Coming to a halt! Picture by kind permission of Martin Sones.

We were scheduled to sign in at 10:30am so it looked like a nice late start - but for competitors to get to the paddock at Mallory, you have to enter the circuit at the top of the hairpin, and drive backwards along the track to the paddock entrance at the Esses. So what looked like a late start moved earlier as you had to be in the paddock before first qualifying started at 9:30 or wait for a gap beyween sessions. So an 07:00 start it was although good time was made and we (Julian and myself) arrived in the Paddock by 8:40am complete with the Y10 in tow.

Time constraints meant that once again the Y10 has not seen the track since the repair after the Lancia Motor Club day at Goodwood 3 weeks ago. Plans to fit an Uno Turbo gearbox had fallen by the wayside - the starter motor is on the wrong side and there is no space on the front of the engine for it to go there, so another Y10 Turbo gearbox was installed, this time with standard gear ratios due to time and cost constraints. This should not be a problem at Mallory or the next meet at Croix-en-Ternois in France which are both circuits where a top speed of about 125mph would be sufficient. While the Y10 was with Scheldt and Pettet, a few small jobs were done - a jackplug was fitted to allow an external battery to be plugged in, a lap timer was installed along with the video camera mount, a heavier duty battery and the springs were changed. My short run at Goodwood had showed that the springs were far too stiff - they were much the same as in 2000 but the car must weigh a fair bit less now. I was unsure how the day would go but was hopeful of at least finishing practice without the aid of a tow rope.

Having signed on I noticed that there was a very small turn out for the race - probably the smallest I have seen in my 2 years with the Le Mans Auto-Italia championship so far. And soon the field was depleted further - the Alfasud Sprint I campaigned last year, now in the hands of Darren Carter and Daniel Whittington failed scrutineering. Apparently the scrutineers were not happy with the standard of the roll cage - clearly not something than can be resolved trackside. The decision seemed all the more bizarre given that not only has the car satisfied scrutineers at Snetterton and Brands Hatch this season, but also did so at 10 races last season including....Mallory Park! Luckily for me, the Y10 passed with flying colours although there was some comment that I might wish to add racing numbers to the off-side corner of the bonnet so the lap timers could see them more easily - equally bizarre as at Snetterton the scrutineer had been keen to check it was on the near side for the same reason.

Anyway, what it is with these transponders that should make all this irrelevant (and put the timekeepers out of a job)? First we need them for the season, then we don't, then we need them from the beginning of May so nearly £400 was invested to buy them for the Y10 and the Sud. Now it seems they don't need to be here yet - thanks for telling me everybody!

Anyway, ranting over - let the games begin. We were called late to the assembly area, by the time I got there I was still putting on my helmet when I realised the pit lane lights were green and practice was underway. By the time I blasted down the pit lane (and yes, the Y10 went well here) some cars were already coming round. I had no idea how any part of the car would behave so held the inside line right round Gerrards as Drummond Bone's Maserati Barchetta closed fast. I expected him to go round the outside of me but he chose to sit behind until the start of Stebbe Straight at which point I pulled to the outside of the track to let him through, and nailed the throttle. Almost immediately the car started misfiring, she was accelerating but none too quickly and by the time I reached the Esses it was clear that this misfire was not going to clear. As I drove up the hill towards the hairpin, the engine died and I just managed to park her off the track on the far side of the hairpin where the marshalls pushed me through the gate of the competitors' entrance. Just like at Goodwood I had failed to complete a lap - clouds of smoke were emanating from the bonnet area so when the smoke died down I removed the bonnet to find the engine covered in water.

Back into the pits and the investigation started - everything seemed intact, there was that much water everywhere it looked like a pipe must have split or come adrift, but nothing was obvious. We filled the car up with water again, about 5 litres was needed and switched on the electric water pump. The pump could be heard to work but nothing was coming out anywhere. We tried to start the engine, but it didn't turn over too fast so we stopped that and then realised water was dripping from the exhaust. Checking the dipstick, the oil seemed OK so we are not yet sure what has gone wrong this time. Plainly this is terminal, at least for today so we packed up the car and left.

As soon as there is further news, I will post it up. I will be at the next meet at Croix-en-Ternois in France, but will take the Alfasud in the hope of finally posting a few points on the score board. This also gives us longer to find and resolve this latest problem. The Y10 is booked in with Dave Walker of CCC fame later this month - given the 2 month wait for an appointment we really need to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later.

The race ran with just 12 starters - the poorest turnout for any Le Mans Auto-Italia I have been part of, let's hope normal service is resumed at the next meet.

See some pictures courtesy of Marcus.

Read the official race report.

Visit the Le Mans Motorsport site for details of the Le Mans Auto-Italia championship and standings so far.

Check out the current points standing