Hear Ye, Hear Ye...
Following this outstanding performance in international competition, I, the
Flounder, do hearby declare Mike Gigante to be "Thicko of the Month" for the
month of March. This prestigous award will include public notice, a page on the
infamous Thicko web site, and some sort of trinket (yet to be determined).
Please forward a jpeg or two for the TTweb site... or the URL for the section on
your site...OK?
Nominations for subsequent months should be directed to me at
<wsthomspson@thicko.com>.
Congratulations Mike on your competition success... sounds like a great time.
I'm looking forward to racing the all Healey Race in Australia in October'98...
will you be there?
Concerning your brake troubles... have you tried Hawk Blue pads? I get a pretty
long life out of them, without too much rotor wear. Haven't been able to fade
them yet... other comp pads I fade in 2 laps.
WST
Mike Gigante wrote:
> Hi Guys. I just got back from Tasmania where I competed in the
> Rally of Tasmania/Heritage Rally. I was in the bugeye ("redcar").
> This was a bitumen "special stage" rally with Tulip diagrams,
> overnight impound and the lot. It was a first for a circuit racer like me.
> I had done the 3 Peaks Rally in '96 but that was a navigation rally
> not a drivers rally. This was 3 days of full on driving on closed road
> stages.
>
> John Sprinzel of "Spritely Years", Speedwell and Donald Healey
> Motors fame also competed in a bugeye. There were 11 sprites,
> 2 midgets (and 1 lone MGB Ha!). Of the 11 sprites, 8 were bugeyes.
> There also was a lone 100-4.
>
> John Sprinzel is a wonderful fellow and it was a joy and privilege to
> be in the same event. He was not really driving hard (he certainly has
> nothing to prove). I enjoyed talking to him and I picked up a few hints
> (like it is a must to use pace notes next time!)
>
> A new team was created just for me - Just in Time Racing - team motto
> is "It will be OK in the end". Let me just say we did (finally) get the car
> finished just in time for scrutineering and miraculously we did finish the
> event. I did cop a lot of flack for it though. We had brake problems
> throughout the event (my wonderful carbon/Kevlar pads ate the brembo
> rotors so badly during the course recon that we had to start the event
> on virgin standard road pads. We wore them out after less than half
> the event and had to re-install the C/K pads on the side of the
> road. We were checking the rotors after every special stage! I was using
> handbrake only on transport stages! At one stage the brakes jammed on
> (a stone in the pedal box) and I couldn't do more than 2nd gear under full
> noise - we though that would be the end of us.
>
> I was chasing a deficit of 2 or minutes at the start of the last day and
> realistically didn't think I could do it. That wasn't stopping me trying
> though!
>
> Suprise surprise at the presentation dinner I was announced class winner by
> 40 secs. The 2nd place guy was a very experienced and successful bugeye
> rally driver and he was not happy!! He lodged a protest over what turned out
> to be
> a timing error on one special stage and it turns out we failed to nail him
> by
> just 8 secs. I was catching him hand over fist - one one special stage
> (Hellyer
> Gorge reverse I took 30 secs out of his lead! (9:25 vs 9:55). Oh well. I had
> fun
> trying.
>
> I also cooked redcar's motor so by the 2nd day we were burning 4 litres/day
> of
> Mobil 1. We definately lost top end and redcar's motor will need a good
> check
> and freshen up before she competes again.
>
> This friday night we have a 40th anniversary of the sprite dinner with John
> Sprinzel
> talking a bout the cars we love most. It will be fun too!
>
> cheers, Mike
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