2nd in class !

Despite a frustrating array of issues experienced on the day I walked away with a 2nd place in my class (5A - Road Registered under 2000cc) with a time of 68''40 (just under a second shy of my personal best).

My alignment changes from a week before did make the car drive straighter but definitely slower around corners. This was most likely due to camber angles being reduced by half a degree from what they used to be before. Next step is to revert back to what they were and adjust ride heights once again.

The brakes worked fine on my way to the circuit but on the circuit it was a completely different story. They squeeled and exhibitted judder and despite checking for cracks, warping or worn pads I couldn't get rid of the problem. On my 4th and final run the problem went away but the track had become much slower by then compared to earlier in the day and I just couldn't get a good lap together.

The event started off very chaotic and disorganised. I waited in line of 20 people to sign on. Once signed on I was told to go next door to get a timer. It turned out the timer I got was not the right one for the event and so I was told to go to yet another location to get the right timer. There I was told I needed a competition number which people at the sign-on window failed to provide me with and so I ended up waiting in a 40 people line again just to get the number. Finally when it was all sorted I chased down the guy who handed me the wrong timer and returned it and went back again to another window to grab the correct timer. Had to pay $10 for a bracket to affix the timer to the car also (!).

Following that we all moved to our drivers' briefing where we were all told of the rules. Unfortunately they changed the original plan of splitting people into 4 groups to telling everyone (up to 86 competitors) to line up with people they "thought" were close enough in terms of time. That added to yet more confusion and cars were let out with other cars either much much faster or much much slower than them. I personally was seriously held up in 2 out of my 4 runs by cars slower than me and refusing to give way.

The idea for events like these is to space yourself out at least 7 car lenghts so that everyone has a clean track and an undististurbed run but there were fools out there doing just the opposite spoiling it for the others.

Photo 1

Anyway despite these hiccups the event was good fun and i'd highly recommend it. I am definitely going to attend future rounds at other locations and see how they turn out.

Congratulations to the 1st place winner in my class driving in a Honda Civic EG platform.

- Rod

Good to go

This morning I received a confirmation from the event organisers that my entry for tomorrow's event had been accepted so looks like the only way forward now is forward !

Competition is looking very strong so i'll be trying hard not to come last.

- Rod

Straightened out

Yesterday was a hell of a day !
I had 2 appointments to attend to, the 1st of them was with Wheels World to have my alignment corrected and the new tyres fitted and the 2nd one was with GoGear Racing Services to have my car scrutineered before saturday's sprint event.

In the morning I went to get my car from the garage and it wouldn't start. All I was getting was ticking / clicking sounds but no turning. First I thought it was the alarm system somehow short circuiting my wiring but then I had a quick check of the battery and it was flat ! I hadn't driven the car for over 4 weeks so the bloody alarm drained the battery completely. Not having any means of jumpstarting the car I frantically called my dad to see if he had a charger available and guess what ? He did and so after about 30 mins of charging the car finally started !

I drove to Wheels World and the guy there took over the car immediately and started with the alignment.

The very first thing that struck me was how high-tech their alignment workspace was. They have a dedicated ramp, perfectly levelled and fully adjustable in all 4 corners.

They then attach what I call spiders to each and every wheel, connect them up to each other and the computer system nearby and off they go.

The level of precision is amazing ! The computer display tells them of any change occuring as a result of adjusting any of the angles across any of the 4 wheels until they get it right.

The mechanic there was so experienced that he breezed right through the initial setup and all the subsequent adjustments.

My 'before' setup was strange. First of all my camber on the left side was about half a degree off from my camber on the right. One could speculate that was caused by the height adjustments after the car's journey from Japan to Australia. My toe in front and rear was off also but only marginally.

While all that was happening I was relaxing in their lounge drinking water and watching Daytona on their TV.
After about an hour all was done, adjusted and it was time for the new tyres to go on.

New tyres anyone ? Take your pick !

I had the tyres inflated with air as opposed to nitrogen but from talking to the guys I learnt that when you use nitrogen air pressure is more stable and doesn't flactuate as much with an increasing temperature as normal air. Anyway for $5/tyre it's a steal but not this time.

John, who is the owner of the shop and the sole distributor of ADVAN racing wheels in Western Australia gave me a nice before/after printout of my alignment and charged me a nominal amount for the job.

My most immediate reaction after leaving their shop was 'why is the car driving in a straight line' ? It felt much better than before so let's hope it handles as well on the track where it matters.

After all that at 3pm I drove to have my car scrutineered by Ivan Tan from GoGear Racing Services. The car passed without issues although he suggested something I'd already noticed which was the front disc rotors beginning to crack a little and so sooner rather than later will have to be replaced. He also had some concerns about the seatbelts I've been using but after seeing me sit in my usual racing position he concluded that those JDM recaro seats are actually fine and no issue with the seatbelts really existed.

So...

This saturday from 7am, class 5A (under 2L road registered). Forecast says a few showers and under 20C. My goal is NOT to come last. Anything else is a bonus.

Till then
- Rod

Back of a ute

Here is an aussie motoring icon...a V8 UTE.
These made an appearance on Top Gear at some point in the past but here down under they're everywhere you look.

Enjoy

- Rod

Go karting in Perth !

Last saturday together with a friend of mine we drove down to Cockburn International Raceway to take part in 2x15 minutes go kart sessions.

This place is actually one of the nicest scenic areas south of perth overlooking the Indian Ocean but it was the track that made the BIGGEST impression !

First of all, this is one of the BEST go-kart tracks I've been on ! I know it's a pretty bold statement but there are reasons for it. It has a wide array of different types of corners, it's constantly up-n-down in terms of elevation, it has a very nice back straight with a very fast right hand sweeper (in a clockwise configuration), the track is clean with plenty of run-off (which I dont recommend unless you're willing to part ways with your deposit), a constantly changing camber and a proper style pit lane (pictured above).

The karts are fast, reliable, tyres are in a very good condition and overall very well maintained.

This was my 2nd visit to the track and it couldn't have been any sooner. My friend and I had a few very fast chases around the circuit with a lot of bumper to bumper racing. Unfortunately for us, the earlier part of the session had us battle a slightly wet and cold circuit and so I ended up spinning a few times but the real fun was battling with grip, correcting oversteer and soaking up excees fuel droplets from the kart in front.

In the 2nd part of the day we had 4 amateur racers on the track and so it was great having to negotiate our way around them despite us having to fight against each other as well.

I give this circuit a 9/10. The karts are in a very good condition and differ only very slightly in setup and performance unlike go-karts at many other tracks which are underperforming, sometimes faulty and slow. The track is very technical and physically demanding (especially if you have long legs like me), but it's very very well designed and maintained and obviously it wouldn't be of an international standard if it wasn't.

Oh and my friend and I are now hooked so the next natural step is to buy and race a private kart. Stay tuned !

- Rod

Quiet times

It's been a while since my last post and there's been a very good reason for that...I've been quietly indulging in my "other" hobby which is photography.

Here are some of the recent shots I took around Barbagallo Raceway











There is a lot more on my Flickr account so check it out

-Rod