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We only have one race car at the moment as the Beetle is still in bits, so I loaned the Vento to Martyn for the weekend.
We travelled to the circuit Friday midday with Martyn towing the Vento and picking up his son Aaron from school on the way. The pit area was getting busy so
we quickly set up our awnings and parked the camper. We also reserved space for Paul Taylor next to us as he would be arriving later in the evening. Having time on
our hands we washed the Vento to remove the travel grime and then put on its cover for the night.
Saturday qualifying was not until about 5pm so I polished the Vento to stop getting bored. After that it was a bit of wandering about chatting to people and watching
the Singapore F1 qualifying on TV. As qualifying time approached it was time to prepare the car by filling with fuel and setting the slick tyre pressures. The sky started
to look a bit menacing so we also set the wet tyre pressures and loaded ours and Paul’s tyres onto the mobile tyre rack. Pete Cooper, who helps us and Paul at the track,
and I pushed the loaded tyre rack (8 wheels, 2 jacks, nut guns and various tools) up the hill out of the pits, through the tunnel and to the pit lane. We were both
knackered by the time we got there, we need a quad bike like others use!
During qualifying Martyn found the Vento quite a different beast to drive after the Beetle. The new LSD fitted over the winter and the extra power gave the
car torque steer. I must be too slow a driver as I had not really noticed it. Being lighter than the Beetle it turned in quicker and braking could be later.
Martyn qualified 7th but felt that he was still learning the car and there was certainly time to be gained. Pete and I pushed the wheel rack back again but
the exit tunnel has even steeper slopes than the entry tunnel. I am putting a tow bar on it as somebody offered to tow it back for us.
Race 1 stayed dry although Pete and I pushed the wheel rack to the pit lane again as it looked marginal whether it would rain. Bad luck seems to follow us.
On the first corner, Paddock Bend at the start of the race, after making a good start Martyn got hit in the offside rear corner by Tony Gilham who it turned
out had been hit by somebody else. Tony backed out of it but it was enough to cause the back end of the Vento to go light, lose grip and spin across the track.
It was then hit in the front nearside corner smashing the headlight, bending the wing and ripping the front bumper before ending up in the gravel on the outside of the track.
During the interval between the races it was a case of Martyn beating out the wing, gaffer taping the bumper back together and making a makeshift headlight from a transparent
food container which actually worked. I meanwhile spent my time trying to get as much of the gravel out of the car as possible, paying particular attention to the grooved drive
belt pulleys and other moving parts. We also had to fit new slick front tyres as they had been damaged as well. The car was just about finished when it started to rain and as
it showed no sign of stopping we fitted the wet tyres. At least I have two new tyres for the last race of the season at Donnington.
Race 2 at least we did not have to push the wheel rack again, it was very wet and looked like it was staying that way. Martyn had to start at the very back of the grid in 24th.
There was two green flag laps as the conditions had changed from the morning race. Martyn started gently waiting for the opening accidents to happen and then he started picking
the others off one at a time. He caught up with Snaylem who although going slower was able to prevent Martyn from overtaking for quite a few laps. Weaving to prevent overtaking
is not allowed. A defensive driving line changes of one direction only is allowed but not always enforced. Martyn managed to get past but by this time there was no time to
progress any further, finishing just 0.4 seconds behind the Herbie Beetle of Steve Chaplin. It was an excellent drive by Martyn eventually finishing 7th.
Next meeting will be on the 16th and 17th October at Donnington when I will be slowing the Vento down again.
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