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BRSCC LMA Euro Saloons Championship
in association with
Practical Performance Car
www.LMAeurosaloons.co.uk for the latest news
Pongo’s Tale
Oulton Park 14/04/07
Start of the 2007 season and
Race 1 at the fantastic Oulton Park full circuit. Pongo is fresh from a
major overhaul and yet to turn a wheel in anger, so we are booked in for
Friday testing. As is the way with these things, Plan 'A' (Turn up
Thursday night, set up car, early night in caravan, start fresh Friday
morning..) goes right out of the window after a major underestimate of
the length of time required to get Pongo's Spots back on. Then there's
a quick comedy trailer sketch as the lock won't come off and one of the
tyres is completely flat. Enter Plan 'B' which sees us giving up on the
Thursday night thing and turning up on Friday morning! Miss the first
session, so we take the time to set up the caravan and finish of the
last of Pongo's spots.
Now no longer naked, Pongo
finally makes it onto the Paddock. Out we go with an old set of road
tyres and a 5k rev limit to run in the engine and bed in the brakes.
Other than a few "interesting" moments due to the comedy tyres, Pongo
behaves well. Return to the Paddock with 25 miles on the engine and no
leaks, strange smells, odd noises or clouds of smoke. RESULT !! One
more run to get some more miles on the engine and we're ready to have a
go for a lap time in the final session. Stuff the Yokohama 48s on and
off we go. Pongo gets down into the low 2:12's which we're quite happy
with as it's under our old qually time from the last outing on this
circuit back in 2005. Slower than our fastest lap here, but not too
shabby for a newly rebuilt car.
Back to the paddock and set up
Pongo for Qually. Along with the rest of the LMA guys there on Friday,
we get the signing on done on Friday evening and park Pongo up in the
scrut queue ready for the morning. Early night plan is then knobbled by
going up the bar for "Just the one to be sociable". End up nattering
with John Hammersley, who seems to know everyone whose ever strapped
themselves into a race car, and is thus not short of a story or two!
Back to the caravan for a Horlicks (no, really!!) and a not quite so
early night.
Saturday, 6:15am, Team Pongo
Caravan :- A series of quiet, reluctant grunting sounds herald the
traditional "Switching On Of The Holy Kettle" ceremony. After a coffee
and a disaster involving trying to put a leg into the arm bit of a race
suit, Driver sallies forth to fit the video camera and do the
scrutineering thing. Make the fatal mistake of mentioning the phrase
"complete rebuild" whilst chatting to the Scrut, so he has a damn good
poke about and tries to pull a few things off. Pongo is still behaving
though and refuses to let him find a problem. Join the "No engines
before 8:30" rebels and drive back up the hill to the other end of the
paddock.
Out for Qually at 8:30, which is
just not civilised, but Pongo feels pretty good. We're actually passing
a couple of other cars in an effort to get some space. Bit of a moment
with something red and yellow involving the grass and a driver who
thinks he's in a race, which causes a few expletives to fly, but then
spot the novice cross so decide I can't moan too much. Finally get some
clear space and start going for a good time. Our target is to get into
the 2:10s which would equal our best time here. After a few 2:11s Pongo
finally comes scampering out of Deers Leap to be greeted by the sight
of Eff holding out a 2:10 on the pit board. Still in clear air and just
enough time for one more flying lap. Get a good run through Old Hall
and Cascades but run up to some yellow flags at Shell hairpin, so knock
it off and trundle back to the paddock. Time sheet is delayed due to
the number of cars on the grid not fitting on one page, which is good,
but eventually turns up and we're 29th out of 33 cars, despite sporting
the smallest engine in the field. Steve Pearcy's Rover 220 Turbo is
only 3 tenths in front of us and an Alfa 155 V6 4 tenths behind, so the
potential for a good scrap in the race.
Race time comes round and we're
rescheduled to go out 15 mins early. This turns into a sauna session in
the assembly area as we're all told to get ready, then left sitting in
our cars whilst various bits of Porsche are collected from the track.
Monotony only broken by the chance to give a BTCC driver a good “comedy
horning” as I spotted Simon Blankley wandering about the assembly area.
