Pursuit Racing's first 2022 race weekend was at Mugello, with two newly-refurbished Lotus Elan historic racing cars
April 9, 2022
The first race weekend of Pursuit Racing's 2022 season was at Mugello in Italy, with our two newly-refurbished Lotus Elan historic race cars in Sixties Endurance Racing as part of the Peter Auto Series.
Preparation for the Elan's track debut with Pursuit Racing began in Donington in early March, with a three-car shakedown at Donington to bed the cars in on track after detailed winter rebuilds. The weather was cold but dry and the cars performed very reliably. We enjoyed a great day with new clients Ted, Rod and Rory at their first track outing with the team, looking forward to a season of Peter Auto racing.
The Peter Auto Mugello weekend began with scrutineering on Thursday, March 31st. Once our cars had been declared legal, we prepared for first practice the following morning. Ours was the first session of the day and, despite it being quite wet in the mountains, the forty-minute session ended with Rory Jack third in class with a respectable time of 2:51.115. Ted was a bit further back, but enjoyed his first official session in the silver car.
As we entered qualifying later that day, the mood was upbeat. The weather was still very wet and rear-engined traction put a 1965 Porsche 911 on GT2 class pole, with Rory fourth quickest. He would start the race P16 overall. Ted had been setting some high top speeds in his car and would start the race P39 overall: a great position for some interesting battles.
The following day was race day. We had to wait until just before 5pm for our two-hour race, but it was worth waiting for as both drivers revelled in the conditions. By lap 31, Rory was leading the class and holding tenth overall, but a brake issue twenty minutes from the flag brought him into the pits. This turned out to be a failed brake line, which led to retirement. Rory was the final classified finisher: a best lap of a 2:19.510 putting him within reach of the class winners.
Ted worked his way up into the top thirty and eventually came home 33rd overall: P7 in class and with forty-four fast and reliable laps of Mugello under his belt. The Elans proved to be good fun to race in the wet and, despite the damp conditions, both drivers enjoyed a brilliant weekend, which is what historic racing should be all about.
From a team perspective, we enjoyed our first weekend of the season as a cohesive unit with our new recruits working well together. We left Northern Italy looking forward to race weekend number two: the 79th Goodwood Member's Meeting.
Check out our full Peter Auto Mugello 2022 gallery for more photos from our weekend. Many thanks to ultimatecarpage.com for the photos from Italy!
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