After the excellent performances at Hockenheim we were all looking forward to the Eurofinals. Friday was scheduled for the usual pre race checks and warm up ready for running over the weekend.
Bob had made a few changes to the fuel management system and clutch after Hockenheim and everything was working OK.
Jumping forward to Sunday evening, to come away from a meeting having made 3 runs in the low to mid fives we would have been reasonably happy. However the times and speeds don’t always tell the whole story!
The first run on Saturday was going pretty well until just before half track when a chute popped out, John still going through the 1/8th at over 200mph and a 5.58 secs at 240mph at the stripe. While Gordon in the other lane took out the top end timing reflectors.
First sign that all was not well was when the pan was dropped to reveal aluminium shavings in the oil. The Brad V8 had only got pistons in 7 of its cylinders. Miraculously there was no damage to the crank but slight damage to the head around the affected cylinder.
Second run had John through the 1/8th in 3.5secs at 230mph then a fire erupted as he went through the lights. Fire crew were quickly on the scene (thank you and well done guys) but John had got off the track and was out of the car A-OK – a different story with the car.
The fire was due to throwing 2 rods. The block was in a sorry state with 2 holes in 1 side and 1 rod sticking out of the other. The fire had also virtually destroyed all the wiring and air lines on the car, even starting to melt the inside wall of the left front tyre. There was also charring around the wheel arch.
Putting in the spare motor is a fairly routine operation, the rest not so. The car had to be virtually rebuilt. The crew deserve immense credit and thanks for their efforts in this respect; it was almost 2 a.m. before they called it a night. There were still a few small jobs to finish off when they came back a few hours later.
Sundays run again started well, going through the 1/8th in 3.48 secs at 234mph, then flames from the car again through the top end. John and fire crews into action.
The head gaskets had blown on the 2 rear cylinders. Looking at the computer data from that run the blower stopped working after approx 3.2 seconds, the blower drive had sheared.
The decision made itself really; we didn’t have the time or spares to get the car ready for another run, so that was the end of our 2010 racing season
Thank you to all our sponsors for their support this year, the crew for their continued dedication, the fans for cheering us on and last but not least all the track crews and officials for making the racing possible.
The Showtime FC will be making 1 more appearance this year, courtesy of David Lloyd-Jones and Santa Pod Raceway, it will be on their stand at the Classic Car Show at the NEC November 12th –14th
Thank you again for all your support – see you in 2011