POOR BOY Ltd

Jesse Adams and Minesh Bhagaloo get featured in the Mercedes in-house magazine...

Rapid Motion Classic TV coverage from Round 2 of the Execuline Historic Tour is on at the moment. Poor Boy's Colin Kean is in action so feel free to take time off from work and watch today. Below are the braodcast times, if you cant make it set the PVR.

RAPID MOTION CLASSIC – Eps 3 (Zwartkops – Part 2 )

Tuesday 1 June    SS7 & SS7A 12h30 (Premier)

Wednesday 2 June   SS5 & SS5A 13h00 ®

Thursday 3 June   SS5 & SS5A 00h00 ®

Saturday 5 June  SS5 & SS5A 01h00 ®

Poor Boy Ltd had a difficult time at Zwartkops with the Mercs really battling to exit the tight hairpin. Regardless they walked away with the girls, nice one Colin Kean.

We knew going into the third round held at Zwartkops on Saturday that coming away with decent points would be a tough task. Sure enough, the Pretoria track’s hairpin turn two proved a killer for our Merc’s bulk and tenth and eighth places were all we could muster on the day.

The good news is that we did add some points to our tally, but the bad is that it was only three out of a possible twenty. On the bright side, our toughest competition in the points race also fared badly and things are tightening up as far as the championship is concerned. We are still third or fourth out of 18 if my calculations are correct. Official points standing aren’t yet available.

The modifications we made to the car’s gear ratios, that we had hoped would help pull the heavy load out of the corners faster, made little difference to our lap times in the end. While the car’s suspension setup and excellent brakes allow us to carry more speed in the bends and braking zones, it’s a sitting duck coming out of turn two. Time and again our opposition would leave the hairpin behind us and by the time we got to the table-top we’d be ten car lengths behind. Frustrating stuff, believe me.

We also suffered some body damage thanks to some contact from competitors on two separate occasions. A particular blue Ford Escort got a little close for comfort at the hairpin in heat one, and a blue beetle took a bite out of the same section of car after spinning in turn six during heat two. The right rear area of the Mercedes has come away from Zwartkops a mangled mess and a trip to the panelbeater is on the cards before round four scheduled for Midvaal on 17 June. Luckily we have Fernando at Major 2 Panelbeaters on our side.

Needless to say we’re looking forward to Midvaal, the track where we scored an overall win at the season-opener in March. We’ll put the last two Zwartkops rounds behind us, knowing that it’s just not a venue suited to our car’s characteristics. I’d like to say we need a track with more flowing turns- and that would be true- but in reality it’s big balls circuits like Phakisa and Kyalami where Poor Boys will really score. The worst is behind us now, and we’re confident that hefty points hauls are just around the corner.

See you there.

Thanks Bridgestone, Castrol, Carcol Executive Auto, Bilstein, Major 2, Auto Rosen, Emgee Workshop and AKA Signage for the help. Muchos gracias.

It’s that time again. After a last minute reshuffle of the championship calendar, the away race at Phakisa was canned and organisers decided that we’d head back to Zwartkops for back-to-back races at the Big Z for round three of seven this weekend.

Not great news for us, as it became obvious after round two that the big Merc doesn’t really agree with the tight and twisty nature of the Pretoria-based circuit. But Poor Boys Ltd has been doing its homework and this time we’re going in better prepared.

A big thanks to Colin at Carcol Executive Auto whose Mercedes knowledge is second to none, and without we wouldn’t have a sparkly new differential with a shorter final drive bolted into the back of the car. We’re trying a tighter gear ratio, and in theory it’s exactly what we need for Zwartkops. The Beige Bomber was struggling exiting the tight turns, and revs in general were too low all around the 2.4km track. Hopefully now with the new diff, we’ll have more punch coming out and we’ll at least match the pace of the Alfas we’re in battle with.

We’ve also tidied up around the place, rubbed Handy Andy into the tightest of spaces and despite the 320 000km on her clock, at least she’s not showing her age as much. Again thanks to Colin who has supplied the obscurest of extra bits like the brake vacuum hose bracket, left front fender beading and the tiny black clips that hold the fascia vents in. It’s all in the detail!

Castrol is still playing along as well, and going into Zwartkops our 2.8-litre six’s sump is full with a fresh jug of the finest. Can’t forget Bridgestone either and as usual we’ll be shod with a spanking new set of semi-slicks. Guys, this wouldn’t happen without you... Genuine.

