I did in fact manage to coax Jono Lester out of driver training retirement and spent a morning with him recently at Hampton Downs, so there. Surprisingly enough, he didn't seem that scared, but I stopped breathing when he drove the damn thing. I had no idea a purple Corolla could go that fast. However, I don't think the rest of the 46-car field should be too bothered as it will in fact be me in charge of the wheel and pedals, so not too much of a threat I imagine.
More of the driver training later and now back to car prep.
It is strongly suggested for anyone wanting to enter this new series, organised by the New Zealand Racing Drivers' League, and the Historic Racing Club in particular, that you do get the car looked at by a mechanic.
Williamson has been fiddling with race cars since Noah was a teenager and so knows his way around things, and the stresses put on a car being punted around a race track. The 2K Cup rules don't allow for any modifications to the car other than upgrading the brakes and only to the point of replacing the standard disc pad material to a race compound.
This is a nod to safety as standard pads cease to work after about five laps as I found out to my own dismay - and the smell of hot brake fluid is not pleasant at all. John Arkley of Race Brakes in Auckland have come to rescue and have supplied a set of standard pads re-surfaced with Mintex race compound.
Now the car is being fettled by International Motorsport, I've had a bit more time to try and digest what Lester was saying about the art of racing. I learned two very important things that morning; the first is I'm a crap driver and not in fact the reincarnation of Juan Manuel Fangio. The second is that this racing lark is bloody hard - there's a hell of a lot of things to remember all at the same time.
Even at the snail's pace I was going, if you get it wrong the car can give you a nasty nip in the but checks. I'm not going to give too much away here, as some as my competitors may be reading this, but suffice to say Lester told me one very important thing to always keep in mind.
By the end of the morning I was getting the hand of it, and had according to Lester, got one corner just about right. Only another nine to go, then. What's slightly worrying me, is that while I may have a rough idea where to point the car now, there'll be another 45 cars also trying to find their way through the same corners.
Check back for a further update before the day out at Hampton Downs as a support class at the opening round of the V8 SuperTourers endurance series, September 28-29.