The VX is giving me highs and lows in equal measure.
I was delighted to take a class win and get near my personal best at Kames on Saturday in Round 2 of the Brockbank Solicitors Northern Speed Championship.
Practice was farily uneventful - a steady 100sec run to start and then into the 98s to warm up. However, the dreaded clunk started in my first timed run but I still managed to chip a bit off. Second timed run was similar - no drama - but the clunk was getting worse.
Third timed run was getting much smoother and I managed to carry more speed through the tricky right hander, 'Norries' and posted a near personal best of 97.57secs. This was easily enough to win the class as my competitors (an Audi Quattro and a Subaru Impreza) were still not under 100 secs. It was also enough to be fastest roadgoing car on the day - beating even David Wiggins in his super wee 205 Rallye who managed to set his personal best of 99.93secs.
Final timed run came and I decided (as usual) to give it everything. This proved to be very exciting as my clunk was now affecting the handling of the car and as it slid through the lefthander after 'Norries', it suddenly clunked and slid round bit further than I expected. After a small excursion onto the grass and an overcorrection back towards the tyre wall, I managed to slam on the brakes and rely on the ABS to get me round the hairpin. Undeterred, I overcooked my entry speed to the paddock bend and managed another slide but kept it under reasonable control. Final time was 98.06secs and I reckon I lost a second or so through my over exhuberance so sub-97 secs is definitely on.
Unfortunately, the clunking had become too distracting and I was worried that something major was about to snap so decided to take the car home to inspect before the Sunday event. As it turned out, I couldn't get the problem sorted so decided to play safe and withdraw from Sunday.
So, the high of a class win (and fastest roadgoing car) followed by the low of not competing on the Sunday.
I still have to solve the problem on the VX and since I am severely financially challenged at the moment, it might take some time.
Watch this space.........
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