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The idea to compete in the Dubai 24hr race came about in a fit of irrational optimism after finishing 5th overall in the 12 hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race at Sepang International Circuit at the end of August 2006. Someone was handing out flyers and Ian and Dilantha thought it would be good fun to participate in an event like this. Little did they know how much work and effort lay ahead which is probably just as well or they may never have gone through with it.
Anyway after many months of planning, preparation and a myriad of problems and setbacks coupled with last minute visa problems for the crew as well as losing the services of 4th driver Geoff Morgan for urgent family reasons at the last minute. The intrepid crew of drivers Dilantha Malagamuwa, Ian Geekie and Peter Boylan plus Team Manger Andy Pardoe, and the tech crew Vince, Chandra, Alvin, Christi, Nika and Raymond finally arrived in Dubai to take on the next challenge... the 24hour race.
There was an impressive entry of over 70 cars mainly from Europe with several top flight professional teams such as Konrad Lechner, Alzen (Both Porsche RSR) and Duller Motorsport with the very fast BMW Z4.
As the ONLY Asian team entered in the race, qualifying 14th overall (there were 23 Porsches entered, RSR,RS,997 and 996 Cup + many very fast BMW's) was a very good effort and with all 3 drivers setting consistent and competitive lap times during day and night practices, it gave the team added confidence for the race.
After qualifying and night practice, the crew did a precautionary change of clutch and driveshafts etc. During this operation a leaking gearbox oil line was discovered and replaced. Little did the team know what problems this same component would cause later in the race.
Before the rolling start the cars were lined up Le Mans style on the grid for a final photo opportunity. At 1400 hrs the lights went green signalling the start of 24 gruelling hours around the Dubai track. Dilantha drove the first stint and was pushing hard getting the car up to 9th place. Ian was in for the 2nd stint but after about an hour experienced a huge spin going into turn 4 but thanks to the tarmac’s run off area, he was able to continue.
Another big moment a few corners later, this convinced Ian that there was something wrong so he brought the car in for a check. The crew found oil leaking from the gearbox line and getting onto the rear tyres causing the spin. The team had to rectify the problem and lost over one hour repairing the leaky gearbox line. With no new parts available, the ingenious mechanics managed to fabricate a replacement that lasted throughout the race.
The team rejoined the race back in 59th and had a lot of climbing to do. They pushed through throughout the night. Dilantha had to make an unscheduled stop around midnight to replace rims that was damaged during a contact with a competitor’s car. Peter kept improving his pace as he got used to driving the car during the night. Ian drove the "dawn" stint and the sight of the sun coming up over the desert was a stunning and welcome sight.
The car was running strongly and Team Hayashi was moving up the leaderboard all the time. Another long stop to replace the front discs and pads after 14 hours cost a few places but they managed to climb up the ranks.
After being faced with problems early on, things finally went right for the team when other teams started to show the strain of the gruelling race. Both the leading RSR of Lechner and the Z4 Coupe had technical problems late in the race and there were an increasing number of full caution yellow situations to recover stricken cars from the circuit.
Meanwhile on the pit wall Andy Pardoe was doing a superb job and making all the right calls. With 5 hours to go he decided it could be done in 3 stints to minimise the time spent in the pits and maybe make it back into the top 20. His calls worked perfectly with Dilantha taking the team across the line with a creditable 18th overall and 11th in class. A fantastic effort by a small team from Asia who more than held their own against some very experienced opposition.
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