WINNERS OF THE 2003 BEST NEWCOMERS TROPHY AT THE 12 HOUR!!

 12 HOUR Race Report

By Mole

After weeks of preparation for our first 12hour race, the day to pack all of our gear and drive the 2 hours in convoy to Brinsbury Campus had come.

We were down to "help" on Thursday 9-1, so there we were 8:45am at the College being told we were supposed to be there Monday, not Thursday! We asked if we could run our new engine in, which had arrived the night before! We were told we'd be able to in the corner of the field later that day, excellent we thought We did our bit, and put all of the straw bales out around the track. And it was a rather BIG one! After we had finished, we had a spot of lunch and a chat to Sean about what he thought was going to break on the mower - filling us with confidence!!
We then got the mower ready, Colin's instructions in hand, and asked where to go to run it in. It then turned out we were not allowed to run it in.
So, mower back in trailer, gear back in the cars, and convoy back to Kent. 2 hours later we were at our local "testing field" and running the new engine in. 4 oil changes later we were back at home.

So, the next day we tried again. Another 2 hour convoy from Kent to Pulborough to set the pits up. We arrived, found our pit area and unpacked our Pavilion. Up it went, along with the lights, table, chairs, tools - lots of tools, generators, welders, metal, nuts & bolts, and the mower. A few hours later it was looking like a pit should look and we decided to go and have a chat with the regulars.



After a few beers and a chat, we decided to have some time trials around the track on the PW50 we had bought along.... 2:45, 2:42, 2:39, 2:37, then the forklift got parked across the track - looks like we upset a few people so we gave it a rest! After a few more beers we decided to hit the sack.

The morning came, the breakfast was eaten and today was race day!!
We had a tinker with the mower in the morning and made sure it was ready for the race. The only thing not ready were the number plates! We had ordered some new ones from Ron Gray and he hadn’t turned up yet!

We then went to Scruitineering with Helmet and Fire Extinguisher in hand.
"Pass, Pass, Pass, where are your numbers?" Ron Gray still hadn't turned up so they allowed us to pass but had to show them the numbers before being allowed on for practice. Hurray! Ron turned up and we had our number plates, 10minutes later they were on and it was almost practice time!



We had a think about what pulley we thought would be best for the track, and after last night on the PW, decided we'd need a big one 'cos those straights are LONG! And to be honest, there weren't many twisties on this track. We had a 95 on there from running in, so we thought we'd try that out there. Out we went and yes, it needed to go bigger! So after practice session was over, in we came and on went the 105 pulley and new belt from Ron. Only problem was the engine wouldn't move backwards anymore to adjust the belt, so a bit of tinkering got it set up right. Just in time for next practice! That was more like it, it was performing brilliantly, and although we didn’t push it out there, we managed to get 14th on the grid, which we were happy with.

Now it was time to wait! We checked the mower one last time and then it was drivers briefing!

Whilst waiting for the start of the race, along went a tractor watering the track! Slippery? Yes!!

Then it was time for the parade lap, Dean went out for this and had BIG trouble going slow enough, half the time the clutch was down, and the other half it was half down, not ideal. Coming down the straight parallel with the pit straight he stalled it, so out I ran, along with somebody else - thanks whoever you were! - to give him a pull. Now it was time for lining up for the start. This was spent sitting with the clutch down which wasn't very helpful.



Mower in place, 3 of us over the other side of the track ready to run, and 8pm was nearly here!!
8pm and the flag dropped. Ran in to a few people as we crossed paths - doh - and got the to mower, with Dean half on it. Gave it a few pulls but it didn’t want to start, so me and Dean's Dad gave it a good ol' push down the straight, the clutch was dropped and she chugged in to life!



So Dean was out there for his 40minutes and it was very slippery after they watered it. A bit of sideways action was had I'm told!
We made a quick sign up asking Dean to turn the lights on just to make sure they were working ok, they were!

So 8:40pm arrived and I had my helmet and gloves on ready for the first pit in... petrol in, numbers cleaned, and on I jumped.
It was pretty slippery out there but I was absolutely loving it!! What felt like 40mins later, I checked the clock, and I had been on it for just 20mins!! It had started to get dark by now and I was told to turn my lights on. Only problem was, they were very dim - we had a problem!
So I pitted in after my 40mins and we sorted the lighting problem - well they were marginally brighter anyway

While Steve was out we checked the results, I think we were 9th!! (that right Deano?)
Steve then came flying into the pits with one light missing, so we had to get the another one working (a quick flick of a switch - not sure why he didn’t do it). We never did get the full story out of him about the light!
After Steve had been out for about 38mins we decided to call him in, he never looked over so missed it. Another lap and we tried again, this time he saw. Next lap he drove straight past us, so we told him to do another lap. Next lap he eventually pitted in!

