The glamour of International Motorsport ... delayed by easyJet out of Faro, so missed the last Gatwick Express to London, now on the 0205 'shunter' to Victoria. Not going to be getting a lot of sleep tonight as I need to be in the office quite early!
Oh, you'll be wanting to know how it all played out ...
Team Bond worked late into the night but got the engine change completed into Andrew Tart's car.
Iain and the boys finished on my car at about 2100, and got Duncan Rabagliati's Alexis sorted too.
I'd left the circuit about 1930 having accepted one of the last possible lifts to get me to the FJ dinner in Lagos. That was a jolly affair, about 60 of us, a very multinational crowd, very enjoyable. As were the caipirinhas on the balcony of the hotel bar until the early hours. Definitely the oddball highlight of the later hours was chatting to 1977 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Jurgen Barth about doing business in China!
I suppose you still want to hear about the motor racing do you ...?
When we fired up my car to warm it up about an hour before the start it poured water from the overflow ... Uh, oh! It was frothy water ... This is a concern; has the gasket change not done the trick? Rapid investigations were made, the water had been overfilled, and the replacement radiator cap wasn't seating properly, Martin and Josh delved into the wheelie bin to retrieve the one they had replaced! We fired it up again. It warmed gently, without 'leaking' and without froth... Ok.
Then it started to rain .... Quite a bit! Enough to fully soak the track, and too late for it to dry even if the sun came out again. So we pump up the tyres, release the rear anti-roll bar, and soften the shock absorbers all way round. I haven't driven my car in the rain for sometime, and frankly it's dreadful! I had not driven any other FJs in the rain, nor has anyone else driven mine, so I don't know if it really is worse than everyone else's or not, but I wasn't too bad at driving the TR is wet races, whereas this makes me look very 'average'!
I only need to run 3 laps to be classified, in fact even 2 might do! So still concerned about the engine I elect to miss the two out laps (there's an extra one as it has rained, and we've not been out on track in the rain so far), and the green flag lap. In case I only get 3 laps before the temperature gauge goes off the scale, I might as well run laps that'll count - so I elect to start from the pitlane - dead last. The other benefit of this is that'll I should miss any first lap incidents should they occur in these conditions. As the grid heads round on the green flag lap I trundle down the pitlane and hold at the end. Shortly after they've left the grid I set off too.
Boy, this is worse than I remember! Can't brake without locking up, can't turn without under steering, can't put any power on without the back stepping out. I tiptoe round, watching the gauges!
Each time I go past the finish line I count out loud! The temperature gauge has climbed to 70o and stuck there, just as it should, oil temp and pressure also perfect. After three laps I have only caught and passed one car, the Lola of Bob Birrell, and I spun from about 20mph at the bottom hairpin shortly after doing that! I have a little play at speeding up, but frankly it was less than half-hearted. I think about pulling the car in, but considering how FJs are, it'll be quite an achievement to reach the chequered flag in every single Lurani race (and indeed every other race I've started in 2013): so I stay out to the end. Chequered flag, nearly last, but so what; I've done what I needed to - it might not be 'motor racing' as you know it, but I give a Vettel-like shout of joy as I cross the line and wave wildly at Iain and the boys on the pitwall - what an effort. The manner of completing it, like limping across the finish line of a marathon, having previously been on course for a PB, detracts slightly from the 'sporting achievement', but it's been a long fight and we've boxed clever to get our result. (Enough sporting analogies: Ed)
The finish means 2nd in class for the fifth time this year and another trophy for the kids. John Delane wins the class and in so doing ties up 2nd overall in the Championship. Andrew Tart finishes, therefore being classified second in his class and confirming the Championship win - very well done to Team Bond - it's been a hard Iberian tour for them!
Martin Aubry takes Class D, from Steve Futter and Luc Deneve, thereby confirming that I have achieved the lowest rung of the podium in the overall Lurani Trophy for 2013.
Pierre Tonetti won the race at a canter, John Fyda was second, Richard Smeeton third. JP Campos Costa who'd been second yesterday gets no help from his countrymen in race control as they give him a drive-through penalty for some infraction that leaves him down in about 10th.
Time for bed!
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