The Australian Racing Drivers Club

For members and guests

Race Meetings

2015 SYDNEY RETRO SPEEDFEST WRAP

_DSC1372

Winter racing at Sydney Motorsport Park is always exciting and this past weekend’s running of the 2nd Annual Sydney Retro Speedfest, an event jointly sponsored by the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association (HSRCA) and the ARDC, did not disappoint.

Featuring a massive field of 246 entrants across the eight events on the program, spectators and competitors alike received great value for money. Cars filled the track four times each for their 20 minute racing stints over the two day event. As well as the cars on track, marquees lined the length of the pit area filled with static displays of classic cars with owners only too happy to chat about them.

Specialty cars rarely seen in Australia graced the pits and track. An ex- Niki Lauda 12-cylinder BRM P160, as well as a pair of Le Mans style Porsche 926Cs, were extremely impressive and dominated the O, Q & R category. The chief mechanic of George Nakas’ Blue/White 962C team said “This car no longer has any fuses, it has been completely rewired and is exclusively programmed by computer for every electrical instruction. The wiring loom has 585m of industrial electrical cabling, which took us over 140 hours to install!”.

_DSC3027

The car performed well under Nakas’ guidance with second place in all three races. Nakas was unlucky not pull a win in either of the first two races as only half a body length separated the two thundering Porsches across the line. Well done to Peter Harburg’s “Jagermeister” entry on his two hard-fought wins. Duncan MacKellar took full advantage of Harburg’s race three DNF to record a 4 sec win from Nakas, whose car is being packed into a shipping container next week for its upcoming campaign in the USA at Laguna Seca.

Regularity is always a well attended category and this weekend 37 cars filled the dummy grid to almost capacity. In race one Brian Wilson in his Ford GT40 took the honours with 2 laps exactly on his predicted speed of 2:03 and another only three one hundredths underneath his nominated speed. Race two accuracy went to Chris Scheffer ( MGB) also with two laps on his nominated time and race three saw Aaron Lewis (E-type Jag) nail 4 laps on his nominated time. Craig Duthie was the most consistent with second place in both race two and three. Dave Lawrences’ beautifully turned out red Austin Healy 100/4 gleamed in the sunlight and Dave was also beaming with pride as he sang happy birthday to his pride and joy on its 60th birthday. You see, on Sunday June 6th, his ‘Healey was “born” back in 1955.

Group C& A is the baby boomers favourite racing event. With Skyline R32’s and Ford Sierra’s on track rest assured that the Goliath vs Godzilla arguments of the ‘90’s were reinvigorated trackside. Whilst the ‘boomers are much more mellow nowadays, sporting greyer hair (and less of it) the enthusiasm for this category hasn’t wained. With current high profile driver Rick Kelly feeding the Retro Speed press machine this past week driving Terry Lawlor’s Godzilla ( Car #4 – Skyline R32) this publicity might have been the catalyst that Terry needed in his campaign to overcome his nearest rival , Anthony Alfords, with his equally quick R32. With absolutely nothing in it, Lawlor was narrowly victorious in al three races, but they were hard fought as the margins were ultra slim in all three races. In fact, Terry had a mirror full of Alford all day as there was less than five one hundredths of a second between both cars at the finish of each race. Tony Compton was only a second back and took the final podium place in each race.

Group Sc was dominated by a foursome of determined Porsches: Geoff Morgan, Stan Adler, Wayne Seabrook and Andrew Purvis. For the most part Geoff Morgan’s birch green Carrera 911 was regularly out the front of each lap, however a determined grab of the lead by Purvis in race 3 proved unsustainable and somewhere along the way black tire marks ( which weren’t there at the beginning of the race) appeared on Geoff Morgans left side door showing how intense the racing had become late in the day. Group Sb was being fought out back in the field some 25-30 seconds behind the lead group as Damien Meyers smoothly kept two thundering Shelby Mustangs at bay (Laurie Sellars and Kevin Luke) as he went on to grab two wins and a third for the weekend. Sellars took the spare win as well as a second and third to round out his weekend. Colin Goldsmith was trying not to skin his knuckles in the cold foggy damp air very early on Sunday morning in his garage as he changed his front shocks. Deftly wielding a torque wrench Colin said”…I must have had a premonition that they needed changing because I brought a spare pair with me, and being that prepared is very unusual for me”

