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sporting cars

Event Wrap: FoSC Finale

The final Festival of Sporting Cars (FoSC) event for 2014 was conducted on Sunday November 16th using the South Circuit at Sydney MotorSport Park. In excess of 90 competitiors faced conditions that taxed even the most experienced racing teams, with some of less experienced competitors finding them to be downright perplexing. In a morning that brought rain up until the starting horn was sounded, a wet track gave early entrants a slow run round. For those in open-top cars and some who had only brought slicks, the clearing weather was a relief.
Throughout the morning the wind gusts were upwards of 30 knots which made for tricky judgements out on the track at speed. Finally the sun came out and the temps hit the mid 20’s. It should be mentioned that this event was one of the best examples of the mantra that FoSC has adopted. The “no contact, no sheep stations” friendly style of competition had emergency crews having a blessedly quiet day. Some early wet practice sessions put everyone into full concentration mode and may have contributed to the overall lack of incidents.
Notable sights and sounds during the course of the day were Chris Stode’s 7 litre Ford Galaxie . Chris said ”…I went round the whole track in third gear. Its got plenty of pickup and rev range so I didn’t need to change it up or down”. Also featured were the two US Legend cars of Kerry Hughes.President of FoSC David Nichols said, “….the fact that so many different vehicle makes and models and their drivers can compete with each other in sportsmanlike fashion shows that everyone is there simply for the pleasure of getting out on the circuit and enjoying their motorsport. With that in mind we are pleased to be able to offer an even wider variety for next years competitions, with the addition of a meeting on the Druitt ( SMSP North) circuit in March, as well as three other meetings at SMSP through out the year, and our usual Wakefield weekend mid year.”
Today’s event culminated the Historic Touring Cars Championship for 2014 in both the Nb and Nc classes. In Nb, Paul Battersby took three second places during the event to accumulate enough points to secure the championship trophy. Whilst not appearing for todays event, Graham Russell took second and Bob Munday had three thirds to take the championship third spot. In a year long battle for the top position in the Nc class, Wayne Rogerson and John Wright battled hard, and in the end Rogersons two race wins today gave him the championship title. Wright hung on to second and Mark Lenstra finished third in the championships.
The 2014 Excel NSW Championship ended in an AGI Motorsport team clean sweep of the championship. In what has become an all too familiar site over the course of the year, Nathan Gotch finished with two firsts and a second place sealing his championship victory on 330 points. Filipetto’s first, second and third was a strong statement, and earned him a commendable second in the championship with 273 points. Dave Smith rounded out the podium in the Excel Championship Series on 184 points.
The Historic and Invited Sports Touring category races were a bit of a runaway affair with Don Collyer (Clubman) crossing the line ten and twelve seconds respectively ahead of Scott Tutton in races two and three. Craig Durrant was consistent with his three thirds for the day’s outing.
The beginner’s “Come and Try” segments were well supported with six newcomers getting two opportunities to drive around the circuit with mentors. Dominic Stramandinol second go-round showed great promise with a twelve-second bettering of his first attempt in his stock street Commodore.
Words and pics by Rob Annesley

 

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

 

FoSC Christmas Invitation race meeting

While the V8 Supercars were bouncing off the walls at Homebush, the Festival of Sporting Cars (FoSC) was busy conducting a two-day race meeting, with nearly 40 events, for Historic and Invited Sports, Racing and Touring Cars, plus Sidecars and even a Come and Try field for novices to get used to circuit competition.
The various races and regularity events attracted over 120 entrants over the weekend and provided close competition and plenty of track-time for everyone.
The layout of this circuit enabled FoSC to present novices and experienced drivers with a challenging drive that was rewarding when they got it right. As innovative as ever, FoSC ran fields as diverse as a dedicated Datsun Z Consistency, a Veloce Racing Association Challenge for Alfa Romeos and the final round of the Excel Racing Championship series – the latter being won by Nathan Gotch, with Ian Kegg and Michael Hiscoe as runners-up – plus the more familiar Sports, Racing and Touring car categories.
A regular feature of FoSC meetings, was the presence of the Masters – a group of legendary racers, including John Leffler, Spencer Martin, Bruce Stewart, Ray Gulson and Mal Brewster (with guest instructors Geoff Pike, Rob Jardine, Denis Tobin and Mike Dyer) – who provided driver education for anyone who wanted expert advice.
The combination of this kind of mentoring, the experience of well known Event Director, Charles Jardine, and a down-to-earth approach to motor sport, means that FoSC and the ARDC can deliver enjoyable, affordable competition for a wide range of enthusiasts.
On a lighter note, one pit-crew member who camped overnight was surprised to be awoken by a fox tugging on his trouser leg – can’t imagine that happening at a street circuit!
All in all, for FoSC, its competitors and officials the meeting was a resounding success and a gratifying conclusion to the year’s activities.

– words and pics by Rob Annesley
look@shotbyrob.com.au
Thanks to Dave Nichols ( FoSC) for his assistance with this report.