With all the work to get the car ready now done, the day had now come for the first of the Bridgestone Production Car races at Kyalami, 5th March 2011. The car had run nicely at practice on the Friday but during the last session the team picked up an issue with the engine and had worked through the night to get everything ready.
After a good qualifying drive the Williams Hunt Opel Astra was sitting fourth on the grid. The Production cars race 2 back to back 6 lap races during which they may not leave the track. There is a ten minute break and then the second race starts. During the day the guys race four races, the second set is usually later in the afternoon. The winner is determined by the best combined time of all the races for the day.
Michael was off nicely in the first race sitting fourth. The the car had an electrical problem and had to come in, this meant Michael would miss the second race. The team worked hard to sort out the problem and the car was ready to race in the afternoon. The third race got off slowly with some drama in the A class, Michael had moved up to third by this stage. On the final lap of the race the brakes locked and Michael ended up in the tyre barrier. Fortunately he was not injured and there was no major damage to the front of the car.
A tough day at the track. Next race – Killarney, Cape Town 2nd April.