In Q & R John Bowe driving a 3 Litre March 741 was getting comfortable with the car behind Alex Davison ( Lola T332)and Tom Tweedie.(Chevron B24/28). Late in race two Bowe came to grief at turn 17 with steering and suspension problems causing a very untidy swerving manoeuvre and ultimately a DNF requiring a full uplift to return the car to the pits, ending his weekend. Stephen Borness slotted into the third spot vacated by Bowe joining Davison and Tweedie on the podium for the race two and three results respectively.

Words and pics by Rob Annesley
www.shotbyrob.com.au

Mostert’s Winning Start

A freshly re-painted and re-surfaced Sydney Motorsport Park greeted the V8 Supercar teams on February 7-8, for the sydney.com Test Day. While the circuit itself drew lots of attention, all eyes were on young gun, Pepsi Max Crew’s Chaz Mostert as he took out the ARMOR ALL SuperShootout at day’s end.

Last year’s Bathurst winner was debuting the FG X Falcon at SMSP, adding to an excellent first test hit-out with the win against his more experienced rivals – and this from a driver who has never taken a V8 Supercars Pole Position. That looks set to change for 2015.

“It’s fantastic … everyone’s on the same brand new tyre, one lap to do the job and it’s good to be well inside the top 10 – further in front than we thought we would be,” Mostert said.

“The guys have worked so hard in the off-season… we’ve got a bit of homework to do, I wasn’t quite happy with the balance so a bit more speed to get out of her.”

The next round of the V8 Supercars at Sydney Motorsport Park is the SuperSprint, August 21-23. (Photos: Mark Horsburgh.)

Event wrap: 2014 Tasman Trophy

The final event on the 2014 racing calendar, The Tasman Trophy, was run by the HSRCA (Historic Sports and Racing Car Assoc) on Nov 29th – 30th. Like the inaugural Tasman Cup and Tasman Revival meetings, the Tasman Trophy is a celebration of the original 1960’s Tasman Series which saw sports cars of that era travel from all over the world to race in Australia. Similarly, this weekend saw competitors from the UK, USA and New Zealand come together to reprise those heady days of open wheeled sports cars and production sports and touring cars.

David Kent, Acting President of HSRCA said “… many of the cars that are here for this event are the actual cars that raced here in the beginning. Today these cars, whilst cherished by their owners, are nevertheless driven in a spirited and competitive fashion. We expect to see some very good racing this weekend.”

Patrick Quinn, publicity manager for HSRCA said “…over 250 cars converged this weekend on SMSP to recapture the iconic days of these wonderful period vehicles. Back when names like Clark, Stewart, Rindt and Hill came with marques like Lotus, Cooper, BRM and Ferrari’s to fight it out for the Tasman supremacy. Competitors this weekend will take part in 36 races ( four per group) of between fourteen and eighteen minutes duration. There will also be one enduro of fifty minutes for Group S. With a two driver option, well known celebrity driver John Bowe was seen suiting up in Andrew Purvis’ garage.

The conditions for this race meeting were the same as we have been experiencing in Sydney over the past month. Unsettled with strong cloud bands, strong gusty winds bringing storms bearing rain squalls and lightning.

Saturday was fine and quite warm, but Sunday was clear and fine UNTIL around 2:30pm. Then an almighty weather event brought torrential rain, lightning and strong winds. Group N had just gone out for their warmup lap, when the storm hit.. A rolling start and as the first six cars came out of turn one, the first three cars of Wheatley (Cooper S), Tierney ( XU-1 Torana), and Robertson (Charger)aquaplaned and slid straight off the track across the grass and into the gravel trap.

