Qld Super Sprints 2019 Round 3

It was a long wait between Round 2 and Round 3 of the QLD Super Sprint Series (around 3 months!) so we were all keen to get our cars back to the track and engage in the usual camaraderie that has become as much a highlight of the weekend as the competition itself.

By Joe Arico.

It wasn’t a good start for yours truly – as I pulled into Aratula (about half way to Warwick) I could hear a worrying noise coming from the engine. It was definitely the kind of noise that you don’t ignore so I pulled over, got a cup of tea and contemplated what to do next. Poking around in the engine bay at the side of the road revealed nothing and it wasn’t long before I began to realise I wasn’t going anywhere under my own steam. I was fortunate that several other club members were travelling behind me. After much moral support from Jason and John, Clive pulled over for a cuppa and saved the day! He was trailering his car down so long story short our cars swapped positions and we continued onto Warwick.

Since Friday proved to be enough excitement for one day, I didn’t get serious about a fix until Saturday morning. It didn’t take long to find the culprit. My alternator drive pulley had come loose! Unfortunately this damaged the custom shaft that drives the alternator and it put me out for the weekend. No matter, I stayed on anyway and made a nuisance of myself. Very glad I did – lots of laughs with good mates was the best way to forget about my misfortune!

All was going well for the boys until Saturday afternoon. Matt’s Exige was performing strongly as usual but 4th gear decided it had better things to do and parted with all its teeth!

The rest of the week end saw some great competition. Geoff was trying out some new tyres and was his usual very quick self. Garry punched well above his weight with his NA S2 Honda, leading the under 2L class with the usual daylight back to the rest of the field. Tony was trying out a new exhaust on his V6 Exige. I can report that the sound was indeed fantastic. There are so many of us competing these days that I can’t mention everyone but a good time was had by all. Lotus was well and truly represented!

And just when we thought the dramas were over, I got a phone call from Jason (who had left after the 2nd last run of the weekend). He was stuck a few km from the track with his brakes locked on! Things were getting serious now – we were running out of trailers! I grabbed a jack and borrowed Clive’s Landrover for a bit of roadside assist work. Luckily it was a relatively easy fix and he was under way again in no time. Phew!

Big thanks to Clive for getting me out of trouble. You’re a true gentlemen mate. I owe you one!

Overall results saw six Lotus in the top ten (out of 90 cars). 2nd Geoff Noble (pipped on the very last run of the week end by a Formula 3 race car on a re-run when it had plenty of heat in its tyres), 4th Garry Pitt, 5th Matt Plowman, 6th Liam Philp, 7th Tony Seymour, 10th Martin O’Brien.