The team landed in Cheshire for the 5th round of the EnduroKa at Oulton Park, a circuit we’ve all been looking forward to driving for the first time. After four hard races, the last being 12 hours, it really took its toll on our little Ford Ka engine. We found a 28,000 miles from the new, one lady owner’s engine and box, which was fitted prior to our arrival on the Friday for test day.
Friday was all about making sure the car was ready and the drivers to get their eye in and learn the circuit. It was a damp start to proceedings, but it soon dried out, and everything was going smoothly until a curb strike broke a power steering line! Our first fix only lasted a few laps, so a second fix was required, which took most of the afternoon. A solid hour of running to end the day saw us ready for Qualifying and the Race on Saturday.
Qualifying was dry, and we saw 36 cars on track for the one-hour session, which was, unfortunately, twenty mixtures shorter for us as we underfilled the car of fuel. We felt there was more time if we had clean air. However, the fuel light shortly came on, and we were apprehensive of being underweight. We stopped as fuelling is not allowed during qualifying. Weighing in at 950kg on the dot, we secured P14. Our best starting position yet!
Race day went from dry to wet very quickly, and rain was forecasted for the full 5 hours! We have no experience in the rain, and I think it’s safe to say it served all the emotions as it was terrifying, fun, challenging and chaotic all at the same time! Our race pace in the dry was actually pretty good. In the wet, however, we were not the fastest, so our strategy was not to make any mistakes, finish the race and not damage the car – slow and steady! After the 5 hours, we finished 14th! Considering the conditions, this was a mega result, and the car came home in one piece. An amazing effort by the team and drivers!
