Historic Mt Cotton Hill climb Sunday 3 May

5.30am we head for the hills, me with a sense of foreboding after yesterdays turn of events or should I say we head for the mountain & 946 metres of bitumen sealed up hill & down dale

The Mustang is off on its first Hill climbing jaunt & will try her luck at a standing start to a flying finish, along an uphill course against the clock!!

Ohhh I will love this NOT!

Hmmm... If you fancy some 4 wheeled action you might consider hill climbing, heart in mouth sort of stuff! Timed sprints

As he said to me, this is safe, it means you won't be bashing body work with some maniac

But darling, says I, remember there are trees, corners, & sheer drops to consider instead

Only one thing left behind this time, my thongs, as it’s so cold this time of the morning I have to put on my boots

Lots of laughs enroute as we reviewed the winch incident from yesterday

Boys & their toys, we are amazed at all the speed racers out there, they pass the pinepac car on the trailer & plant their foot on the throttle & roar off into the distance

We get the site he was after, the sole reason for arriving so early, set up camp & get the paper work over & receive the commemorative mug, take the car in & pass scruteneering & attend the drivers briefing, phew I’m exhausted already

Pit crew persons arrived a little late, I might add, I believe we rang & told them they must also attend the Drivers meeting at 7.30am, but this was meet with peals of laughter & a! "I don’t think so"!! but no Jody obviously kept her husband in bed!! & didn’t heed her parents

Oh the young generation of today, what happened to honor your Father & your Mother, I ask

All is forgiven when they arrive in time for the first run

Race suit, socks, shoes, gloves & Helmet are adorned & the car fired into life, then pep talk from wifey

"Take it relatively slow & easy & build up a good knowledge of the course, please remember you want to participate in Mt Cootha hill climb later in the month, in a car with good working condition

”

Young Son number 2 shows up with his mates, Jesse tells dad at the end of the day he was awesome he really made his Daddies day

He warms the tyres with a bit of a burnout trying to "put some heat" into them to improve their grip as he approached the start line, the light goes green & with the right amount of wheel spin to get a good "launch" he was off & racing, around the first corner, accelerating up to the first loop, which seemed to me to loom rapidly, aka “lovers loop” then he’s taking the downhill plunge to the hairpin at the bottom of the hill, then on & up to a very steep, sharp left hander, where I must add 2 cars had mishaps during the course of the day & had to be trucked off!!! Down the hill to the hairpin nut corner, back up the straight to lovers leap corner again & through to the finish line

His nemesis:

”The hairpin”!!!

he slides sideways across the track, which slowed his times down considerably on this run, his explanation of this sideways maneuver, when asked “I stood on gas pedal too hard, have to learn to ease the power, LOCK INTO BRAIN, one of many things one has to exsicute in under 60 seconds!”
4th run “Where did 1st gear go” on the run back up to lovers leap??

back at the pits ajusted the clutch & everything was hunky dory

By this time he was full of self doubt, as he had gone from a 62.66 to a 67.01, “I’m shit at this, he says, I should just be the team owner & get one of the boys to drive”

But his sheer bloody-minded determination kicks right in there again & he is once again the driver & loving it, his best time for the day was 57.11 as he says it can only get better from here

Praise the Lord we are back safe & sound from the hill climb

Really proud of you, sweetheart for living your dream & for taking me along for the ride xx