After spending much of yesterday running on three cylinders, we were looking forward to getting back into some good pace today in the Wairarapa stages.
We made some changes to the brake pads and although the violent shake went away, I just never felt confidant about the way the car would stop. The brakes I use for sprint events work brilliantly from cold and will stop the car in an amazingly short distance. It was this sort of braking that I'm used to and want for the car and my drive style. Unfortunately we have not managed to achieve it during the event. It's just too much to ask with the system we have.
Multiple hard applications of the brakes at 180+kph for long periods of time demands a more expensive system that is beyond my budget.
Anyway, that really wasn't a factor today as most of the stages were in the wet anyway.
Today's challenges were loosing another rocker arm in the engine and doing one stage on three cylinders until we could fix it during service. Then breaking another gearbox on the third to last stage just a few hundred metres from the finish. Luckily we had enough speed to coast to the end and post a time.
We missed the last two stages and had to settle for times that reflect the slowest car in our class plus 1 minute. This was the same for when we crashed and missed four stages on Wednesday.
Now you might think that we are disappointed with the way things have gone. This isn't the case at all. Targa is 900kms of flat out rallying with no pace notes and no way of knowing what is over every blind brow or corner. It's extremely hard on cars and the teams. I have lost count of the number of crashed cars we have passed on the 30+ stages we have completed. Our five man team has over-come each and every challenge thrown at them and we are still there every morning on the start line. Tomorrow there will be nothing sweeter than to cross the final finish line.
See you there! ...Ron
Home sweet home! Back in home and sleeping in my own bed never felt so good.. We have had another day full of patchy rough weather with some downpours at times that seemed like somebody was spraying us with a firehose. Another steady day was the plan and we got through unscathed until the gearbox failure in the afternoon.
I've caught the cold carried from Ron so we're both feeling groggy now. Not exactly the best situation to be in for the final day of Targa however I'll make sure my head is screwed on straight for the final leg. It'll be interesting racing along more familiar roads and touring back and forth across Wellington.
The weather looks like it'll hold out so it should make for a good day of racing. I've had enough of the cold.
Hopefully we'll see you out there.Victor.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sick, sick, sick!
This cold/chest infection is getting worse. I've just woken after a night of painful coughing (the injury to my ribs isn't helping) and a fever of 38.5C.
Like yesterday all I can do is ignore it and get on with the task.
Today's goal like yesterday is to bring the car home in one piece. We have changed to less aggressive brakes in the hope that the violent shaking that prevents me from steering at high speed goes away. The risk is that we loose braking effectiveness if they over-heat.
Don't expect to see us posting any sort of super-fast times at this stage in the rally as there is no longer anything to be gained as to overall position, however we are out to have fun and that we shall!
See you in Wellington tonight! ....Ron
Like yesterday all I can do is ignore it and get on with the task.
Today's goal like yesterday is to bring the car home in one piece. We have changed to less aggressive brakes in the hope that the violent shaking that prevents me from steering at high speed goes away. The risk is that we loose braking effectiveness if they over-heat.
Don't expect to see us posting any sort of super-fast times at this stage in the rally as there is no longer anything to be gained as to overall position, however we are out to have fun and that we shall!
See you in Wellington tonight! ....Ron
Thursday, October 29, 2009
...and a Challenge it's been
I was woken this morning by the familiar sound of the Evo's exhaust note, I peered out the window and there it was, good as new! The crew has done a fantastic job of getting the car back on the road.
Unfortunately I myself am a little worse for wear. I'm not too concerned about the pain in my ribs from where my race seat impacted with them when we came to the final sudden stop during the crash, I can handle that as long as I don't laugh or cough.
But there's been plenty of both today, so I don't know whether to continue to laugh or cry.
I have a terrible cold, it's been building for several days now and when I woke this morning I was very sick. Even though I'm on steroids that are supposed to suppress fever, I still soaked my clothes with seat before we even got to the first stage. And it was snowing outside!
Fortunately I've improved as the day progressed and other than the painful cough and the usual symptoms one gets with a cold, I'm feeling a lot better.
