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Team
Dynamic Champion Series Round2 Mallala
3
Formula Fords,19 Formula Vees and 4 Clubman Sports Cars
were combined to make up a field of 26 open race cars which
lined up for the 5
race program.
Race
1 - Samantha Reid started second on the grid in her Toshiba Mobile
Computers 95 RAY Formula Ford next to Graham Knuckey in his newly rebuilt
2001 Van Diemen. Both drivers were slower off the start
than second row starter Keith Williamson in his Farrell Clubman. Williamson
led for the first 2 laps until gearbox trouble ended his race.
Knuckey inherited the lead but was soon overtaken by Samantha in
the short 5 lap race. This was Samantha's first race win in
Formula ford.
Race
2 - Samantha on pole started poorly and
fell back to third behind Andrew Ford in his Mallock U2. Knuckey
extended his lead while Samantha looked for a way past Ford.
After a successful passing manoeuvre in the third lap, little
race time was left to reign in Knuckey's lead. Samantha
reduced the gap and finished with the fastest lap time 1:15.08, not
bad considering the cold track conditions.
Race
3 - Again a poor start left Samantha in third behind Ford. She
eventually got
passed him but showed little of the previous days
pace and failed to gain on Knuckey. Lack of drive out of corners
and poor starts indicated possible clutch problems. After a number
of practice starts down the back blocks of Mallala, Samantha
prepared for the fourth
race knowing that the clutch may well get worse and that just
finishing may be
an effort.
Race
4 A poor start followed by very little drive out of the Southern
hairpin set the pattern for this race. Samantha waved the whole
field through and was eventually lapped by Knuckey. Finishing
was the only motivation to get some points in the series. Fixing
the clutch was really the only option if Samantha was to compete
in race 5.
To
change the clutch requires effectively splitting the car in
half. The rear wheels, transmission and exhaust system need to
be separated from the engine. The rear brake line, the gear
shift and the clutch cable need to be disconnected. The car
literally looks severed with all this removed. The clutch
plate had worn thin and needed replacement, the pressure
plate looked ok. Not having a spare clutch plate meant
arranging for one to come from Adelaide. After a few
frantic phone calls a "used" clutch plate that
"hopefully" would be the right size was on its' way. With less than 40 minutes to the
next race the "used" plate arrived and it seemed to fit ok.
It was all hands on deck to get the car back in one piece,
bleed brakes, adjust the clutch cable and safety
check. All done in less than 2 hours after race 4.
Race
5 Samantha had to start rear of field due to her race 4
result. Getting off the mark quickly doesn't really matter
so much when you are surrounded by Formula Vees. Picking your
way through them safely is more important. By the time she got
to the Southern hairpin she was half way there. During the
second lap she had passed the all of the Vees and she set out to
round up the Clubmans. Knuckey was having a battle with Ford
and Williamson at the front of the field and not able to
make a break away. Drew Milne in his 91 Van Diemen was
dicing with Jim Doig in his Asp Clubman. Samantha sailed passed
them with little delay and chased down Robert Smith in his
Westfield Clubman to get up to third place. Andrew Ford's
Clubman overshot a corner and dropped back to sixth whilst Williamson's
Clubman broke a front upright and speared into a sand trap
leaving Samantha in second place and closing, well in sight
of Knuckey at the finish of 8 laps.
The
1600 Formula Vees had some very close racing with Mark Foster,
Asher Johnston and Daniel Smith dominating all day. Mark Foster
came out on top in his newly converted NG Eflin, with Asher
Johnston finishing a close second and Daniel Smith third. Grant
Ironside continued to improve doing a personal best lap time and
proving that it won't be long until he is up there mixing it
with the leaders. Previous Formula Vee 1200 front runner Tom
Drewer stepped into a 1600 for the weekend and adjusted well,
improving on lap times in every session.
In
the 1200 Formula Vees it was a battle between Rob Surman, John
Hall and Scott Wythe, Surman coming out on top winning three of
the five races whilst John Hall finished with two. Scott Wythe
always the brides maid never the bride.
Both
Samantha and Graham Knuckey broke into the 1:14 second bracket.
At 1:14.9 both teams are very pleased with the results.
Knuckey's new car just got faster and faster as the weekend
went on, an encouraging sign for Knuckey Racing.
Samantha
and BMS Motorsport are very grateful for the assistance in getting her car back
together. A joint effort by many made light work of a difficult
situation. A special mention to Aidan, Darryl and Pfitzy.
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