Cadwell Park - a day of minor dramas

A lovely day in the sun. And some minor incidents. A typical race day really. I arrived with Joe early, signed on and got the car through scrutineering. The scrutineer was concerned about my roll cage and got the Blue Book out to find a picture of it. It apparently is an old touring car cage. I was worried. But it was passed when an old scrutineer came out and identified it.

Qualifying was a blast. The car was going really well and I managed a 1.50.9 to start 9th on the grid for the first of two races.




The first race started badly. I lost a couple of places before the first corner but then drove well for a couple of laps and felt confident. On lap 4 my confidence became over confidence and I spun the car on a 90 degree bend. The BMW just behind me caught my front wheel. I tried to rejoin the race but my steering felt very suspect.

Back in the paddock we jacked up the car to find a bent steering arm. Dextrous use of the trolley jack and it was straightened, the tracking was measured and the car was good to go for the second race.

In asssembly for Race 2 I noticed that one of the rear brakes had pads that were down to the metal and the other side didn't look good. I started last but one, took it easy, and enjoyed the race without pressure. The brakes held up and the steering felt fine.

Here's lap one of the first race from the BMW that was a couple of positions in front of me:


There's a few jobs to do for the next race: Rear pads, bleed the rear brakes, check the steering thoroughly, and generally go over the car inch by inch.

Quickest lap was a 1.50.25. Timings from the 750MC club timing site.

Here are some great action shots from Cadwell: