Breaking Records & Winning at a Grand a Race. Mission Accomplished!
When we set out to race the 2021 CheaperCars GTi Challenge season, our mission was to prove that motor racing need not be hellish expensive.
When we set out to race the 2021 CheaperCars GTi Challenge season, our mission was to prove that motor racing need not be hellish expensive. Was it possible to successfully compete against far more modern machinery, racing a five-grand car? And race, win and chase a championship for a thousand dollars a meeting?
We Enjoyed a Great Racing Season Spending Beer Money
Well, we can now categorically confirm, you can indeed do just that. That’s exactly what we achieved! We put our eight grand ’86 Jetta on pole position on several occasions, once setting by far the quickest lap in Class B history, set fastest laps and broke the lap record almost every race and won races in a thrilling season against really worthy rivals.
In the end, the only thing we failed to trump, was Lady Luck. That’s just racing, isn’t it? It was also all part of a grater plan, but more on that anon. But before we recap, let’s first look back at November’s final round, which relatively wrapped up how our season went anyway.
An engine problem after testing in the week before the finale saw the team miss out on Friday practice. So we arrived straight into qualifying, slightly down on power on Saturday. That did not prevent driver Giordano from putting in a splendid qualifying performance to claim a comfortable pole position for the final sprint race of the season.
Lady Luck Was Still Entertaining Other Guests!
But still, lady luck was still not in attendance: “The clutch slipped at the start, and I dropped to the back,” Giordano rued. “I gave the device a little time to cool down and was back to third by the end of the first lap and into second soon after. “My championship rival Eden Thompson was too far gone by then, with too few laps left, so I just never had enough time to catch him.” Gio duly set the fastest lap of the race in his pursuit. To claim another pole position for the season ending one hour endurance race.
Giordano called on GTi Challenge veteran Ebrahim Levy’s safe hands to co-drive the Jetta in the endurance race. The final race of the season, it called for two drivers to share a car. So Ebrahim entrusted to take it over and bring it home, as he did to wrap up Gio’s Class C championship two years prior. “I started gently knowing the clutch was dodgy,” Giordano said “So it took a few laps to get back past former class champion Shane du Toit driving Eden’s car. “Including one or two entire lap side-by-side with him!
“I eventually got ahead and settled down to open up a decent lead, before handing the car over to Ebrahim.” Levy had not driven the car at all after Friday’s issues and he jumped into the unknown car for the first time, mid-race. He used his lead to settle in when the car lost power and stopped.