We eased into the days rallying, coming to grips with the way the slightly bent car now handles. I'm not sure which was more nervous, me or the car! The rear wheel alignment has been set by eye, by the boys at 1am so it's possibly less than perfect.
Ultimately the car is drivable and feels pretty good considering. The wet first stage didn't help get me back into the swing of things though as the level of grip was almost nothing and the last thing I want to do now is fall off again and not bring the car home in one piece. By stage two I was getting back into the groove when the engine developed a misfire. Straight away I knew we had lost a valve rocker and with some luck the guys could repair it at the next service.
Unfortunately we discovered the problem was more serious than first thought and that the problem could not be fixed until the end of the day. So the we have driven all today's stages with only 3 cylinders and a severe misfire. If you are looking at our stage times and wondering why they are so average, there's your reason. The service crew are again burning the midnight oil and hopefully we should be back on all four cylinders again tomorrow. (just got a call from the guys, it's all fixed)
The brake problems have continued and I've made the decision to return to my normal brake pad and rotor setup that I use for sprints. Today while racing at Manfield the high speed shake was so violent that we actually thought the car was going to shake itself to pieces at 180KPH.
Originally the plan was to start cranking up the wick yesterday and making our way to the pointy end of the feild timewise. However falling off put paid to that plan and now with posting a day of mediocre times due to the engine problems our challenge is to complete the rally and bring it home. We never said that this was going to be easy, hence the name "Targa Life Challenge". When you count the number of crashed cars we drive past in each stage you begin to realise just how much of a challenge driving 900+Km's at insane speed on roads in which you never know what's around the corner or over that blind brow is.
Ok that's all for today.. Let's see what tomorrow brings us! ...Ron
Still going... Somehow the team managed to put the car back together last night with the help of a friendly Wanganui panelbeater and today we were back on the road tearing it up. The crash yesterday gave us a shake up and today I found myself often looking over the edge out the side window and tensing up as we approach tight corners with drops on the otherside.
Over the last few days I've really picked up some experience in the co-drivers seat, getting thrown into the deep end. I'm now confidently giving road notes as we travel at a rapid rate of knots through a stage, mostly without missing a beat. It humbles me to think about the amount of work a co-driver needs to do at the national level, giving pace notes and still managing everything else. I'm having enough trouble as it is!
Today was a four seasons in one day. Cold wind, hot sun, we had the whole spectrum. Not to mention, we also had snow close to the desert road and thankfully we didn't have to race through the stuff. Combine semi-slicks with snow and you don't get a very pretty cocktail. Overall, we kept a steady pace through the day and we made it through.
We've got two days left to go now. We leave from Palmerston North in the morning and make our way over to the Wairarapa. Two more days to go and we're going to complete this Targa. This is our focus now, wish us all the best! See you in Wellington!
Updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&savedVideo of snow in Waiouru, complete with my hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJa6xN1klc
Unfortunately I myself am a little worse for wear. I'm not too concerned about the pain in my ribs from where my race seat impacted with them when we came to the final sudden stop during the crash, I can handle that as long as I don't laugh or cough.
But there's been plenty of both today, so I don't know whether to continue to laugh or cry.
I have a terrible cold, it's been building for several days now and when I woke this morning I was very sick. Even though I'm on steroids that are supposed to suppress fever, I still soaked my clothes with seat before we even got to the first stage. And it was snowing outside!
Fortunately I've improved as the day progressed and other than the painful cough and the usual symptoms one gets with a cold, I'm feeling a lot better.
We eased into the days rallying, coming to grips with the way the slightly bent car now handles. I'm not sure which was more nervous, me or the car! The rear wheel alignment has been set by eye, by the boys at 1am so it's possibly less than perfect.
Ultimately the car is drivable and feels pretty good considering. The wet first stage didn't help get me back into the swing of things though as the level of grip was almost nothing and the last thing I want to do now is fall off again and not bring the car home in one piece. By stage two I was getting back into the groove when the engine developed a misfire. Straight away I knew we had lost a valve rocker and with some luck the guys could repair it at the next service.
