Shoestring Jetta: Dispelling Motor Racing Myths One Win at a Time

Stampeding Butterflies & Baby Blue Barbells

The butterflies were stampeding in the lead-up to the first race start. First of all Giordano and the Jetta, along with second-placed Eden and his Polo and the Class A and C top two were all impounded straight off the post-race weigh-in, where our Jetta must weigh 2200 or more lbs. on the postrace scales. Their destination? To a nearby chassis dynamometer to check power, courtesy of the officials.

We were well within our 160 HP, 150 torque rating — they say the 8-valve long-block 2-litre will never make that anyway.

Remember that one, by the way.

Pole position earns you a perfect pair — a 50 and a 25-pound barbell finished in Class B baby blue. To be bolted in via a mount in the passenger footwell. Second place gets a single 50-pound weight, third a 25 lbs. lump of iron. To balance the performance books, so to say. Then it was time to catch up on the lockdown driver’s briefing on WhatsApp, before the waiting began. Sadly, we could not get together for the traditional pre-race pow-wow — we were still lockdown racing without spectators.

Had We Forgotten Anything?

The nerves were at their highest as we punched fists and the field dribbled out of the pre-race paddock. First Class A, then us, then the C kids. The classes lined up individually on the grid and each set off in a trio of standing starts, five seconds apart. The wait was almost over; was the car right? Had we done everything we needed do? Was there anything we’d overlooked after that tricky week in the lead-up to the race…?

The commentators’ voices raised up a few octaves and the cars roared in chorus as the 5 second board man rushed off the track. First the Class A bunch blasted off. One, two, three, four, five… and Class B was off! Gio rocketed off the line. And bogged! The rest of the cars swarmed past as he found his feet. Damn! Clearly something was awry! But he was soon up to speed. Albeit at the back of the Class B bunch.

Halfway around he’d picked off the stragglers, another by the end of the lap. And by lap 3 he was up to third. But still all was not right. He was clearly battling to go from third to fourth gear. And it was getting worse. Giordano struggled home seventh in class and out of the points. What went wrong? It was instantly clear as the Jetta rumbled into the garage after weighing in and post-race checks. The driver was holding the gear lever in his hand!