Dirt Autocross This Weekend

[hrd-hr30]

I've decided that I want more variety in my motorsport this year, and its been far too long since I've had a proper fang on dirt so I've entered a dirt autocross event at Ipswich this Sunday. I did a few of them back in the days of my old L18 powered Datto 1200 - probably in 2001 or 2002. And one in my GTR in 2006 just for giggles. So its been 5 years since I've been there.

Its a nice smooth dirt course that rubbers up as the day goes on, a bit like a speedway track. Tyres start squealing after a couple of runs!

No rally tyres allowed or even anything nobby, so its normal street rubber or semis. The fast guys use semis and as the track rubbers up they keep it straight & smooth on the dark line - boring! I think I'll just use my street tyres and let it all hang out...

The results are a bit different in that its the total of every single lap of every run - there's nowhere to hide a bad lap in this form of motorsport! Each run is a standing start + 2 flying laps IIRC.

Anyone interested can find entry forms here: http://iwmac.org.au/ You can even enter on the day if they don't have a full field.

[Duncan]

what an excellent idea Harry.....take some vids and good luck!

[Marlin]

Have fun Harry, look forward to some good vids mate

[warps]

Yep - top fun, Harry.

I did a couple of events there last year in the Civic, which is very well suited to the layout. As you say, all the fast guys run semi's, but don't think that makes it boring. Even my FWD shopping trolley gets plenty of sideways action on semis. Standing start with 2 laps (ie one standing, one flying lap) and as you say your total time is taken, although they will sometimes let you drop your worst run in each direction, depending on that kind of event it is.

Last time I ran there Murray Coote was there in his Silvia rally car. He was very spectacular (although not the fastest of the day). If Rick Baggarley is there in his green and yellow Mk 2 Escort, you'll be treated to some fast and spectacular driving (bastard just pipped me in the last couple of runs - I had him all day but got penalties in my last 2 runs).

The track definitely gets faster as the day goes on, except for the run you inevitably get after the water truck's been through. The next 3-4 cars after that have a very interesting ride.

This event crept up on me, so I won't be there. However, I'll make an appearance a few times this year with a bit of luck.

I was hitting the limiter in 3rd up the back straight (about 120km/h) so the higher power guys should nudge 130 or better (as long as you can get the power down, then slow down for the corner)

[hrd-hr30]

all I can say is, "too much fun"!

it went pretty much as expected - by the third run the track had rubbered up and the guys driving it straight on semis started going quick. But while the road was still just loose dirt for the first couple of runs I was running 5th and 6th outright. But I just kept sliding it around after the track got grippy so my times weren't very good after that - especially when I started getting penalties for clobbering a few witches hats (5sec each!) and then had a long overdue spin in the 4th run lol I had kinda been asking for that all day... Then we ran the track in reverse direction for 2 runs. It was great fun. I'll probably go back for the next one as well.

I somehow managed to win the >3000cc class even with the 15seconds of penalties plus a spin and stall on one run, but I was only up against a bunch of Commodores... Noddy entered his Skyline, but turned up in a friends WRX with the R33 stuck at home with a cracked manifold. Apparently!

I reckon he just wanted to get into one of those dirty cheating AWD turbo things, but he'd never admit it...

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

[warps]

Top run, Harry. Nice car control in the vids - i could never manage that in the RX2 - it used to fight me all the way.

Don't worry about the Commodores - they're usually all noise but no substance.

The times I've gone, usually the top spots are made up of the quicker 4WD guys, then the top 2 or 3 FWD's, then a couple of the RWD's sneak in there. To be 6th o/r in an overpowered RWD is a top effort indeed. As you would have seen, not a lot of use having a million hp there. That's the exact reason CAMS lets the 2WD turbo guys run unrestricted on dirt.

I'll have to extract digit and get myself along to the next one (just realised my club membership has expired, too )

Oh, and your comment re the faster guys staying straight - well the AWD's and FWD's tend to do that anyway to be fast on dirt. The quick RWD's are usually pretty sideways.

Edited February 21, 2011 by warps

[hrd-hr30]

Top run, Harry. Nice car control in the vids - i could never manage that in the RX2 - it used to fight me all the way.

Don't worry about the Commodores - they're usually all noise but no substance.

The times I've gone, usually the top spots are made up of the quicker 4WD guys, then the top 2 or 3 FWD's, then a couple of the RWD's sneak in there. To be 6th o/r in an overpowered RWD is a top effort indeed. As you would have seen, not a lot of use having a million hp there. That's the exact reason CAMS lets the 2WD turbo guys run unrestricted on dirt.

