2018 International Final
The Greenpower International finals were held on Friday 5th October and Saturday 6th October at Rockingham Motor Speedway, This would be our final trip to this track as it is closing.at the end of the year.
Friday 5th October
5:45am, which is an early start for anyone let alone a team who had been working hard all season. But the international finals lay ahead and everyone was wondering if we had prepared enough, if the hours of pit practice had been enough.
Arriving at the track, everyone was raring to go. Our cars passed through scrutineering fine and soon enough we were out for the first practice of the day. Friday passed rather quickly without any issue….we even had a CAUC first….a group of us raced in the kit car final for another team who couldn't make it on the day. Soon enough, the day of practice was over. It was time for our team meal and then an early night for everyone in the hotel.
Saturday 6th October
Race day! Arriving at the track it was clear this wasn't going to be an easy day. It was pouring down with rain as we began setting up and it soon became clear that this might be an issue. Half way through practice, our pit garage was filled with the sound of hairdryers and people trying anyway they could to keep themselves and the rest of the team warm and dry. 10:25am and it was time to put our cars on the grid, both on the front row. 10:45am its lights out and away we go! Basil stormed off the starting line however unfortunately Dylan had a rather slow first lap. But we kept going. 1 hours and 20 minutes later, after two super quick driver changes and most of our competition stopping on track due to the rain, we finally overtook Apex and Cate brought Basil home in 1st! With Lili-ann nursing Dylan into 4th.
Next we had an hour or so of trying to dry the drivers and devise a new strategy. Thankfully, the rain subsided for the second race. We needed to beat our mileage from the first race to secure a championship win. 1:25pm and the cars headed back out on track for the last time this season. As the lights went out, both our cars got off to a good start. 1 hour and 25 minutes later, we had managed to improve on our mileage from the previous race. Unfortunately, so did our main competitors. When the chequered flag waved, we crossed the line in 2nd…. about 30 seconds behind first place. It was an incredibly close race.
Out of 258 cars, many of which had come from other countries, we finished the season in 2nd (Basil) and 4th (Dylan), therefore making CAUC the Greenpower Trust 2018 International Runners Up.
So what does it take to get to the world championships?
- Win 10 races
- Come runner up in 12 races
- Complete 728 race laps, 1140 race miles, (enough to get to Bologna…..A journey we are planning to take in July 2020 to visit the Italian Motor Industry)
- Achieve a top speed of 36 mph
- Drive 1852 miles to get to the races
- Get up ridiculously early 7 times
- Countless hours of pit practice and work in the tech suite
And one really dedicated team.