Dean then went out again....

Sometime during the night, the brake cable snapped, so an unexpected pit in followed. We needed to get the seat off for access to the brakes. Not an easy task when one of the bolts won't come un done. So the angle grinder came out and off came the seat.
A quick re-route of the cable and a quick snip of the outer sleeve, and the brakes looked like they might just work again. Seat back on and out we went. They hardly worked! But enough to stop you from flying straight on into a bale, but still ended up cornering at silly speeds! They then slowly started to work.... which was good.

After the brake problem we checked the results and we were now 25th which was a shame because we were doing so well!

By my next stint, it was very dark! And with no lighting at the far right corner, and no lighting on the mower (well not that actually helped you see!) it was very scary, as I aimed for the flashing amber beacon marking the big round bale, and then for the next, and then the next, hoping not to hit them! Next lap I followed a Group 4 into the bend, and followed his rear lights, excellent!! He wasn't far off my pace, although at times I did feel like overtaking him, I followed him for a few laps so I could see round the tricky, dark corners. I then overtook him, as he started to slow down, and followed a Grp3, which was going allot quicker, this brought my pace up, which was handy!

The rest is a bit of a blur, as by then I was tired, and it was a week ago now! I think I came in with a Puncture, which was replaced pretty quickly, and we lost a lap or maybe two. A few laps later, I had another puncture, so on went the repaired rim. And on went Steve for his next stint.

Sometime during the night we had 3 steering failures. The first was when the pin holding the UJ on to the vertical shaft coming up from the steering fell out, so we replaced it with a nut and bolt and all was well - for 4 laps. Dean then pitted back in, and it was time for the welder to come out. A few minutes later it was welded and out he went.
Sometime later there I was, on the fastest straight of the circuit, at an estimated speed of 50mph, and the steering went. The mower slowly veering to the right towards a big round bale, and a few smaller bales, along with a few metal spikes and orange fencing. Luckily, although I hit the bales at quite a speed, I just came to an abrupt stop, no injuries. We carried the mower (yes its very very heavy after a few stints) back to the pits, and luckily (??) all that was wrong was a missing nut from one of the track rods. So that was quickly sorted and I was back out never having been so scared in my life!!

As the night progressed we checked the results on the laptop and we were slowly moving up from 25th after the brake problem (which lost us half an hour ) We moved to 24th, to 23rd... and I think we were stuck in 19th for a few hours.
During the night we had about 6 more punctures, all the same wheel. This did lose us quite a bit of time, and in the end we borrowed a wheel from the MG boys - thanks!.

About 6am Steve pitted in saying the brakes were gone again - not the cable this time - the pads had worn down and needed adjusting! 5mins later they were adjusted - from the underneath so we didn’t need to remove the seat. They were now SO SO good, and a little tap on the pedal meant the wheels were locked!

Along came 7am, and me and Dean decided to share the last hour.
Dean went out and looked pretty quick, trying to make up a few laps just to gain us a position maybe....7:30am was approaching and I really didn’t want to go back out, I was in Pain and needed to sleep! I quickly checked the results on the laptop, and we were 18th at 7:30am!! Then he pitted in.

The pit Crew were asleep as was Steve, which meant we were left with Deans little brother, Roberts daughter and Me - deans brother was quickly put on Extinguisher duty and there we were doing our own petrol and checking our oil! I jumped on and decided to try and gain a couple of laps if I could, without pushing too hard. The brakes allowed me to keep my speed up until the very last moment, and I felt as if I was going quite quickly now!! I think the last half hour was the most enjoyable Stint I did, except for maybe the first stint I did.

I passed the clock at 7:20, and what felt like forever later, the clock read 7:21... and then 7:22... I couldn't wait for it to end now, I was starting to hurt again on every bump I hit! The crowds then started gathering around the control tower, and it was nearly time!! As I passed through the chequered flag, and everybody clapped, I was a tad happy and aimed for the pits as quickly as I could!

I feel we did excellent to come 17th on our first 12hour, after just 3months of racing lawnmowers! We now know what to do for next year and hope to improve on our 17th position. Cannot wait!!

Whos Racing
Best Newcomers 2003!!!