New Cars

So It has been way to long since the last race, but in the process i have sold the Excel and bought a Nissan Pulsar SSS. This is due to university not allowing much funds. First event for the Pulsar is the 20th at Powrana Khanacross for round 5. I will update the blog with the results after the event so stay tuned.

Also in this long break a group of Engineering students, Alan How and myself have finished building a BMW E30 track car. This will be raced next year in the TAS Super Series, and various club events. If you are after photos of the build drop me an email and I have a large photo collection. This car was built in a period of 5 months mostly on Tuesday nights after uni.

1st Outright at MSCT Khanacross

In muddy conditions the Excel once again rose. Finishing 1st outright in a field of 45 people. The Excel enjoyed the slippery conditions and i had a smile from ear to ear. The overall lead was 43 seconds in front of 2nd outright which i was really happy about. Can't wait till the next event.

Results: www.msct.com.au

2010

This blog hasn't been updated for a long time due to time restraints but I have still been competing when funds and time is allowed. Results have been good so far this year too. I will fill you in on the events.

To start of the year I entered the 500CC Khanacross on the 7th February, this event only permits radial tyres and i managed to win the event outright from a field of 21.

Next event was round 2 of the 500CC Khanacross and i made a big mistake in this by not completely stopping in the garage which means i got the slowest time +5seconds. Before I made the mistake I was leading but ended up finishing 12th Outright

My last event I competed in was the Blacktrack gravel hillclimb and I suprised myself when a result of 4th outright came my way. This was good considering the level of competition was high. and most of the cars entering were welll prepared.

Results: http://stuff.johnnysmultimedia.com/suppregs/2010-2-7%20Khanacross%20rnd%201%20result.pdf

http://msct.com.au/results/Speed/Hillclimb%20Results%2027.03.10.pdf

Some pictures from gravel hillclimb :

Two great results to finish of the year.

The year has come to an end and the car once again prooved its worhty by gaining a 7th Outright at MSCT Gravel hillclimb in retreat area and a 2nd Outright at MSCT Khanacross. The khanacross result was special because it was acheived on standard road tyres.
Results:
http://www.msct.com.au/results/Khanacross/KhanaX%20Results%2021.11.09.pdf
http://www.msct.com.au/results/Rally/Hillclimb%20Results%20%2005.12.09.pdf

Domain hill climb 09

This was my 3rd year in a row entering this event and it is such a great event that I would come back for another 3 years if possible. The car is not perfectly suited to tarmac setup having no sway bars in the front it tends to get a fair bit of roll around the corners. But it is still a good a fun car to thrash in the hillclimb.

First run was a wet run, and i was not confident at all in the car so I decided to take it very easy and not crash the car. Hillclimbs also run on your best time so there is no point pushing if it is a wet run when it will be dry later in the day. Fortunately the rest of the runs were dry. 

The second run i got into the groove and realised that Scotty Neuman in the Charade and myself were very close in the times so the battle began and we were fighting in times all day at one stage the time difference was one one-hundreth of a second. I am very competitive and took the challenge on, it came down to the last run and i beat scotty by a small margin of 0,2 seconds.

All in all great weekend and good times were had

Results: www.cmitas.org

Hellyer Rally Summary

Well just got back and glad to announce that Scott Newman did a fantastic job of driving his little Dihatsu Charade to 11th outright and first in class. The Rally was outstanding, the organizers did a great job and the whole day ran smoothly. 

On the start line we saw 23 cars turn up, which is really good for a TRS event. Walking around and looking at the cars I was amazed at the level of competition in the TRS at the moment, especially in the 2wd section. The most exciting car-driver combination was that of Lee Peterson and the Nissan Pulsar. This car really catches my attention and at the end of the rally it was really good to see Lee finish 3 rd outright and first 2wd. 

Our day ran really well and our goals were to finnish and just gather experience. Scotty tried some different driving styles and at the end of the day the in-car feeling was great, and the pace seemed to really improve throughout the whole day. The weather was a little bit cold and when it started to rain some stages became really slippery, but he kept it together and managed a solid finnish.

Results: http://nwcctas.net/docs/hellyer09.pdf

Hellyer Rally

This weekend the Shiftlock team will be heading up to Burnie for the unforgiving Hellyer Rally. This is the same rally I crashed out of last year. This year I will be enjoying the scenary from the passanger side as I navigate for Scott Newman in the Dihatsu Charade. Really looking forward to this rally, and it will be good to see how Scott goes. It will also give me a chance to have a look at road conditions before the Novice Rally that will take place shortly after Hellyer.