Unfortunately we discovered the problem was more serious than first thought and that the problem could not be fixed until the end of the day. So the we have driven all today's stages with only 3 cylinders and a severe misfire. If you are looking at our stage times and wondering why they are so average, there's your reason. The service crew are again burning the midnight oil and hopefully we should be back on all four cylinders again tomorrow. (just got a call from the guys, it's all fixed)
The brake problems have continued and I've made the decision to return to my normal brake pad and rotor setup that I use for sprints. Today while racing at Manfield the high speed shake was so violent that we actually thought the car was going to shake itself to pieces at 180KPH.
Originally the plan was to start cranking up the wick yesterday and making our way to the pointy end of the feild timewise. However falling off put paid to that plan and now with posting a day of mediocre times due to the engine problems our challenge is to complete the rally and bring it home. We never said that this was going to be easy, hence the name "Targa Life Challenge". When you count the number of crashed cars we drive past in each stage you begin to realise just how much of a challenge driving 900+Km's at insane speed on roads in which you never know what's around the corner or over that blind brow is.
Ok that's all for today.. Let's see what tomorrow brings us! ...Ron
Still going... Somehow the team managed to put the car back together last night with the help of a friendly Wanganui panelbeater and today we were back on the road tearing it up. The crash yesterday gave us a shake up and today I found myself often looking over the edge out the side window and tensing up as we approach tight corners with drops on the otherside.
Over the last few days I've really picked up some experience in the co-drivers seat, getting thrown into the deep end. I'm now confidently giving road notes as we travel at a rapid rate of knots through a stage, mostly without missing a beat. It humbles me to think about the amount of work a co-driver needs to do at the national level, giving pace notes and still managing everything else. I'm having enough trouble as it is!
Today was a four seasons in one day. Cold wind, hot sun, we had the whole spectrum. Not to mention, we also had snow close to the desert road and thankfully we didn't have to race through the stuff. Combine semi-slicks with snow and you don't get a very pretty cocktail. Overall, we kept a steady pace through the day and we made it through.
We've got two days left to go now. We leave from Palmerston North in the morning and make our way over to the Wairarapa. Two more days to go and we're going to complete this Targa. This is our focus now, wish us all the best! See you in Wellington!
Updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&savedVideo of snow in Waiouru, complete with my hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJa6xN1klc
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
It's just a scratch... It'll buff out.
The stages today were extremely demanding and tested both the driver and car to the limit.
Based on roads around the Taranaki region we were treated to a mix of high speed open roads, tight twisty country lanes and tortuous hillclimbs.
Stage four was a 41km drive out the republic of Whangamomona that seemed to provide us with a mix of everything. We were really happy with the way the car is now going and decided that on the return trip we'd use high boost and start really posting some good times.
Within just a few short minutes we had already passed another competitor in a Porsche that had started 30 seconds before us.
The Evo was fair flying up the steep hills on the road back to Stratford. Unfortunately as we approached a tight uphill hairpin corner wound out in third gear at 145kph, a front wheel locked as I left-foot braked into the tight turn. This meant I lost all steering and shot straight ahead through the fence. Unfortunately the fence was at the top of a 50metre drop!
Ultimately the reason for the crash was that I came into the corner too hot, a costly mistake.
.JPG)
The car by some miracle dropped off the steep bank and slid and bounced it's way down to the bottom without rolling. Not one of the many officials, farmers, onlookers, ambulance crews (we were fine) or recovery crews could believe that a car could travel so far sideways down a near vertical slope without rolling. I fired up the car and drove it over a goat track through farmland and out out through a gate onto the main road.
As I write this a small team of ants is working through the night to repair the car ready to rejoin Targa in the morning. We drove the car to.JPG)
Wanganui and located a panelbeater who was prepared to help out. Huge thanks to Aaron Larsen of Larsen collision repairs.
Well I'd best get some sleep, huge day tomorrow.
