Mario de Sousa and Craig Nicholson had reason to smile after the Killarney race meeting when their respective performances showed considerable improvement over the first Midas Production Car race of the season.
De Sousa, driving the class B Toyota Corolla Rsi was very much on the pace from first practice on Friday morning. However, if Mario thought he was in for an easy weekend he was sorely mistaken. The Corolla broke a valve in qualifying and seventh on the grid was the result.
The KIC team sprung into action and worked late into Friday night to repair the damage. However, during warm up on Saturday morning it quickly became evident that the motor had suffered further damage and would need to be replaced. Mario managed to secure a replacement motor from the works Toyota team and the KIC technicians sprung into action. The entire motor change was accomplished in under one and a half hours, impressive even by works team standards.
Mario only just managed to make the start line in time for the first heat and went on to finish fith. The second heat proved equally challenging when a puncture significantly hampered de Sousa in the last three laps. Nevertheless, he was able to secure another fith position and take fith overall for the day.
Mario was pleased with the overall level of performance: “Our finishing positions did not really reflect the overall competitiveness of the car today as we had many problems to overcome.
The team did a fantastic job in keeping me on the track the whole weekend and deserve a good rest after all their efforts. We have made huge strides in performance since the first race of the season and I am looking forward now to a good showing in East London next month,” said De Sousa.
Although not coming away with a win Craig Nicholson was nevertheless thrilled with the competitiveness of his class D Toyota Tazz 1600.
The Tazz was quick out the box on Friday and Nicholson used the pace to good effect when he qualified on the front row of the grid in second position later in the day. A good start saw him lead the first race and then get involved in a huge scrap with the VW Golf of Carlos Nobre.
On lap 6 Nicholson was taken out of the lead by an out of control Opel Corsa and was then thumped by one of the Ford Fiestas for good measure when he recovered to the track. Both incidents damaged the Tazz and pushed Nicholson to the back of the field where he finished in 11th position.
Craig was extremely angry after losing out on his first possible wing and used the adrenalin to good effect in the second heat to charge through the field and finish third, just behind the two leaders at the chequered flag. Craig was understandably disappointed but nevertheless upbeat after the race.
“It was so galling to be taken out of the first heat, KIC Auto had given me a car capable of a win and it was just brain fade on the part of my fellow competitors that robbed me of the opportunity. The second heat was great fun and I had to really go some to overtake eight competitors in ten laps to finish third. I had some fine dices and a couple of good scraps along the way. This is my best performance to date and I am thrilled with the car”.
Nicholson had just welcomed CAR Magazine as a new sponsor on the car and was using Sasol fuel and lubricants for the first time, so a good result was most welcome. The Johannesburg local has warned that he will be on the charge next month in East London looking for a win.
