www.mumboracing.com

Moving Forward with the Independent Race Series

Independent Race Series
Mumbo Racing had a close association with the Australian Motor Racing Series since the series began in 2005. The philosophy was 'exciting, affordable, accessible' racing, and that fitted perfectly with Mumbo's goals. There was a Mumbo Racing presence at every round of the AMRS in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2008, the series became the Australian Motor Racing Championships, and was taken over by new management. Mumbo Racing supported the series for the first two rounds, but has now taken the decision to discontinue participation in the AMRC.

There is a new series on the horizon, with a philosophy that better matches the philosophy of Mumbo Racing. The team will race at the first round of the Independent Race Series at Oran Park, 12 July.

Mumbo expects to field cars in three different categories - Formula Tasman, with Sam Dale in the Reynard 94D, Touring Car Challenge, with Sam in the Ford Mondeo and Neil Byers in the Ford Mustang Cobra R, and Production Racing Cars, with Neil in his trusty Mitsubishi 380.

There are exciting times ahead, for more information on the Independent Race Series, visit the official website: www.irace.net.au and for all the latest news from Mumbo Racing, get it here at www.mumboracing.com

2008 Model Website Launched

The brand new 2008 model Mumbo Racing website has launched, and it's a beauty. With a smooth new design, and plenty of new features to go with it, this is the site to take Mumbo Racing into the new season.

The site will feature regular news updates, information on the team's drivers and cars, as well as a classifieds section, multimedia, including photo galleries and online videos as well as other goodies. The site will also feature links to associated websites, and will offer the easiest way to get in touch with the team.

Have a look around, add us to your bookmarks because we're sure you'll want to come back.

Broken

Neil Byers Mitsubishi 380 ran briefly in practice
Mumbo Racing visited Melbourne's Calder Park last weekend, and came away a little disappointed.

Problems began almost on arrival. Neil Byers' Mitsubishi 380 hit the circuit briefly on Friday, and was flying. It didn't last though, part way into the session the engine appeared to go into limp home mode - enough to get Neil back to the pits, but no further. Despite valiant efforts by the team, the problem could not be corrected. Something in the engine was: broken.

Sam Dale fired up the Reynard 94D for the mid-day session in Oz BOSS, he trundled to the dummy grid, and was told to shut down because a car from the previous session was going to take a long time to retrieve. When the signal was given to start engines, Sam went for the starter but achieved only a click. The car refused to start with or without the jump battery. The team attempted to push start the car, but the rear wheels would simply lock up when the clutch was released. Closer inspection revealed that the starter motor was stuck in the engaged position. The team pushed the car back to the garage for repairs, but on the way, Sam managed to get his right foot under the left-rear wheel of the car. Sam's foot lifted the rear of the car about 8 inches off the ground. The car had rolled over the top of his heel, and forced his foot over on itself. Sam hobbled back to the garage, and the rest of the team pushed the car.

The starter motor was easily fixed. Sam's foot on the other hand appeared to be: broken.

Strapping and race tape was applied to Sam's foot to make it fit inside his race boot, and he proceeded to teach himself how to left-foot brake, and downshift without the clutch. The biggest problem was that the swollen, purple right foot was very bad at providing feedback, making it hard to modulate the throttle application when exiting corners. Nevertheless, Sam qualified 3rd outright, and 2nd Oz BOSS car.

The output shaft from Sam's Reynard 94D
Raceday came, and it had rained heavily overnight - the circuit was still damp for the first race, and conditions were extremely slippery - calling for a delicate touch on the throttle... Sam took the rolling start gingerly, and gradually found a rhythm. Until 8 laps in, when the car lost all drive as Sam shifted into 5th gear on the main straight. He coasted to a stop, and retired from the race. A quick inspection revealed that no gears would engage, and there appeared to be terminal damage, with minimal gearbox spares carried, the car was loaded into the trailer: broken.

From a competitive standpoint it was a disappointing weekend for the team, with no races finished. But there are always positives, and they are what we prefer to focus on when there are problems. We all made it to and from the track safely (except for Sam's foot), we debuted a brand new trailer for the Reynard 94D, built by Roger Perkins from Ty Hanger's team - it performed faultlessly and is expected to serve the team well into the future. And most of all we got to enjoy the camaraderie that we look forward to leading into every race meeting. Everything else can be fixed for next time...
0