DAVID WORKS GARAGE

The last round of this 2006 race season ended in spectacular fashion with excitement till the chequered flag dropped. Andrew drove on the ragged edge to qualify on class pole, shattering the class record by lapping at 2.49min, improving on his personal best by 3 secs!

The start of race 1 was on a damp track and by sprinting to a good position after the first corner, he secured a substancial lead... clocking consistant 2.51min lap times to win the second last race of this season.

The final race was a 'coin toss' because of very uncertain weather. Looming ominous clouds threatened to change track conditions almost instantly. Choosing to go out on slicks turned out to be the right decision as the sky cleared up just after the race start. What a RELIEF!!!! Very consistant laps and excellent driving secured another win for the final race.

Points tabulated, we've achieved our goal of winning the class championship award this year! A great effort the whole year round with pleasing results. :D

When it rains, it pours! That's how the first race of this weekend's round 6 began...  qualifying class pole under very wet condtions was tricky but Andrew pulled it off yet again, scoring much needed championship points for class pole position and two very well deserved wins. The battle of the 2 minis will be remembered by all who witnessed this round.

Race 1 started shortly after the qualifying session and getting the class pole while drifting around almost every corner. After the qualifying session, Andrew had a good position with a clear racing line to the first corner. Another class rival, in a Honda Civic failed to perform after reprogramming his new ECU and resetting his car's geometry. Farid's mini, however, was over-enthusiastically driven and an incident of very late braking put his mini deep in the sand trap on the 5th lap. Andrew manouvered his mini taking 'The Italian line' line through corners and after enjoying a dice with the Escort RS won race 1. 

Race 2 was brought forward after all competitors unanimously agreed to start earlier to avoid another wet race. A warm track almost guaranteed driver satisfaction with sticky tyres and full tilt cornering! Andrew's and Farid's minis were neck to neck from start to finish, repeatedly changing positions. Both had a good dice with spectators watching from the edge of their seats. Different driving styles and two minis trying to repeatedly out-drag each other on the grandstand stretch and squeezing through any possible openings at the corners must have been the highlight of this race weekend for all. "May the best man win" came to mind as Andrew crossed the finish line first, pulling a two car lead ahead of Farid.

"What a blast!!! We've got a bullet!" says Andrew with 2 outright wins this round. New rubber on wider, more off set rims gave the mini a wider stance and made it feel like a mini shell placed over a single seater,  as described by Andrew.  Well, his early afternoon qualifying timing of 2.52.07min setting the class record, on tyres still bedding-in, proved it.  The first race started well with Andrew pulling far ahead of the other class A cars, almost half the track behind by the 3rd lap. He then focused on driving consistently, taking smooth lines, saving the tyres for the next race. Even then lap times were within 2.53mins.  The second race also went rather well except for a rough start. It was a late race so a headlamp was installed to make the mini more visible when over-taking slower cars. Brakes and tyres worked excellently, engine pulled very well and Andrew drove flawlessly. Extremely long but fruitful day at Sepang!

We're back after another good and challenging race weekend. Many people to thank who helped us obtain good results and another race win.  Race 7 was a bit of a question mark after deciding to improve on the mini's front brakes (in the pit garage) by installing new KAD billet 4 pot calipers and vented discs. Earlier, the mini had clocked the fastest class times (1.24s) during the qualifying session. With more stopping power, there's the fear of over-braking! Better brakes will enable the mini to approach corners at a much higher speed than before which theoretically should yield better lap times.

Ignition problems on the second last lap, however, in race 7 caused the engine to suddenly cut out. At this point, Andrew was leading the field (since the start) and had built up a remarkable lead. Oh well, such is racing... anything and everything happens!

Next race was in only an hour and parts needed were over 300km away! Thanks to spares from Bertie's Lotus Super 7 and fiddling around with the dizzy (at a dizzying pace), we were back on track with Andrew behind all the class A cars on the grid. When the flag dropped, Andrew was able to pull past the other race mini and place himself behind the 84 Honda Civic (he's much much faster now with a new 1.6 Si Twin cam engine!!!).  After some really close dicing, Andrew took the lead and drove to a race 8 victory. The KAD brakes worked very well and didn't fade after some very hard braking.

The other mini guys were great with their offers to help with  parts despite being competitors in the same class. Friendly rivalry and a competitive spirit is the name of the game...

Round 2 -
Race 1 started well with a strong qualifying time and good grid position. There was a close and fierce battle between Andrew's mini and a 82 Honda Civic. The two cars constantly changing positions every lap. Andrew managed to pull away and catch the class race leader but the effort proved too much after closing the gap to a car's length and the engine started loosing power. Decided to call it a day and save the new engine for the next round.

Round 3 -
Race 1 : After qualifying 1st in class and securing a grid position in front of the another very quick race mini and  Toyota AE86, Andrew started the race well  by blowing-off the AE86 and dicing with the other mini. Lap after lap, the two minis battled tooth and nail. The extremely close and exciting duel ensued with  Andrew clocking a blistering 2.56min and the other mini , 2.57min lap times.  Andrew's smooth style and brilliant skill in finding more grip with his slicks around the corners helped him take class honours.

Race 2: Planning for rain but hoping for a dry track, the race started with Andrew, on slick tyres, pulling away and getting a good lead over the rest of the field, however, the quick-shift gear lever mechanism worked it's way off alignment and Andrew had difficulty finding the second gear. Thinking that the clutch had gone, he pulled over to the side and most of the field passed him. Fortunately, he managed to find his gears again and quickly started making his way through the field of cars, passing 5 cars on the next lap. By lap 4, he was hot on the tail of the 2 class leaders, passing the mini on the same lap and the AE86 on lap 5.  Andrew then managed to pull away from the AE86 and built up a comfortable lead... finishing a very strong 1st in class win again! Post race, he admitted that he had pushed the engine to the 8,000 rpm pre-set rev limit (while still running-in the engine). Even classic racing forces one to test the limits.... Overall, an exhilirating race weekend!!!

 RACE MINI SET TO GO!THE STARTGOOD LINE-UP OF CLASSIC CARSBEGINNING OF WARM-UP LAPEXCELLENT PACE DOWN THE STRAIGHT!!! PASSING THE CHEQUERED FLAG....
JAPANESE GT RACE QUEENS EVERYWHERE...   EVEN ON THE ROOF!!! IT'S WINDY HERE!!! DON'T GET BLOWN AWAY.....

Classic Car Racing Malaysia 2006 - organised by Classic Car Club of Hong Kong (Racing Section)

Round 1       15-16 April
Round 2       27-28 May
Round 3       23-25 June (Japan GT Event)
Round 4       22-23 July
Round 5       24-25 August (Merdeka Millennium Event)
Round 6       4-5 November (A1 GP)

After a very exciting and exhausting race weekend we're back in the garage and planning further improvements to our first outing in the  newly built mini.  The engine and chassis set-up  were tested and proven spot-on following a blistering  performance by Australian driver Andrew Crombie who won the crowd over with a spectacular drive especially since he started taking on the bigger boys, passing the 2litre Ford Escort RS on lap 5, then the Alfetta GTV on lap 6 and, shortly after, crept right up to the tail of the Cosworth powered Works Ford Anglia on lap 8! Unfortunately, what seemed like a duel to the finish wasn't to be. A fan belt failure resulted in an over-heated engine and retirement. Overall, we're pleased with the performance and confident of a very fast Mk1 classic mini to watch this year! Cheers, Brian.