CSMCC Round 5 Race Report
After the car had some heavy damage after the last round, it was decided to rebrand the car and make it unmissable! After a good days testing on the Saturday it was time to peel off all the old vinyl and get to work getting the new wrap on the car!
I think we can all agree that the car looked the part now! Thanks to Victor at Minimax Motorsport for putting in a mega effort to getting the car to look mega!
Raceday! Let’s see if the car wrap brings some luck!
Qualifying
P5! An interrupted session due to a red flag means we made the most of a bad situation!
Race 1
Not the best race but defiantly not the worst, I think I spent more time bouncing off cars and playing in the gravel than I did than the track! Finished 7th in the end and top newcomer.
Disaster. The guy’s at Minimax Motorsport noticed that after all the contact that the steering rack had sheared, and it was last minute rush to get car fixed to make sure we made it out for the 2nd race. After a mega effort from the guys and some stalling we made it to the holding area with about 2 minutes to spare! However, all was not well with the car! In the mad rush to get the car out, the power steering had failed. It was time to roll up the sleeves and work those non-existent muscles I have!
Race 2
Rolling around in the green flag I knew I was in for the long-haul. Finished P8. Considering the circumstances to only lose one position and still take the newcomer win after a long battle with Craig Blake Racing was a result. Fair to say I enjoyed getting out the car after that one and I think it’s time to hit the gym… that was tough!
Race 3
So the final race of the day, the car was now all repaired and ready to go! The goal was to stay out of the chaos and just work me through the field but again… the car had other ideas. Again, on the green flag the gearbox started to jump out of 2nd This was going to be fun. After the chaos of the first lap and after the safety car restart I found myself battling with Fiona Kindness and Ian Munro, I managed a good run out the hairpin and got the pair them around the outside of Duffus. The hunt was now on for third. With 4 laps to go I set my sights on Ashleigh Morris Racing and started to chase her down. With two laps to go I made my move into the hairpin and Ian followed me through. Into the hairpin we went, and the gearbox problems came to haunt us and Ian just snatched third away from me on the line, Less than a tenth separated us! Gutted.
A weekend of ifs and buts but we still took 3 newcomer wins which see us stretch our lead to 43 points, so it can potently be wrapped up at the next round! We stay 4th in the overall championship so considering the issues we had, we still managed a decent haul of points.
With the reverse direction next and 6 races to go, it’s just about to get tasty.
I think it goes without saying a big thanks to the guys at Minimax Motorsport for the mammoth efforts at the weekend, I think there wasn’t a single mechanic without a burn mark as they did all they could get the car ready!
Big thanks again to my sponsors, with 6 to go let’s get you some well-deserved pots!
- TB Mackay
- Summer Isle View
- Dec-o-Rate Ltd
Photos by RJM Autosport and Samantha Paterson Photography
Banner image by Samantha Paterson Photography