Chris and Johnny Small have pulled the pin on the remaining two South Island Endurance Series rounds, but the brothers have enjoyed, mostly, every moment of the season.
The sole dent in their stride was a brake issue in the opening race at Highlands.
A fracture in the right rear brake line meant the brake pedal starting going long ten minutes into the race.
Before the problem occurred, the brothers were in contention for a podium finish.
Replacing the part between rounds, the Smalls arrived at Timaru on Saturday hungry for redemption.
They qualified and finished second in their home race and in front of many family and friends.
The only driver they couldn’t beat was 17-year-old Ryan Wood, who has won both races this year.
“Where we finished was where we should be,” Chris Small told Velocity News.
“Ryan [Wood] is hard to beat. You’ve got to give it to him. That’s his life and I hope he makes something of it.”
Unfortunately, their Timaru success will mark the end of the Smalls’ 2021 SIERDC campaign.
Reshuffled dates conflict with some personal and work interests, and the pair decided they will not head to Teretonga and Ruapuna.
“It’s a bit of a shame and was a hard decision.”
This season, the brothers are racing a 2018 Porsche 991.2.
It’s a faster and smoother drive than the previous iteration Porsches they’ve raced, including the 997 Cup Car they won the 2019 one-hour championship with.
And they are looking forward to giving the car a full showing next year.
“We all love it,” Small said.
“We’ll be back. It won’t be the last from us.”