Following on from Redstar and the Incident at Zwartkops we managed to get a 2nd and overall for the day in class with Shield MPC Golf Midvaal.
Qualifying was a challenge as I only got the car back on Friday late afternoon as a result of the accident at Zwartkops in 111, which I must say, made for good brand exposure on Ignition. Never helped with getting the car totally setup and on the rails for Midvaal as I had to redo the setup and dial the car, which was all a bit of a hit and miss. Unfortunately, this meant I only managed to qualify 3rd in class as the car was just all over the place. Heat 1 with minor adjustments saw me running up front and got into 2nd position quickly, but this setup never gave me the edge and confidence to get to the front of class – the back was loose and snappy (something we only figured out at the end of the day).
The Turbo cars have a bit of an edge when it comes to pure straight line speed — this seriously comes into play down the long back straight at Midvaal. Having to drive the car on the edge around the back-end of the circuit to try catch up position and then only to get blown away and passed down the straight after all that hard work is disheartening. What I need to keep reminding myself is that the Shield Golf is normally aspirated 8V and these guys with the Turbos should be humbled and nervous that we are taking podium places in a car that is normally aspirated.
Heat 2 was action packed and with the setup of the car feeling better after doing the back alignment during the heat, which is not an easy job at the track, but something that we were hoping was going to sort out the handling to get us the front. Heat two eeeeeish after all that work we were no faster and hung on for life to finish second overall. In discussion with the local Gurus the penny dropped, we never adjusted the droop straps … this would have taken all of a few minutes to sort out the car.
ALL IN ALL, A GREAT DAYS RACING.
Big Thanks to the SHIELD TEAM for the support.
Written by: Wayne Lebotschy
