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What's New... |
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Team 503With the 2000 Season looming, preparations are in hand for the reconditioning of a new engine purchased last year by then sponsors, LA Motors. The old engine being just about on it's last legs. It managed to see the 503 Car through to the final race meeting of '99, when it was raced by team mechanic Simon Bush; as much as a 'Thank You' as anything else. Unfortunately, the misfire which had blighted the team for some weeks could not be cured, so a replacement power unit had to be found.The new engine is straight out of a reasonable milage Capri, so will require a fair amount of bits; firstly a complete overhaul, followed by a new Gaskets, Seals, Rings and Shells. Cash permitting (potential sponsors please note!), there'll be a new (reconditioned) Injection Head and new Cam too. The whole package should be competitive for the first Onchan meeting, which it has just been announced will be on May 1st. The plan is to have the car ready for testing by the middle of April, a few weeks before the opening meeting. 
Onchan Stadium So on to Onchan, there's some hot news here too. The F2's this year will be graded as per the system which was developed by the Dutch. Basically there will be no 'Roof Colour' Grades. Instead, drivers will be gridded by their most recent position. As usual with Stock Cars, the better outfits will still start at the back, having to negotiate the full field if they are to secure a win. The first significant factor is that the car can adopt any colour scheme and keep it - or change it - as the team sees fit. This will make life a lot easier for the teams who, like us, have tended to find themselves running in the 'middle-order', which necesitated regular paint jobs to the roof and wing. Moreover, it may help with securing proper Sponsorships from companies who might require the car to carry the company livery - which can now be plain Green, Pink stripes or Purple and Orange spots, or whatever! Thankfully for us, the Duke Livery is Red and White :-) More important than any of this is that it should make for far more entertaining racing, from the point of view of Driver and Spectator alike. As it reads in the pre-season Drivers' Newsletter; the way it will work is that your starting grid position will be determined by where you finished in the previous race - or, in the case of the first race of the meeting, your overall position at the end of the previous meeting. So if a driver starts at the front, and wins the race, it is guaranteed that he/she will have to start further back in the following race. The synics among you may think well, if there are two heats and a final, why not run two deliberately bad races, thereby securing a front row start to the big race of the day. It's yet to be confirmed, but we guess that the actual 'format' will also have to change - meaning no more 'Finals'. Watch this space. The 2000 Stock Car Racing scene gets underway on May 1st - a Monday, not surprisingly! Looking through the fixtures, there are a few mentionables; a new, season long - 5 Race, Mechanics Series, the usual 'Ladies Championship', the 3 day Sword of State for F2s, a 2 day 'TT' Meeting for both F2s and then Ministox, plus the must-see Demolition Derby and Dash for Cash Meetings. Note that there is a break in the summer, so no racing on June 12th & 19th - this gives us all the chance to catch our breath after TT. Year 2000 Fixtures - Monday 7.45 unless specified otherwise. MAY 1st 8th - Incl. Mechanics Race 15th - Incl. Ladies Race 22nd 29th - Incl. Mechanics Race JUNE 1st Thursday - Incl. Ladies Race 5th - TT Riders Night 26th - Incl. Mechanics Race JULY 3rd 10th - Incl. Ladies Race 17th - Incl. Mechanics Race 24th - F2 Sword of State, Round 1 27th Thursday - F2 Sword of State, Round 2 29th Saturday 2pm - F2 Sword of State Grand Final & Mid Season Demolition Derby 31st AUGUST 7th - Incl. Ladies Race 10th Thursday 14th - Incl. F2 TT, Round 1 17th Thursday - F2 TT, Grand Final 21st - Incl. Mechanics Race 28th - Incl. Ministox TT, Round 1 31st Thursday - Incl. Ministox TT, Grand Final SEPTEMBER 4th - Incl. Ladies Race 10th Sunday 2pm - Incl. Dash for Cash & Demolition Derby Ronnie CaulfieldThe Drivers' Newsletter also announced a new Series which will be contested over the first Eight Meetings of the Season, for Formula 2s, Saloon Stox and Bangers. The 'Ronnie Caulfield Memorial Shield' will certainly be a fiercely contested piece of silverware. Having been a driver in the above three classes and mechanic for his friends for many years, Ronnie was very popular with everyone. A good friend and a family man, he's missed by all. This team will be making every effort to be the inaugural winners of this prestigious award.
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