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The word "teamwork" will be prominently shown as everyone on each team will be working together in preparing their cars for the Sunday, January 31st event. But, there will be two teams sweating not only from the heat but also from the anticipation of their container arriving in time for the event. But when it does arrive and hopefully as scheduled, it is a guarantee that the South Africans will see what is commonly viewed at many American short tracks. That is how members of other teams will come and help their fellow competitors get their cars ready so at the end of the day, everyone is on track racing for the win.
The cars owned by Dick Midgley, who is based out of Victoria, BC, Canada and will be driven by John Mickel and Gary Lewis, is the container that is being delayed to arriving at the Port of Durban. "The container was loaded in Seattle onboard the Hapag Lloyd's vessel 'Hamburg Express.' Hapag Lloyd being one of the most respected names in ocean shipping," Andrew Senter of Southern Export Services Inc. said. Senter is supervising all of the containers going to and from South Africa for the American Speed Association.
"The Hamburg Express suffered a collision when entering the port of Shekou, China. Only minor damage was sustained but the vessel was put in "detention" for two days to determine the cause of the accident," Senter explained. "This delay was enough for our container to miss its connection. Vessels containing thousands of other containers cannot be held up for one container. The schedules are very strict."
This next vessel to the Port of Durban wasn't scheduled to leave for 14 days, thus putting the container's arrival behind schedule. Senter has been working very closely with Hapag Lloyd regarding the crucial time restraint of getting the container to Phakisa in time for the race. "We have been in discussions with Hapag Lloyd to get priority unloading of the container from the vessel but it depends on the container's location on the vessel. This is now being researched," Senter said. "Hapag Lloyd has promised to make our container a priority offload once it arrives in Durban."
The plan now is for the container to be unloaded in a warehouse in Durban and then an expedited truck will take the cars and parts direct to Phakisa to make sure it is there for the start of the event. The teams will be at the track and be ready for the arrival so they can start getting their cars prepared for the event.
"Its frustrating because I usually like to go to the track a day or two before the race, I am not a last minute kind of a guy," Midgely said. "But there is really nothing we can do about it. I know that Dennis (Huth, ASA President) and Andrew are doing everything they can. We have a great group of guys going to work on the car, so manpower will not be an issue when the cars arrive."
"Our focus right now is making sure the cars arrive on time for the event," Dennis Huth, ASA President said. "We have a great group of competitors and crew members going over to South Africa for this event and I know that everyone, including ASA officials will assist Midgley's team when the cars arrive. This is a huge operation in transporting cars over and things like this can and do happen. All we can do is work together with everyone involved and work towards a positive outcome in the end. Hapag Lloyd has been very cooperative to work with and they understand our situation. We are very pleased with their response."
The goal is simple. With the hope of everything going as planned, the cars will arrive in plenty of time for the race. The teams be standing by to help in any way they can. ASA Officials will be assisting from the logistical and teching side. This will be a giant team effort that will be rewarded with a great Free State 500 event.
The other containers will be unloaded by the crews on Thursday, January 28th with the cars taking to the track on Friday, January 29th. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, January 30th and the ASA Free State 500 taking place on Sunday, January 31st at 1 p.m. local time.
Tickets for the four days of action can be obtained from Computicket outlets countrywide or go to www.computicket.com. Prices range from R20.00 on Thursday to R 330.00 on Sunday. Spectacular discounts for Saturday/Sunday tickets are available. All tickets include a 90 minute Pit Walkabout on all days.
For more information about the Free State 500, please visit www.phakisa.com or www.freestate500.com.
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based American Speed Association call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the ASA, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
ASA®, ASA Racing®, and American Speed Association® are registered trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. ASA International, LLC and Racing Speed Associates, LLC are not related to or affiliated with ASA Late Model Series, LLC.
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