hrd-hr30

Chasing a V8 Torana in the last run this arvo. Sorry about the sound on these ones - it was too hot to have the windows up!

I've put a couple of vids in the in-car thread

and one chasing Scooby36's Sil80

it was a little, but he did signal me through eventually. Nowhere near as frustrating as the repeated Kumho delaminations though. Not only was this the second blowout in as many events, but it was only the 4th track day since I bought them brand new in March. And it turns out the front left was also delaminated and could have let go at any moment... I got off lightly considering what could have happened if one let go on the high speed sections. So I had to fork out for new rubber for this weekend's Australian SuperSprint Championships at Morgan Park. Great weekend at a very cool track, with a bunch of fellow SAUer's. Here's some in-car from my nugget S13 - she's looking a bit beaten up after going a few rounds with the Kumhos last week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoXVj1AOnU More to come...

top weekend! great to catch up with you NSWer's and meet a few new faces too. as well as some old ones - think its been longer since I saw Noel than you blokes! I don't know if Noddy had anything to do with it, or if it was just luck that most of us ended up in the same group on the track... funny that all weekend we were getting in trouble for talking sh1t in the marshalling area when we should have been moving up to pit exit. glad you southerners liked the track. It was my first time there since 2004 in a ~100rwkw Datsun 1200, so it was a bit of a learning experience for me too. Must say the new higher speed section is a welcome addition! Loved it. I think I might do the series there next year. buggered if I can find those results Bill mentioned on mylaps... anyone had more luck than me? Congrats to Stuart and Callum on their awesome results, and Dunc and Chris on their times. Nice driving all round fellas! Shame about your car Noddy. Get yourself some Federals mate just working on a couple of videos now...

I spent all day chasing my tail with wheels and tyres. But I'm sorted now. So its a 4am start for me tomorrow...

try the link at the bottom of this page http://www.morganparkraceway.com.au/clients.htm

lol don't let the name fool you, its just a pub!

entry list is up: http://www.morganparkraceway.com.au/forms/...ntry%20List.xls surprisingly small field... under 80 cars. But its good news for us - should get heaps of runs in

this is the way it will most likely play out going by recent form. Vettel gets pole and leads the race - just keeping a ~3sec gap like last time. Webber in 2nd. Alonso in 3rd place. If it is that way in the last couple of laps, Vettel lets Mark through to prevent Alonso wining the WDC. He's quoted basically saying as much in the press. If Alonso retires or has a problem and is down in 6th or worse, Vettel takes the win and the WDC. Would be good if Mark can out qualify Vettel and lead the race, but its unlikely on recent form. here's a scenario for you though - 1.Vettel 2.Webber... 5.Alonso It could happen if he gets tangled up in the opening laps and picks up a puncture or front wing damage... all 3 would be drivers equal on points, and Vettel and Alonso would be equal on Race wins at 5 each (Webber 4). Who wins the WDC??? lol rock-paper-scissors anyone?

I bought a TomTom in-car kit like MrStabby has ($160) and the lap timing was spot on at Lakeside last weekend - eg fastest offical lap 59.17 vs iPhone 59.24. All the laps worked out that close to the offical times too. Split timing was good. The max and min speeds were realistic and consistent. Pretty happy. Would be much better if I could download the data onto the laptop... but it seems like you need an iPad + the "Trainer" app for that. ps. any chance you've got some slicks I can buy/borrow/steal for the weekend? hehe

thanks for the offer Stuart. I don't think I'd be able to squeeze them under the front of my 180SX. I'm sure I'll be able to sort something locally anyway.

Yep inland weather can be crazy. Weather at Warwick can do anything, at any time of the year. Best to bring something warm just in case. Its often one of the colder places in QLD, but ca also be stinking hot. Not that it will matter too much to anyone from here, but its ~500m above sea level as well, so anyone with carbs should bring at least a different set of air correctors. From my memory banks (its been 6 years since I've competed there) the track can get pretty dusty, and is rarely fast early in the weekend if its been windy in the week before the event. Rain can often make it better, once its dried out. Poor form that they haven't confirmed the classes for interstate people. They must know it affects what tyres you need to bring. Anyway, look forward to meeting you guys. I've seen Stuart at a QHC or AHC at Mt Cotton years ago in the R32 - I think I had my R32 GTR at the time so that was probably around 4 years ago... And met a couple of you briefly at Superlap in '08. Keep an eye out for the black 180SX with SAu QLD stickers in the paddock and come and say hi if I don't catch you first. My car isn't looking too pretty at the moment - I had another slick blowout yesterday at Lakeside which damaged the front bar and driver's side gaurd in the resulting excursion through the paddock... still have to patch it up yet... and I don't even want to think about tyres! I've only got a badly worn set of R888s left now. I might have to work the credit card over to be sure of making it through scrutineering!

that's just a normal sprint up here. rolling start, single cars seperated by small gaps (at the start), single best lap time. Overtaking really only permitted on straights. No racing allowed. all the supersprints I've done are standing start, 2 cars at a time and aggregate times. QLD Supersprint Series, Supersprints at Carnell, Conrod Supersprint (not like they could do that one any other way anyhow). SuperSprints are supposed to be like a stepping stone between sprints and racing. Overtaking permitted anywhere. Racing allowed at the discretion of competitors. ie you can both take off head to head, or if you don't want to race you can give the faster car a sec or two and then go - timing starts when you first move.

