King of the Castle
Luke baits Ferraris at Castle Combe – until his gearbox spits its dummy…
Castle Combe is my favourite track of late, because it’s really easy to get to and because it’s such a fast, sweeping circuit. The Fiesta was prepared and ready to go a couple of weeks prior to the track day, so it was simply a case of loading up, and heading off down to the Wiltshire circuit at the crack of dawn.
As I was the first to arrive at the circuit, it gave me ample time to get the car unloaded and prepared for the day ahead, without the stress of having to rush about. The day was a charity event with a small number of other cars on track, so it promised a huge amount of track time. The morning saw me out in five sessions and the car was absolutely flying.
The Trolley was able to mix it with the best of them – GT40s and a Ferrari 360 Challenge race car to name two of the more exotic ones. I was also able to take a few close friends out in the car and give them an experience of how a car, first destined for the school run, went with a ‘few’ tweaks.
All was going well and the adrenaline was pumping. As I exited Camp Corner I found myself sandwiched between a GT40 in front and a hard-charging Ferrari behind! I accelerated hard, and pulled past the GT40 with moderate ease, while attempting to fend off the Ferrari up the straight. In no time Quarry was upon us, and I knew my brakes were going to struggle. I eased off to let the Ferrari pass, then tucked in behind, and got back on the power to give chase. My attempt to take on Maranello’s finest was somewhat hindered by the fact my gearbox decided to spew oil all over my front left brake and nearside wheels/ tyres. Heading into the chicane was more like a scene from a drift championship, as I battled to keep it on the tarmac! Thankfully all was well, although I was rather shaken as, at that point, I had no idea what had caused such an alarming tail-twitching moment. Once back in the pits it was apparent from the putrid smell of gearbox oil that something was amiss!
I removing the nearside wheel and was greeted with a rather large hole in the end of the gearbox. Game over!
Despite the failure, I had a great day playing out and helping to raise money for a pair of very worthy charities www.
combatstress.org.uk and www. surfaction.co.uk.
Next month – an update on the gearbox repair.