Stuart Konig Race Report 5 November 2022
Qualifying:
Qualifying was incredibly disappointing, on the warm up lap my car simply cut out. I jumped out the car to try diagnose and repair the car on the side of the track. The fuel pump was working and all the connections felt solid. I was unable to get my car started and got towed back into the pits. We were able to quickly diagnose the issue as a failed coil – an electrical component failure. We swapped out the part in minutes and the car started immediately. This meant I was still able to compete and race, however, due to me not setting a time in qualifying I was relegated to starting at the back of the field.
Race 1:
Starting from the back of the field gives you a sense of nothing to lose and everything to gain, to try your best and let the hands of fate decide what position you complete the race in. off the start I immediately started making up positions. I continued making my way through the field when on lap 4 I managed to catch up to the two leaders in my class. Due to the two cars racing each other they actually slowed each other down allowing me to catch up to them and join in on the racing for the top step of the podium. I was able to get into second place due to an error being made by the Evelthon driving a beautiful Datsun 240Z. My next battle was with Jannie Van Rooyen, also in a yellow MK1 Scirocco. I was able to clear him relatively easily which is super unusual as our cars are identical making overtaking incredibly difficult. I went on to win the race, I was incredibly chuffed especially coming from the back of the field. It turned out that Jannie had a fuel pump that was failing and lost power occasionally meaning he was off his normal pace.
Race 2:
I started race 2 in 1st in class, with Jannie right behind me, we were able to pull a gap on the Datsun. Jannie and myself raced door to door the entire race, it was incredibly close racing and the feedback I have received was that there was a spectator not on their feet. On the last lap I got lucky with some traffic and was able to create a small gap ahead of Jannie. I was able to hang onto the lead until the end of the race, winning both races this weekend.
The overall championship is made up of the sprint race championship and the index of performance championship. This means that I am unsure if I have or have not won the overall championship. I have done some calculations with regard to the Index of performance calculation and I think I might have won overall for the year but it is still inconclusive.
Thank you so much for your support throughout the year. We really really appreciate your support.
