Targa Tasmania 2009

[Roy]

Hehe, if you are back in Melb i will have to buy you dinner next week and take you to the strippers where you can spray a bootle of Passion Pop around the place to celebrate

Best of all Blue is not black and blue

[Snowman]

Ok - here's some footage from The Sideling which is probably the most famous stage us Rookies got to do and was also the 1st stage I mentally decided to have a full red hot crack at. As can be seen I got over excited once or twice. Ended up doing an 8:09 which was around 20th outright (but best in Rookie by 10s) - but to show how the Woo is doing it was still 1s slower than him in the RB20 R32 fence eater.

[Roy]

Woh. good going. Thats why if i ever did anything like that sort of event i would do it in a 180hp Escort. I am scared just looking at it. I cant believe that Ben can punt the lil GTSt quicker on that sort of road!

[BBGTR]

Congrats mate, how did the engine temps hold up?

[Snowman]

Engine temps were awesome. Water never above 70 and oil never above 100.

Here's another good vid - Rossarden. Wooster beat me by 2s on this one (bastard). He was over 1min up on me at the end of Day 2. Very impressive.

[--Grandma R31--]

Woh. good going. Thats why if i ever did anything like that sort of event i would do it in a 180hp Escort. I am scared just looking at it. I cant believe that Ben can punt the lil GTSt quicker on that sort of road!

We drive these roads everyday, see if you can catch some footage of the 99 bends leaving Queenstown, now that is scary.

[BBGTR]

Engine temps were awesome. Water never above 70 and oil never above 100.

Here's another good vid - Rossarden. Wooster beat me by 2s on this one (bastard). He was over 1min up on me at the end of Day 2. Very impressive.

Nice Vid. The chicanes are weird.

I like your Heads Up Display RPM Light - or is that just a reflection...

Might have to speak to PWR about a crossflow it seems.

[Cyph-R33]

Far out, thats some impressive footage.

Note to self - go for a sedate drive along those roads sometime in the near future.

[Roy]

Nice Vid. The chicanes are weird.

I like your Heads Up Display RPM Light - or is that just a reflection...

Might have to speak to PWR about a crossflow it seems.

LOL, dont you have a Race Radiators jobbie? Not up to the job? If you need to flog it off i am sure it would be up to the task of my car

[FineLine]

LOL, dont you have a Race Radiators jobbie? Not up to the job? If you need to flog it off i am sure it would be up to the task of my car

I call bullshit Roy. It will sit in your parts cupboard till you have several others to keep it company then you will change direction and sell them all off.

[Roy]

Hey, i have just about trial fitted and sorted everything, i only have the parts that are coming off the car at present to get rid off:) Or maybe i will need to give them to Ben if he is giving his old girl a hard time

[Snowman]

Nice Vid. The chicanes are weird.

I like your Heads Up Display RPM Light - or is that just a reflection...

Might have to speak to PWR about a crossflow it seems.

Yeah the Cross Flow seems to have really done the job (along with everything else including all the ducting, the body kit, the smaller intercooler etc).

The shift light is one of the cool little Ecliptech ones I got from Meridian http://www.ecliptech.com.au/main_win_sep06.html

It sits on top of my dash but you can see the reflection in the video. Once you have used one you'll wonder how you ever did with-out one before. But they are especially invaluable at a Targa type of event.

[navdan]

Ok - here's some footage from The Sideling which is probably the most famous stage us Rookies got to do and was also the 1st stage I mentally decided to have a full red hot crack at. As can be seen I got over excited once or twice. Ended up doing an 8:09 which was around 20th outright (but best in Rookie by 10s) - but to show how the Woo is doing it was still 1s slower than him in the RB20 R32 fence eater.

Best overtaking move ever!

Thank you to everyone for your support, and most of all thanks to Snowy for giving me the opportunity to sit next to him while he tried to scare me

[BBGTR]

LOL, dont you have a Race Radiators jobbie? Not up to the job? If you need to flog it off i am sure it would be up to the task of my car

Yeah, I do.

My poor little HKS oil cooler is the culprit, oil gets to 130deg after about 6 laps in the midday to afternoon sessions when a bit of heat soak is starting to take hold, but doesn't get any hotter. It prob need more ducting. I dont have the benefit of a huge Nismo bumper duct, like some

[BBGTR]

Yeah the Cross Flow seems to have really done the job (along with everything else including all the ducting, the body kit, the smaller intercooler etc).

The shift light is one of the cool little Ecliptech ones I got from Meridian http://www.ecliptech.com.au/main_win_sep06.html

It sits on top of my dash but you can see the reflection in the video. Once you have used one you'll wonder how you ever did with-out one before. But they are especially invaluable at a Targa type of event.

LOL at the reflection, I thought you were the gadget king with a HUD. Absolutely agree on the use for rallys, too busy absorbing pace notes and watching for marbles on the road to look at gauges.

