Race Report - Teretonga - 6 & 7 December 2008
(Thanks to Daniel Patrick & Les Hitchcock for the spadework)

Saturday - 6th December 2008
Thankfully, the weather gods were shining once again and we have a lovely sunny day, but unfortunately there was a really cold wind which spoilt things.

Everyone had to be at the track by 12.30, which was when documentation and scrutineering closed. Unfortunately, there are always one or two who don't read their acceptance documentation and arrived late, but thankfully Jan managed to avoid any penalties that may have occurred.

Twelve cars had initially entered and this number was boosted with the last minute welcome return of Greg Stewart who had worked through the night until 5am to get his car ready.

Unfortunately, the entries were reduced by the withdrawal of Barry Morgan and Dave Robertson due to engine issues. Bob arrived with his new sequential gearbox and Manny managed to find another axle and with the help of a porta power, got his car back into shape.

A few cars went out for testing and this was where Bob discovered that his new "toy" wasn’t perfect and unfortunately, Brian Scott had to be towed in when his motor cut out suddenly - this was due to two push rods missing and one valve jammed down.

Qualifying:
Qualifying saw Wayne P take pole (by a whisker) followed by Jim Kelly, Manny, Roy and Greg Stewart. Bob was the first of the C Class cars followed by Johno, Greg L, Stu and Ray.

That was all that was planned for the day, so most of us met later on in the evening at the Cobb and Co for drinks and dinner.

Sunday - 7th December 2008 - Weather - fine and sunny and hot!!!!

Race 1:
Jim Kelly is still having problems with the starts which enabled Wayne P to take the lead easily followed closely by Manny (who had had to borrow some spark plugs from Wayne), Jim K played catch up all race and Roy had a bit of competition with Greg S until he developed some fuel issues.

All in all it was a bit of a processional race apart from a tussle between Stu and Ray where the lead changed constantly. Unfortunately, Stu's throttle broke and he ended up with a DNF.

Race 2:
The race start (and end) was a dramatic one with Roy just about jumping the start, then Manny stalled which had Greg L & Bob going for the same piece of free space on the track and taking each other out. This ended up with two non finishers, with Bob breaking a tie rod and Greg L bent a front strut and one non starter with Greg S having major fuel starvation issues.

With this race being reverse top half and Jim K being in front of Wayne P he managed to stay there, but this exciting battle kept the spectators captivated and showed the crowd what two top drivers with top cars can do to try to do to win the race - wow!

Jim K managed to hold out Wayne P who took a minor excursion off the track trying a new tack to get around Jim, but still managed a comfortable second. Roy basically had a lonely race, but Manny clawed his way through the field to fourth place. Johno, Stu and Ray were the winners from Bob and Greg L’s DNF’s.

Race 3 - reverse grid:
Bob was able to fix his broken tie rod and Greg S thought he had found the base of all of the problems he had had all day and lined up for reverse grid, only to come in prior to the start of the race with a further mechanical problem. Wayne P blitzed the field to finish convincingly in front of a fast chasing Jim K, followed by Roy, Manny, Ray, Bob, Stu and Johno.

A few engine issues and some minor damage, but no one was hurt (apart from sun/wind burn) and all are looking forward to the next meeting at Ruapuna (Lady Wigram Trophy Meeting) on 17 & 18 January 2009. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Merry Christmas and a happy and safe new year.