Simon McLennan of Upper Hutt extended his record to four round wins in succession when he again stood on top of the podium at the conclusion of Round 5 of the Crown Lift Trucks Porsche GT3 996 Cup at Manfeild last weekend.
However this was far from an easy win for McLennan. At one point of proceedings it appeared his New World Metro On Willis Porsche might not even compete in the event. Early in testing on Friday the engine in the car suffered major damage. With not enough time for a rebuild it could have been the end for Simon but Mark Maddren, a team mate at the recent Bathurst 12 Hour Race, very kindly agreed to lone his engine for the weekend. Simon was most appreciative and back on track for Saturday morning qualifying where things went quite well, McLennan qualifying faster than his 996 Cup Class rival Simon Evans.
"The fact that we were 6/10ths of a second quicker was the most surprising thing,"said Simon. "Without any significant running on Friday the car wasn't balanced very well."
That lack of running was clearly evident in the first race of the round on Saturday afternoon. Evans was clearly quicker and McLennan admitted, "I had nothing to fight back with." Then on the last lap Evans had a slight issue out of the hairpin. McLennan pounced and came through for an unlikely victory. "I felt sorry for Si. He was racing well and I couldn't do anything. However I will take the win."
The second race of the round was on Sunday morning and Simon made a good start in the New World Metro On Willis Porsche. The car was still a struggle and Evans was pressing hard, finally getting past with a tidy pass at the hairpin. After that he was able to drive away, McLennan well aware that the final race later in the day was 16 laps long and that he did not have a car of the necessary quality to challenge. With a good points lead in the championship he opted to ensure he made it to the finish.
After that race Simon sat down with Dave Taylor of Motorsport Services and Cam McCormack and they went through Simon's feedback and checked the data from the car. From some of the symptoms that Simon described they were able to go to the car and make some adjustments to the front and rear suspension. "That's why those guys are so amazing," says Simon.
With the New World Metro On Willis Porsche patched up for race three the car was the best it had been all weekend. "Everything went to plan. Si (Evans) and I had a good dice but we had a tangle midway through the race causing damage to my bumper and tail light. There was no malice in it but Si got a drivethrough penalty. It is about time we got some action going in the 996 Cup," joked Simon.
While he now holds a 213 point lead with just one round to go Simon quite rightly refuses to take anything for granted. "It is handy having the lead but look what happened to us on Friday at this round. There is still a job to do and you only have to look at the 997 Class - anything can happen."
Prior to this latest round of the New Zealand Series Simon was in Australia to make his Bathurst debut in a similar car to his own at the Armor All Bathurst 12 hour race.
Teamed with Scott O'Donnell of Invercargill and Miro Konopka of Slovakia the trio finished second in Class B and seventh overall, running faultlessly throughout the 12 hours with no unscheduled pit stops, an absolutely amazing effort in a seven year old car. "That was the best experience - ever! Dave Taylor and Motorsport Services did an extremely good job. The fact that all three cars finished is testament to how well they prepared and managed the cars. This was my first experience of Bathurst and everything from the facilities to the track were just worlds apart from what I am used to," said an enthusiastic McLennan on his return to New Zealand prior to Manfeild.
Craig Baird spent time with Simon at Bathurst and took him through and gave him a new understanding of different points and characteristics of a track. "At Manfeild I picked up on more because of that. Driving at a place like Bathurst gives you more confidence when you return to our tracks," says Simon.
After a great summer Simon will now travel to Taupo next month and endeavour to seal the championship at the Taupo Motorsport Park over the weekend of 11-13 March.