...Ron
Well, wasn't that an exciting day... We started the day reasonably well, setting respectable times and with a better bed-in of the brakes, the brake shudder was much reduced. We then arrived at Whangamomona. What a fantastic stage! The start began at the base of one of the three saddles and the views were just spectacular. Rolling green hills and smooth winding roads. Amazingly picturesque and I took some snaps to keep in my scrapbook..
The stage started with a twisty uphill and downhill section over the saddle, an opportunity to make the car dance left and right up and down the hill. It then opened up into smooth cambered corners that at times had tricks that could catch one out if they weren't careful. An absolutely stunner of a stage and it had very minimal road notes for a 40km stage making it a scenic trip for the co-driver.
As we approached the final section of the stage, we found a number of cars off the road, including one unfortunate official's beamer that thought its nose was best planted in the bank. Whangamomona township is a quaint little place just before the 'Forgotten Highway' that travels towards Taumaranui. I made a mental note to go back there and tour through the place. Beautiful place to visit for those looking for a drive somewhere.
It's from here on in that things started getting a little more exciting. It's absolutely amazing that we didn't roll on the way down and this saving grace will probably allow us to continue competing tomorrow. Incredible considering the distance that we fell off the road! When people walked up to the edge and looked down, nobody could believe how lucky we were. To be honest, nor could I. I went for the brace position as soon as I knew we were going off and when we got to the bottom I couldn't believe we hadn't rolled.Kudos to the service crew and Larsons Collision Repairs in W(h)anganui who are currently beavering away to allow us to compete tomorrow. Good stuff guys!Pics: http://www.facebook.com/home..php#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&ref=mf
Cheers,Victor.
Based on roads around the Taranaki region we were treated to a mix of high speed open roads, tight twisty country lanes and tortuous hillclimbs.
Stage four was a 41km drive out the republic of Whangamomona that seemed to provide us with a mix of everything. We were really happy with the way the car is now going and decided that on the return trip we'd use high boost and start really posting some good times.
Within just a few short minutes we had already passed another competitor in a Porsche that had started 30 seconds before us.
The Evo was fair flying up the steep hills on the road back to Stratford. Unfortunately as we approached a tight uphill hairpin corner wound out in third gear at 145kph, a front wheel locked as I left-foot braked into the tight turn. This meant I lost all steering and shot straight ahead through the fence. Unfortunately the fence was at the top of a 50metre drop!
Ultimately the reason for the crash was that I came into the corner too hot, a costly mistake.
.JPG)
The car by some miracle dropped off the steep bank and slid and bounced it's way down to the bottom without rolling. Not one of the many officials, farmers, onlookers, ambulance crews (we were fine) or recovery crews could believe that a car could travel so far sideways down a near vertical slope without rolling. I fired up the car and drove it over a goat track through farmland and out out through a gate onto the main road.As I write this a small team of ants is working through the night to repair the car ready to rejoin Targa in the morning. We drove the car to
.JPG)
Wanganui and located a panelbeater who was prepared to help out. Huge thanks to Aaron Larsen of Larsen collision repairs.Well I'd best get some sleep, huge day tomorrow.
...Ron
Well, wasn't that an exciting day... We started the day reasonably well, setting respectable times and with a better bed-in of the brakes, the brake shudder was much reduced. We then arrived at Whangamomona. What a fantastic stage! The start began at the base of one of the three saddles and the views were just spectacular. Rolling green hills and smooth winding roads. Amazingly picturesque and I took some snaps to keep in my scrapbook..
The stage started with a twisty uphill and downhill section over the saddle, an opportunity to make the car dance left and right up and down the hill. It then opened up into smooth cambered corners that at times had tricks that could catch one out if they weren't careful. An absolutely stunner of a stage and it had very minimal road notes for a 40km stage making it a scenic trip for the co-driver.
As we approached the final section of the stage, we found a number of cars off the road, including one unfortunate official's beamer that thought its nose was best planted in the bank. Whangamomona township is a quaint little place just before the 'Forgotten Highway' that travels towards Taumaranui. I made a mental note to go back there and tour through the place. Beautiful place to visit for those looking for a drive somewhere.
