Time Attack 2013 Round One

2012 was the year that Bo Nielsen secured his third consecutive Time Attack Championship. This year is a whole new ball game as he moves up into Pro 2 Wheel Drive.

Cadwell Park set the scene for the first round of Time Attack 2013. One whole the first round ran a lot smoother for Bo than Cadwell 2012.

However this was because Bo had managed to get rid of all the drama the previous week, when on the final track day before round one, his car was running perfectly until he lost power.

After being towed back to the pits, he and Courtenay Sport Astra driver Will Watson lifted the bonnet and were amazed to see the crank shaft pulley just lying in the engine bay.

On further investigation, they realised the end of the crank shaft had snapped. So obviously the car would not be doing nay more laps that day.

This meant that Bo had to head back to Brighton three days before round one, sourcing parts on the way to rebuild the engine, and then drive the 200 miles back to Cadwell in time for the start of the season.

After working through Thursday night until 2am to get the engine out, Bo was back in Southampton first thing Friday morning where the engine was rebuilt.

One the engine was rebuilt, it was back to the workshop to fit all of the ancillaries, install the engine, quick test drive down the road before heading back up to Lincolnshire on Saturday in time for a well deserved rest and a pizza before setting up at Cadwell on Sunday. 

Monday morning rolled around and the team were back at the track early to make sure everything was ready for the season starter.

After a delay due to bad accident in Club Class, Bo was late out on track for his warm up session which included all the cars from Pro Class. The Forge Motorsport VXR Astra held its own as Bo took the car for a spin.

Practice was next where the car proved its worth once again, putting in some competitive times against some of the top dogs of Time Attack.

By the time qualifying began Bo was feeling confident, pleased with his choice of Kumho tyres and the fact that nothing more than a pressure gauge had been used all day. 

For qualifying and the final, the Pro class were split in two, therefore the Club Pro cars had more space to go out and set their hot laps. 

During qualifying Bo was able to set a lap time leave Mike Cantello and his VX220 needing to find 2 seconds to match his time. Pleased with his pace, Bo was back in the pit within a couple of laps in true Nielsen style, saving his car for the final.

The Great Dane headed out on final with one aim, to beat his best time around Cadwell Park by lapping in under 1.40.

Bo's hot lap was a rapid time of 1.38.7, a personal best for the Great Dane and the Forge Motorsport Astra VXR, catapulting him into 3rd place, which was an amazing finish considering the car had no engine 3 days before.

The smooth running of the day has left Bo excited for Croft, where hopefully the run up to round two will be more relaxed.