In just a few short minutes the water had pooled and there was absolutely no adhesion. In trying to avoid the ballet of misadventure being performed by the previous three cars, Alan Mayne (Mazda Rx2) and Danny Berry (Cooper S) found themselves swamped on drivers left at turn one. The race was called off as the conditions were just atrocious. The resources of tow trucks and rescue vehicles was stretched, and one of the rescue vehicles very nearly joined the bogged and stranded cars.

In Formula Ford, Barry-Cotter (PRS82F) had a Sunday morning to forget. Not content with spinning at turn two and coming into contact with Lynn Cowan, (both resumed, however Cowan car succumbed to its injuries and retired early) but Barry-Cotter had a second go at perfecting the pirouette on turn six, and this time hit the wall ending up in a dangerous position. Up at the business end of the racing Garry Watson ( Mawer) gradually got faster as the weekend wore on, and as a result in each race led by a larger margin eventually recording four wins from four starts. Dave Holland (Reynard) took all four second places and Ed King (Reynard) grabbed a trio of thirds.

Ian Bailey (1962 Lynx) got a fright when one of his wheels passed him at turn 15. Michael Anderson (XY GT) led from start to finish in Group N and took all four wins for the weekend. The fierce battles were for second and third between Andrew Whiteside (Mustang) and Wayne Rogerson (Maxda RX2) with Marty Macri pushing those two with his late under brakes dives. In race three it worked, as Macri took a third out from underneath Rogerson. It was an eventful race as Mark Broadhead hit a large strip of oil and spun ending up sidelined while Michael Collins (Cortina) got crossed up trying to avoid hitting Mark and nearly coming to grief himself. The oil stretched from turn 14 down to turn 15 causing a delay in proceedings as it was cleaned up.

Formula 5000 cars are always a crowd favourite. These massive open wheeled gargantuans bellow their 5Litre V8 power as they scream around the track. Tom Tweedie reigned over the weekend with two wins from both his starts, showing his dominance from start to finish with a twelve second clear victory in race two. Clark Proctor took race one over Steve Ross, but as soon as Tweedie entered the contest, both the others were relegated to the minor placings.

Paul Zazryn held two thirds places to round out the weekend. Russell Greer retired early in race two and Greg Thornton only made it for one race as his campaign was cut short with a dropped rod and a massive bellow of smoke. So much smoke in fact that the fire Marshall stopped by Gregs’ garage to make sure a fire didn’t erupt. Another early exit was Warren de Guara’s 1965 Mustang. Suffering the same fate as Thornton, a massive belch of smoke whilst cruising past pit lane had Warren ending up sidelined around turn one with a blown engine.

The Trophy winners for this meeting were:
The Bernie Haehnle Trophy: Daniel Bando
The Bib Stillwell Trophy: Rob Tweedie
The Bill Brown Shield: Geoff Morgan
The Brian Foley Trophy: Darryl Hanson
The Frank Matich Trophy: No Competitors
The Ian Forsyth Shield: Graham Henshaw
The Ian Geoghegan Trophy: Graham Russell
The Jack Brabham Trophy: Ed Holly
The Jack Myers Trophy: Phil Anseline
The John Leffler Shield: Tom Tweedie
The Kevin Bartlett Trophy: No Competitors
The Leo Geoghegan Trophy: Damon Hancock
The Peter Finlay Trophy: Matthew Price
The RACA, Sa Trophy: Peter Jackson
The RACA, Sb Trophy: Wayne Seabrook
The Ron Tauranac Trophy: David Kent
The Spencer Martin Trophy: Richard Knox

Special mention must be made in regards to Wes Dayton’s marvellous induction as an Honorary Life Member of the HSRCA, for his exceptional and sustained contributions to the HSRCA and motorsport in general.

