Race Report 1999
RAISING AWARENESS FOR THE IRISH MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE ASSOCIATION
By Tony Dennison - Team Manager.
TEAM MANAGER TONY DENNISON
ASST. MANAGER JOHN CREANE
DRIVERS FASTEST LAP
Year 1998 1999
BARRY
MAHON
-:-- 2:04:91
STEPHEN
MAHON
2:03:67
2:03:83
PAUL
GOLDRICK
2:04:12 2:04:15
I decided to take a step back from driving in 99 and concentrate on managing the race team.
This lead to a vacant seat and I had just the person in mind. Barry Mahon younger brother of Steve had worked very well in the pit crew in 1998 and showed an interest in all aspects of the team and so he was top of the list of drivers to test. Barry would have one hour to impress me and see for himself whether or not he actually wanted to drive. Unfortunately for Barry but fortunately for me the test was run at 8AM on a wet track with plenty of diesel on the surface from truck racing the previous day. This basically amounted to a skating rink on a few corners but to my, and I suppose Barry’s surprise he handled it very well, from the pit wall I could see him sawing away at the steering wheel but I was very surprised not to hear him lift off. His time improved each lap and after a few visits to the pit for info on the correct racing lines I could see his confidence grow. I had seen enough to convince me that Barry would fit in nicely with the other drivers and knew the only problem Barry would face was race experience, each of the other drivers had raced in 97 and 98.
Another new approach for 99 was qualifying, usually we got into the car and flew around for the session, trying to improve our position and ending up with all sorts of problems on the car. From starting both the 97 and 98 race I knew that grid position meant nothing in a 24-hour race. So we decided since each driver must qualify with at least three flying laps the best approach would be one out lap, three flying laps and an in lap. This left us in position 24 from 33 and we actually got through the session without a problem.
Paul Goldrick started the race very well, within two hours we were up to 15th place and when Paul pitted Paul Bates took over. The pit stop went very smoothly and all seemed well until near the end of Paul’s stint his lap times showed he might have a problem and right enough he signalled that there was indeed a problem. The drop in time was not enough to warrant an unscheduled stop so we left him out. Barry was due out next and I could see that he was getting a bit anxious and so I tried to calm him down. When the car arrived in the pit Paul informed us that at certain 3rd gear corners the car would just die. A quick check showed nothing obvious but the coil had given a similar problem in testing so we changed it. As the work was going on I strapped Barry in and told him the problem and advised him if the problem persisted to change his approach and use a different gear at the corners. Once back on the track he signalled that the problem was still there but within a few laps he had indeed mastered a new approach and his times were fine for the rest of the stint. During this time we talked with Paul Bates and we came to the conclusion that it must be a carb problem, this was very disappointing as we had received a new carb for the race. When Barry pitted we changed the top of the carb with one which had different float settings. Steve took over but after one lap he was not at all happy, the problem now seemed worse. Nothing for it now but to pit and change the carb. This cured the problem and we were back in business, or were we? Just over an hour later Steve arrived unexpectedly into the pits with the accelerator pedal in his hand, it had snapped off but when the bonnet was lifted we also noticed that the accelerator return spring and the accelerator pump were missing. I had found the problem with the new carb, rectified it and so decided to fit it again. All this would take time and take us into a driver change window so the car was refuelled, the tyres changed and Paul Goldrick was back in the car. As the car left the pit lane we felt that at this stage we had our fair share of bad luck and looked forward to a quiet night. It rained for a while and a few cars slipped off but Paul was having a great stint, his two hours were now up and so I told the pit crew to call him in. The pit crew informed me that Paul was missing, I looked to the control tower only to see the safety car leave the pit and the ambulance and the recovery truck start up. I ran towards the control tower fearing the worst, but as I passed a marshal, over his radio I could hear our car number being mentioned. I asked him if he could find out if Paul was OK and he informed me that our driver was out of the car and with the marshal at the other end instructing him to get info back to the team that the right steering arm had snapped. What a relief, I now knew that Paul was OK and he had his wits about him getting the info back to us which enabled us to have a suspension arm ready for when the car was towed back. The arm broke at Parabolica where Paul was flat out, luckily he ended up in the gravel but there was a lot of damage. Our old friend bad luck was back but the car was repaired and Paul Bates was next out. Paul’s stint went fine and I though maybe our luck had finally turned. At the next pit stop Barry took over, this was his first time racing in the dark and everything was going great until Barry indicated that he had a problem and would pit next time around. When he pitted he reported that the clutch pedal was sticking on the floor, it was traced to the front anti-roll bar which