MGC Racing Commodore finishes 1st in Round 1 - Oran Park

There was high expectation for Round one and even though the MGC Commodore finished 1st in the Privateer Cup section things we not all quick and easy.

Friday practice began with a blown power steering pump with only half a lap into the session so back to the pits to fit a new pump. In session two a snapped shock mount brought a premature pit stop and no laps completed. Qualifying was approached with what could be next and after trying hard Mark could only manage 12th fastest as the engine began to overheat.

In race 1 the MGC Commordore the troubles continued with an ABS cable coming loose before the start. After coming to pit lane a quick fiddle under the bonnet and Mark was off again. After giving the field nearly half a lap head start we finished 10th but appeared to be suffering as the overheating problem had not gone away despite a number of changes since qualifying. Even though the finish still meant we earned 30 points towards the championship.

Sunday and a fine day meant we had high hopes for a better result now starting from position 10. After a couple of laps Mark complained on overheating again and felt he may have to stop as the engine kept shutting down in some of the faster parts of the track. After nursing the car to the finish this meant that again we earned 30 more championship points but were concerned what else could be causing the overheating problem which we had never had previously.

With only 1.5 hours till race 3 the problem was located, blown head gasket. The choice had to be made change the gasket or put in a fluid temporary fix and hope that it all held together. Considering the risk of destroying the engine there was little choice. Start and complete 12 laps of the 15 lap race and earn 30 points or sit in the pits and earn nothing.

We took the rish and by lap 3 mark was complaining lack of power and overheating as he thought all the water was used up. After a trip to the pits for a top up he was away again fearing would it last. On lap 8 Chris Alajajian in the Subaru hit the wall in turn 2. Was this our lucky day ... no offense to Chris but this brought out the safety car. Now the pace slowed the temperature came down and there was hope. On lap 12 the race was red flagged and we ended up finishing 8th despite our feelings at the beginning of the race.

Overall the weekend was a great success despite the problems and we left with the very first Ferntree Gully Privateers Cup trophy and heading to Wakefield on May 27th for round 2

The next round of the STS Turbo Australian Performance Car Championship will be held at Goulburn's Wakefield Park Raceway on May 26 - 28.

MGC Racing is supported by ACT software and Ferntree Gully Holden.