired with Tony Dron for the two part StMarys Trophy race, whilst the vast diversity of cars in the race meant we never stood a chance of being anywhere near the squirty end, we got off to a good start in as much as Tony fitted straight in with the comment 'Perfect, someone whose a proper size' we didn't even need to adjust the belts.
Fridays activity consisted of 2 practice sessions to determine qualifying positions for the 2 races, TOny was out in the morning and myself in the afternoon. Tony made a steady start, car sounded fine, and we monoitored the lap times dropping as he got comfortable in the car, finishing the session with a 1:41 to match my PB at Goodwod and place the car 22nd of 30 on the grid, respectable given the opposition The car came back to the Paddock with the temperature gauge well over 100 degrees, it had only lost a little water so with a few checks and a top up I had little choice but to head out for my session and see how things went. The answer to that was not too well, within 3 laps the water temperature had risen over 90, I think I got one flying lap in with minimal traffic and it was over 100 degrees, quickly folowed by a misfire at higher revs, I came in for a quick drink ( 1.5 Litres) and went out again only to see the session end before I got a flyer. a 1:44 was dissapointing, 24th on the grid.
both races where marred by incidents and red flagged. For Race one Tony had a good start and held off Stirling Moss in Les Gobles Lotus Cortina for the opening half of the Race, once restarted however the syuperior power of the twin cam engine gave Tony little chance of holding on to the place, unfortunately with 3 laps remaining the temperature again rose to boiling point, Tony very unselfishly brought the car in early thus ensuring I got a start aty least on Sunday.
With a change of spark plugs and minor retardation of the timing I headed out on Sunday for Part two of the St MArys trophy with fingers and toes crossed. I was very much aware of the problem and that it was uncurable at the circuit, but hopefully it would hold out for another 20 minutes. I had a great start and took 6 places by Fordwater, but again the superior power of other cars meant I had lost half of them by the end of the first lap, even more frustrating was seeing the cars in front pull away whilst one by one the Lotus Cortina and minis crept passed on the straights. 6 laps in and Red flag again, spinners and spillers caused another stoppage, but the temperature gauge held station at 90 degrees , I got another good start, took 4 or 5 cars, and tried in vain to hang onto Rae Davis MIni only to loose the positions and sight of Rae after 3 or 4 laps, I did however, manage a 1:42 lap despite the lack of power and a slight missfire, and car took the flag in one piece, so it wasn't a lost cause. I have Gordon, Alec and Darren to thanks for helping me keep the car running, and Tony for his consideration in retiring voluntarily rather than killing the engine in Part one. 1 more lap would have given us a classification which is dissapointing but racing throws these challenges up to keep us on our Toes!
Many thanks as always to Justine and Arthur without whos support and encouragement I wouldn't be racing at all
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