Great work.

[navdan]

11:45am - NEWS UPDATE:

MEDIA STATEMENT: "Kevin Weeks and Bec Crunkhorn have had an accident in their Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera near the end of Targa stage 36, just outside of Queenstown.

Both driver and co-driver have been removed from the car, are conscious and talking to the FIV crews in place, and are being air lifted to Hobart General Hospital for further medial assessment.

Their condition is not life threatening"

Never ever a good thing to hear. Hopefully all is well.

That does meant that the 35 of Quinn/Tillett has a commanding 6 minute lead with only 2 stages to go.

[Roy]

Big CONGRATS to Ben and Tim to get the car to 3rd in Classic. Kept the Porkas and the seemingly unbeatable Broadbent very honest for a few days. Silly weather, what could have been!!?!?!?! 3rd and quicker then Snowy is huge result. LOL it seems GTSt go better with QLDers behind the wheel

Good outing for many of the SAU guys, but read that Russ had issue with driveshaft, hope everyone at least made it to the line or had fun trying

[FC3S 13BT]

Ok - here's some footage from The Sideling which is probably the most famous stage us Rookies got to do and was also the 1st stage I mentally decided to have a full red hot crack at. As can be seen I got over excited once or twice. Ended up doing an 8:09 which was around 20th outright (but best in Rookie by 10s) - but to show how the Woo is doing it was still 1s slower than him in the RB20 R32 fence eater.

Nice work mate! enjoyed the vid!

[R33_Dude]

Watched the lot of you noisy buggers driving past my house today

Spotted a certain white R34 GTR among the masses of porsches.

[sav man]

Wll back at work, so time for a re-cap.

Day0: Ran the car in Prolouge trim (high boost and no spares), first time the car has been driven since last year, made some mistakes, but was 5th is early modern. But we ended up 4th after a evo was pinned for race fuel.

Day1: Got through the first stage alright. 1/2 way through stage 2 there was a long straight, got to the end of that, jumped on the brakes from 200k only to find that the front pads hadn't been bedded in properly, gave me a good scare when it grabbed the rears and we almost arrived at the corner backwoods. I bedded them in, in the next transport stage. Dad drove the next stage, we got 1.3km in and he spun the car up a bank, and wedged the car. We broke some small tree's down and tried to leaver the car out, but couldn't move it. After we got towed out we missed the next stage. We joined the back of the field at lunch. Next few stages were steady, I got back in the car and found the brakes still weren't right (dad and i drive differently, i use the brakes to stop, dad tends to use the gears). I missed a Left 2 on Seffield and went up a dirt road, used the hand brake the get back on the road, and got 2 thumbs up from a local. I managed to catch and pass one of the Maximum Motorsport subies on the last stage of the day, got to the end of the stage and the rear brakes had smoke poring off them (this is their 3rd Targa). Blead the brakes at service and got some air out of the rears (not really a good sign).

Day2: Got through all of the morning stages fine, slow but alive. After lunch I thought the rotors must have been warped, cause they didn't sound reel good. Sound got worse at the end of the next stage. I drove Longford, and doriftoed the 2nd 1/2 of the stage much to dads discust. Got to the end of the stage and the brakes were now going thud thud thud. Got to servce and found the drivers rear was cracked, had to drive to devenport to take the rears off another car.

Day3: Started to find some speed in the morning. Didn't go farming or stump removing like some. Wooster passed me on the stage after lunch (he was only just a little happy about that), the rest of the stages were reasnoable.

Day4: I drove the morning, first stage was alright, i wasn't very happy with the second stage cethana, 30 secs slower than last year. Dad looped the car on Hellyer Goarge, didn't hit anything, but cost us heaps of time to turn the car around. Next 2 staged were wet, made it through them. The last stage of the day was long and wet. We passed a Daytona 1/3 of the way though the stage. Passed lots of wrecked cars, Peter Moore's R34 N1 was in a ball on the side of the road. On the second last corner of the stage, a Right 3, dad got on the gas to early and spun the car, we went backwoods up the road, into a ditch, through a road sign (bent it over, and pulled it out of the ground concreate and all) , hit a bank which spun the car back onto the road. Much to our surprize the car still went, and we limped accross the line. Service crew did a great job and got it drivable for the next day (had to cut 2 intercooler rows out, and it still leaked)

Day5: Just limped home, didn't know if anthing was about to brake. The car was like a mobile chicane, got passed by 5 cars of mt arrowsmith. Got to Hobart and had some beers.

I was surprised how many modern cars were running race fuel and not getting cought. Alot of the evo's were running it in the middle of the day, and putting 98 back in for the last stage.

I'm not sure if i'll get in the car next to dad again. But if I do we will be changing tyre brand (RE55S are rubbish), locking the HICAS, and doing lots of testing.

I'll get some vids up soon. Unfortinatually the Card on the camera ran out half way though the stage where dad had the big off.