The Renault 4 race was between my yellow saloon with a standard 34 bhp engine, and a blue van with a 93 bhp Gordini Alpine engine. The van belongs to Derek from Renospeed - the UK's only Renault 4 Specialist. The staging marks were especially difficult to see on the day, and Derek overshot and had to reverse. He was still reversing into position when the lights went green. |
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My little engine was going to need all the help it could get, so I did a burnout on the approach to the start line to get the front left side tyre up to optimal racing temperature. Taking full advantage of the unexpected head start I raced up the track taking an early lead, while wondering why I hadn't been passed by a lightening quick blue van. |
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Finally the van passed me at great speed and pulled off into the distance. |
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Here's the timing slip. The Gordini powered van put up a very respectable time of 18.5 seconds against the very strong headwind. My time last year (without any wind) had been more than a second quicker, so there's probably more to come from the Gordini on a calmer day. Thanks Chris for the photos. |
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