“Our first podium,” chuckled Tom Oliver at Zytek. He’s got every reason to be pleased because the Zytek V8 in the DBA was the same one that started the race at Sebring. “It went back to Zytek to be checked over,” said Karl Patman, “they ran it on the dyno., it was given the all clear, and completed the whole Estoril weekend.”

Patman was appreciative of the fact that Steve Lydon and the organisers didn’t call a halt to proceedings at 75% of the elapsed time – had they done so, we’d never have had the heroics from 18 year old Hayanari Shimoda. “He gets better every time out,” commented Tom Oliver. “He wasn’t intimidated at all, he was as quick as anyone out there,” said Karl Patman.

The Team Manager summed it up as “a real boost for everyone involved. We had a minor brake problem, but the car ran faultlessly otherwise.”

Gearbox issues at Sebring have been addressed and solved.

One problem for the near future is whether Shimoda should race at Round 2 at the Lausitzring or in the Renault V6 event at Enna the same weekend – but before either of those meetings, it’s the Le Mans Test Day on May 4. That should provide the answer to the question…how quick is the DBA4-03S Zytek, in the dry, on a smooth circuit?