|
2004 Lydenburg 400 This race was the first competitive outlining for the new Bat single seater that will be competing in the USA in 2005. I was
extremely nervous for this event as there were so many what
ifs for me….. With all these questions and thoughts running through my head and all the other competitors expectations of the race car and me as a driver it made the week leading up to the event very tense.
Qualifying is such an important part of today’s racing and this part is the most nerve wracking for me and I get really tense about two days before the qualifying and if somebody offered me R100 for my car 2 hours before qualifying I would take the money and run.I am seeded 8th dor the event and right behind Bevan Bertholdt with Gary starting 4th need I tell you what is going through Bevans mind. My time has arrived and Piet counts me down and I drop the clutch and I am now settled and all the nerves leave me the instant the flag drops.The car feels really good for a brand new car and the limited testing that I have done with it.The most noticeable thing about this car is how drivable it is the power is awesome and really does not matter what gear you are in it just keeps pulling and you really have to awake as things come towards you at incredible speeds. I arrived at the first caution and it did not look to bad so I decided to keep my foot flat as the most important thing about racing a single seater is that you have to make hundreds of split decisions as you have no idea what is ahead of you and how bad it is.It was quite a rush as this caution was quite hectic the car launched in the air and suddenly I was heading towards the Camera mans vehicle the car landed and I was back on the power it was awesome. One thing
I can tell you that the qualifying seems to be an eternity
when you are out there alone anyway about ten kms into the
qualifying I passed Bevan as he had wrong slotted and the
1 km later I saw Gary parked on the side of the road it was
at this point that I knew this was going to get really hectic
with both Bertholdt brothers breathing down my and I knew
I could not afford the slightest mistake.The route came to
section wher it was clear that you take a significant shortcut
and it was here that I turned my helmet on to see that Bevan
had decided to take the short cut at Gary’s expense
and close right on to me.I had made a decision before qualifying
that I would make sure that I saw the route stickers before
committing myself this worked really well for me and I knew
that I would be quick if I did not make any mistakes. The morning of race I am a completely different person I feel calm and really look forward to what lies ahed.I decided to just follow the Nissans and that even if the chance arose to pass either of them I would bide my time until the second lap knowing the fact the I did not have to stop for fuel.The race started and car felt so good even though I was carrying 200 plus litres of fuel the only time that I could feel the difference was on the brakes I also know that the two Nissans are not as quick in the mornings as they are carrying 300 litres of fuel.The route was very tricky for the first 50km and the only problem I had in the mountains was some sections it was tough to find the route I stayed calm even when the Ford closed in on me due to my wrong slots.The greatest feeling was knowing that when I put my foot down on the faster sections the Ford was gone and I was back in the dust of the two Nissans. The whole race took a turn for me when I made a very stupid mistake as we come to spectator point 6 the route joined the tar road and then you had to leave the tar and go through a gate back onto the farm roads it was here I made the fatal mistake of apexing to early and as I realized my mistake it was to late and my front left wheel dropped into the drainage ditch and I got a flat wheel which was so unnecessary by this time I had made some four or five minutes on my fellow special vehicle competitors. A puncture especially having to change it alone is killer in off-road racing as the name of the game is to keep on trucking and no down time its not always the fast guys who win and this is something that I know so well so needless to say I was really cross with myself.
I jumped out the car and started to change the wheel and one after another the cars came past it was so frustrating and I was calling myself every name under the sun, eventually I was ready to and all I had to do was put my flat wheel back on the car when disaster struck and I could not find my quick release handle which keeps my spare wheel on the frame.I looked and looked and eventually found and then only did I get going again this small error had cost me at least 8 minutes. The golden rule after having a puncture is calm down get rid of all the adrenalin and get back into a rhythm which I did very well.I really put my head down and was quite handily placed I knew that I was still in a really good position as I had caught back up to the pack and knowing that I did not need to Pit and the speed advantage of my car and the fact that we still had 300km of racing left I was quite relaxed. The first car to pass was Frikkie Botha and I had caught up to him in a very open section and I knew that I had to the make a move before we left this easy terrain for tight a twisty sections.The secret of passing someone in the dust is commitment and there is always the risk factor when you get into the thick dust and this is a dangerous time and it would prove terminal to my race as Frikkie braked and turned left to avoid a big man made trench I was totally blinded by his dust and the next thing I knew I was two wheels in the trench and when the ditch came to an end so did my race and my front right wheel left town. What a disappointing end to what I put down to one stupid error and a bit of bad luck.I had thrown the race away it was mine to win and I had blown what a horrible feeling,to have won the race with a brand new car and especially in a single seater would have been a great achievement. I planned to race this car once in SA before sending it to the USA for next year well that has changed and I will race it again at Carnival City I just could leave on that note and plan to finish what I started at Carnival City in novemeber. Thanks to all my pit crew and supporters for all the help this year. Achim
Bergman Sponsors: |
 |
