Mikola Motorsport

Two weeks to go!
Currently sitting 2nd in the outright points with a 15 point gap to the lead 😲

This little rocket has a might note now, Rob Mikolajewicz will be a force at the tight n twisty Winton Motor Raceway at Round 4 of Victorian Motor Racing Championship - VMRC not long now, still time to enter...MA licence and logbooks are a go! So if that was holding you back, now its not! Photo by TYPE 72 Photography

The little MX5 that could!

June long weekend heralded the arrival of round 3 of VMRC at Shell V Power Motorsports Park. The newly re-named Victorian Tin Tops heading over as support category for Super Trucks. A stark contrast between a race truck and one of the smallest cars on the grid.

The weekend was a wild success. In short;
4 races and 4 class wins! 1x 2nd outright, 2x 3rd outrights.
New PB 2:16.9828

In the begin there were four. Friday saw the long trek over towing the car. I was joined by Alex (Dad), Ken as crew chief, and Todd joining the crew for the first time. The debate had always been which direction to travel over. If there is a straight line between Albury and Adelaide, I haven’t found it. I elected to go ‘the high’ road. Albury, Deni, Ouyen, Pinaroo, Tailem. Seems easy on paper until somewhere between Deni and Ouyen I decided to just follow the GPS. Proving for two years in row that I should not be trusted to navigate. An hour out of Deni I find ourselves in someone’s paddock with the questionable C road turning to dirt. The crew suggested to turn around. I elected to move forward, after all, it’s an adventure. As it was my stint driving, we push forward. 50ks, 15 cattle grids and some of the smoothest dirt road I’ve ever been on later, we pop back out onto the actual Hwy. A truly scenic detour.

Saturday arrives and an early morning bump in. Unloading the car and gear into the pit lane garages is always magical at The Bend. As always, the facility is immaculate. No warm up on the schedule, straight into qualifying. I wasn’t expecting much from quali, just keep my head down and warm the car up. Much to my surprise I pull out a 2:18.1212. A PB over last year by 2 seconds, and good enough for fourth outright.

Race 1 is where it all happens. Rolling starts are an absolute disappointment for the MX5, and with the massive long straight I got exactly as predicted off the start. Decimated. There’s just nothing I can do off the line. I swing it to wall and watch everybody walk me down the straight. That’s okay though because unlike Calder I’ve got 18 corners to reel them back in and it doesn’t take long to be back up under the rear bumper of a certain blue falcon ute. A view I’m going to be intimately familiar with by the end of the weekend. By mid race Wayne’s RX7 has suffered a gearbox failure and retired, and the turbo pulsar is also slowing with a mechanical issue. That takes Mark’s blue ute to second and me hotly contesting behind. It’s classic David vs Goliath racing. The nimble MX5 dances around the corners and puts a move on the ute, however as soon as the ute can straighten and put the power down it walks away. We exchange positions multiple times until I make the move stick, throwing it short and shallow into turn 3, following what crew chief Ken and I call the ‘Luffy’ line, all I need to do is hold the ute back through 4 because if I can beat him into 5 the following corner complex will finally get it done. The move works. I finally get free air from the ute and the penny drops. Holy hell, I’m running second outright! No time to celebrate just yet, still laps to go. Head down and just flow as many corner exists as possible. The SIM training has absolutely paid off in bucket loads as I’m no longer trying the ‘learn’ the track, I’m searching for the fastest corner exits possible. The woefully under powered MX5 relies on momentum, no flow, no go. The last lap felt pretty good and I crossed the line in second place outright. Absolutely buzzing! It was not until getting back to the pits does the crew give me the news. Last lap, new PB 2:16.9828. Four seconds over last years fluke flyer and absolutely smashing my expectations for the weekend. To say I was chuffed with the results is an understatement.

After the high of race 1 we prepare for race 2. Front row start. The MX5 lined up next to the Aston Martin! I shouldn’t be here! Rolling start again and standard procedure for me, just move to the wall and watch everyone sail by. Race 2 and 3 evolve in much the same way. Mark in the ute and I going corner for corner, joined briefly by the Honda in the mix of the battle pack but unfortunately having it retire in each race. Of course, not before re painting the front of the MX5 in engine oil as the Honda motor lets go as I’m right under the bumper. No need for flow-vis paint, it’s very apparent where the aero is now. Both race 2 and 3 I couldn’t get the move to stick on the ute, finishing just behind in third place for both. Mark getting much more defensive whilst I just try to experiment with different opportunities. Some successful, some not, with several off-track indiscretions and one extremely messy move on my behalf that almost resulted in me completely driving through the door of the ute. Turns out you can’t out brake someone when two wheels are on the grass. There must have been a layer of paint in it but good luck favoured and no contact was made. Sure got the heart rate up though.

Race four the team was pulled together and strategy was discussed. Do we continue to battle the ute, after all, it’s not in our class? Or do we let the ute go and try to chase a new PB in clean air? No, I want the ute. I got it in race 1, lets try again in the final race! Last chance to get it done. Race 4 was epic! This is not hyperbole. It was on from lap one all the way to the end. It was the most intense back and fourth racing I’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of. The slightest hiccup from either driver was pounced upon. The overtakes, the undertakes, the defensive covering, it was all happening. Mark’s shoulders would have had to been sore from the amount of times he slammed the door closed on me, but that wasn’t going to deter me from stuffing the little MX5 into places it probably didn’t belong. With extreme high intensity somehow we never touch but it’s consistently close quarters combat. In the end all I could do is watch as the ute powered out of the last corner for the final time. Not able to make the pass stick but who cares. It was an awesome battle. The crowd loved the intensity and nothing makes me prouder than making commentators try to pronounce my surname. Clean sweep in class. Awesome!
(Full race 4 video linked in the first comment below)

The car performed brilliantly all weekend. The only casualty being a piece of the front windscreen trim being sacrificed to the gods of speed as the car decided to spontaneously lighten itself at the end of the main straight. Tearing itself from the A pillar and then subsequently getting annihilated on the rear wing. Tis but a scratch.

The Bend proving once again that the juice is worth the squeeze. Whilst an absolute mammoth amount of work to get over there it is absolutely my favourite track thus far on this journey. A massive thank you must go the crew for all their efforts in ensuring a victorious weekend. Alex, Ken, Todd, I hope you enjoyed the show!

The prep has already begun. Bring on round 4!

Day 2 at The Bend. Weather looking great, the locals looking better!!!