As we write this we absolutely tired out. This has been one of what has felt like the longest days we have had on the salt.
The SCTA (South California Timing Association) that run the race event is entirely staffed by volunteers and any money raised from the entry fees and merchandise sales go straight back into improving equipment and good purposes.
The last two years have seen dreadful wash out events and I’m sure the organisation has lost money on both of these events.
As a result of the weather conditions over the last two years pre registration figures were down considerably.
Due to this the decision was made to only run two courses, a short (3 timed mile) and a long course (5 timed miles).
As the weather is currently perfect the entry numbers are huge!
This is great for the event and the spectacle however the wait for our first run in the car was 6 1/2 hours in temperatures over 100 degrees fahrenheit with no shade. The bike guys behind us had to wait over 7 for their first run.
When we finally got to the front Ian was starting to suffer with the heat and decided to sit out the last minute preparations in the air condition tow truck. Especially in the very thick fire suit, however he was sufficiently recovered to get in the car and make his first run of the year.
The decision had been made that as we had plenty of time this year and would not need to rush to license up or anything else, we would take a leisurely first run and see how things went.
This then gave us the opportunity to build up in a low pressure environment without undue stress on the car or our driver.
The first run went swimmingly, the car ran perfectly and Ian reached another highest speed.
The top speed at the end of the run was just under 179 mph with an average over the last mile of 162.304 mph from mile 2 to 3.
A very successful first run!
