Leif

Hell yeah, F1 2010 is the bomb! Reaaaly need a wheel though, just can't get Becketts right with a controller P.s. Webber will wrap up the title in Brazil. Cmon son!

What a top weekend. Sat on Copse corner for two days and the result couldn't have been any better really.best viewing moment was Kubica coming through Copse too hot in Q3, massive oversteer which he corrected in the blink of an eye.You really get an appreciation for what these guys can do live. The whole wing debacle was a big talking point before the race on Sunday. I think most of the fans felt Webber was hard done by, and the cheer was huge when Mark got to turn one in front. Maybe that was because Lewis made up a spot too. Haha. The English love Webber though, and short of Lewis or Jenson winning, that was the best result they could hope for too. The Circuit really is in the middle of nowhere! I can see why Bernie has referred to it as a country fair on more than one occasion. Having said that, they have spent big bucks on the track, and it was a really well run event. There's tens of millions more being spent in the next 12 months and the pit straight will be in the middle of the new section next year, not its traditional place. Sorry if they already covered all this in the broadcast, i guess what I'm getting at is it's definitely a race worth going to. Lots of money and support behind it now, and 105,000 through the door on Sunday means it'll stay that way. Like has been said dozens of times in this thread, i just hope the RB team doesn't implode before the season's out. I think it's gone a bit beyond the 'healthy rivalry' Webber and Vettel kept referring to in press conferences..

Does anyone think Red Bull's treatment of Webber might be related to how they see both drivers from a long term perspective? Vettel is young, has been hailed "the next Schumacher". RB intend to keep him for years to come and have pinned their hopes on him for a driver's title. He's also mentored and unofficially managed by Bernie, which I have no doubt has some flow on effects at RB. Webber, however, is probably in the final couple of years of his career. His contract with RB also expires at the end of the year. It's unlikely that Webs will be the core of a winning RB team in years to come. I think RB sees him as strictly a support to Vettel. If he wins a few races, bonus. From a long term point of view, it makes sense for them to look after Vettel wherever possible, no? Damn I hate Vettel.

Oh, sorry about that. I thought there might be a couple of mistakes, I just went off the website. I'm told Benny Tran's civic is Supercharged too, not NA. Does anyone have details on the Pulse Racing Evo that is leading open class? To be four seconds clear of the pack is an amazing effort!

Based on that natsoft link, Outright: David Empringham Sierra Sierra Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:32.2480 K Sasaki Pan Speed Racing Mazda RX-7 1:32.4540 Tarzan Yamada CyberEVO Mitsubishi Lancer Ev 1:32.4940 Open: Steve Glenney Pulse Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1:36.4980 John Boston Insight Motorsports/Elias Auge Honda S2000 1:40.2880 Jason Hart Ultimate Tunes Subaru Imprezza WRX 1:40.4400 Clubsprint: Nicholas Kalis Nicholas Kalis Mitsubishi Lancer Ev 1:44.8850 Duncan Forrest Duncan Forrest Nissan R35 GTR 1:45.0090 Jason Naidoo Jason Naidoo Mitsubishi Lancer Ev 1:45.0260 Fastest RWD: K Sasaki Pan Speed Racing Mazda RX-7 1:32.4540 Kinoshita Mitsuhiro Pro Staff R-Magic Motorsport Mazda RX-7 1:33.5050 Warren Luff Prep'd Motorsport Lotus Elise 1:33.5520 Fastest FWD: Benny Tran Benny Tran Honda Civic 1:41.2360 John Boston Insight Motorsports/MTA Plus Honda Civic 1:42.0200 Sam Stratten J's Racing/JDM Concept Honda Integra Type R 1:51.4120 Fastest NA: Mal Rose Mal Rose Racing Holden Commodore 1:39.3230 Benny Tran Benny Tran Honda Civic 1:41.2360 John Boston Insight Motorsports/MTA Plus Honda Civic 1:42.0200 (Yes, i'm at work )

Some results are up on Natsoft: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results....05/2010.EAST.S1

How is the Fernandez taxi with the turbo six doing?

What he said!

Ahh ok, thanks. So it's more like 40 seconds faster than the R35. Sounds more like it

That is unreal, the sound alone is worth playing the video. Quick question though - according to the on screen timer, he does an 8:09 or thereabouts. Does that mean the R35 is a full forty seconds faster than this thing around the ring?! If so, wow. Am i missing something?

Haha sorry dude, wasn't being a jerk, just meant that you weren't missing anything urgent by not being able to open the pdf. Weather expected to clear in Goulburn on Sunday, should be a great day!

The PDF says what Ben's copied above.

