Well, for starters, no major incidents – both trucks stayed on the “black stuff” and made it home, more or less, safe and well, as, of course, did both the drivers – although, arguably, all racing drivers are a little “funny in the head”, and in that respect there were no changes either!
Saturday started with Qualifying, with Si 3rd in class (1:15.981) and Archie 4th – only 4 seconds behind “dad” in his FIRST EVER truck “race” (or be it against the clock) – in a truck that has not even been on the track in (we think) 5 years – outstanding! 1sr to 3rd being separated by a mere 1.4 seconds.
8 of the 13 trucks had laps disallowed for “exceeding track limits” (often on multiple occasions – in the case of Tom O’Rourke 5 times) – but, to his immense credit, our Archie, was one of the few trucks (5) that kept it clean and fair throughout, with no penalties.
So, Race 1
The qualifying times left Si starting on the grid in 11th and Archie behind him in 13th – remember that there are two Divisions in the BTRC, with the more modified trucks being faster and taking the first grid positions – pushing Division 2 trucks towards the back of the field and into their own race.
Si finished 7th in the race (out of 13 starters) – ahead of 1 of the Division 1 boys; and 2nd in class – a great result for the team, with Archie 1oth and 4th in Class gaining valuable track time and experience in the old Volvo. Archie’s “sideways” style was a great “crowd pleaser” initiating cheers and car horns on every lap, far more than that given to the leaders.
Race 2
The grid for Race 2 is based on the 2nd fastest qualifying time which saw Si start 10th on the grid and Archie start 13th, with the BTCC racer Sam Osbourne and the multiple championship winner Ryan Smith between them.
Si finished 9th overall, and 2nd in class (having led for 3 laps), with Archie 10th and 3rd in class – once again an amazing result for the team, especially considering some of the “championship favourites” failed to even start this race!
Race 3 (Sunday)
Saw the first of the reverse grid races – with the first 8 finishers from race 1 being reversed on the grid for the start of race 3. As Si finished 7th, once reversed, this gave him 2nd place on the grid for race 3 (with Neil Yates on pole), and Archie in 13th.
Once again Si finished 2nd in our Championship (and 8th overall), gaining yet more valuable points over the opposition, but Archie had a minor technical issue (high oil pressure warning) and very sensibly decided to pit the truck during the race to prevent any escalation or possible damage.
Race 4
This was another reverse grid race, with the top 8 finishers from race 2 reversed to make up the grid. Unfortunately, with Si finishing 10th there was no advantage to be gained; starting 9th on the grid for this race with Archie at the back in 13th position.
Once again Si came 2nd in Class (9th overall) with Archie following him home in 3rd place (10th overall) but getting faster all the time. Archie’s fastest lap was now only 3 seconds slower than his dads (1:16.902 vs 1:19.990). Si had to “back off” towards the end of the race with overheating issues, with his lap times dropping by some 3 seconds a lap compared to his best, preferring to finish the race with another 2nd than to not finish at all.
Race 5
Another reverse grid race, and this time a real advantage. The Race 5 grid was composed of the finishing positions from Race 3, with the top 8 reversed. An 8th place finish gave Si and Frankie pole position for the last race of the weekend – with Archie in 11th place on the grid.
With the previous overheating issues returning, Si managed to bring Frankie home in 3rd place (10th overall) with Archie 4th in Class and 11th overall.
What a weekend with Si finishing all 5 races and Archie 4 – on his first Truck Racing weekend, both Simon and Archie were presented with Cups for their performance over the weekend – 2nd and 3rd (at his first truck racing meeting) respectively and once the championship points were added up on the back of another envelope – Simon and Frankie are now leading the Championship in their class – a great result after a lot of hard driving and hard work by the team.
So, what now?
Well Frankie (no. 41) needs a rest and is a bit “thirsty” (just like Simon!) needing more water (she’s not quite as partial to Fosters as Simon though) to sort the overheating issues, so bigger water tanks and a revised pressurized water system is being fitted to her before the next race (we had a tank “fail” at Brands Hatch at the first meeting). Along with a bit of a tweak here and there and a good service of the brakes etc. The turbo is a little worn, so she may get a new one of those if she’s lucky and the piggy bank allows.
Archie’s No 40 needs a little bit more work – when loading we found that a spring had broken, so that needs replacing, and we want to change the suspension set up following some discussions with other teams. This truck also needs work on the water cooling too, which is only fitted to the front brakes at present and needs expanding to other areas of the truck. Along with a bit of a tweak here and there and a good service of the brakes etc.
So, onwards and upwards – 3rd weekend of the championship at Thruxton in a few weeks….
THANK YOU to ALL our wonderful sponsors; to the businesses who help us out in kind, or with cash (although we accept cheques too of course!), we could NOT do this without you ALL – no matter how big or small your help – this team of family and friends could not do this without YOU. YOU made it possible for Simon, and now Archie, and put father and son on the track as much as the rest of this family and friends based team. THANK YOU. (but we always need more help of course)
Come and see us all, cheer on Archie and Simon and “THINK PINK” at the Circuit if you can – we are always happy to chat and show you our race trucks – unless we are repairing them of course, in which case best to give us some space to work safely.
If you cannot visit the track, then remember to check out the “BARC” live feed on YouTube – or of course on “catch up” later.
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