A pair of seventh places left us third in the log after round two, but on the bright side there are 15 cars behind us. Hopefully our tweaks will leave us better off this time, and we can regain the championship lead we had earlier in the year.

Top ten points after round two:

1 Pantazis Alfa 31

2 Pretorius Fiat 29

3 Adams Merc 26

4 Lombard Beetle 22

5 Young Anglia 21

6 Vos Nissan 17

7 Bennet Capri 15

8 Martini Alfa 12

Osborn Escort 12

9 Roberts Merc 10

Vos Nissan 10

10 Ladner Capri 7

Poor Boy Ltd team looks set to have a new racer in the near future. Mercedes Benz guru Carcol Executive Auto has teamed up with the crew to build a W114 series Merc racer. The project will see a 280E motor fitted into a 230-6 body shell. For now it is all action in the stripping department. Pics can be viewed in the Photos section but we'll keep you updated as to how the build is going.

Poor Boy Ltd had a tough day at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 10 April. The team, consisting of Jesse Adams and Colin Kean, were competing in Round 2 of the popular Execuline Historic Tour – Adams in the Pre 1977 Saloon Car category and Kean in the road legal Marque Car event. Despite flawless performances from both the tight confines of the 2.4 kilometre track didn’t suit the hulking Mercedes and the points scoring was kept to a minimum.

With a 1 minute 20.05 lap time Adams qualified his 4-door Mercedes-Benz 280E in sixth place. Pole position was snatched by Willem Pretorius (Fiat 131) with a time of 1 minute 18.8, Sophos Pantazis (Alfa Junior) took up second, Harry Lombard (VW Beetle) third, Ted Young (Ford Anglia) fourth and Jimbo Bennet (Ford Capri) fifth.

A rolling start got Race 1 underway and immediately the Adams Merc Achilles heel came to the fore – weight. The lighter competitors got the jump and immediately pulled away from Adams. Once up and running Adams managed to hold the front-runners in sight but accelerating out of the hairpin the gap gradually increased. Even more disheartening was the sight of a nimble Mini, Datsun and Alfa appearing in the rear-view mirror. The writing was on the wall and Adams dropped to eighth place. Championship contender Lombard fell out of contention with a technical issue promoting Adams to sixth by the chequered flag.

Race 2 was much the same with Adams battling to close the gap on the lightweights. Lombard clawed his way back through the field to finish sixth while the onslaught of a Mini Cooper S gave Poor Boy Ltd fans a few nail-biting moments. Adams fought off the challenge to hold station and finish seventh.

On combined time Adams finished the day sixth overall – not what the doctor ordered but valuable championship points none the less.

“I knew it was going to be difficult to compete with the fast accelerating light cars around Zwartkops – and it was” said Adams. “Despite being slightly off the pace the car was good, It handled like a dream, sounded crisp and was reliable. Such reliability is going to be a key in taking the 2010 title.”

Marque Car racing is run on a handicap system where the slowest car starts first and the fastest last. Start times are carefully calculated so that in theory all the cars will cross the finish line at the same time. Obviously theory and practice aren’t the same thing so this never happens. To stop ‘sand-bagging’ competitors are penalised if they go more than 2.5% faster than their qualifying time in race 1 and 1.5% in race 2.

Poor Boy Ltd member Kean qualified his Mercedes-Benz 280CE in a respectable ninth fastest time. With 26 entrants this meant he had to start eighteenth and fight his way through the pack to win. Even with so many cars to pass Kean was a model of consistency and lapped the track in the low 1 minute 23s. Unfortunately the traffic was too chaotic and Kean only managed to make it up to fifteenth by the flag. Race 2 saw more consistency and a slightly better result of eighth.

“I’m pleased with the weekend, not many of the guys who finished in front of me were at the Midvaal Round 1 so I don’t lose too much ground in the championship” added Kean. “The car is getting better and better and I recorded my fastest times ever at Zwartkops.”

It has not as yet been confirmed whether Round 3 of the Execuline Historic Tour will take place at Phakisa or Kyalami but the Poor Boy Ltd team is keen for either track – the fast flowing layouts are guaranteed to suit the big Mercs.

The help from Bridgestone, Castrol, Bilstein, Carcol, Major 2, Emgee Workshop, Carcol Executive Auto, AKA Signage and Auto Rosen keep the ball rolling.