News - Modified Production Number 8
First Race Meeting - 28th October, 2006.
We had to start from the rear of the field for the night seeing as this is our first night in a new class.
I almost didn't make the first heat after being pulled up on the track for not having my gloves on. They were in the car, but got forgotten about with the nervousness of facing the first heat along with a last minute rush to make the gate having not enough air in the tyres and the engine not running quite right. In the first heat there was a mis-fire in the engine which turned out to be a fuel-fowled sparkplug. I still managed to come from the rear up to fifth which was good to see the car moving forward in the field in it's first race.
We changed spark plugs for the second heat and the car was much better, but the accelerator was sticking. Going into turn one the accelerator stuck on full throttle and I had to jump on the brakes hard, while trying to hit the switch to kill the engine. I then had to watch the second heat from the infield.
The third heat saw all the bugs starting to be ironed out, but the track was getting rougher by the race. After again starting rear of field, I fought my way through the field slowly to find myself challenging Wayne Miles for third on the line, but had to (happily) settle for fourth.
For the feature race the car was strong, and I managed to work my way up to 10th before popping a steer tyre on one of the many major ruts on the track. We joined Trappy on the infield (out with electrical problems) to watch the rest of the feature race, and to see Shane Macdonald finish a very strong third.
Overall, the car was stronger than expected, and it will just take time to get used to the new class, the faster, stronger competition, and the overall setup of the new car. We are looking forward to hitting the track again soon.