Yep! After an expensive race motor failed during session 1 of Historics on July 3…on only its third day of use (grrrr!), I was only able to make two sessions for that weekend, on a loaner motor. Those two sessions, especially the Battle of the Brits 2 race, went well, but I ended the weekend without a motor.
Thanks to Stephen Newby, the engine that had a failure in May is back. It’s been assembled, installed, and tested and we are going to Mission this year…after missing it last year due to…yep, an engine failure.
Mission is a track that seems designed for momentum cars like Sprites and Midgets. A short 1.2 miles with nine turns, three of which are 180 degrees, and straights that are miserly at best. It challenges drivers to corner fast and brake late, while maintaining brake function for late in the race; there just isn’t much time for them to cool off.
The organizers put on a great event, with awards and a meal on Saturday night, and lots of seat time. And, perhaps counter-intuitively, it’s a shorter drive for me that Portland.
It’s the one weekend this year I won’t be running a 3.9 rear end. The track is so corner-intensive that many of us drop down a ratio or even two. For this weekend we’ll have Spridgets running 3.9, 4.22, and even 4.55 rear ends. I’ll be running my 4.22 with the Quaife ATB LSD for the first time, after running a welded 4.55 there in 2024 with good success. I still have the 4.55, but I think maybe the 4.22 with the LSD will be slightly better. We’ll see…I may get stomped by the 4.55 cars.
I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a trouble-free weekend of fun with my buddies.
