CRUEL TWIST OF FATE

was decided team boss Jeff would jump back in the seat. It was at this point that we realized that bad things happen in threes. All the Link ECU tune-up information was on the race laptop, which was in the bag that had been stolen. So, after having been ready for weeks, we now had two drivers out, and all our data and tune-ups for the computer were gone. I don’t mean just data; I mean the actual information for the ECU that makes the car run. We had enough info to start the car, but that was about it. Basically, we now had to use Masterton to create a new tune-up and data baseline to get us back to where we were at the end of last season. Well, after the first three runs, we had got back to around about the same place that we were halfway through last season, running a 7.9 at 160mph. We had to make the best of what was a semifrustrating situation, as, at the end of the day, there was nothing we could do about the data. However, overall, we were not too unhappy, considering what we started with! After another overnight debriefing and a pile more changes, we set about using Sunday to get us back closer to that 7.41-second PB. The first pass on Sunday, in one of those bittersweet moments, the car went up there and absolutely smoked the tyres off the start line. ‘Sweet’ because the changes we had made overnight clearly made more power; ‘bitter’ because the set-up to absorb that power was clearly wrong. After a couple more passes, we had the Pirtek Camaro getting to the 60-foot timers faster than it had gone before — we just need to work on the second part of the track now. In a cruel twist of fate, the police found the stolen gear bag, including the laptop, four days after the meeting. The problem now is what we do — go back to the old data or continue on our new path? On another note, we may have some pretty exciting news coming up, so check my column next month to find out what we have going on. Until then, see you at the track!