…. or is it?

July 2012. Our first race. Early days sure. Not exactly running the lap times we are achieving now …. A variety of reasons, lack of testing, uncertainty of our racing future and suitability of Fossa and her preparation …..  finances … We entered the race using the tyres that we bought Fossa on, General 175/70 R13’s. The weekend before we attended our very first run at a Super Trax Day at the Zwartkops raceway. Our times as newbies were around 1:48’s. Race day proved the times in the same range. Being new and after some experience we were regular visitors at the Super Trax Days. Our second race at Midvaal ….. and we finished the season on those Generals. Excluding our racing endeavours we completed more than two hundred laps around Zwartkops on those tyres. Despite that those tyres are still used as backup tyres for our Cortina with approximately 50% life remaining.

December 2012 we wanted to test the semi slick “advantage” and Annalie bought our first set of semi slicks, Yokohama 185/60 13’s. There was definitely a difference and the additional confidence in the semi slicks helped us along to improved lap times. In this year we were also very regular visitors to Super Trax Days. We also competed in all the seasons racing at Zwartkops Raceway, Midvaal Raceway and Kyalami. At the end of our season the Yokohama’s was doubtful for a complete 2014 season and we started looking for replacements.

With finances being an issue we shop around, strangely all we seem to find is a set of Dunlop Durezza ********* 175/60 13’s. Sure, there have been some improvements to our setup. Will that ever be final? Nothing new since our first race. We experience a serious drop in visits to Super Trax Days, mainly due to finances also supposedly reducing wear on our tyres …. We attend all local races with quite a few engine failures early in the season resulting in reduced track time. In July it is very clear that two of the Dunlop’s are at end of life. The other two can only be saved as backup with at the most one race left in them.

Our options ……. ok, option. Replaced the failed Dunlop’s with our used Yokohama’s. We have since raced at an Extreme Festival and our recent race at Zwartkops Raceway bettering our best lap times at both events, now topping 01:26.89. The Yokohama’s are fine for our next race at Kyalami and I feel confident for our planned demo day at Midvaal Raceway late December.

I have had both brands on “should have brought a boat” days and dry days, hot days and cold days. Despite the Yokohama’s being 185’s and the Dunlop’s 175’s, comparing the wear the Dunlop’s should still have lasted the season. With the Yokohama’s being slightly wider it can be expected that the wider surface would aquaplane easier, this is not the case. The traction in the wet offered by the Yokohama’s is very surprising and confidence boosting. Ask any spectator on corners five and six at Zwartkops Raceway if I have been easy on the Yokohama’s or Fossa …… They make a beautiful melody! Sure there is always a chance of a slip up, but that will be be more due to lack of concentration or mechanical failure than the Yokohama’s.

We are now shopping for our next tyres. Yes, we got new Yokohama’s!

Fossa Ford Anglia’s shoes for 2015

Being off on Friday I haul Fossa to the track. Our Cortina’s power being much better, I pull away with confidence at an intersection and the next moment, SNAP, bye bye accelerator cable. Quickly jump out , raise the rpm’s with the idle adjustment screw pull over the intersection and replace the cable.

I arrive at Zwartkops Raceway shortly before 10:00. Of the pit allocated to the Little Giants there are none left. Complete documentation, receive a bottle of Frankies Old Fashioned Cream Soda and take Fossa for scrutineering. I quickly settle in a space next to the pits, unpack and get Fossa to the track. Fossa’s engine feels excellent, brake pedal feels fine but she keeps running forward making it a challenge to slow down. I simply can not guarantee safe stopping and with extreme tin tops running around at breakneck speeds I pull back into my “pit” slot. Wheels off, I start looking for the reasons. Her brake pads look glazed. I remove some of the glazing by rubbing the pads on a paving brick. Fix a loose regulator on her alternator, head down to the track to find the session closed. Call it quits and home for home via motor spares looking for brake pads finding none.

Saturday morning we leave home at five and arrive at Zwartkops Raceway shortly before 06:00. We add a gazebo to make our pit spot cosy and ready Fossa while Annalie makes us some hot coffee. At 07:00 we try to start Fossa and all we get is a spinning starter motor. If it is broken, it is broken, we do not have a spare at the track, run start is the motion. She also struggles to run start as her carburettor is dry and the lever for the accelerator pump is missing. A few manual pumps and we are away.

Slowly at first feeling the brakes. Still not as they should be we run a best time of 1:28.713 landing us in 23 of 27.

Back in our pit, the wheels come off, brake disks are cleaned, pads scuffed again and the system bled …….

