Tuesday.

It's midnight Tuesday and once again I'm at the ragged end of a day that's been full on since 6:30am.
I know we had promised to upload video each day but in reality the demands of keeping the car race ready has meant that there is just no time to edit and upload what we have. It will, I promise, be uploaded once we get a breather.

The plan for today as discussed by the team was to take it easy and find my comfort level, drive within it and take the day as it came.
Yesterday was a real hash and we were lucky to get through the day without serious incident. I didn't really have my head in the right place and never felt comfortable at all behind the wheel.

Stage one today was supposed to have me relaxing and getting my head straight.
I found my groove within minutes and Victor and I had our best run so far, overtaking two cars on the one short stage. That set the tone for the rest of the day and although some stages I took a lot easier than others, we were both in a good place mentally and that really made the difference.

The car ran faultlessly all day with the slight exception of the brakes. There's a violent shudder under high speed braking that is so bad that it's impossible to steer the car and brake at the same time. It's an interesting situation you find yourself in when at 180kph you need to slow down for a tightening corner and you can only brake for as long as it takes to get to the turn in point. After that you need to turn the steering wheel so it's foot off the brakes even if you are still going too fast!! To be honest it probably helped with the stage times! :)

The service crew once again have been brilliant. Not only have they driven hundreds of k's into the middle of nowhere just to top my fuel, but tonight they worked tirelessly to remedy the brake shudder too. It looks like my brakes didn't bed in properly and only half the disc rotor was bedded. This meant that the pads grabbed the rotor for only half of each revolution of the wheel.. hence the violent shake.
Tomorrow morning on the way to the first stage I have to re-bed the new brakes until they are almost on fire. I'm told that should fix it!

A lot of people have been texting and calling us with stage results, but at this point in time we aren't making too much of it as it's very early days yet and our goal is to complete the whole event in one piece. Our result will be what it is.
Staying in the top ten would be good. The competition is far superior in terms of car specs, budget and experience. Our car is under-tyred which means we are eating the eight tyres we are allowed for the week at an alarming rate. Tomorrow in the Taranaki stages we are going to take it easy, coast through the day and save the tyres for later in the week on roads closer to home.

Oh just one thing before I sign off.. I used high boost for the first time today. Just five minutes at the end of a stage. A tight uphill section that typified what my car is built for. I've got the in-car footage and it's a wild ride! Victor couldn't stop grinning! We caught up to another car even though we had been taking it easy earlier in the stage. Fun fun fun!!

Till tomorrow.... Ron


Well, what a day. Such a big change from yesterday. The roads were fantastic and the weather held out providing a very enjoyable day of racing. Today my co-driving went much smoother without hesitation on the notes that I was giving. After a whole day of giving notes on Monday, I got more comfortable with the procedure and what works for Ron and what doesn't. Also, Ron found his groove today and the ride definitely became more exciting. It's quite an experience rocketing through tight roads at lightning speeds.

Another thing to note is the friendly atmosphere around. The event is quite laid back and everybody is very approachable making it a fun sociable event. I've met a number of new people now and also seen some pretty amazing cars. People from all walks of life come together to partake in this madness and brings everyone together to share their interest.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Six long stages which will give the car a bit more of a stress test. We did well today and hopefully we can keep things going through the rest of the week!

Cheers,
Victor.