After a long drive and a trip across the water Mondello was in
our sights. We arrived early Thursday morning and with the local
weather an easy 25 there was more sun bathing than anything else.
We were all tired, some more than others, but were all buzzing
with the weekend ahead. The Truck with its new colours and a new
sponsor on board was looking very nice. There were only a few things
to do before the practice...
Practice: Everyne was raring to go for the first session, eager
to learn the track and to try new setups. For the those of you who
are unfamiliar with the track I would describe it as Knockill. Very
twisty with some slow and fast corners thrown in not to mention
how narrow some of the straights are. I was thinking to myself how
important it was to finish both races and try to at least maintain
the gap between me and Steve Dance (second in the championship).
After about ten laps we called the practice a day ending up 4th.
The car was good with very little for Poodles to change. Sveral
drivers found thier limit and the gravel! For the record 21 cars
attended the meeting which I think is fantastic for Pickups - Well
done by SHP.
Race 1: We started 20th on the grid due to reverse championship
positions so I knew not only did I have to make up some places I
also had to avoid any incidents that may occur in front. After a
pace lap race one was underway everyone took it easy through the
first bend and with all trucks still intact. At the end of lap one
we made up a few places but this was hard with the heat and everyone
on pace a finish would be good. After several laps and a few more
places gained we were up on the leading bunch. Pete Stevens in the
Sertec truck was at the helm with Willis, Heath,and Carr in close
contention. With about 4 laps remaining I was all over Simon Carr
who was struggling with underteer but no matter what I tried he
just drove a defensive line and I just had to wait. With 2 laps
to go I made a move on Simon which I pulled off and we were up to
4th The race finished Pete Stevens, Mark Willis, Martin Heath, me,
Simon Carr, and Steve Dance - so not a bad job.
Race 2: With a starting position of 10th the whole team were upbeat
- what with all the cars we had passed in race one we were looking
good. Previous race winner and podium finishers were starting behind
us with the reverse grid formation so no probs... On lap one I held
my ground not to get to over confident and just tried to bide my
time. At the start of lap 2 on the run down towards the first corner
I could see Steve Dobbs out of shape by the time I got to him he
had sorted the truck out, but on the entry to the next corner (a
short sweeping flat out 2nd gear corner) he got 2 wheels on the
grass causing him to lose control. As a true racer I kept my foot
in hoping to get passed him before the inevitable happened. His
truck gripped and shot across the track collecting me and sending
us both into the Armco. At this point I was a passenger and just
before impact closed my eyes but to my surprise when I opened them
he was gone. The truck, I thought, must have been bad - the screen
was smashed but I selected first gear and off we went again leaving
the smell of burnt grass behind. Once back on track and cursing
myself silly, a safety car was called. This enabled me to catch
the lead pack of about 14 cars. The car felt good despite the earlier
impact but I now realised that we just had to finish this race and
we couldn’t afford a dnf. On the restart we passed a few cars but
the whole time the leading pack of Briggs Willis, Dance and Wilko
were getting away. Car by car and lap by lap I picked off my fellow
competitors 'til I was 5th about 7 seconds behind the lead pack
and with 4 laps to go. I knew I was lucky to even be there so at
this point I was happy and to catch them would have been hard without
a safety car.
The positions stayed the same till the flag and Dave Briggs had
himself a well earned victory. After the race I got a chance to
see the car and it was pretty bad, the bumper was in two pieces,
both wings were broken, the screen was ruined and the back wheel
buckled.
My crew were happy with the result and even happier that we set
the fastest lap time in the race despite the damage. See Poodles
- I told u we needed 4 degrees camber on the front outside ha ha!!
It was my first time to mondello as it was for many drivers this
weekend, but I would certainly love to go back next year, I know
the boys really enjoyed them selves as for the championship it stays
the same with Steve Dance 15 points behind.
Thank you all those who helped make this weekend happen and heads
down lets get the job at done at Rockingham - Gav #54
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