Finally we head out on our rolling lap. Still not got the hang of this
rolling start malarkey, so make my usual pigs ear of it, come out of
Deers Leap, Steve Pearcy's Rover has gone and there's an Alpha all over
the rear bumper. The whole start went wrong up front too, with Tony
Soper crossing the line with a 2 second gap in front of him!
Spend lap one trying to hold
onto Steve Pearcy's Rover and a Clio Cup car that Steve got past off the
start, but the pair of them are just walking away from us on the
straights. Meanwhile the Alfa is all over Pongo's tailgate and showing
no sign of going away. Lap two is more of the same with the Clio in
front drifting off into the distance. Up Clay Hill and there's Yellow
flags out, a huge cloud of dust hanging over Druids and the back end of
Matt Speakman's Clio is sticking out of the barriers. Alfa man is not
going away either, gets really close on the start finish straight, but
not quite close enough to get Pongo into Old Hall. Half way round lap 3
and he gets along side down the hill into the Knicker Brook chicane,
edges ahead and turns into the chicane in front of Pongo. Pongo and I
decide we're not having this, so stick close to him on the way into
Druids, where Alfa Boy obligingly drifts wide and starts throwing bits
of grass into the air. Slight lift whilst waiting for him to decide if
he's going off or not, but he collects it all back and rejoins at the
exit. Pongo scurries up the inside and we get back in front of the Alfa
into Lodge.
Lap 5 gets a bit messy, just
when I don't need it. Miss a downshift into Cascades and then have a
slight outbraking oneself moment into Knicker Brook chicane. Mr Alfa is
back on the tailgate as the two leaders blast past us into Druids. The
third place guy flys past on the way into Lodge, and the Alfa gets right
on Pongo's bumper again down the start finish straight. Alfa manages to
stay there through the first few corners, and then horsepowers past down
Lakeside. Manage to hang onto him, and get set up for a go at Druids,
but it all goes wrong as Steve Taylor's Lotus Exige rocks up to lap us
just as we encounter a slowing Clio that's having some sort of problem.
We all manage to dance round each other without any contact, but Brother
Alfa is now getting away and has a 2 second gap. Lap 7 sees more of the
leaders lap us, with John Hammersley somehow managing to wave at me as
he goes round Druids!
Onto Lap 8 and Pongo and I are
determined to catch Alfa Boy before the end of the race. Manage to gain
a bit through Cascades, lose a bit down Lakeside then by braking late
enough to scare myself get back on his bumper as we turn into Shell
hairpin. Alfa Boy is having none of it though and pulls away on the
exit. Manage to get back on his bumper through Knicker Brook chicane,
at which point Tony Soper turns up to do some lappery and obligingly
gives me a draft up Clay Hill. Convinced I've got Alfa Boy, I chuck one
up the inside of him, but he turns in on me and a passing manoeuvre
suddenly becomes an accident avoidance manoeuvre with Pongo sliding all
over the place only just staying on the grey bit! After a quick
underwear check, try the same thing next lap and get the door shut on me
again, but quite fairly this time.
Onto the last lap and it's now
or never. Get a great run on the Alfa through Cascades and come out
going quite a bit faster. Convinced I can get him into Shell, then a
lapping Clio Cup Car turns up and it all goes wrong as the Clio does to
Pongo what Pongo was trying to do to the Alfa. Catch him again by the
bottom of Clay Hill and hava another go into Druids. Alfa Boy is wise
to this one by now and defends perfectly, so I tuck Pongo in behind him
for the run down to Lodge having pretty much decided that we're not
going to get him. Lodge arrives and CHRISTMAS!! The Alfa runs wide,
misses the apex by a mile and suddenly Pongo is right on his bumper and
we've got a run going. 100 metres of racetrack left and Pongo slingshots
out from behind the Alfa, but the dream finish is not to be and we only
manage to pass half the Alfa before the line.
Still, a class win in the bag
(due to the other class E guys not turning up!), a very impressive
trophy, a cracking race-long scrap, Pongo still the same shape and just
a slight gearbox oil leak to worry about. All in all, RESULT !!!
Thanks to everyone who came out
to support us, “Uncle Martin” (Purveyor of Fine Engines to the Gentry),
the pregnant C & the nice D, Chris Walsh, and especially Stuart who got
on his motorbike, rode over to Oulton just for our race, then rode back
to Manchester to carry on re-grouting the bathroom! Nice one Stuart!!
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