EAST FORTUNE 18-19 APRIL

MIXED FORTUNE AT EAST FORTUNE......

 

All set for the long run we loaded up and made off in good time only to get caught in the traffic jam at Bankfoot for an hour. Finally we made it down to the circuit and found a big enough space for the truck.

 

We were quite excited about getting back out on track after our successful start at Knockhill. Saturday morning early start signed on, scrutineered and ready for the warm up. We got a few laps in and then disaster, the sidecar started to run on three cylinders as we approached the hairpin and we pulled back into the pits. This looked like a return of the electrical gremlins that beset us at the first east Fortune of 2008.

 

We checked the spark plug, the coil stick, the wire from stick to ECU. There was definitely a fault and it was leading towards the ECU. We asked over the tannoy for help to see if anyone had a spare ECU for a K5/K6 and John Lind Racing came up trumps. Arthur Fulton very kindly chauffeured Jen to Danderhall in the lunch break to Michael Robertson’s to get one off his bike. On return we plugged it in only to remember that that the ECU on the sidecar is an American one so that it doesn’t need to run with the key. Michael’s was chipped to the key – still in his bike at Danderhall!

 

The elusive ECU! American of course.

 

Things were looking grim until we discovered that Gordon Shand had a spare one back in Auchentiber. Racing finished early following a big crash in the sidecar race which saw Scott Laurie and Jimmy Connell airborne over the tattie fields at Snake. Jen took off in Stewart Lithgow’s Corsa for a mercy mission to North Ayrshire. Stewart and his girlfriend Leanne came along as co-drivers and to set the Tom Tom for navigation. 4 hours and 200 miles later the ECU was back at the awning. The moment of truth and a crowd gathered. The new ECU was plugged in….it still ran on three. Back to the drawing board. The fault code insisted that the coil connection was the problem and we honed in on that swapping connections and coils over. Bryan Ferry poked the rubber connector seal right in and suddenly it was sorted. Whether this was the problem all along remains a mystery. Shaun had cleaned all the connections too and we decided it could have been a combination of things but at least it was sorted. Sunday was back on!

 

Unfortunately we had missed out on Saturday qualifying so had to start from the back of the grid. The first race was one postponed from Saturday afternoon which was a six lap dash. We flew off the line and passed Gordon Shand and Stuart Graham on his new F2 and Davie Annan and Grant Hunter. We were off to a good start but Davie showed his nose a few times and finally took us into the hairpin and pipped us to the post. Looking at the times we were pleased to see the fastest lap was the last lap trying to catch Davie Annan. Kerr normally has hand fatigue as the race goes on but this showed that was not slowing him down like it did last year.

 

Over lunch we enjoyed the sunshine and caught up with visitors including one of our sponsors, Brenda Mitchell from Digby Brown Solicitors, who came along with husband Rod to hand over some cracking Digby Brown fleeces and shirts.

 

 

 

Carol worked like a trooper keeping the masses fed and watered while also walkng the plank in and out of her kitchen.

 

First up after lunch was the Scottish Championship 10 lap race we were nervous about staying the distance. We got another good start and ahead of Davie and Grant again. We kept the lead over them for a few laps until they passed into Esses. We did last the distance and finished 6^th again fastest lap in lap 9 right at the end, trying to reel in Davie with a best lap time of 1m 08.29s only 0.11 s off our fastest time from 2008.

 

That done we were looking forward to the third race of 8 laps to finish the day. We packed up while we waited and put away the old awning for the last time. The new one, funded by Digby Brown Solicitors will be fitted in time for the Knockhill Motor fair on the 9 & 10^th May.

 

On the start line of the last race Jen clocked Colin Riddell and John McCartney sneaking up behind the rear wheel, might be an idea to move hand holes, fearing the worst. Sure enough as the lights changed they charged through the same space that we were heading for leaving a big blue streak of paint along the side of our fairing, leaving a big crack in the fibreglass and clipping Jen’s hand. We chased and caught them and had another good battle with Davie Annan and Grant Hunter this time taking 5^th place with another best time of 1m 08s in line with our best lap of 2008.

 

The weather was superb and the facilities at the circuit excellent as always. Thanks to everyone who came to help out and get the crack. The lorry has now been put over to Martin Gill’s farm on the Black Isle where it will be painted black over the next couple of weeks by Philip MacDonald.

 

 

Results:

Race 13 from Saturday

 

 

Race 5 Sunday – Scottish Championship

 

 

 

Race 13 Sunday