A wet and windy weekend was ahead and for me it really set the scene on a disastrous weekend opener for the year. We decided to take the caravan up on Saturday to make sure we would bet here on time and there was adequate shelter from the elements.

The first drama started when my Father and I tried to get the car loaded on the trailer, the brakes at the rear were seized on and after some investigation and effort the culprit was identified as the brake bias valve. Teach me to buy cheap, the thing was just jamming shut all the time, after a good ring round to local vendors, Olly at Preptech, Chris Bray and Brown and Gammons we decided we could bridge the pipe and run on  a 50/50 configuration.

Sunday morning (clocks changed making it feel really early) signed on and scrutineered all OK. Qualifying came along, the plan was a few laps getting familiar with the brakes then a few flying laps. After 4 laps the braking was actually easy to master but the car was losing power on the straights when changing from 3rd to 4th at high revs. This then go worse as the rest of Quali continued. Managed to last the 15 minutes and get back to the trailer. Nothing obvious we swapped plugs with the Express my brother had brought up and checked all connections. Driving round the paddock all seems fine but as the problem only appeared under load its a gamble. To top it off I am called to the Clarks office to be told the lap times were too slow and to watch it during the race after I explain the problems.

The race starts and I start really well, the engine seems to be pulling well, then I hit Stebbe Straight and the power drops just as Ray Ferguson’s engine spectacularly lets go in front of me. This time its really hard to get the car pick up as I hit the Start/ Finish straight I pull off and sit at the side of the Armco watching the race play out. After the race is complete I limp back to the trailer, withdraw from race 2 and go home. Lets just hope I can find the problem before Brands!

The photo shows where the car spent most of its time, behind the trailer.