Sunday, September 12, 2004
The Fun Begins
After all of the preparations and challenges we finally did what we came to do...we got to drive!
Before the event during our preparations yesterday, we passed the technical inspection with flying colours, and completed several setup and configuration items. It was a long day and we were not able to get in a drive until 5:30pm. A car show was beginning at 6pm for the local people of St. John's however after some discussions with the parking officials, they let us go for a drive. The car ran great, however we found that we had a problem with our rally computer. We were getting unusual readings that made no sense. We came back and proceeded to seek help from various sources and were given various suggestions on what could be wrong.
We decided to pack it in for the night after a long day and tackle in the morning.
We re-routed the power source direct to the battery to try to get "clean" power. We took it our for a drive and it did not work. After trying a different unit from another competitor, the problem persisted. We then reconnected and removed a power inverter we had installed to power the video camera. This seemed to fix the problem and we were good to go on the demonstration event. Following a 2 hour driver/co-driver meeting, the 89 cars paraded out of the arena towards the event location.
We ran well although there was more standing around and waiting than driving. The suggested times for the lap was 2 minutes to drive 2.15kms. Our times were 1.22 (we were held up by a slower car), 1.10 and 1.12. We drove in complete control and had power in reserve. It felt good to finally get to drive.
We came back and made some minor modifications. We have notice a minor vacuum leak that we will address tomorrow. It should not affect us though out the Prologue Stage (a stage designed to seed the teams). Incorporated into this years events are various stops at local community halls, schools and seniors residences to visit with the local people and give them a first hand chance to see the cars. Tomorrow we stop at Cape St. Francis Elementary School for lunch in Pouch Cove, a brief stop at Flat Rock Community Centre, St. Francis Assisi School (there seems to be alot of "St. Francis" places) and Caribou Legion Manors where we are to enjoy and partake in refreshments with the seniors.
Off to bed to rest for our first full day of racing. More pictures and updates tomorrow.
Before the event during our preparations yesterday, we passed the technical inspection with flying colours, and completed several setup and configuration items. It was a long day and we were not able to get in a drive until 5:30pm. A car show was beginning at 6pm for the local people of St. John's however after some discussions with the parking officials, they let us go for a drive. The car ran great, however we found that we had a problem with our rally computer. We were getting unusual readings that made no sense. We came back and proceeded to seek help from various sources and were given various suggestions on what could be wrong.
We decided to pack it in for the night after a long day and tackle in the morning.
We re-routed the power source direct to the battery to try to get "clean" power. We took it our for a drive and it did not work. After trying a different unit from another competitor, the problem persisted. We then reconnected and removed a power inverter we had installed to power the video camera. This seemed to fix the problem and we were good to go on the demonstration event. Following a 2 hour driver/co-driver meeting, the 89 cars paraded out of the arena towards the event location.
We ran well although there was more standing around and waiting than driving. The suggested times for the lap was 2 minutes to drive 2.15kms. Our times were 1.22 (we were held up by a slower car), 1.10 and 1.12. We drove in complete control and had power in reserve. It felt good to finally get to drive.
We came back and made some minor modifications. We have notice a minor vacuum leak that we will address tomorrow. It should not affect us though out the Prologue Stage (a stage designed to seed the teams). Incorporated into this years events are various stops at local community halls, schools and seniors residences to visit with the local people and give them a first hand chance to see the cars. Tomorrow we stop at Cape St. Francis Elementary School for lunch in Pouch Cove, a brief stop at Flat Rock Community Centre, St. Francis Assisi School (there seems to be alot of "St. Francis" places) and Caribou Legion Manors where we are to enjoy and partake in refreshments with the seniors.
Off to bed to rest for our first full day of racing. More pictures and updates tomorrow.
