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09/07/2004 FRIDAY DAWNS BRIGHT AND BREEZY AND DAVE AND I ARE OFF TO FINLAND Finland has a human population density of just 15 per sq km compared to the UK at 246. Plenty of room for Moose you might think but let’s get something clear, THERE ARE NO MOOSE IN FINLAND. After 10 hours over 2 seasons of being driven between Helsinki airport and Alastaro the only creatures spotted were a few cows and a couple of horses with long faces. The road signs are just to show Finns what Moose look like. They change them every few years, next year it will be Llamas. We have decided to try something different with this report and make it a team effort – hope you like it. Linda’s story: Friday dawns bright and breezy and Dave and I are off to Finland. A four-day cruise to Finland was promised, turns out to be a freighter called Esteralda. The very nice man on the dock gate told us it would be at least 7pm before we were loaded, so plenty of time to have a look round Harwich and have something to eat, and by the way when walking anywhere on the dock please wear these rather fetching yellow plastic bibs with "Be seen be safe" written on them. It did not take long to "do" Harwich and after a bit of a walk along the seafront and a snooze in the sun, we headed for a good restaurant. Eventually we drove into the hold and like a formula one pit stop were immediately surrounded by men holding air guns and chains ready to lash the truck. Dave insisted on unloading 3 bags and a computer and taking them up 5 flights of stairs, along a gangplank and up another 20 stairs to arrive knackered. A sailor showed us straight into our cabin, the first hint that we were the only passengers. Nice cabin, no luxuries, unless you count the shower and toilet and a comforting view of the lifeboats through the window. Dave had been on board this boat before and knew where the drivers room and kitchens were and found a TV which try as we might displayed nothing but static, good job we brought videos with us (thanks Anne and Dave) It was now 1.20am so a glass of red wine to toast the intrepid travellers (us) and off to bed looking forward to at least five hours sleep before breakfast. The boat was rocking and so was my stomach but gamely we made it to breakfast and after a quick stroll round deck went back to bed. After a little sleep it was time for lunch and then a little sit on deck. Unfortunately the rocking of the boat sent us both back to sleep again to wake up with very red sunburnt faces! The highlight of this trip was to be the Keil canal across Denmark. Unfortunately it was dark when we went into the lock gates and when I woke up next morning Denmark had come and gone. Tuesday dawned grey and cloudy and we were again on our travels, Dave having got the truck and trailer safely off the boat with just a little difficulty. The Top Fuel boys would have had a fit if they could have seen how their trailers were unloaded. To the track and I now know why Dave hates awnings. The sun was beating down on our already red (and now peeling) faces and after a few hours, there it was - success, and us nearly on our knees from exhaustion. Just as well we had put the canopy up as next morning it started to rain and believe me it did not stop all day. Another day and the sun was shining again, the rest of the crew were due to arrive that afternoon and I now hand over this race report to Phil. The helmet’s story: The team left Heathrow on Thursday morning with David’s baggage bursting with tools from Silverline, some spares, a new race helmet and a replacement air-bag for the truck. The helmet was ordered from an American supplier and despatched by courier to Dave Wilson, house no xx, road xx, Guildford, UK, post code GU… It didn’t arrive. David was left to locate the helmet as Dave was on the ferry to Finland. David ‘phoned the courier and they agreed that the current location shown on the courier screen was definitely not near Guildford. It turns out that ‘GU’ is the courier code for Guam. Yes, the helmet had been sent to an island in the Pacific! Anyway it was duly found and arrived in time to be hand-luggage to Finland. The racing: We arrived fresh in our Executive minibus driven by Tony, our Team Principal and Chauffeur, (complete with curtains and tinted windows) to find the pit fully set up and the car on ramps ready for action. The weather reports were different with every visitor to the pit but Friday morning was dry and we dialled in a mild tune-up for the first qualifier. A satisfying 5.63 @ 252mph came up on the board. No shake, no mechanical damage and no tyre damage meant a straightforward turnaround. Tried a different gear ratio and some adjustments to the fuel system for the 2nd qualifier but recorded an identical 5.63 at a slightly slower 248mph. A very rapid turnaround and the car was fired up Friday evening ready for Saturday qualifying. We were no 1 qualifier at this point but 3 runs on Saturday beckoned. The driving rain on the sunroofs of our bunks suggested an early breakfast would not be necessary and so it remained for the rest of the day. Absolutely nothing to do until Smax came round for some help with fixing his junior dragster. That is of course except for Rhonda who carried on working all day on her PHD on the Psychology of Dragracing, analysing what everyone did at a dragrace in the rain!! We were very pleased to welcome Ray Maguire (Senior Vice President of Playstation Europe) who came for a couple of days to see us racing. We also had some doughnuts, Andy would have been pleased. The day was finally cancelled around 7pm and so to some serious drinking and even more serious conversation. Marriage, theology and the sex lives of Guinea Pigs. Did you know Guinea Pigs taught Rabbits all they know about propagation? Apparently if they get together they are at it like… well you get the picture. There was even mention of Guinea-Rabbits! Apparently they have large rear ends and small front legs with small floppy ears. Not sure if this was the Estonian beer talking or our team-member Harry and his partner Suzy winding us up. Race day dawned windy but dry and in the first round we faced Arto Hoyla. A quick but shaky launch had us in the lead at half-track then the blower belt let go. Chanting incantations to his personal Buddha, Dave drifted along in silence with the clutch disengaged and just made it to the line beating Arto by a couple of thousandths. We had made it to the final but at the expense of the throttle cable & mounting, rev counter drive, magneto cap & cables and starter mounting. These were fixed and the car was fired up and made ready very quickly, then it rained. It looked like Mother Nature was going to have the last laugh but a clear spell arrived and with some sterling work from the FHRA track-crew, action resumed although conditions were still very damp. The track curfew was only 20 minutes away and priority was given to the FIA classes and we were towed past a queue of other racers to face both the Schofers and the fact that Dave had never previously won at Alastaro. The Silverline and Playstation backed ACI flyer laid down some serious rubber in the burnout through the startline and beyond. Sadly the Schofer car developed an oil leak and they sensibly elected to shut it down. Dave made a serious launch but headed towards the wall at half-track and shut it down early. A slightly disappointing way to win but a win nevertheless. Sadly Ray Maguire could not stay late enough to see us race as he had a 5-hour drive to the other side of Finland but we appreciated his support during the weekend. The car was serviced ready for Mantorp Park and then it was off to the racetrack restaurant for a celebration dinner. Met the Koedam and Pels bike teams there and they were as entertaining as always. The restaurant does a dish called “The Giant” and tradition has it that everyone on our team should have at least one in their lifetime. So it was 6 Giants and beer, beer and more beer. That was Finland, eventful but victorious. Thanks as always to our sponsors and congratulations to the team on a job well done. Now to Sweden, perhaps they have some Moose?
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