Race 1, in front of us, Paul Pereira – BMW700, behind us, Mel Spurr – Ford Anglia. Mentally I am set to try and stay as close to Paul as possible. This could possibly help in finding variations of race lines and help improve our lap times. Being used to Ishmael Baloyi race the Anglia always running way ahead of us, now in the hands of Mel, I am very surprised. Mel is a very accomplished racing driver with many a trophy on her shelf. Me, very surprised and shocked almost. Despite that I am SO FOCUSED on that BMW and also expecting the following Anglia to pass soon after crossing the start line. Things are different from the start though. The tail end is pretty scattered, can not say exactly why. Coming around corner seven Paul suddenly start disappearing and I think, goodbye Paul. Meanwhile Mel and Greg racing a Renault R10 are busy entertaining themselves. I do all I can do race as good as I can and somehow I start hauling in Paul eventually in close quarters for a few laps. Paul is racing like crazy on his threaded tires with his BMW doing strange things in corners.

Fossa Ford Anglia at her happiest

Before we continue, feedback on the brakes. Fossa now has no immediate brakes, I have to give a short pump and then reapply. This takes more time but is perfectly effective is slowing down Fossa a touch.

Fossa with Paul’s BMW700 in her sights

I manage to catch up to Paul where I can consider a passing manoeuvre. I am still seriously lacking the skill of race craft and sit behind Paul sussing out where I can take him, once so concentrating on planning a move coming down to the ninety degree left corner eight I have to hurriedly apply the now practised double brake to avoid t-boning the silver BMW. Shortly after there is some smoke emitted from Paul’s BMW signalling the end of our combat. I cruise to the finish line as quickly as possible with Mel and Greg somewhere behind me. Our best lap, no three at 01:27.75.

In between races we have a few visitors, Jacques Baartman racing an Alfa GT Junior make an offer that will change Fossa’s behaviour. Philip Pritchard arrives with another offer and Johan De Kock with yet another. A collection of which can make a lot of difference. Then there are family of racers and spectators that come to harvest information, the future of Historic Racing in SA looks exceptionally bright, bring on the welding helmets, this is not an eclipse!

Fossa, Mel Spur and Greg ter Wolbreek

Race two find me without my preprogrammed BMW. I seem to often lack the focus in my second races, why I can not yet pin point. Very soon some of the unfortunate non finishers of race one pass me and they are followed by Mel and Greg in close combat. I manage to keep them in sight and at one time feel as if I am catching them. It is purely a fun race just loving lifting a tire on some corners and the scream of rubber on corners five and six. The chequered flag waves without any incidents. Finishing off with our cool down lap, corner six, a engine noise ….. again. I take a very easy trip to our pit. Our best lap, no seven at 01:26.89.

Fossa with Mel in hot pursuit!

Later we run start Fossa again and load her on the trailer. At home I get into Fossa and Annalie and Chris try to run start Fossa every time coming short running into a SOLID Fossa, both of them looking like Shar Pei / Pug mixes chasing a still standing bus.

Well, the engine is out, the number one inlet valve broken off at the slots for the collets. We have three weekends, six days before our next race …… still playing with what to replace. We will be running the birthday present cylinder head given to us by Gary Stacey ………. Cheers!

http://youtu.be/UQhfPcot46A

With one and a half weeks to go, I checked the float in Fossa’s Weber to find one of the floats broken off yet again. Luckily in buying a spare carburettor for our Cortina we have a spare float and it has been fitted. Fossa has passed her start test starting first time. Coming weekend some new oil and filters, the normal pre race checks and a wash.

Fossa Ford Anglia exiting corner eight at Zwartkops Raceway

The cars entered in the Little Giants for 11 October in RED and their classes, the cars in black, possible entries. This is as at 11:20, 01/10/2014.

Class

1959 GSM Dart, 1960 Austin Healey Sprite, 1959 MG MGA, 1968 MG MGB.1964 MGB Roadster, 1964 MG MGB, 1957 D-Type Jaguar, 1960 GSM Dart

Class G

1968 MG MGB, 1964 MG MGB, 1957 Porsche 356, 1957 Alfa Spyder

Class U

1958 Austin A35, 1960 BMW 700, 1961 DKW F11 Junior, 1962 Ford Anglia

Class V

1964 Renault R10, 1965 Mini Cooper S, 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S, 1965 Alfa GT Junior, 1964 Ford Cortina, 1966 Renault R10

Class W

1962 Alfa GT Junior, 1960 Renault Dauphine, 1965 Alfa Giulietta TI

SKF Pre 1966/68 LITTLE Giants Provisional Program,

Qualifying: 07:00

Race 1: 10:10

Race 2: 13:45

Zwartkops Raceway, 11 October 2014, Midas Historic Tour. Trust we will see some of you there!