ENZED CMC ROUND FOUR
ROUND FOUR OF THE ENZED CENTRAL MUSCLE CARS SERIES FROM HAMPTON DOWNS
As a feature at the Legends of Bathurst meeting, the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) had a lot to live up to. Its growing reputation as an entertainment category, along with the extremely tight points table, meant that there were plenty of pressures laid on the shoulders of the teams and drivers. After a topsy-turvy round three at Pukekohe for many of the competitors, the fourth round of the season was quietly set as a defining moment in the series; anyone losing further points would likely be out of contention come the final points tally. This came true for Group 2 champion Steve Noyer, who dropped a valve during the opening laps of race one, and, while he could have pressed the team for an overnight engine repair, he was somewhat relaxed about the actual need to do so. “There’s no point in busting our butts to get back out there for Sunday. Our season hopes are gone, so we’ll take no risks of completely destroying the engine, and do a proper inspection before Manfeild. My job from there is to make the other Group 2 guys work for their points during the last three rounds,” he said. But, interestingly, there was an upside for Noyer not finishing the weekend from behind the wheel. “I’ve not watched a CMC race for as long as I can remember,” Noyer explained. “It’s been longer than three years anyway. So, now I get to see them from the sideline, and we are way faster than I thought we were!” At the time, Noyer’s failed engine meant that the Group 2 fight was predominantly left with Mark Holland, Bruce Kett, and Paul Boden. That, however, changed fully on Sunday morning during race three, when Kett spent too much time watching his mirrors. “I ran out of talent,” Kett claimed. “I didn’t take advantage of the handicap race. I was ahead of Holland, and, instead of focusing on my own driving, I was watching him slowly catch me. I lost focus, spun the car, and went from a good points haul to the back of the pack.” Kett also had championship-points issues on the Saturday, when he missed race two completely due to repairs on a failed power-steering pump. While no competitor likes to see others out of contention due to mechanical failure, they also know that it’s part of the game. This was the case for Boden, who has been consistent in his challenges so far this season and heavily involved in the points chase. But he was also very clear and adamant that it’s not over for the others just yet: “Well, yeah, it is good for my points right now, but there are still three rounds to go, and I could have issues next. Let’s just wait and see.” However, for Holland, the season so far has been nothing but gold. He has been exceptionally quick and was basically untouchable across the first half
of this season. It also helps that he has, at the time of writing, had no major mechanical breakdowns, which was not the case for many of the Group 1 competitors during round four. To put it bluntly, the attrition rate across the weekend was atrocious — so bad that the list was almost impossible to compile. Added to Noyer and Kett were Craig Boote with a second blown engine (the first being earlier in the season at Pukekohe); Steve Scoles, with a broken front suspension arm, Tristan Teki, who was trailered back to pits after shearing off a ball joint; Grieg Running, with ripped teeth off a diff gear; Dean Hansen, who had to replace a broken valve lifter; Greg Honnor, who blew a rear tyre that shredded on the way back to the pits, which in turn destroyed the rear shock; and Grant Dalton, who also had rear-shock issues when one decided to undo itself from its mount. And this isn’t even the entire list, which doesn’t even include Ross Graham, who had a touch-up with the wall, or Rick van Swet, who lost brakes, both in practice sessions, and saw the pair of them out for the balance of the weekend. It was, without argument, a horror-run of mechanical breakdowns, and extremely costly with regard to championship standings. However, it wasn’t just a weekend of frustration and shattered goals — there were also some good stories. Across the Christmas period, while many teams were performing maintenance (or not), some, like Dean Owens, were rebuilding just to get back in the game. He had returned after an almost full rebuild; a repair job so large that they almost called it quits. “It was close, really close” said Owens. “We stripped it right back to the monocoque, and it was a major job. We’re still finishing it off here this weekend.” His and his crew’s perseverance was certainly worth it, and it was a welcome sight to have him rejoin the ranks. There were probably some extra positives that came from the rebuild as well, as it would have allowed him to make changes to the car that normally drivers don’t get the opportunity to make. His results on the track are no doubt a delight for his hard-working team. Another huge high for the weekend came from the
number 88 Commodore piloted by Janine Douglas. She had resigned herself to the fact that, during handicap races, she would be starting up front, knowing that she would be caught and passed fairly quickly. But, this time, she put up her best fight to date, and secured a second place finish only just giving up the lead as the race came to a close. Her delight at taking a podium spot was a highlight felt throughout the entire field. “My best ever result in the Enzed Central Muscle Cars and I’m absolutely stoked,” she exclaimed post race. “My car was perfect, I went faster and I kept all but one car behind me. For the first six or seven laps, I stayed focused and never looked behind me. When I did, I noticed that Andrew Turner had started to get close, and I knew he would get me — but seven laps at the front made me happy enough!” Her joy reminded us and cemented in us the knowledge of what racing is all about, not just within this particular category but in motorsport as a whole. But, in saying that, there was an issue during the final race that also reminded us how things can quickly go wrong and how emotions can become polar opposite to Douglas’s. The last race, as always, was a scratch grid, with the fastest leading the way. Andrew Anderson and Angus Fogg were on the front row, with Dean Perkins ready to pounce from behind — and he did. Perkins had the dream start: zero wheelspin, perfect clutch and throttle timing, and he launched off into the lead between those first two cars before anyone had time for their first breath. Perkins was certainly happy about it, as he stated post race: “That was probably the best start I have ever had. You
dream about it, but it actually came true for once!” He did, however, realize that his race had become slightly easier before the first lap was completed. “I looked in my mirrors, and my main competition had gone. It lessened the race a bit, which is a real shame, but a win is a win and I’ll take it,” he said. What he was referring to was the incident between the front-row-sitters Anderson and Fogg — and the emotional apology made by Anderson post race became part of the drama. It was basically a high-speed braking mistake from Anderson while he was directly behind Perkins and mirror to mirror with Fogg. He moved across, they collided, and it put Fogg in the gravel. While Fogg could have continued, he chose instead to be towed back to the garages. “It happens,” said a shoulder-shrugging Fogg. “Disappointing because we’d already had a tough weekend of mechanical breakdowns, but, with all the stones lying through the engine bay, the risk of damage is not worth it. I’ll just clean it out, go have a beer, and have a better time at the next round.” For Anderson, it was a slightly different thinking pattern. He managed to complete the race — albeit with a car that needs two new doors — finishing with points to earn him sixth place. Many people felt that he was probably being a bit hard on himself when he got back to the garages. “Fogg deserves to have someone around him a lot better than that,” he stated with genuine emotion. “I’ve been over to see Foggy and apologized. I’m gutted for both teams. I proved in other races that you can go side by side without trouble, but this was a million-per-cent my bad, I’m really apologetic to Fogg about it. We’ve had some run-ins in the past, and this wasn’t retribution. As soon as I lost the rear of the car, I knew it was going to be bad.” In all honesty, it wasn’t that damaging for either party, but Anderson’s genuine, heartfelt apology made those looking on realize that there is more to this than just beating your competitors. With the level of competition at an all-time high within the category, all eyes will be glued to the track when they take to the tarmac at Manfeild for round five. With Clarke Hopkins, Greg Honnor, Steve Ross, Andrew Turner, Bruce Anderson, Grant Dalton, and the rest of the field all coming on song, the chase for glory is certainly not over.