I dream of 200km/h under the bridge! I think... then again it might kill me. I'm mid 180's by the time I get on the anchors for Hungry. Only just sneak over 200 on the front straight

same as any supersprint - standing start, 2 cars at a time. you can go together or give the other car a short gap then go - your timing starts when you first move. timing is supposed to be the total for your 3 lap run.

another vid from my 180SX at Lakeside today. I was trying a wing and splitter. Certainly made a difference, but I didn't really like it. It caused a bit of understeer and didn't improve my lap times, but didn't get heaps of clear laps in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFwnX80YBiw reduced the angle of the wing. But blew another tyre this session - front right blew out as I turned into Hungry. Resulting off damaged the new front bar, front right gaurd and pushed the splitter into the castor rod bracket which also bent. Its not too bad, but I have some work to do before the Australian Supersprint this weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjeCn1-CCCE

got the letter confirming acceptance of entry today. no entry list though. And no further regs, so I guess the event stands as per the previous supp regs. ie standing start like a proper supersprint and classes as per those regs. It also says the track is open for practice on Friday from 12-4:30 for $30 Can't wait to have a drive there again. It was 2004 I was last there, and the new track extensions should be a big improvement to the place.

You're right, heaps of track time is the go. It takes a while to learn Lakeside - alot more technical and challenging than QR. Specially if you start in a scary-fast car like that! Follow Ben around for a few laps to learn the lines - he's always there... TrackAttack just piggyback off QR's events at Lakeside. They used to offer cheaper entry but not anymore... QR's dates and entry forms: http://qldraceways.com.au/main.php?menu=qri05 They have some practice days on weekdays as well.

well I disagree. just saying its dangerous because its not CAMS spec (ie this particular part is undersized compared to CAMS spec) is clearly against the intention of Schedule J, section 9. NON-COMPLYING SAFETY CAGES. Clearly, the intention of Schedule J, section 9. NON-COMPLYING SAFETY CAGES is to allow cages of safe construction other than CAMS spec and dimensions. If you have a mass produced cage, or one approved by a transport authority or ANDRA or whatever, it can hardly be considered to be unsafely constructed by a reasonable person. Yes, I have had this issue at a CAMS event. I also think your worst-case scenario of a coronor's inquiry is pretty unrealistic. They would not give two hoots about the cage unless the coroner deemed it to be a significant factor in the death. And moreover, that without the cage, the death may not have occurred. This is hardly likely to be the case with any of the above examples. Nor could a scrutineer reasonably be expected to foresee such a rare set of circumstances arising from passing a Jap bolt-in cage from a reputable manufacturer.

very helpful JAS-25T... http://www.camsmanual.com.au/pdf/10_gen_re...dule_J_Q410.pdf Schedule J specifically permits the use of non complying cages in events that do not require you to use a safety cage (9. NON-COMPLYING SAFETY CAGES) Schedule J also specifies that a half cage is the minimum requirement for closed cars running in speed events that do require a cage (7. FORMS OF ACCEPTABLE SAFETY CAGES), and provides the drawing and dimensions for compliance of a half cage (Safety Cages - Drawings - Type 2: Half Cage) So not only is it OK to run a (safely constructed) half cage in a closed car at sprints, it can also be CAMS compliant.

that's not quite the way its worded. The regs specifically permit non-complying cages in events that don't require you to have a safety cage, unless the chief scrutineer beleives the structure to be of unsafe construction. If it doesn't appear to be unsafe, the scrutineer has no personal liability in allowing it through scrutineering. If you have a mass produced jap bolt-in cage, or if you have a cage engineered for road use, or ANDRA spec cage etc, there is no reason for the scrutineer to consider it unsafely constructed. edit: so if you run into trouble in scrutineering about your cage, just ask the chief scrutineer why he's failing the cage. If he says something like "because its not to CAMS spec", or anything other than "because its unsafe", get them to note that in your licence passbook or scrutineering slip and go to the Clerk of Course or Stewards with Sceh J in hand... you can get a half cage CAMS approved. One of the first drawings in Sceh J is a half cage. They're acceptable in open sports cars for racing, and closed cars for speed events which require a cage

pretty good price: http://hardtuned.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=464099

I'm not saying what I think he was doing. I'm just saying what I saw. He holds it on full lock to go back across the track. why? I don't know, but saying he was trying to continue racing after slapping into a concrete wall by swerving back across the track into the path of other cars makes far less sence than Berger's theory. besides, drivers think they are bulletproof. And I think Mark has enough mongrel in him to play a bit of dirty pool when the situation calls for it.

logically? when was the last time you saw a formula cars keep racing after slapping sideways into a wall from the other side of the track? he knew his day was over before the impact. And logically, if he did want to keep racing it would be best to pull it up before you hit anything else and stay out of the way of the other cars. So his hands go straight back to the wheel and hold it on full lock to go back across the track. He made no effort to straighten the wheel to keep out of the way...