I'll have to extract digit and get myself along to the next one (just realised my club membership has expired, too )

I was only that high up for the first two runs mate. Was much further down the field after the track got grippy and the people taking it seriously started going fast. I got slower thanks to all the penalties I was collecting in the 3rd and 4th runs hehe http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?20/02/2011.WP

It does seem to suit the fronties pretty well. That's probably how it ended up, with the AWDs then a few fronties. I dare say I was midfield by the end of the day. But I was just there for the skids...

Edited February 21, 2011 by hrd-hr30

[FineLine]

Did my first "organised" event there over 30 years ago Harry.

Years later I kept on looking for that west moreton dirt track Not realising I was driving past it every time I went to qr.

Its a tunnafun for sure.

[warps]

Don't sell yourself short, Harry. To me, that's all the more impressive as the AWD's have a huge advantage early in the day. Bigger hp is rewarded much more at the end of the day when the track starts to rubber up. Looks like you finished the day in 15th o/r which is still pretty impressive for road tyres, and a few penalties.

My first ever run there was in a Forester XT (doing my OLT's). As I happened to be the only AWD there on the day, I was running fastest outright by the 3rd run. Then the track started to dry out and rubber up, and I'd dropped a bunch of places by the end of the day.

Looking at the results, I see a few of the usual suspects there. That bog stock looking 1.8 laser is unnaturally quick around there, given the way it rocks and rolls, and makes almost no noise.

I think it suits the fwds because it's fairly flowing, and when you get to know the track you can attack everything at 100%. If you overcook it, you just apply more throttle to recover from the spin. ie drive every corner too fast, and if you start to spin out, then apply throttle and drive even harder. This is not so easy to replicate in the forest when you don't know the road intimately. Works ok if you have big kahunas and a lot of faith in your own ability though.

[Marlin]

Sounds like lots of fun

[hrd-hr30]

Next event for something different is Grafton Hillclimb on March 6. Only $55 entry fee - genuine 1974 prices! But a 4hr drive to get there. I've been there once in '07 with the old 230rwkw CA18DET 1200, so it will be interesting to see how the 180SX goes compared to it. 51.54 seconds to beat... Might be up against it - the 180 is easier to drive and probably makes better use of its power, but 300kg heavier and 50bhp less at the wheels is alot to make up...

but the 180SX was faster at the Autocross than my old R32 GTR

180SX 1:44.5548

R32GTR 1:48.3

Reverse Direction

180SX 1:44.7916

R32GTR 1:46.3

GTR was on the crap, hard, nearly bald tyres it came over with on the boat though...

Edited February 22, 2011 by hrd-hr30

[hrd-hr30]

found a vid from the fastest 2WD at the autocross - Craig Newell in his Civic rally car on RE55S:

can see why FWD's go alright at the autocross. Alot easier to actually get some drive happening. Doesn't look half as much fun though.

[warps]

The next event is on Mar 20th. This is a dirt sprint, which uses the longer version of the track (the long-ish back straight for higher speeds). Lap times are about the same even though the track is slightly longer.

I'm not sure if they will post supp regs on the site http://iwmac.org.au/?page_id=393 but you can get them emailed to you if anyone's interested.

Might have to pull the finger out and enter this one.

[Marlin]

Wish I had a bloody car to enter......

[warps]

You can double or triple enter cars. Hey, you could even have a go in the shopping trolley, but then you might catch FWD-itis. Not a very socially acceptable infliction to have around here

[Marlin]

But I do love a good bum-dragger $100k wasted on my Swift GTi attests to that! lol

How would 2300kg of 4WD lard go?

Is there an "over 2 tonne" class for 4WD's and R35 GTR's?

[hrd-hr30]

If you hadn't gone and riced up the R32 so much you would have a car to enter! The Hemi might not beat the WRXs and EVOs that it would probably get lumped in with, but it would be a laugh! Borrow Giant's EVO?

I can't do the 20th dirt sprint - will be on my way to the Daintree for a couple of weeks, but will do the next Autocross on April 17.

[warps]

$100k on a Swift? That's dedicated!!

There's a guy selling 3 IPRA Swifts on Ebay for $3250 - $5250 each, depending on spec. Any one of these would be perfect for the Willobank autocross track and a hell of a lot of fun.

I reckon an R35 would be fantastic around here - they would put you into the 4WD category (along with any other specials, eg the Hyabusa powered buggies that ran there a few months ago)

Over 2 tonne 4WD? I hope you're not talking about an R35. I know they're heavy boats, but didnt think they were that heavy They probably wont let it run with 4WD tyres tho.

[hrd-hr30]

They probably wont let it run with 4WD tyres tho.

hehe can you get 4WD tyres for 22" chromies?

[warps]

Zing!