As NZ’s north island waited for a cyclone to arrive, we squeezed in a weekend of racing, for the second round of the MX-5 Racing NZ series, at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
Supporting the Super Sprint series, and the Toyota TRS series, we joined the Mazda Racing Series RX-8s, filling the field to 39 cars, necessitating a switch from #11 to #111 – though it does look a little better on our ‘JPS-from-Wish’ racer.
It’s all about driving fast safely and responsibly, getting speed off the streets and onto the track. MX-5 racing ic cheap and easy, and our NA 1.6-litre MX-5 sits on the grid for around $8000, with cars popping up for sale, and the racing close because everyone has the same car, weight, tyres, suspension and horsepower.
We’re competing in the four round Summer Series, which takes us from Manfeild, to Taupo, Pukekohe and Hampton Downs.
Though not everyone has the same experience with NZ tracks (ie: me!), so for our first time at Taupo in our Fairview-supported MX-5, the first time on track was for 15 mins of qualifying, also bedding in new front brake pads, dealing with RX-8s that were ten seconds a lap faster and setting a decent time of 1m:53.8s, but good enough for sixth.
Reigning series champion Nick Cummins sat on pole with a 1:50.9, 1.3 secs clear of Markku Braid (1m:52.2s) and Oliver Sapsford (1m:52.7s).
With three races over the weekend including a reverse-grid, we set off in race one to learn, and a decent first lap with RX-8 traffic found us up to second place, but the quick guys fought back and we finished a solid fourth place, and a fraction faster.
With the reverse grid race, trying to avoid mayhem on the first lap – with the slower RX-8s and the fastest MX-5s, minding our own business into turn two, a fellow MX-5 racer had a coming together with the other MX-5 of Mark Smith, sending him across the track and into our car, pushing us off track. Luckily it wasn’t too big a hit, just a dented rear wheelarch, and we recovered to sit in third, and fend off a late-charging Shane Hayter.
So with combined finishes of fourth and third, we sat third on the grid, just as speck of rain started falling. With around 4000rpm dialed up to jump the sub-900kg MX-5s off the line, with grip from the Hankook R-S4 tyres, we made another decent start, kept it clean through turn one and lap one, and even got a bump draft bump from Oliver Sapsford, which felt like a NOS hit from a Fast & Furious movie, helping top speeds around 165km/h down the long back straight – which we’re sure he regrets as he never challenged again.
The big story was lap two when three RX-8s had a coming together, with damage big enough to crack oil coolers and spill over the track. A hobbled RX-8 was driving slowly, while a fast-moving Nick Cummings powered through, hit the oil, and slid into the back of the RX-8, heavily damaging the MX-5 and sadly putting him out of the race.
That left Markku Braid in first spot, putting in clean laps, while we sat in second, using some theory/tips and learning and a few windscreen wiper swipes to combat the light but steady rain. Braid powered on to take the win by three seconds, with our DRIVEN Fairview claiming second place (and a new Hankook podium cap), with another three-seconds back to Sapsford, then Hayter and Matt Dilly in fifth.
A little perseverance, learning, listening - and then putting it all into place - got our lap times down to 1m:52.9 against Braid’s 1m:52.7, so a decent result, which puts our black MX-5 second-place in the championship after two rounds, thanks in part to Cummings and Braid each having a DNF. Though with 75 points for a win, 67 for second and 60 for third, we'll just enjoy it while it lasts.
Next round is the big Pukekohe Flying Farewell event, March 24-26 – it should be a epic!
2023 MX5 Racing NZ Summer Series (after Rd2 of 4)*
Nick Cummings 367pts
Dean Evans 335pts
Markku Braid 329pts
*provisional
