Race report – 27 Nov 2011
Round 2, Pukekohe
A near perfect day for ACES+ with dry, warm weather (no turbos or worries abou that extra pony cold
air gives in our field) and a load of rubber left on the surface at Puke from the drift nationals
held on Saturday. Sadly there were no Alfa Romeo's to play with either – and they were missed by
some – but that does not mean the track was a lonely place. Far from it as it turned out.
There was a grid of 7 Players ranging from Steve's Lotus in the 'fancy pants & shiny paint'
division to Torry's MK3 in the 'fancy a ride luv?' class all rady to do battle for nothing other
than the sheer pleasure of playing with our toys. Actually I wasn't even there. I tore a suspension
strut out of my Starlet on the Wednesday prior at the MIT open day racing with Honda's. All down to
me. Nobody to blame. Not even Daniel for putting the left wheel on. Because the wheel was not the
problem. And then some children I have got sick and... well
you get the picture.
The slow saloons were put into the mix as per last week and thats all good – even though they can
play a little rough at times theres plenty of room (usually) for them as well as ACES+. But sadly
that was not enough cars either so the fast saloons were put in also taking the starting grid to
15. Two Players have supplied the following (edited) comments:
"ACES+ were in with slow saloons/fast saloons and even a few V8 race cars were added to the mix.
Fastest car on track was lapping at 1:02 - slowest 1:32, which made for some 'interesting' racing
and the odd scary moment. Daniel shaved a good 3 seconds off last months times (and maybe some
weight off his car?) and Torry did a great job taking up most of the track. I think a few of the
fast saloon drivers have a new respect for MK3 Zephyrs. Brett had none of the problems of last
month with consistent times and results. Nigel was also consistent all day.
Great day and a lot of fun. Shame we have to wait untill March for next meeting.
The biggest surprise of the day was being grouped with the fast saloons. Our slower cars were being
lapped every three laps! Driving your own race and working on consistent lap times becomes a
secondary priority deferring to safety, as the much faster cars loom large in the mirror.
When the fast saloons have finished their eight laps, we have only done five, which seems a little
unfair both cost-wise and race-wise. Steve Elliot and Darren Utting battled it out in the Lotus and
the Renault. The second outing was a bit dramatic as one of the faster cars crashed at the end of
the straight causing a red flag. Sitting on the grid in the hot sun waiting for it to be cleared
was hard work but at least most of us have air con!
The debrief after each outing was a very social event, which included some learning and the usual
discussion about tactics. Or was that a discussion about coffee? There was no damage to any
ACES+ cars so - we look forward to meeting again soon.
Thanks to everyone who inputted info and thanks to the Payers for being there and Quentin as always
for making sure it all runs well.
We are not far away from making up our own grid – hopefully more players will come along next year.
Until then... keep your noses clean and your powder dry.
Tony
