Our friends over the ditch at C&R Developments have been having quite the season of racing over in New Zealand in their MUDTAMER sponsored ute. Check out what's been happening and how their hard work and perseverance has really paid off!
Round 1: Taupo
Kicking the year off in the wet and windy Taupo, we got a good glimpse of how the team was going to stack against the rest of the field. The effects of having the new sponsor MUDTAMER onboard was in full effect early on, with the ute taking the scenic route through the mud in the first practice session.
The rain proved to be our best friend and worst enemy as we were the quickest car in the bucketing down conditions, however this sparked a few electrical issues which meant we had to start off the back for the first race. A massive effort in the pits by the team meant we were able to get out in race 1 and we worked our way up to finish with a spot on the podium in 3rd!
Race 2 and 3 which were unfortunately for us identical in that we were comfortably leading both races until another electrical gremlin turned the car off 5 laps into a 10 lap race, meaning we would have to wait for the teams 1st win.
Round 2: Manfield
After a disappointing end to Taupo, the team yet again had to put in a huge amount of hours leading up to Manfield to fix the electrical issues. This hard work paid off for a few hours… as the same problem came back once again. Another late night later, a brand new alternator was found to be the problem all along!
Finishing with a 5th and a 2nd in the first two races meant we were sitting good in the points for the weekend and that it would all come down to race 3.
Getting a good start in a wet race 3 meant we were in the lead after the first lap. Feeling completely comfortable (absolutely terrified) in the lead, we managed to keep our cool and bring home our first WIN and the round win! After all the hours and nights spent by the team, getting a win was massive and was the boost we needed.
Round 3: Hampton Downs
Heading to Hampton after tasting a bit of victory meant we were keen for more.
After warming the car up for race 1 we were about to set off, until the electronic throttle pedal decided to pack in (you wouldn’t bloody read about it!). Unable to make the start of the first race meant, you guessed it, another late night for the crew and that we would have to start off the back of the grid for the last two races.
Race 2 brought great happiness for everyone as not only did we make our way up to 5th from 12th but we also finished a race with no electrical problems, which felt just as good as a win.
Heading into race 3 with nothing to lose, it was the perfect chance to see how far up the pack we could get. Narrowly avoiding a lot of carnage, we managed to get up to 4th and also finished with the quickest lap time of the race.
Last Round: Hampton Downs
Finishing the last round with a quick ute and with the team having put in such a huge effort this season, we will be looking at sending the season off with a bang and another win.
