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APR: CVW Hidden Valley race notes
Cramp's clutch steers HSV driver to disappointment in top end tussle. When the Donut King Australian Performance Car Championship confirmed that the series' halfway point would come at Darwin's Horsepower Haven of Hidden Valley Raceway, CVW Manta ...
Edited: Jul 4, 2005, 10:48 AM
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Cramp's clutch steers HSV driver to disappointment in top end tussle.
When the Donut King Australian Performance Car Championship confirmed that the series' halfway point would come at Darwin's Horsepower Haven of Hidden Valley Raceway, CVW Manta Racing driver Steve Cramp was certain that it would be a key round for the team to extract some serious performance and results out of the team's CVW Engineering backed HSV VZ GTS Commodore.
And after yesterday's qualifying session and opening race the team confirmed the pace part of the above equation -- the only thing missing was luck; a sequence of unfortunate mechanical maladies setting the team back time and time again despite having one of the fastest cars in the competitive Performance Car Field.
Friday practice boded well for Cramp, the Adelaidian taking the HSV -- sporting backing from Darwin restaurant 'crustaceans on the wharf' for this round -- to a best lap of 1m19.2256; a time that was less than a second from pole and proved the team's competitiveness at the Hidden Valley track -- the 1.1 km long straight suiting the V8 Powered cars down to the ground.
Saturday, however, went in an entirely different direction, namely the wrong one. After completing just a handful of laps in Qualifying, the cars clutch began to give the team problems that would endure for the remainder of the day -- relegating a frustrated driver to the rear of the field for the start of the afternoons 25 lap race.
Gridding up last, things continued to go against the CVW team when the cars power steering pump failed on the opening lap of the race. Electing to continue, Cramp began making up lost ground as he cut through the field, setting an impressive 3rd fastest lap of the race on lap 12.
It was all for naught though, when the pump seized totally just a few laps from home putting an end to what had been one of the toughest days this season for Cramp and the CVM Manta Racing team.
"The top end through everything at us today, and then some more," said Cramp. "It was just one thing or another going wrong with the clutch, and then the power steering playing up on us today. However, on the positive side, the car was balanced perfectly today and very fast -- as we showed by setting the third best lap in the race despite having power steering.
"It was just one of those days, I guess. We'll make the repairs tonight (Saturday night) to ensure that the car is in perfect condition for the final two races tomorrow when we will charge through the field again."
Two races conclude the Donut King Australian Performance Car Championship's 'half way' round today.
-www.cvwmantaracing.com
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