MX-5 Cup Round 5
04 December 2014 / Words by Stu McFadyen, Pics by Stu and Craig Durrant
It had been an agonising three month wait, for most competitors, for the last round of the MX-5 Cup for 2014. The November round is notoriously difficult to get numbers to - holidays, family commitments and depleted racing budgets often getting in the way. Two years ago this same event had two MX-5s turn up; last year there were seven; but it was a bustling grid of 12 MX-5s that lined up for this year’s big finale at Wakefield Park on 29-30 November. With a two day event in store and a championship on the line everyone was keen to get the last race meet of the year underway.
The round was taking place at the AASA ACT State Championship, with the headline act being the Super Trucks. Late November and Super Trucks means hot weather and spilt diesel, so the word from those in the know was the track will be slippery. Don’t worry about lap times just go for track position. And that’s exactly what everyone did.
The scoreboard reads a whole lot less exciting than it played out. The first five of six races over the two days ended with Daniel Deckers taking the wins, Chris White in second and David Stone picking up third. But the battles that went on to make that happen were fantastic to watch. Saturday was a scorcher, track temperatures of 56 degrees and cabin temperatures not much different, the racing was fierce but fair right the way through the field. The only contact for the whole weekend saw Cam Hallam on the receiving end from an over excited Swift driver, that the MX-5 Cup was sharing a grid with.
The two day events are rare so Saturday night was a chance for everyone to get together over dinner and compare war stories, some waiting for a couple of empty Merlot bottles to be on the table before subtly probing for inside info and weak spots.
Sunday loomed a little more ominous. The forecast was for a chance of thunderstorms and in true Wakefield style they rolled over the dummy grid as we lined up for the first race of the morning. It absolutely bucketed down with a few drivers having harmless spins on the diesel laced, wet track. But, no harm, no foul. There were some cars with reliability problems; two cases of gearboxes crying enough, some fouled plugs and an electrical gremlin, but those with the know-how pulled together to get most back on the track. A massive thanks to everyone who pitched in particularly Daniel Deckers, Gary White and Russell Harris.
The final race and the championship decider was another wet one - after a typically schizophrenic Wakefield patch of sunshine and drying track - however this time everyone had time to see it coming. Those with wet tyres put them on and so it became a race of the haves and the have-nots. David Stone commendably battled on with the tyres that most resembled slicks, but the stand out performance was from Andy Harris who charged his way through the field to take a well earned second place. His best result, in an underpowered car. He was second place to Daniel Deckers however, who was faultless and untouchable all weekend, winning every race and deservedly, the championship. David Stone second place and third shared between Steve Green and Andy Harris.
And so we started the countdown to next season. Everyone already planning improvements to car and driver. All that’s left is to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped organise the events and all who participated. The spirit and camaraderie on show this whole year was an example to all club level motorsport. Here’s to a bigger and even better 2015 MX-5 Cup.
The MX-5 Cup Committee and MX-5 Club of NSW would like to thank the sponsors of the 2014 MX-5 Cup.
Thanks for helping make it happen:
Audio-Technica Deckspeed Hydrawash for providing the Cup Trophies
