TRACK DAY @ MEGARA RACE TRACK

Well, on Saturday 26 of January, the weather was bad, so we did not  take the Reynard to the track. Thanks to the frequent program of the Hellenic Trackdays of George Lazarakos, we took the chance to go Thursday the 31th, this time with good weather conditions.

This was my first acquaintance with the track and my second ever race track drive since 1987 at the Maggione track in Perugia, on a Formula Italia monoposto.

Makis & Christos drove the Maglivera’s truck with the Reynard to the site, Giorgos Magliveras came riding his elegant scooter, while I went on the 911s in order to drive around and familiarize myself with the track.

While the team was preparing the Raynard, Giorgos drove the 911 for 3 rounds, while I was sitting next to him, listening about the gear changes & the braking distances.

As the competition group was very small, the F3 would enter the track 30′ later, so I had time to glimpse some other interesting cars participating.

I started with the white FIAT 128 rally pitted next to me – you know I have an attraction to these cars. If I am not mistaken, this was the only lady driver that day.

Then there was the fastest car on the track – no surprise here – it was a CABILIS Performance prepared white GOLF

And there was also this nice looking British open sports car 

My turn, was rather unhappy. Although we have moved the pedals to the front as much as possible, and molded a seat with minimal back thickness, the legroom is cramped. My problems started without even hitting the track: Trying to get off from our box, I stalled 4 times, before Giorgos understood that nobody had told me that the first gear in the Reynard’s box is BACK left instead of front…

Then I used the first 2 laps to warm the tires; it seems I did not warm them enough, so entering the 3rd lap I spun to the grass! I drained the battery without bringing the engine back to life, just to have Makis diagnose, that the fuel pump was not operating, and added some tension to the connecting wires of the pump, seemingly fixing it.

Back to the pits Giorgos decided at last to try the car himself, in order to speed-up the setting. On the first lap, the engine died and the Reynard was towed back to the pits. The fuel was taken out of the tank, the bulkhead incorporating the pump connections was unscrewed and the reason of our problem was revealed: the soldered + wire connection was worn out due to corrosion, so the proper repair needed to be carried out at the workshop. END OF THE TESTING SESSION

Not to end this report in a gloomy mood, here is a 2012 photo of Giorgos Magliveras driving his RALT @ the Megara track.

The idea of bringing the 911 to the track saved my day, because I lapped the track for maybe 20′, so at least next time I will not be a total newbie.

WATCH  the VIDEO trailer

 

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