It was my first race meeting with the T2 â 008 competing for the 2008 Keilor cup Victoria - Australia.
The track was wet for about the first hour which allowed my Dad and me extra time to setup the tent and prepare to make sure the new car was perfect. We saved a spot for young team driver Ryan Maker who helped out a lot during the day.
Practice started and I was late out having only 2 mins of practice. We had noticed that we had not put the upgrade pulley set on which stops the belt from hitting on the pinion. Not having a full practice run was making things very difficult so Ryan and I took the car out to the car park to make sure the rear diff was set up perfectly.
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Qualifying had started and I had no idea of what to expect. I was on new tyres with a lack of practice, the start siren sounded and we were all under away, the car had amazing steering and stability for the first couple of laps which I wasnâ™t making the most of because I was trying to dial the car to my driving style, as the race went on I was just cutting clean laps consistently which at the end of the run put me into pole position with Ryan in second.
I was speechless . . . the kit setup for the car was dialled. The car only needed a few little adjustments but nothing to major. The second round of Qualifying was up and now I had more confidence in the car, I went out setting a much quicker lap time and just stealing the race by 0.6 on Corally driver Justin Vergunst, keeping me on pole position. Ryan had dropped back to 3rd.
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Dad and I were continuing to make little changes. Next was the droop-setting. We set the car with less rear droop in time to try in the 3rd qualifier.
It was time for the last qualifier, all drivers had a clean start and the car didnâ™t seem to be as stable with the droop adjustment but was still drivable. I heard that I was in first position so I kept pushing eventually taking out the race by 8 seconds setting my fastest 5 mins of the day 17 laps in 5:12. The closest to that time was 5:19 by a Corally driver Justin Vergunst with Ryan in 3rd so I was very happy taking pole first time out.
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Surprisingly the car being very quick last qualifier with the droop adjustment I decided to changed it back to standard. My pitman (Dad) said the car was rolling too much at the back so I changed my 3 hole pistons to 2 holes which I was hoping would give the rear of the car a more direct feel.
It was finals time and I wasnâ™t sure how this little adjustment was going to feel. The buzzer went, the car felt dialled it was much more stable and smooth with good lap times taking out the win by 11 seconds and setting the Track record 17 laps in 5:06 over Ryan Maker who put in a strong and consistent race. The 2 holes adjustment was perfect.
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Ryan and I were trying to figure out the differences between our cars so he could pick up some speed but all we could bring it down to was that he was driving a 6 cell chassis and I was driving a 5 cell chassis which on this track was making a difference, Ryan did the best he could to get his car right. I was happy with the car so I left it for the second Final. The car was great to drive once again taking 1st by 11 seconds with Ryan in 3rd, It was slower then my first final by 3 seconds but I was still very happy.
I had now won the event and I couldnâ™t be happier first time out with the T2â™008.
I thought I might change the car, knowing that it was OK if the adjustment didnâ™t work. I went to anti dive on the front for a little more in corner steering which would help as I would be using worn tyres.
XRAY driver Ryan Maker (click to enlarge)
The 3rd final was off and I had a faster car behind me so I let them through, my car was very consistent and smooth not pulling the same lap times as the first couple of runs which I expected with old tyres. I was down by about 6 or 7 seconds from Corally driver Simon Nicholson not worrying to much about catching him, I knew he had too much power to make it to the finish as he was having run-time issues all day. The last lap for Simon was 35 seconds which allowed me to slip through for the win!
Final results: 1. Peter Jovanovic XRAY T2â™008
2. Ryan Maker XRAY T2â™008
3. Justin Vergunst
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Winning all the races for the day was not something that I expected for the first meeting with the XRAY. I had already known that it was a great car to drive which did give me belief that it was always capable of winning the race meet.
I am very happy with my change to Team XRAY with high expectations for the T2 â 008 and the NT1. Big thanks to XRAY, LRP, Custom Model Cars, my Dad, Warren and Ryan Maker.
