| Joined: | Mon Apr 2nd, 2012 |
| Location: | South Lakeland, UK |
| Posts: | 4066 |
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Don't forget the nut that holds the steering wheel.
Absolutely, to emphasise and embellish the metaphor, two examples spring to mind...
Monte Carlo rally, (I think, from memory) Timo Makinnon? won one of the alpine pass stages in a works Mini Cooper, he ran rings around the competitors times, there was a protest which the French organisers were minded to uphold. So the team went to the nearest large town and picked up a bog standard Mini Cooper from the showroom, made a few basic safety checks, then Timo ran the car up the same timed section. His time was within very few seconds of his previous time set during the rally proper. Reason prevailed, his original time stood.
Nearer home, at Oulton Park during testing, Roger Clark and Tony Mason called by. David Llewellin, Welsh rally driver offered Roger and Tony the opportunity to try his latest car around the circuit. Bear in mind Roger had been retired for quite a while... David took the time to explain the intricacies of the brake balance override and the importance of keeping the engine within a specific rev range etc. On a cold lap, never having driven the car before, his time was within 3 seconds of David's, he didn't even look at the brake balance mechanism and paid scant regard for the rev range. This was related by Tony Mason, president of Morcambe car club who was Roger's co-driver and navigator when they won the World Rally Championship, the only British driver to have done so.
Having the right nut behind the wheel is very important. Which is why I rarely photograph wildlife and greatly admire those who can.
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Robert.