It's from here on in that things started getting a little more exciting. It's absolutely amazing that we didn't roll on the way down and this saving grace will probably allow us to continue competing tomorrow. Incredible considering the distance that we fell off the road! When people walked up to the edge and looked down, nobody could believe how lucky we were. To be honest, nor could I. I went for the brace position as soon as I knew we were going off and when we got to the bottom I couldn't believe we hadn't rolled.Kudos to the service crew and Larsons Collision Repairs in W(h)anganui who are currently beavering away to allow us to compete tomorrow. Good stuff guys!Pics: http://www.facebook.com/home..php#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&ref=mf
Cheers,Victor.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday.
It's midnight Tuesday and once again I'm at the ragged end of a day that's been full on since 6:30am.
I know we had promised to upload video each day but in reality the demands of keeping the car race ready has meant that there is just no time to edit and upload what we have. It will, I promise, be uploaded once we get a breather.
The plan for today as discussed by the team was to take it easy and find my comfort level, drive within it and take the day as it came.
Yesterday was a real hash and we were lucky to get through the day without serious incident. I didn't really have my head in the right place and never felt comfortable at all behind the wheel.
Stage one today was supposed to have me relaxing and getting my head straight.
I found my groove within minutes and Victor and I had our best run so far, overtaking two cars on the one short stage. That set the tone for the rest of the day and although some stages I took a lot easier than others, we were both in a good place mentally and that really made the difference.
The car ran faultlessly all day with the slight exception of the brakes. There's a violent shudder under high speed braking that is so bad that it's impossible to steer the car and brake at the same time. It's an interesting situation you find yourself in when at 180kph you need to slow down for a tightening corner and you can only brake for as long as it takes to get to the turn in point. After that you need to turn the steering wheel so it's foot off the brakes even if you are still going too fast!! To be honest it probably helped with the stage times! :)
The service crew once again have been brilliant. Not only have they driven hundreds of k's into the middle of nowhere just to top my fuel, but tonight they worked tirelessly to remedy the brake shudder too. It looks like my brakes didn't bed in properly and only half the disc rotor was bedded. This meant that the pads grabbed the rotor for only half of each revolution of the wheel.. hence the violent shake.
Tomorrow morning on the way to the first stage I have to re-bed the new brakes until they are almost on fire. I'm told that should fix it!
A lot of people have been texting and calling us with stage results, but at this point in time we aren't making too much of it as it's very early days yet and our goal is to complete the whole event in one piece. Our result will be what it is.
Staying in the top ten would be good. The competition is far superior in terms of car specs, budget and experience. Our car is under-tyred which means we are eating the eight tyres we are allowed for the week at an alarming rate. Tomorrow in the Taranaki stages we are going to take it easy, coast through the day and save the tyres for later in the week on roads closer to home.
Oh just one thing before I sign off.. I used high boost for the first time today. Just five minutes at the end of a stage. A tight uphill section that typified what my car is built for. I've got the in-car footage and it's a wild ride! Victor couldn't stop grinning! We caught up to another car even though we had been taking it easy earlier in the stage. Fun fun fun!!
Till tomorrow.... Ron
Well, what a day. Such a big change from yesterday. The roads were fantastic and the weather held out providing a very enjoyable day of racing. Today my co-driving went much smoother without hesitation on the notes that I was giving. After a whole day of giving notes on Monday, I got more comfortable with the procedure and what works for Ron and what doesn't. Also, Ron found his groove today and the ride definitely became more exciting. It's quite an experience rocketing through tight roads at lightning speeds.
Another thing to note is the friendly atmosphere around. The event is quite laid back and everybody is very approachable making it a fun sociable event. I've met a number of new people now and also seen some pretty amazing cars. People from all walks of life come together to partake in this madness and brings everyone together to share their interest.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Six long stages which will give the car a bit more of a stress test. We did well today and hopefully we can keep things going through the rest of the week!
Cheers,
Victor.
I know we had promised to upload video each day but in reality the demands of keeping the car race ready has meant that there is just no time to edit and upload what we have. It will, I promise, be uploaded once we get a breather.
