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VW Racing Cup 2009 - Archive Results & Reports
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Race Report Oulton Park 11th – 13th
April
We did not know what to expect weather wise on the race
weekend, forecasts during the week before ranged from
sunshine to sleet and snow. Clothes were packed for all
climates and wet tyres were on standby. As it turned out
we had sunshine all weekend.
Martyn entered the VW Vento as his VW Beetle was still
in bits on the garage floor.
Qualifying on Saturday went well with Martyn moving in
the range 4th to 6th positions as the cars settled down.
On the last qualifying lap Martyn managed to get a flyer
in by getting a run in and drafting Paul Taylor who was
in 3rd at that point. Martyn finished qualifying in 3rd
position on the grid having pulled out 0.25 second over
Taylor which was a good start to the year but
disappointing to be one second off the pace of the pole
sitter.
Race 1.
At the start of the 1st race Martyn made a good getaway
but the pole sitter braked
too early for the first corner causing Martyn to brake
hard which in turn caused Peter Felix to give him a tap
in the rear. The pole sitter then accelerated realizing
that he had braked too early but he accelerated too hard
and spun. Martyn had to take to the grass to avoid him
and which dropped him to 10th. Another of the cars that
had passed him spun (because of cold tyres) in front of
him causing him to lose a further 2 places. Not a good
start but he put his head down and banged in some fast
laps getting up to 5th by mid distance getting on the
back of Didge Dziurzynski. Martyn then seemed to slow
just as we thought he would attempt an overtaking
manoeuvre on Didge, he was falling back into the path of
Jamie Perry who managed to pass Martyn pushing him back
into 6th position which is where he finished.
With the championship regulation that reverses the top
six finishers in the 1st race to make up the grid for
second race, we did wonder if it was a ploy on Martyn’s
part to drop back to 6th so that he started the second
race on pole. But it turned out that Martyn had a wheel
bearing fail which caused the brakes to back off. This
made stopping from 130mph very very hard. He spent the
2nd half of the race on either the brake and throttle or
clutch and brake to make sure he had brake pressure to
be able to stop. This meant he was unable to sustain his
previous speed. As he had closed very rapidly on those
in front of him his intention initially was to get a
podium position and not settle for pole in the 2nd race.
Race 2.
The 2nd race started with Martyn on pole. He got a very
quick start and was in 2nd into the 1st corner as there
was no stopping the fast starting 4wd golf of Paul
Taylor. Martyn knew that passing Taylor would not be a
problem to pass as Taylor had lost 4th gear. Martyn
overtook Taylor on the run to the 3rd corner and built a
3.5 second gap by the end of lap 1. As Martyn crossed
the start/finish line we noticed a wisp of blue smoke
from the rear of the car and kept our fingers crossed
that this was not a prelude to the engine failing. At
the end of the 2nd lap he was 4.5 seconds clear but he
was slowing down and pulled off the track and parked the
car.
A sad end to the race which we and most people thought
he had in the bag. Martyn said that the engine was
running fine with good oil pressure but that he had lost
drive. When the car was towed back into parc ferme it
was found that the gearbox had lost its oil, leaving a
trail of oil round the track. It was as a result of this
oil that Liam Griffin in his new Scirocco slipped off
the track and rolled his car. At home we have now
removed the gearbox and have found a hole in the rear of
the differential housing. It seems that the differential
had exploded.
With the postponement of Donington on the 25th April to
the 18th/19th July mean we have a break which will give
us time to focus on fixing the Vento gearbox and putting
the Beetle engine back together so we have two cars for
Goblin Racing at Rockingham.
Running only one car made the weekend a bit more
relaxing and a lot less stressful. Saturday night we got
together with several other drivers and their friends
for a few drinks and a Chinese meal which went very
well. If only Martyn had won the 2nd race then it would
have been a really great weekend.
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View the Race Results from Oulton Park |
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