– Words and pics by Rob Annesley
look@shotbyrob.com

Festival of Sporting Cars August Round

For the second time in the past two months, FoSC returned to Sydney Motorsport Park on the South “Amaroo” circuit. A bumper ( sorry, no pun intended) 130 entrants braved the very cold 1 degree morning temperature under clear blue sunny skies. The days program included mid season rounds of the PRB Championship ( Rd 4), the Excel Campionship ( Rd 5) and the Historic Touring Cars Assoc Championship ( Rd 6).
As well two divisions of Regularity (A & B), racing in Historic and Invited Racing Cars , a Come and Try section and the ever popular “partners parade” during the lunch break were held. The “Come and Try” group attracted yet more newcomers, working their way through to progressing into full fledged racing under the one-on-one tutelage of the highly experienced Master Drivers team. One recent newcomer, April Hissey (Jaguar XJ6), has now graduated to Regularity competition.
Some new talent in Invited Race Cars not seen before were Ian Johnson’s ’64 Corvair, Bruce Grant’s ’70 Volvo 142 and Trevor Parrot’s ’98 Brooke.
Despite some delays in the early races, the very experienced FoSc race control team headed by John Finch brought the event back on time and successfully concluded the days program in daylight.
In PRB racing Stuart Shirvington (PRB Birkin S3) held a 2.5 second lead and converted it to a win in race one. Michael McCosker (PRB S2) held off a determined press by both James Dick (PRB Widebody) and Chris Barry (PRB Composite), with Dick just taking third by 5 tenths/second.
Race two was even tighter, with Shirvington being pushed by Stefan Versluis ( PRB Composite) all the way to again hold on for the win with only a 1.5 second lead. McCosker hung tough for the third spot.
Versluis was determined not to let Shirvington past in race three. Sitting close on each others heels, eventually Versluis hung onto a 3 tenths lead from Shirvington, with Barry only 5 tenths back for third. Excellent racing and fun to watch.
The Excel race series was spectacular. Watching 20 of the same little car go round making a huge racket is hilarious. Jigging ad jinxing back and forth, the swaying little beasts got under way off the start grid with an almighty roar. Speaking with Nathan Gotch before the race, he explained “…that with so many of these vehicles sold, they are very cheap to acquire, even cheaper to get spare parts for, making them the ideal lightweight, easy to build and fix, economical on the budget race car, and they can be extremely nimble and quick.” But did I say LOUD!
Race one saw Nathan and Nick Filipetto dodging and weaving, sometimes up on two wheels even in a straight line, and both crawling all over each other from lap to lap. Doing everything they could to manoeuvre and gain some advantage. Filipetto eventually got the better of Gotch in race one by only two tenths. That’s how close to they were. They were almost side by side across the finish line. 5 seconds back was Daniel Smith for third. That result obviously fired up Nathan and made him determined to reverse the result in race two. Leading all the way round, Nathan took the black and white with a gap of 2.5 seconds to Filipetto who had a 4 second lead on Smith. Race three was closer, and Gotch bettered Filipetto by a smaller margin and Nightingale was a further 7 seconds back for third.
In Historic Touring Car Association racing Wayne Rogerson clean sweeped all three races while John Wright grabbed two seconds and a third. Alan Mayne secured two thirds to add valuable points to his championship campaign. Matt Windsor drove a superb race three and was rewarded with a second place to push Wright back to third.
FoSC organisers were extremely happy with the event, and are looking forward to the final FoSC meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 16th, when organisers will announce the 2015 FoSC 10th Anniversary calendar of events.
Words and Photos by Rob Annesley

 

2014 Muscle Car Masters – Special On-site Member Parking!

In addition to Members and Member Guests receiving complimentary general admission entry to this fabulous event, the ARDC is also pleased to confirm that a special area within the P3 car park (just before the North Paddock vehicular tunnel) has been set aside for free on-site Member parking. Spaces are limited, so it’s absolutely First In = Best Dressed!
To take advantage of this Member benefit and ensure speedy access to the venue on the day, please read the following conditions and instructions carefully:

ID Required
Please bring your current ARDC Membership Card with you. No ID = No Free Entry.

P3 Member Parking is limited
At big events like the Muscle Car Masters, space is always at a premium, and in the instance of wet weather (which can affect ground surface quality), the parking capacity of the P3 hill may be even further reduced. Therefore, once capacity has been reached, Members will be redirected to the nearest available spaces. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Access to P3 Parking
Access is via the Main Entrance, Gate A off Ferrers Rd. Please have your ARDC Membership Card handy to show to the designated Parking Assist personnel upon arrival at Gate A.