The plan for today as discussed by the team was to take it easy and find my comfort level, drive within it and take the day as it came.
Yesterday was a real hash and we were lucky to get through the day without serious incident. I didn't really have my head in the right place and never felt comfortable at all behind the wheel.
Stage one today was supposed to have me relaxing and getting my head straight.
I found my groove within minutes and Victor and I had our best run so far, overtaking two cars on the one short stage. That set the tone for the rest of the day and although some stages I took a lot easier than others, we were both in a good place mentally and that really made the difference.
The car ran faultlessly all day with the slight exception of the brakes. There's a violent shudder under high speed braking that is so bad that it's impossible to steer the car and brake at the same time. It's an interesting situation you find yourself in when at 180kph you need to slow down for a tightening corner and you can only brake for as long as it takes to get to the turn in point. After that you need to turn the steering wheel so it's foot off the brakes even if you are still going too fast!! To be honest it probably helped with the stage times! :)
The service crew once again have been brilliant. Not only have they driven hundreds of k's into the middle of nowhere just to top my fuel, but tonight they worked tirelessly to remedy the brake shudder too. It looks like my brakes didn't bed in properly and only half the disc rotor was bedded. This meant that the pads grabbed the rotor for only half of each revolution of the wheel.. hence the violent shake.
Tomorrow morning on the way to the first stage I have to re-bed the new brakes until they are almost on fire. I'm told that should fix it!
A lot of people have been texting and calling us with stage results, but at this point in time we aren't making too much of it as it's very early days yet and our goal is to complete the whole event in one piece. Our result will be what it is.
Staying in the top ten would be good. The competition is far superior in terms of car specs, budget and experience. Our car is under-tyred which means we are eating the eight tyres we are allowed for the week at an alarming rate. Tomorrow in the Taranaki stages we are going to take it easy, coast through the day and save the tyres for later in the week on roads closer to home.
Oh just one thing before I sign off.. I used high boost for the first time today. Just five minutes at the end of a stage. A tight uphill section that typified what my car is built for. I've got the in-car footage and it's a wild ride! Victor couldn't stop grinning! We caught up to another car even though we had been taking it easy earlier in the stage. Fun fun fun!!
Till tomorrow.... Ron
Well, what a day. Such a big change from yesterday. The roads were fantastic and the weather held out providing a very enjoyable day of racing. Today my co-driving went much smoother without hesitation on the notes that I was giving. After a whole day of giving notes on Monday, I got more comfortable with the procedure and what works for Ron and what doesn't. Also, Ron found his groove today and the ride definitely became more exciting. It's quite an experience rocketing through tight roads at lightning speeds.
Another thing to note is the friendly atmosphere around. The event is quite laid back and everybody is very approachable making it a fun sociable event. I've met a number of new people now and also seen some pretty amazing cars. People from all walks of life come together to partake in this madness and brings everyone together to share their interest.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Six long stages which will give the car a bit more of a stress test. We did well today and hopefully we can keep things going through the rest of the week!
Cheers,
Victor.
Monday, October 26, 2009
On a day when anything could go wrong...
I'm shattered. I need to sleep and tomorrow is another early start for us.
But I need to just briefly cover the days happenings on the first day of Targa.
My mind is a little too rattled to remember each stage but on nearly everyone we had some sort of problem. We lost all turbo boost on one stage when a hose came loose. We still managed to post a fairly respectable time though. We had endless problems with the brakes shaking at high speed as they were getting so hot. This meant I couldn't brake as late as I wanted to and I approached corners a bit slower than I would have otherwise.'
In another stage I over-revved the engine and a rocker arm came dislodged in the engine, causing a misfire and loss of power. Again we had to tour with greatly reduced power to the finish, however I did maintain a high constant speed where I could so again we posted a respectable time anyway.
I really hate driving on race tracks!! and today we drove four stages on three different race tracks. Most of the week is now back on sealed back country roads. Something I really love. We are thinking it might be a good bet to back off the speed a little for the next couple of days as the car is really taking a pounding and we have not even used the high boost setting!
