The Australian Racing Drivers Club

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ARDC News

ARDC Members clean up at Philip Island

The first round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship for Production Touring Cars was run and won on Sunday 26th May. Part of the third round of the Shannons Nationals, the race was a four hour, two driver test in wet and dry conditions around the iconic Victorian circuit. Driving one of the Pro – Duct Mitsubishi EVO Xs, team owner Bob Pearson and co driver extraordinaire, Glenn Seton paced themselves in the early stages then came home with a withering run on the damp track to claim victory by over a lap.

Bob is a long term member of the ARDC, winning the Club Championship back in 1995. Glenn has just re joined at the urging of Terry Thompson, ARDC Director, who helps out in the Pro-Duct team during race weekends. Glenn has lost none of his wet weather driving ability. The display of car control in slippery conditions during the last stint was awesome to watch. At one stage he was taking up to 7 seconds a lap from the second placed car. He also set a new lap record some 1.5 seconds faster than the previous time. The resurfacing of the famous Island track saw most lap records fall during the weekend. The new control tyre for the series is a Hankook and excellent preparation of the Pro-Duct EVO to suit this tyre played a big part in the win. Some teams seemed to have problems with the tyres but a number of cars sailed through the event with no rubber issues. The next round will be a three hour at SMSP in July, then on to QR in August before Wakefield Park in October with two 200km races – that will be a lot of laps of Wakefield.

The final will be at Sandown in November.

– Terry Thompson

2013 ARDC Club Championship

Our Board of Directors has overhauled the points scoring system for the annual ARDC Club Champion award.
The previous point score was based on the top ten drivers in every race at ECIR/SMSP, scoring points if they were current ARDC Members. Because different racing categories competing at different levels did not race each other and took part in varying numbers of races, the only fair way of comparing performances was to work out an average of points scored per race.
This gave an advantage to competitors in small categories and drivers could “sit on” early good results and not compete for the rest of the year to preserve a good average.
For 2013 and beyond, ARDC Member competitors will score points in the ARDC Club Champion competition every time they run in an ARDC-organised race at Sydney Motor Sport Park. One point will be awarded to Members for every competitor they finish ahead of, including non-finishers. Then this number will be multiplied by the number of laps scored in each race. This will equalise meetings with lots of short races as compared to meetings with fewer long races.
We will also be running a separate competition for our Supersprint competitor Members. At each of the three rounds of the NSW Supersprint Championship we are running this year, ARDC Members will score a point for every person they beat in their class. This number will then be multiplied by the number of laps completed on the day. The driver with the most points over the three meetings will be declared the ARDC Supersprint Champion for 2013.
– Brian “The Guru” Goulding

 

Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival

Porsche Cars Australia is pleased to announce the inaugural Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival, held on the weekend of May 25 and 26, 2013 at Sydney Motor Sport Park.
The format of the exclusive all-Porsche event will be centred on the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia, which will both headline the weekend’s racing schedule. Other events will include several all-Porsche races, Regularities and historic demonstrations on both Saturday and Sunday.
Recent improvements to the circuit facilities will allow the entire circuit, figure 8, skid pan and four wheel drive track to facilitate various events and activities throughout the weekend.
Off-track attractions will include the Porsche Concours d’Elegance and Porsche Show ‘n’ Shine, while the Porsche Sport Driving School and Porsche Kids Driving School will provide the full spectrum of the Porsche driving experience to those big and small.
The action will start at 8:30am both days, with tickets available at the gate (online sales have now closed). Weekend Passes just $55 for adults and $5 for children 17 and under (with a paying adult). Daily passes are $30 for adults, and again, $5 per day for a child. Parking is free!
Porsche Rennsport Australia Motor Racing Festival is set to be a true ‘Festival’ of all things Porsche. We look forward to seeing you there.
Visit www.rennsportaustralia.com.au for more information.

 

What is a Supersprint?

A supersprint is a speed event where cars are sent out onto the circuit in pairs to set their fastest single lap. The pairings are sent out at 10 second intervals, with the fastest pair at the front to minimise overtaking. It is not a race – in fact, anyone found to be “racing” is sent straight to the stewards.

Cars are divided into “types”, and all types have classes within them loosely based on engine size.

The whole field (usually about 100 cars) is split into colour groups based on potential performance. This ensures that fast cars share the track with other fast cars, and slower with the same.

A run is eight minutes on the track, and each competitor will get about five or six runs. At the end of the day, each competitor’s fastest individual lap is compared with every other driver to get an outright result and with every other driver in the class to get a class result.

Sydney Motorsport Park- the fastest track in Australia!

Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has smashed the lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park by more than five seconds at Top Gear Festival Sydney (March 9 – 10).

Webber, in his Red Bull RB7 Formula 1 car, clocked a best time of 1:13.6060 around the original GP Circuit, easily besting the previous, long-standing record of 1:19.142 set by Nico Hulkenberg during the A1GP in 2007.

Webber cut the record down to 1:15.218 on the Saturday, and promised to cull it further in his next attempt for day two of the weekend Festival with some overnight ride height and suspension changes. He did not disappoint, taking a further two seconds off in his second and final attempt.

Webber also set another record over the weekend, during the Aussie Speed Showdown race on the North Circuit track. During the race, which also featured Casey Stoner on a motorcycle and Jamie Whincup in a V8 Supercar, Webber lapped the North Circuit track in 49.277 seconds, making his average speed an astonishing 209.74 km/h.

An Australian circuit is considered fast when the average speed is over 160km/h, and no track has ever seen average speeds peaking over 200km/h. Sydney Motorsport Park and the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club are confident that Webber’s weekend lap record has made the North Circuit track the fastest racing circuit in Australia.

Sydney Motorsport Park to host Top Gear Festival!

The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club is excited to announce that Sydney Motorsport Park will host Top Gear Festival Sydney in March 2013.
For two adrenaline packed days, Top Gear Festival Sydney will transform Sydney Motorsport Park into a motoring enthusiast’s heaven, as cars and stars take to the track in this inaugural outdoor motoring spectacular.

Joining us will be UK Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May, along with Top Gear’s mysterious racing driver The Stig! They’ll also be bringing along some of their legendary racing mates and celebrity friends, all across the weekend of the 9 – 10 March 2013!

Top Gear Festival Sydney promises to be an awesome track based festival, with every corner of Sydney Motorsport Park ablaze with action all weekend long.

At the centre of the event two race circuits will see racing legends and stars pitted against one another whilst the rest of the Park plays host to thrilling stunts and challenges, live actions zones, a packed exhibition area featuring some of the world’s latest and greatest cars and much more!

Do not miss the ultimate Top Gear fuelled day out, for one weekend only and only in Sydney on 9 -10 March 2013!

Top Gear Festival Sydney falls outside regular ARDC Member benefits. ARDC Members will not receive discounted or complimentary entry to the Festival.

ARDC Members will receive access to an exclusive presale later this week, details will follow shortly.

For more information on Top Gear Festival Sydney, visit www.topgearfestivalsydney.com.au.