Not a good weekend really. Our problems started on Friday when the switch for the tail lift on the truck burnt out in the heavy rain, so we had to resort to touch wires together by hand to operate it.  This was the first time we were going to use the truck at a race meeting, so we knew there were going to be issues related to it, but we weren’t expecting to have such fundamental failures… Oh well, you live and learn, and we can fix it in time for Oulton (which, at the time of writing, is only a few days away!).

At the circuit on the damp Sunday, I qualified in 3rd, missing out on the front row for the first time this year due mainly, I suspect, to traffic on the final two laps when the drying track was at its quickest.  The ever present misfire reared its head again too, although I don’t think it’s costing much more than a tenth per lap (although that is no excuse). We are hopeful of getting the misfire problems sorted out, and we are attempting to discuss the matter with the people that made and mapped the ECU. However, a good race was still on the cards, until the throttle bodies failed for a second time in two meetings, leaving us with no throttle – the throttle shaft that links both throttle bodies together broke up.  Clearly not strong enough, and a new design is in progress. Laughably, the throttle body manufacturer even tried to suggest it was the driver or the track that was causing their product to break. We’ve since offered to let them inspect the installation and the setup of the throttle cable before Oulton Park – although I’ve been triple checking the throttle cable and the pedal stops since Mallory last year.