Reflecting on the journey through 2019, this post revisits the highlights of our team's inaugural season. The MDS team celebrated a remarkable achievement, securing the 2nd place in the Sports Car category within the KZNRRC Championship.
The year brought forth a series of challenges, particularly navigating uncharted territories in the realm of motor racing. Despite the initial disadvantage of being newcomers, our team embraced the learning curve with open arms. Drawing wisdom from the guidance of others and through our own trial-and-error, we unlocked crucial insights that significantly bolstered our performance.
In our maiden race, we grappled with the complexities of tire pressures, ride height, corner weights, and suspension setups, a realm previously unfamiliar to us. Gradually, our perseverance paid off as our lap times progressively improved, fostering a growing competitiveness. As information from fellow competitors became scarce, we ventured into making our own adjustments, mindful of the advice received from other teams: "never more than one adjustment at a time."
Our vehicle setup for the season featured our spirited Toyota 4AGE 16-valve, equipped with Weber 40-sidedraft carburetors and a mild cam. Despite extracting an impressive 95kw from the engine, we encountered challenges with inconsistent fueling, particularly noticeable during early races due to fuel slosh/surge at Dezzi Raceway's numerous corners. Innovatively, we mitigated this issue by fabricating a cylindrical aluminum surge tank, effectively preventing fuel slosh.
During the penultimate race at Dezzi, our pursuit of Rob Mourdant and his formidable Allied Transport Seven resulted in our team clocking our best lap time around Dezzi (1:22.410) to date, a record awaiting the challenge by the GOMDS team.
The final race witnessed a few car incidents, narrowly missed by our team, albeit sustaining considerable damage to the rear bumper. Undeterred, we persisted and successfully completed the race.
Overall, it proved to be an exceptional debut season in racing, underscoring the significance of our team's consistent dedication, culminating in rewarding outcomes.
A heartfelt appreciation goes out to the entire MDS team for their unwavering commitment, as well as to all the individuals who supported us along this incredible journey.
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