Carnival City 400

Carnival City brings back good memories for me and this year I was even more excited due to the new car. I cannot tell you what an awesome package it is. Lydenburg was particularly frustrating the way it ended for me, anyway I put it behind me and moved on knowing what a good car the new Bat really is.

Once again qualifying proved to be really tough and even more important than ever as 80 plus cars all leaving within a few minutes on race day. I knew from previous experience that the track is far more demanding than it looks as the back section has lots of tight turns combined with that notorious black carnival city mud not to mention the big jumps that can end your race.

I was seeded 12th which was an advantage due to the cars ahead displacing the huge mud pools. I sat on the line and watched the way that the cars were handling the jumps and this gave me confidence that I could really attack the course from the start. Once again the nerves were big 5 minutes before my start time. Its my turn and off I go trying hard not to just wheel spin of the line I was very gentle on the throttle and before I knew it I was airborn over the first jump changing from 2nd to 3rd gear while in the air gave me the chance to really accelerate for the second jump and this was a new experience flying half the track and driving the other half.

I pushed a little to hard and spun once and a second incident was a half spin in the mud causing the car to stall. After these two mistakes and the incredibly muddy conditions I knew that overall pole was out of the question. I knew that my speed over the jumps compared to other frames would be enough to be the quickest frame and I was right I was some 14 seconds quicker over the 9 km circuit. Two qualifyings and two pole positions with a new car felt really good.

Race day was as normal for me and I felt really good when I saw all 80 cars all ready to leave within a couple of minutes and some of my competitors were way down the field which I knew would rule them out of winning. I was third overall and only 3 seconds behind Geniel so the first few kms in the stadium section were really hectic.

Once we exited the stadium my plan was to follow the two Nissans and drive my own race well that did not last long as I noticed John Weir-Smith closing in on me at a rapid pace. This left no option but to get past Geniel asap which happened shortly after when he wrong slotted. This was exactly what I needed as this gave me some breathing space and the chance to chase Hannes. It wasn’t long and I was on Hannes bumper and guess what somehow his screamer was not working for a change……I don’t see the point of the screamer especially in the T trucks as NONE of them seem to work. I followed Hannes for at least a km almost touching his bumper still he did not move and I did not want to scratch my bumper. It left me no choice but to cut the corner and go past him.
I was very comfortable being in front even though its hard to find the road in a single seater.

I came to a road crossing and it was all very confusing as well as Weir-Smith was right on my tail. I took a wrong turn at the road crossing he got in front of me at this point. I followed him for a few kms when suddenly there was no sign of his dust I thought that he had taken the wrong road. I was back in front for a while before taking a wrong turn allowing Hannes to pass me again. I followed Hannes until we got to the rocks after sitting behind him all the way to the top he pulled over and allowed me to pass which was good for me as at the bottom of the mountain the roads are fast which is suited to my car and no dust.

I then really concentrated hard on finding the road and did not worry about my pace or what was going on behind me. I was doing very well to find the road up until about 10km before the pits when I got a bit lost and before I knew it Weir-Smith flew past me. I followed him all the way to the pits. He was on a mission and I knew I did not have to pass him as he needed to pit and this would allow me to continue at my own pace knowing that I would not have to worry about finding the road on lap 2 & 3.

The mud in the stadium was playing havoc with my gear shifter it was very stiff although I had a plan for this problem a can of spray and I was sorted. I really started to up my pace on lap 2 as the road was so well cut. I had one huge moment going down the fast roads running next to the railway line I remember looking at my GPS and seeing 190kmh at this point there was a huge puddle on the left hand side of the road causing my car to aquaplane and I almost lost control….my heart nearly stopped.

Life is a journey and they say you learn something new everyday well I can honestly say this is true. What happened to me next was a lesson…I wanted to spray my shifter as it was a little sticky and I went to get my spray out and could not find it as it had bounced behind my seat and strapped in my belts with helmet and neck brace you virtually no movement and I could not find the spray so I started to try and feel where the can had gone to and I completely took my eye of the ball and by the time I looked up it was to late. I had come to the end of the road and saw this steel stake sticking out the ground and I managed to hit it with my right front wheel causing the bottom arm to brake off. I could not believe what I had just done and the worst part was I was leading the race overall and no one was even close to me. It took what felt like forever for the next car to pass me.

Well done to Mark Corbett and Juan Mohr for there Overall win this is the second year running that a Bat has won this race overall and I think the last time a Jimco won overall was back in Vietnam.

Until next year I hope you all have a great holliday.
Ciao

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