The Easter Thunderball saw an exciting event for Time Machine Racing - our new Big Block Chevy was christened ‘Iron Dan’ - now if anyone asks if you know Dan you can say you do.

Dan was not the happiest of engines at Easter though, seemingly grumpy at being woke from his hibernation so early in the year. I can’t see what he was complaining about though as the weather was some of the balmiest I have seen at Easter - rather than the normal snow there was sunshine and lots of it, even featuring shorts and t-shirts on one day.

We spent a while chasing down a problem in the fuel system only to find that when we thought we had sorted it the motor was running really hot and seemingly lean. A quick sanity check showed this to actually be caused by the mag clamp coming loose and allowing the timing to retard itself, shooting the spark while the exhaust valve is open and causing lots of flame.

This was a quick fix, but on attempting to fire the car we discovered two things - our starter motor is really getting worn out, and we had broken a bearing in the gearbox, putting us out of action.

Despite this we had a good weekend, and the event looks like going down in history as a classic. Congratulations to those running new personal bests, especially Frank Bennett and Joe Bond, and many many thanks to those who provided us with help all weekend, especially Martyn Jones and Crunch who made us feel very welcome in the Super Pro pits - I am already looking forward to the Main Event, our next scheduled appearance.