Yeah I managed to bin the car. I figure seeing as ppl are asking, I might as well explain what happened. I got a little too keen into turn one, ran wide on the exit and put the right rear on the grass. That unsettled the car and it went spearing back across to the left, toward the inside of the track. I tried to countersteer back into it but it happened too quick and the car swapped ends. I left the track on the outside of the road between turn one and two, skated across the grass backwards and hit the concrete on the outside. Rear left hit first, then the front left. I'm pretty sure the car is a write off, but I don't know a lot yet. I am fine. I had some whiplash to the neck and so went to the hospital as a precaution. They did xrays and stuff to make sure there was no spinal damage and it all came back fine. They discharged me after about 2hrs, so I would say that on the whole, I've been quite lucky! To be honest, I was just sitting there feeling bad that I was cutting into everyone else's track time whilst they cleared my car! I have already spoken to quite a few people, but just wanted to say thankyou again for all the support I received. I have had so many queries about my wellbeing, and offers of help to get back out there. I am really humbled and appreciate people's concern a lot.

Yeah about an hour and a half from the Gong I belive. The driver's briefing is supposed to be at 9, but usually starts a little after. If you do decide to leave Sunday morning, I reckon you can leave a bit later. There's no scrutineering, which saves a fair bit of time. For CC days, I normally aim to get there at 730, and even that is plenty of time.

I know that feeling... it was over 12 months between visits to the track for me in 07/08 due to lack of funds. Be sure to let us know when it's going back out, very keen to see it!

Well i'm off to the EC sprint on the 18th too, so no excuses about being rusty! Will have to think of another excuse before then... I'm taking a mate out as a passenger at this Wakefield day too, so better be on my best beahviour.

Massive fan of your car Stu, i'm stoked you're coming to this day, can't wait to hear your car screaming down the straight! You remember Sean with the white R33 at Powercruise, black roof? I'm his brother. Don't be alarmed if I appear in front of your car, i'm just rather keen to have a closer look I'll be in the blue S13. See you there!

Totally agree. I think you should consider taking your Supra to a few track days. With the basic prep Dave's mentioned above, you'll be ready to go. The brakes might get a little tired by the end of a session, but don't worry about it! Just drive within the limits of yourself and the car and you'll have fun. My first car was an NA S13, and it went to the track with nothing more than what Dave's mentioned above. It was great. From a financial point of view, there's no doubt that tracking your street car will be cheaper than having a daily and a track car. If you have a mechanical failure at the track and need a $500 tow for the 3hr trip home, you're still way in front of where you'd be if you owned two cars (and trailer). As for crashing, well that's expensive in a track car or a road car. I still track my street car and whilst it's never going to set the timsheets on fire, I don't have to store/hire a trailer, maintain 2 cars, and can still have fun on the twisties. S14's are incredibly good value nowdays as well imo. A series 2 for 9-10K seems like a steal for how much car you get.

Yeah this is what I was wondering about. I think everyone expects the top Japanese/US cars to be very strong - they all have very impressive (and proven) records. But they also do a lot of these events on billiard table tracks with cambered corners. Pretty different to Eastern Creek. On the flip side, all the Aussie fans will be hoping that our top cars can do us proud against this amazing competition. The Advan R34 obviously has massive potential, so I was hoping to get an idea from those closer to the car whether the car is likely to be sorted by May, and if it will be a genuine contender once it is. And what about the other Aussie cars? Does anyone know about the progress of the Tilton Evo, the BSM GTR?

It seems like Massa is the forgotten driver at the moment, so much hype around Alonso I guess! Not a lot has been said about him, but I think he should hold his head high with two podiums in the first two races. Good luck to him. And maybe "HRT" should give Garth Tander a drive. He might have a bit more success than Chandhok

Anyone game enough to go on record as to who the early favourites are for this event? So much impressive hardware in Pro class, but how do they all compare? From what I can gather, the local boys have still got a bit of work to do to compete with some of the Jap and US entries. Will the home ground advantage amount to much?

Everyone has seen that young dude driving like a hoon, and so unfortunately I think that's what people expect to an extent. If you're young, and the exhaust is noisy, they're going to assume you're a hoon. I don't think it really matters if your car is a ricer/commodore/import. As people have said, the general population can't tell the difference/don't care - I realise when I hang around my mates that aren't into cars - they barely notice the make of car, let alone what kind of wheels it has or whether it's lower than standard. In short, if it's loud and you're in the 18-25y.o. male category, people will assume the worst. There's nothing we can do about that. I figure that the best way I can identify myself with the "enthusiast" crowd rather than the hoon crowd is to drive like an enthusiast. i.e. take my time, stick to speed limits, and just generally share the road. As people have said, import drivers get so much bad press that we're probably not going to change the perception any time soon, so I don't bother. I just drive sensibly and assume people will leave me alone if i'm doing the right thing. It seems to have worked so far. I drove an ugly S13 silvia (faded roof, dings, scratches) with an un-muffled exhaust as my daily for 2 years and never got randomly pulled over (touch wood). The only reason I can figure is that I drive sensibly, and so the cops put you in that "enthusiast" bucket rather than the hoon bucket.

Ferrari 250GT

Amazing post mate, thanks for sharing! You've got some skills with a lens there.

Thanks again for the info guys... I think that the driver will be the limiting factor here, not the tyres, so not the end of the world if they don't get the perfect breaking in procedure. At least I know what I should be doing . Ando: Mate, I am chomping at the bit to get out there. Autosalon car represent!