TCM Action Winton May 2017 - Bowe's Diary
As happens in life, motor racing can throw up a surprise here and there
As those of you who follow the Touring Car Masters action will know, I was enjoying the Winton round over the May 20, 21 weekend. Saturday’s Race 1 was as good as it gets. It’s a crazy idea, the reverse grid approach, but boy does it throw down a challenge for the faster competitors as they thread their way through a big field toward a front of the pack position for the chequered flag? When everyone keeps their mind on the job it’s a great spectacle for the fans and an exhilarating experience for the drivers. I had some incredible battles during the race and came through without a scratch on the car. Well done everyone.
Then we lined up for Sunday’s Race 2, ready to fight for another good result.
We're away and into the Turn 1/Turn 2 combination. All good… And then the A9X in front had a big lose and it was everywhere, and suddenly there was what I've heard commentators call ‘carnage’.
Thump! Whack! Game over…
It’s a shame when these lovely and very valuable old TCM cars get damaged. You obviously can’t just get replacement parts off the shelf. But when someone makes a mistake at the wrong moment or at the wrong part of the circuit, the potential’s there for drama and damage.
The number of cars damaged in this incident was particularly disappointing. I reckon this was partly down to some drivers trying to use the incident to gain some ground instead of showing the required restraint.
My broken ribs, which most of you seem to know about, if the 100.000-plus views of my in-car video of the incident in the first week are any guide, mark an odd-milestone in my 45-year race career. I’ve had some big crashes over the years, and come away things like soft-tissue injuries and whiplash, but I had never broken a bone until this point.
As well as the pain from my ribs it really hurt that my lovely little Torana got banged up at its first meeting after emerging from the Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars workshop with a gleaming coat of fresh paint and its new A9X body treatment.
Anyway that’s all water under the bridge now. As this goes to press Gary O’Brien’s team has done its usual professional job and the car’s all ship shape and ready for the next round at Hidden Valley. And I can’t wait to be out there again showing what the mighty little Torana is capable of.
COMING UP
I’m looking forward to the VHRR Festival of Speed meeting at Winton on August 4-6. Having missed out on driving my mate Joe Calleja’s F1 March 741 at last month’s Austin 7 Club Winton Historics meeting because of my injuries, I’m keen to get back into the cockpit of the open-wheeler. It’s going to be special as well because my girl Jessie will be having her second outing in the Martini Supervee.
I was really proud of the way she took to the track in her debut event, last month’s Winton Historics meeting. It’s a steep learning curve that she tackled intelligently, making good progress over the weekend. She showed great spacial awareness among the traffic and demonstrated that she’s a quick learner, and her enthusiasm is infectious. I can’t wait to see her doing more of it in August.
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