Every person in the car MUST have a valid entry pass to the event.
These include:-
• A Valid ARDC Membership Card or ARDC Members Guest Card(s).
• Pre-purchased MCM event ticket(s).
• Other approved MCM event accreditation.
• A Valid Proof of Age or Concession Card (for Children 12 years and under, or companion card holders).

If you or any person in your vehicle does not have any of the above you will be directed to a priority parking area on Sydney Dragway to park and easily purchase your additional tickets at the ticket box offices at Gate A.
Avoid delays on the day. Please ensure all travellers are ticketed before the event by clicking HERE and ordering now!

2014 MCM Timetable
Parking open: 6.30 a.m.
Gates and Ticket Box Office open: 6.30am
Circuit Activity: 9am – 5:30pm, circuit closed at 6:00pm
A timetable and full travel information will be released on MuscleCarMasters.com.au and SydneyMotorsportPark.com.au closer to the event.

Event Wrap – NSW Motor Race Championships Round 3

A good field of 195 competitors enjoyed the first day of Round Three of the NSW Motor Race Championships under warm clear blue skies on Saturday June 21st. Early morning racing on Sunday however was thrown a curve ball with showers and a wet and slippery track with which to contend.
With both practice and qualifying sessions conducted on Friday and Saturday in fine conditions, and cars and drivers seemingly sorted and ready for more of the same for Sunday, it was unsettling for many to rethink the slicks and some didn’t have a backup plan.

First to face the slippery conditions were the Superkarts. With their amazing power to weight ratio on some parts of the track it became like a “ballet on ice”. Fortunately apart from some spins, no-one saw gravel time. Results were dominated by Anton Stevens (ART-PVP) with two race wins and a second, followed by Mark Robin ( Stockman MR125) with one race win and three thirds.

Improved Production O2L saw Graeme Watts continue his dominance of this category with three straight race wins. Looking extremely confident on track, Graeme clocked the fastest lap time in the class with a 1:41.71. Steve Devjak (Commodore) was consistently less than a second behind and scooped three second placings. Joe Lenthall (Mazda RX7) had a good campaign gaining valuable points with two third place finishes. Joes new red and white graphic designed livery goes really well with the spectacular metre and a half of flame he had shooting out of his exhaust late on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately this weekend John McKenzies’ regular podium finishes in this class came to a temporary end with a smokey exit from race two. John said: ”The smoke looked like it was being caused by oil leaking into a valve stem. “ He commented that it was time for an engine overhaul anyway.

Formula Vee featured a big field of 35 racers who were also racing for positional points in the Clemenger International Freight Australian Series. This categories results was on a knifes edge, as the lead was swapped regularly and the final race placings were evenly distributed across Michael Kinsella ( Jacer F2K10) with a first and second, Dylan Thomas with a first and a third, and Tim Brook (Jacer F2K4) with a first, second and a third.

While David Crighton enjoyed two race victories in Improved Production U2L , Graeme Cox settled for second and third placings. Bob Jowett was only a half second behind Crighton in race one, however Bob’s luck ran out in race two as he over cooked it into turn one and impacted heavily into a tire wall. That same tyre wall was responsible for the front end damage to Danny Castro’s Silvia S13, and it was last seen sitting sadly crumpled next to Bob Jowetts Honda Civic in the recovery yard.

With one and a half seconds out front of the field in race one and two Birol Cetins’ Yellow Camaro purred along consistently. However today, only two race wins for Birol, as he was forced to exit early in race three after what appeared to be an unfortunate accident with Steve Lacey. Steve has been having the worst luck lately with his (also) Yellow Camaro, as he has suffered steering failure in his last three outings. I spoke to Steve prior to race three and he was upbeat in his belief that he had solved the steering issue.

Unfortunately in race three Steve got only as far as turn two before his left front tyre, listing at an awkward angle under the wheel arch, uncooperatively dragged his big machine into the grassy verge on driver’s left in a pall of scraping tyre smoke.

– Words and pictures by Rob Annesley
look@shotbyrob.com.au.