I have to thank the service crew for a excellent effort. Everything that has broken has been fixed in no time at all. I'm shouting the pizza tonight!
Ok must go eat then sleep!! ...Ron
But I need to just briefly cover the days happenings on the first day of Targa.
My mind is a little too rattled to remember each stage but on nearly everyone we had some sort of problem. We lost all turbo boost on one stage when a hose came loose. We still managed to post a fairly respectable time though. We had endless problems with the brakes shaking at high speed as they were getting so hot. This meant I couldn't brake as late as I wanted to and I approached corners a bit slower than I would have otherwise.'
In another stage I over-revved the engine and a rocker arm came dislodged in the engine, causing a misfire and loss of power. Again we had to tour with greatly reduced power to the finish, however I did maintain a high constant speed where I could so again we posted a respectable time anyway.
I really hate driving on race tracks!! and today we drove four stages on three different race tracks. Most of the week is now back on sealed back country roads. Something I really love. We are thinking it might be a good bet to back off the speed a little for the next couple of days as the car is really taking a pounding and we have not even used the high boost setting!
I have to thank the service crew for a excellent effort. Everything that has broken has been fixed in no time at all. I'm shouting the pizza tonight!
Ok must go eat then sleep!! ...Ron
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Prologue Day
.JPG)
Well we made it through Prologue!
The team plan for today was to take it very, very easy and just cruise through the prologue stage. There was nothing to be gained by driving hard today, just seeding position for tomorrow and even that was not a definite thing. The overall seeding (order in which cars start) is fairly random.
We arrived at the start of the stage to be told that there was gravel on the road for the first 4km's. In fact it was all gravel. There was no grip at all and it was like driving in marbles for the whole 7+k's. That didn't stop us from catching a Maserati just 3 minutes into the stage!
He then held us up till the end, there was just too much gravel on the road to pass without both of us loosing a windscreen so we stayed back and just toured behind them. This unfortunately means we posted a time about 30 seconds slower than we should have.
The main thing was that we completed the day without mishap. Just a few minor problems were found by the service crew upon our return and they sorted them out. Mind you had they not found the problems there certainly would have been major trouble tomorrow. Good work guys!
The car is now safely stored away in Parc Ferme for the night awaiting tomorrow official start.
I'm not looking forward to the race track stages, they are very hard on the car and tyres so I'm planning to take it easy on these stages and make up my time on the twisty back roads where I am more comfortable. We are the first cars to race on the new Hampton Downs race track, so that in itself is something to look forward to.
Till tomorrow... Ron
Great atmosphere at the Telstra Clear Events centre with over 90 cars entered complete with service crews. There were displays from car clubs, the police and also good to see was an autocross demo setup by the local escort club. Not to mention, a 4WD club was also doing some demos over dirt mounds and obstacles.
We started by driving on the weigh station and finding ourselves rather overweight and so removed the 27kg ballast weight from Ron’s side of the car. We then made our way to the documentation tables, logging ourselves in relatively easily. I must say, I am pretty happy with how the event has been organised.. Considering the number of competitors, they have done well in keeping everything running smoothly.
After the driver’s briefing, we were out and getting ready for beginning in an hour’s time. Not before lunch though, man they had nice mussel fritters there. A gigantic thing for $6 that was larger than the piece of white sliced bread it was on.
Off we went to SS1, Prologue. A roughly 7.8km stage full of gravel, we had a bit of early excitement with Ron sliding on some of those marbles and running a little sideways. He must have been distracted by the set of tyre marks that went straight ahead off the road… sounds like that car made it back onto the road without too much issue though.
Well, a great way to start the event. We got through prologue without major issues and catching the Maserati is a good confidence boost. Once we get further into the event and start going a bit faster, it’ll sure be a hell of a ride.
Photos and videos in addition to Ron’s:
http://www.facebook.com/vkhyuen?ref=name#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792
Walking around the event centre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2gUWxagWG4
Removing weight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Myej6HyqU
Victor
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