3rd Outright at MSCT Motorkhana

Another great day held by MSCT. This event saw a massive turnout of 27 entries. I was really happy with 3rd Outright first car under 2l.

The day was great but I did suffer a huge amount of understeer on the tight tracks due to my worn out tyres. Another improvement for future events will be the fitting of  a hydraulic handbrake for the really tight corners. But all in all stoked with 3rd from 27 entries. Enjoyed the close battle with Stephen in the CRX.

Results:

http://msct.com.au/results/Motorkhana/Motorkhana%20Results%2020%20June%202009.pdf

Now to continue with preparations for Novice Rally can't wait...

Gearing up for Novice Rally

I have began gearing up getting ready for the novice rallies being held on the the north west of Tasmania. The events will be run by North West Car Club. I am really looking forward to these event the first one is held out at Hellyer George. 

below: getting interior ready

These type of events will be a step up from Khanacross, Motorkhana's and Hillclimb and I beleive the car and myself is ready to go to the next level. Finishing each event will be number one priority though. 

Dates are: 8th August   Novice Rally - (Hellyer Gorge)

       19th September  Novice Rally - (Ridgley)

The second event on the 19th of September will be a Night event so that will definitely be an interesting experience.

So time to get car ready and find myself a navigator......

1st Outright at MSCT Khanacross

Well what a weekend. The khanacross was fantastic, the Powrana track is fairly challenging and it caught a few competitors out. I ended up using the rally tyres as the level of competition was too high to win on radials.

A large field of  cars turned up, which was good to see. The first run I had got the adrenaline going, and after I got out of the car I was shaking. Lucky for me I was the last car on the track and all the cars before me had swept most of the loose gravel off the track. 

The only issue I had throughout the day was dust coming into the cabin. I have to put silicon in all the holes before the next event. Overall though couldn't be much more happier with first in class and first outright.  pictures to come

RESULTS: http://www.msct.com.au/results/Khanacross/KhanaX%20Results%2023.05.09.pdf

Till next time.

Excel back out this weekend.

Excel will be racing this Saturday at MSCT Khanacross. Really looking forward to this at I missed the first khanacross. Will try to run it on radials rather that rally tyres we will see how that goes.

Targa Pics

1st in Targa Tasmania Rookie Rally

Well what an event... Phil House and myself in the navigators seat piloted a BMW E30 to victory in the rookie rally. An amazing achievement and something i am still yet to take in. The event started with reecie which we did Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the event. The event then kicked of in George Town with the prologue street stage.

The street stage was one of the highlights for sure, Phil managed to get the car sideways on most corners and put on a show for the spectators and also set very quick time.

Day one and Day two involved going through some of Tasmanians best roads. The BMW handled very well giving us some great stage times. We held the lead from Prologue to the last stage, with fierce competition from Ian Swan at the end of the event. The BMW was an amazing car and sitting in the navigators seat was quite a wild ride.

MSCT Gravel Hillclimb

Just got back from an action packed weekend in the forestry around retreat area. The Excel once again proved its worth by giving me a result of 1st in class and 14th outright. Which is not to bad considering it is a gravel hill-climb and the best combination for a hillclimb is a high powered rear wheel drive/four wheel drive, and the the Excel is everything but that.

The first run I was very cautious just trying to find grip levels and get used to the corners. There was a few corners that could catch you out, one including a 3rd gear long left hander. The track had two chicanes and getting into and out of them as quick as possible was difficult aswell. My second run I shaved over 6 seconds of and started to feel a little more confident in the car. Then I was slightly improving on my times throughout the rest of the runs. Throughout the day I was trying some different lines, finding not much time gain but some lines felt better inside the car than others. Overall the event was fantastic (thanks MSCT organizers and officials). The hillclimb was a good size with each pass taking a little under 2 minutes.

Results:

http://www.msct.com.au/results/Rally/Hillclimb%20Results%2018.04.09.pdf

2nd and 3rd for Excel at Cambridge

The Excel made its long awaited return to action. The car hasn't been raced for over 4 months. The event was run by 500 Car club and a strong field of 26 cars turned up. Scotty Newman and myself were in the Excel and we managed to get 2nd and 3rd outright.

At the end of the day Adrian Morrisby won in his Subaru Forrester (4-wheel drive), although I was only 4 seconds behind total. The car ran very well and the car got some attention with its newly added roll cage and exhaust system (thanks Simon). Next event is a gravel hill climb on the 18th of April.
Results:
http://stuff.johnnysmultimedia.com/suppregs/500cc_Khanacross_Round_2_Results.pdf