when I thanked everyone at the presentation I am pretty sure I didn’t thank my Crew Chief, sorry Steve, you were as important to the team and the season as the car herself and certainly the driver.. cheers mate..

the crew cleared away the pit area, we packed the cars up and chatted with crew while we gathered for thanked he presentations.. I was really stoked to hear a few folks call me back to make a speech, I thanked the lady who cleans the loos out all weekend.. after threatening to spank them, I also thanked my sponsors, Ziggy’z, Firestone, Clints and Road and Track, thanked Bob and his team and let the MMP crew know that the weekend of racing I had just experienced was the greatest.. and put it to the crowd of drivers still gathered about us that the sheer number of cars here showed we could support any complex that Bob and the team were putting together for us.. I think I thanked the racers and that was me..

the remainder of the presentations saw us hear from some classic racers and some fantastic ambassadors to their respective countries as the Aussies and the Yanks from the Nostalgia ranks came up to accept their awards.. a great event had drawn to a close and it was time for my trusty co-pilot Stefanee and I to head for the hills, both literally and figuratively..

We stopped to get refreshments in Featherston and had a quick refreshment stop before we tackled the Rimutaka Hill rd.. our way to the top was a series of stops and starts as we found ourselves caught behind some truly horrifying drivers who thought the appropriate response to mild sunstrike was to stop in their tracks. so every left hand bend saw a train of drivers stopping then starting and stopping a brief time later while these crazy fools made a safe journey hazardous simply by getting behind the wheel.. we made it home and unpacked the car.. I was stuffed and the weekend was over..

at this stage it would be prudent to thank my sponsors Paul at Firestone Wainui, Mat-canic at Ziggy’z Wainuiomata, Clint at Clint’s Auto Electrical and Bevan at Road and Track.. thanks so very much guys you made our season happen for us in so many ways and I look forward to going some way to thanking you with an end of season function of sorts..

*** as a footnote ***

the car was dropped off to Wayne at Wilsons on Tuesday and the problem was found to be an out of balance converter. apparently the guys at B&M only static balance their converters and there was also some difference between the Chev crank and the Holden crank when it came to mateing up to the converter so that is being sorted as well.. I ordered new front Super Low V8 King Springs from Paul on Wednesday and they will be fitted in early May.. the end of the season has come and it is time for a few track days before we embark on the next incarnation of the family car.. next excursion is a track day at Hampton Downs on May 10.. that’ll be a ripper and I’ve got plenty to do to the car between now and then so there’s no shortage of topics for build diary entries.. plus it’s time to lose weight, I can’t fit into my Chicane Clubman driving suit as well as I could two weeks ago, too much crap food.. that’s a whole different entry right there..