Jaden Ransley has waved away concern that the engine issue that thwarted his South Island Endurance Series opener will be rectified in time for the next round in Ruapuna.
Ransley was piloting the Signature Homes Hyundai i30N TCR along with car owner Rhys Gould at Teretonga over the last weekend when their race aspirations were stifled with an unexpected engine drama.
The pair only managed two laps in qualifying before being forced to retire to the pitlane with engine only running on 3 cylinders however, despite the engine dramas Ransley was able to bank a time strong enough for a front row start in their class.
Unfortunately, the hasty spark plug change between qualifying and the race meant the real issue was unable to be remedied properly as the problem re-occured on the first lap of the race.
Ransley said after the event that the unexpected engine trouble led to a disappointing result for his maiden three hour event. But said he is confident that the team will have their reliability woes sorted in time for the second round in Christchurch.
“The weekend was definitely not how we had planned it,” Ransley told Velocity News.
“We showed great speed on Friday and after 2 laps in Qualifying the engine suddenly dropped a cylinder.
“We weren’t able to fix the issue at the track but I’m very confident that the car will be fixed before Ruapuna.”
A former leading Toyota 86 competitor, Ransley has zeroed his sights on Australia for his next career step with the ambition of landing a drive in the national TCR series.
Unfortunately, coronavirus-induced border restrictions have stalled these plans, but the young Cantabrian is thankful he has been able to stay within the TCR game with the South Island Endurance Series.
“Driving the TCR car definitely makes me more motivated to get over to Australia to race in the TCR Australia series.
“I’m enjoying learning the different driving style and I’m learning more every lap which is great.
“I’m looking forward to showing our true race pace at Ruapuna in a few weeks.”
Ransley and Gould will contest the final two rounds of the three hour championship from Ruapuna and Levels Raceway over October 3 and 17.