Well we did indeed debuted the car at the Chateau Impney hillclimb this weekend just gone by. What a fabulous event it is - if you haven't been I highly recommend it because it's a rare combination of great location and venue, relaxed atmosphere, lovely crowd and fabulous cars. And we made it there!
It was quite a journey to get there! Although the car looked 'finished' when it left Mouland & Yates there was still a myriad of things to finish. The car went straight to Ian's at WPS for long list of things. Because it's not a production car everything Ian fitted or sorted had to be a custom job. He and Andy (a lovely chap who helps Ian out) did 12 and sometimes 14 hour days straight to get the car finished. Here's a few arty shots doing no justice to the sweat and toil, but they look good as Ian has an eye for taking a pic...
Basically they had to dismantle the car and build it up again, this time with wiring, plumbing and a host of things attached...
Two of the key jobs were the harness install...
And the fire extinguisher fitment....
Just as important to make it go round and round was getting the chassis dialled in and the corner weighting done. Sean McClurg, who races a Chevron and ultra fast Lotus, and who specialises in this stuff came and did his magic.... 588kg's is with 35 litres of fuel, so we know actual weight is 565kg's. Not bad considering it has a full rollcage and fire extinguisher system installed. Not to mention that steel roof!
I also knew that if we didn't get Neil Melliard to do his magic I'd be forever trotting out the same lines, so Neil painted up the beautifully made M&Y display board. Watching this boy is poetry in motion...
Neil also painted up a couple of chassis tags, first for M&Y so they could join Ian's WPS as major partners, and then one I did off the cuff, just a simple badge with 'Okrasa Special' in the centre, and my name and David Small's in each corner. It felt appropriate he was acknowledged.
And then it was off to Impney! We arrived late on the Friday night, so the first time I got to sit in the car was rolling it off the trailer onto the grass. Before we did that we had the first of many celebrations that weekend!
The next morning I drove it (in first gear I hasten to add) across the campsite to the paddock where we set up for the weekend, all proudly wearing Okrasa Special' t-shirts Tom of threefiftysix had sorted for me... The lads from M&Y came over too as they seldom get to see their handy work being raced hard. They were chuffed to see it and it was brilliant they made the trip up from Portsmouth. Unfortunately they're not in this shot...
And then it was race time. In the assembly area just before the start line I must admit to having an 'oh shit' moment, realising that my first drive of the car was going to be up the hillclimb in front of a large crowd and with camera's and commentators rolling, but by then it was too late.
I had no idea how the car was going to handle or feel, let alone whether it was going to perform well, so it was very much a case of suck and see. Fortunately it launched straight and without drama, although it did take me by surprise how quickly it shot forward. Although only 1,300cc (it's still got the original Okrasa engine from 1958 with just 46 miles on it remember), the lack of weight meant it felt like it was being fired out a cannon. You sit much further forward than in a rear engined Porsche and the noise is just just shattering as the engine is just two inches behind your left shoulder. What I hadn't really appreciated either until I drove the car was that the drivers seat and steering wheel are located further into the centre line of the car to put the weight closer to the centre of the car. The passenger sits further outboard if you're carrying one, in a more conventional position. Anyway the car really didn't like being driven like a 356. After two runs I realised it required a much different style, so drove it with a lot more aggression, hustling it hard through the corners and carrying much more speed than I'd dare in the 356 or a 911. It responded well and I immediately knocked 3 seconds off the qualifying times...
And for me this is the money shot - just a fabulous photo I think encapsulating the essence of the car beautifully...
There's a bit of in-car footage on Instagram that I've posted if you want to get a sense of what it's like in the cockpit. Just look up kiwisteveinuk or Okrasaspecial.
To show the versatility and to put another marker in the history of the car, we did the school run in the car the next morning for my youngest son's last day at primary school (this gives you a real sense of how small the car is given he's 11...)
Next up is a circuit race, hopefully at Brands Hatch as part of the Porsche celebrations on 2 September if my entry is accepted, and then we're going to do a speed event somewhere and see how fast she will run when given a long stretch of tarmac with the foot buried to the floor...
Thanks to all of you for your support over the last ten (yes 10!) years. We've finally completed the first chapter in this story and are now writing the next. Until next time...
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