National Finals: Saturday 2nd October
What a weekend, we ended up winning the NFAA championship but only came third in the event, we had a total and utter nightmare from beginning to end.
Arrived on Friday night due to work commitments and had to set up in the dark which is never fun, then found that the junction box for electric was about 50 foot away and we had to sort out loads of leads to get power, we then plugged into the box and it shorted out and most of the NFAA racers lost there lights…sure they we pleased to see us!
We then set about starting to get the car ready for the next day, bare in mind this was about midnight so we were all tired and ready for bed, we got the wheelie bars, canards, drive shaft fitted and got the wing and body off and the pit in shape for the weekends racing ahead. Finally got to bed at about 1-30am. My old man did not stop moaning and winging, fair play he had been up since 5-30am Friday but we have all learnt to ignore him.
Up and working for 7 we got cracking getting the car ready for the first round of qualifying at 11-30, the plan was for a mid 6 to make sure that all was ok and pick up where we left off at the Summer Nationals after we ran 6.6, 6.6, 6.4 and a 6.5.
This was not to be, the car left arrow straight a nice 0.97 60 foot, but then shifted into 2nd and it zinged big time, on the limiter at 10,000 is not a nice sound to hear and it turned out that the 2nd gear Lenco sprag had gone, hence no drive. This is the first time since we have been racing that we have had a sprag let us down. Back to the pits we got cracking checking the motor as it had just revved higher than we would of liked, we pulled the blower and manifold off and then the heads and all was spot on other than 2 clipped exhaust valves which we changed and then reassembled.
We then got the gearbox out and began to strip it down ready to change the 2nd gear sprag, a big thank you to Lawrie Gatehouse and the Chaos team as they lent us a sprag and really got us out of trouble, fitted the gearbox back up, back in the car after a mad thrash, fired the car as soon as we could and very quickly we new something was wrong…turns out we had fitted the sprag in back to front, silly mistake and these things happen when you rush. So yet again the gearbox came out and was stripped and we corrected our mistake, back in the car and fired and all was deemed ok.
Back out onto the track for the 2nd round again we hoped for a mid 6 to get a time on the boards and get us in the final, car launched nice again, a slower 1.002 60 foot but straight and it looked one of the fastest and most aggressive runs the car has ever done, but turns out it was only a 2.76 330 foot, and we have ran a 2.63 there, shifted into 2nd fine and we were well ahead and it was looking like a win, then yet again the chute came out, must have had a little shake in the top of 2nd, so then went to shift into 3rd and again nothing…other than lots of revs, another 10,000rpm session, we had lost another sprag, dad kept feathering the throttle as long as he dared but had to lift for the sake of the motor, still ran through with a this time losing 7.29 at only 125mph.
We only lost twice all year and both times due to the chute falling out.
So yet again back to the pits and we pulled the motor and gearbox apart for the 3rd time that day, motor still A ok and no signs at all of any damage, we still pulled the sump and checked all the bearings to be safe but all were spot on so we diverted our attention to the Lenco, we renewed the whole thing, changed every single clutch, floater, bearing, sprag in there just to be safe. Thanks also to Ollie Burn for the loan of the sprag, couldn’t of won this without it. We owe you a pint.
Fitted the gearbox up again, totally shattered as many other teams were and at about midnight we called it a night otherwise mistakes happen again. Had a wash and slumped into bed.
Next morning at 7am we fitted the rest of the car up and yet again the plan was
to make the show, no matter what the time was we wanted to make the final.
The car was set up lazy with some fuel added and timing removed to make
sure we got from A to B. This resulted in our first full pass with the car, a
lethargic 6.77 at 202mph. This time no damage or drama.
We were then told we had not made the final, but had qualified 3rd. Ok not
what we wanted at all but at least we were racing and collecting valuable points.
The next run was against Dave Grabham, who has been ultra consistent and
a great competitor this year, and it is a massive shame the bad luck that he
and the team has had. Not deserved.
We pulled round on a solo as Dave broke pulling round, a short burnout and
then we all heard it had dropped a cylinder, hence the speed he backed up,
we then staged as quickly as possible as we were running alone and launched
off of idle with one stab of the throttle to take the points and not hurt the motor.
Ended up with a 9.6 at about 54mph I think.
Overall a really harsh and hard weekend, not a nice way to finish the year out,
but at the end of the day, our sponsors for 2009 pay for us to race and we
have repaid there faith and commitment with the NFAA Championship and 3 out of 4 event wins.
On mentioning our sponsors we would like to thank the following:
Autoglym - http://www.autoglym.com
Avondale Composites - New website coming very soon - email at paul.blandavon@btinternet.com
Chronos Engineering - http://www.chronos.ltd.uk
Cocaine Energy Drink - http://www.drinkcocaine.com
CP Pistons - http://www.cppistons.com
Darton Sleeves - http://www.darton-international.com
Escape Design - http://escapedesign.net
Forge Motorsport - http://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk
Goodridge Hoses - http://www.goodridge.co.uk
Klotz Lubricants - http://www.klotzlube.com
Konica Minolta - http://www.konicaminolta.com
N138 Clothing - http://www.n138.net
The Plough & Tractor Pub - 186 Great Knightleys, Lee Chapel, Basildon, England SS15 5HG
Silicone Hose.com - http://www.siliconhoses.com
Slick Attire - http://www.slickattire.com
Superpower Unlimited – http://www.superpowerunlimited.co.uk
Top Film Posters - http://www.topfilmposters.co.uk
Also a huge thank you to our fans for the support and for all those who bought our Slick Attire Bennett Racing T shirts and our Cocaine Energy drinks. These help the team out a great deal so many thanks for us all. Keep buying our merchandise!
A huge thanks to our crew who have worked tirelessly all year and have really learnt the hard way what it takes to run a blown car competitively and how to win.
Also thanks to all the track crew at Santa Pod, you gave us a great track all year and allowed us to run the times that we did. Thanks.
As ever we are now on the look out for any new sponsors to come on board with us for the 2010 season, we have numerous levels of sponsorship available and don’t forget that this year we aim to have 3 cars in up to 5 different classes on the track, and you can get your company name on all 3 which means a lot of exposure. Get in touch at sponsorship@bennettracing.co.uk or call us on 07843 619 724.
Thanks again
All at Bennett Racing.
Ps – This was the easy year, defending our title in 2010 will be much harder due to ALL the cars in the class stepping up. Well done guys.
Copyright Bennett Racing 1981 - 2010. All rights reserved.
