Friday morning was bitterly cold, and the team decided to make the mid-morning session which allowed us time to defrost and furthermore this would be a similar time to the race slot for Saturday. Air and track temperature makes a huge difference to the overall feel of the car, and therefore setup and tyre pressures for ideal race pace is key. Breaking out of time bracket for Class B at Redstar meant writing a lengthy letter, buying the committee several drinks and a bucket of KFC as a sweetener for a yellow card (last warning and points penalty) and they allowed me back into Class B. Once we had finished offloading and setting up the car which included covering up a large part of the radiator to get warmth into the engine, it was time for our practice session. Heading out onto the track, I knew this was going to be interesting on an ice-cold surface and thick air which is a magic potion for normal aspirated cars, and I could immediately feel that once the tyres had warmed up and with the extra power it was going to be difficult to keep the car within the 1.13.00 Class B limit.
Needless to say, when we checked the times after practice the car was dipping into the 12’S which is a fantastic time for an 8valve golf but really putting the car into deep waters if bumped up to Class A. Fortunately practice times don’t count and therefore in the Qualifying session, I had to be extremely careful.
Qualifying on Saturday morning went to plan and managed to qualify on a 1.13.003 – which was on the razor edge and 2nd overall on the grid including Class A.
Race 2
Finding myself in Class A, I was now under immense pressure as any mistake from me would see these Turbo cars coming past as they simply had so much more power down the straights leaving me no room for error. Unfortunately race 2 ended in tears as I was nudged in the back by Ehklers in a super quick 20 v Golf in turn 5 which spun me out into the sand trap. I managed to restart the race but had to try settle for a 5th place which also knocked me off the podium sending the Shield Golf me to 4th place overall for the day in Class A.
Current Point Standings