had worked loose following the suspension arm change, this was quickly rectified and Barry was once again on his way. About one hour later the pit crew reported that Barry was missing. Somebody had lost it big time at T1- T2 and hit Barry from behind sending him across the wet grass and into a tyre wall. I approached the marshal again and he told me that the driver was out of the car and seemed OK. Barry arrived back in the recovery truck with a very sad looking 2 CV in tow. Although Barry mucked in to get the car repaired for re-scrutiny I could see he got a big fright in the accident. When the car finally got underway Steve was driving, when things settled down I had a chat with Barry. He told me what happened, and how he felt he would rather not do his final stint. I told him that was not a problem, as the other three drivers would cover his final two hours. I could tell he was relieved, and he told me that he never knew that racing 2CV’s could be so intense. Barry retired to his sleeping bag and I set about rescheduling the 3 remaining drivers stints. Steve was going very well and put up our fastest lap, I felt that maybe just maybe our bad luck had finally changed. I decided to go for something to eat and handed over to the asst. manager John Creane. I had just sat down when it was John’s turn to do a bit of running, he ran to me and informed me that the COC had instructed him to call in the driver as he was disqualifying him for careless driving. When I arrived they were waiting at our pit garage to talk to Steve and I asked why he was being disqualified without at least getting a warning. I was told that he committed two offences within one lap and they had no time to warn him after the first. Steve was adjudged to have overtaken the tow truck as it left the pit lane and on the next lap he did not slow sufficiently at the scene of an accident. When Steve got in the COC informed him of his decision, and I asked Steve for his view. Steve felt that the tow truck was not on the track when he approached the pit exit, but he did admit that he should have slowed more at the accident scene. Although bitterly disappointed Steve accepted his punishment.
Now I was in a dilemma, I only had two very tired drivers to work with, Paul Bates was quickly located and put in the car with instructions to keep going until he was called in. I frantically tried to work out the remaining stints but no matter which way I did it I still needed one more driver! I approached Barry and informed him of the problem he quickly agreed to do a stint. Secretly I think he was delighted that he could have another go, I know I was. Paul Bates handed over to Paul Goldrick who later pitted with a broken cooling fan. After it was replaced Barry took over I watched with bathed breath as he left the pit lane. It was soon clear he was back to his old self he had a great stint and had a great big smile on his face as he pitted at the end of his stint. I think he found the car that punted him off during the night and took great pleasure in lapping them. Paul Goldrick took over for his final stint and we had another trouble free stint. Next Barry went out but our old friend bad luck was back within two laps, the clutch cable snapped Barry had to be towed back and a new cable was fitted and he rejoined the race. Barry handed over to Paul Bates, our now expert last hour finisher. He brought a few tools just in case, because at this stage with no tow backs allowed in the final hour we were not prepared to let all the bad luck of the previous 23 hours get the better of us. I’m glad to say it didn’t and Paul brought home a lump of twisted metal that only 24 hours earlier was a gleaming example of a Citroen 2 CV. At least we were not last and we kept our 100% finishing record in the 24-hour race intact.
When the formalities were over I stood back and looked at the team, everybody was exhausted and why not, they all worked very hard all weekend. The car was now looked the sorriest thing in Mondello Park, one thing for sure it would never race again. Steve jokingly put a for sale sign up and most agreed! We packed up and headed our separate ways.
Later Sunday night I wondered if I could persuade the other two team owners Paul Goldrick and Paul Bates to invest in a new chassis and suspension as I felt this was the only option left. The project was a great success in promoting awareness for the IMNDA, but I decided to wait a while before asking and let the dust settle.
OK so I couldn’t wait, first thing Monday morning I contacted the two Paul’s and it was agreed quite quickly we would invest in a chassis and suspension for the 2000 race, the dust had indeed settled. Now it was time to talk to Barry, after all he had been through in the race no other driver could say they had more experience than him because he was unlucky enough to get it all in the one race. As I approached Barry I could see he knew I hadn’t given up on the team and before I asked the question he had said yes to the drive for 2000. Although we all knew that we had a long winter of rebuilding ahead we looked forward to the next race.
The team would like to thank all our sponsors (listed below), family members and friends who selfishly gave up their time to help out throughout the weekend. As good as the drivers think they are, they could not function without that help, many thanks to one and all.
TAYLOR SIGNS…QMI (JD TOOLS)…Mc NAMARAS…BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE… MIDLAND TYRE SERVICES… GLENN TYRES… THE YELLOW FORD INN ATHBOY…HAROLD ENGINEERING…DAN DALY ENGINES…QH…ADRIAN SAICH and FLANAGAN’S SIGNS.