“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?