TOURING CAR MASTERS
Sandown Raceway 19 -21 November, 2010
After being totally water logged in Tassie, the sun would be shining down in our back to back meeting at Sandown in Victoria.
Loaded up and ready to head back to Adelaide |
Our last newsletter ended by the transporter
being boarded onto the Spirit of Tasmania
for the journey back to the mainland. On the
journey, sounds like there was some fun on
the ocean waves, with Bobby catching up with
Alistair & Jenny McLean, Brett Youlden, Bernie
Stack and James who drives the transporter for
Rory O’Neil, John Nelson and Ross Almond. As
are the friendships formed in the motor racing
fraternity, all the gang were busy making phone
calls to contacts in Melbourne to find a workshop
that could take on the task of repairing Andrew’s
camaro in time for Sandown.
Thankfully, a contact of Alistair’s came to the
rescue, being Old Skool Paint and Panel – but
more about that as we go on. Running both the Camaros at Sandown would
mean the weekend would be a busy one with no
one with time to get bored !!
Joining us for this round were Paul Currie from
Victoria who came with Andrew as Ron Missen,
was oops, gotta do it, ‘missen in action’ (sick
I know) due to family commitments and Ron
O’Brien from our Whiteline Workshop also came
along to assist and in fact does work with Mark
Birdman a lot in Adelaide on the cars, so this tour
of duty wasn’t foreign to him at all.
Ron O’Brien – wheel em in |
Bob, Ron & Mark headed out the wee hours of
Thursday morning joined by Bernie Stack who
drives the very fast and competitive number 36
Porsche.
They were towing the number 85 1970
red camaro on a trailer. By lunch they had made
Melbourne where they headed to where the
truck was parked up post Tasmania and headed
out to the workshop of Old Skool Paint & Panel
who fitted a new front guard, grill, bumper and
painted up the right side of the 95, 1969 WesTrac
camaro which was damaged in Tasmania.
On yuh
guys for a job well done !!
The boys then headed to the track where both
cars were unloaded, so too, Greg Keene’s No. 33
Sportsmed Porsche. Once unloaded, the 95 car
still required a bit to be done.
Hands on building a new diff |
The sponsor stickers were fitted, the worn front
brake rotors were replaced, the carby removed as
it was sticking in tassie and found to be full of dirt
and grit from a combination of the wet weather
and infield excursions, refitted and readjusted
fuel mixtures and float levels to address a slight
bogging down issue and finally wet tyres off and
dries on to suit our much brighter Melbourne
weather conditions.
For Bobby’s 85 Camaro, Mark had prepped her
prior to Tassie with another important stage of the
rear end development complete, so it was just a
case of being unloaded.
Friday the category was only scheduled for the
one practice at 11.35 a.m. In this session, Andrew
would complete 11 laps, with his quickest a 1.19
and was behind Jim Richards who did a 18.8, so
the team was reasonably happy at this stage.
Some roll centre adjustments were made to
improve the steering.
For Bobby in the 85 red machine, his times
were slower than last year when he raced the
95 car, but this is to be expected given the 1970
camaro is still in it’s early days of development.
Completing 9 laps, on old tyres, his best time was
1.25.1 seeing him 22nd on the grid of 30 cars.
Overnight the boys enjoyed tea with the rest of the South Aussies but hit the sack early. I flew in with Amanda and Lilli on Friday night with Greg picking us up from the airport.
Prior to the practice session, Andrew and Mark decided that the rear leaf springs needed to be cleaned and relubed. They were covered in body filler dust.
Practice on Saturday was at 10.50am where the crew tried a few suspension adjustments but none would prove particularly successful, playing with shock settings and the rear roll centre again. Managing to improve a few tenths of a second on Friday’s session with a 18.8 had now meant Andrew was 4th quickest as Bowe, Richards and Bullas had all improved also.
For the 1970 Camaro driven by Bobby the second session would see a significant improvement on lap times of some 2.5 seconds now placing him 20th on the grid out of 30 cars, this was put down to minor changes to the roll centre and the fact that he was starting to settle in.
Qualifying was held at 2.40 but was dramatically shortened due to oil on the track from the Kassulke entry which had a failed oil cooler issue. The session went for 10 minutes only, by which stage Andrew had only completed 4 laps and had come into pit lane for some adjustments so didn’t get to re run. Andrew’s best time was a 1.185 on new tyres whilst Richards had grabbed pole with a 1.17.25 in front of Bowe, Tander and Andrew in 4th.
Meanwhile, for Bobby whilst running on new tyres, just didn’t get a clear run in the short session and qualified in 22nd with a 1.2315. On return to the pit found that the front left brake rotor was badly cracked in three places.
In between working on the cars, the boys have been working on a new diff. This is because if Andrew finishes in the top 3 in race 1, he will have his revs reduced as a penalty and as it stands with the current diff he is on the rev limiter by the time he gets to the end of the straight, so reduced revs would make this worse. The new diff they are building will be taller which will deliver more speed for the same revs. Would they need it read on.
Race 1 was somewhat delayed due to a bad accident in the V8 super car event prior – but did get away at about 5.40 and they would run 10 laps. As has been the case on many starts this season, again this was not a good one and by the end of lap one Andrew was in 6th, behind Bowe, Richards, Youlden and Mason. Bob was midfield and maintaining his position. By the end of the 3rd lap Andrew had pegged off Youlden and Mason and was now in 3rd behind Bowe and Richards, however, they would enjoy a tussle up front changing the lead several times. By the end of lap 6 they started to come up on lapped traffic, but did not cause any problems with Bowe, Richards and Miedecke 1 – 3. Fourth and fifth Mason and Youlden continued a battle right to the end for their finishing spots.
Meanwhile, Bobby enjoyed several laps chasing down Nigel Benson to finish out in 19th. Interestingly Bowe, Richards and Andrew all did their quickest laps on lap one of the race.
That was it for the day and our team and the fellow South Aussie’s all had tea together at the Sandown Regency.
Race 2, Sunday, 9.35am was scheduled to be 10 laps and ultimately started as reverse grid of the top 8, after earlier being told it would be as they finished in race 1 Saturday. Andrew started out of 6. It was a very hectic start with Andrew sustaining some damage to THAT right guard.
On viewing the in car camera footage, Youlden had sustained a tap from Bowe which caused him to turn in to the left, hitting Andrew as he went through.
By the end of lap 1, the order was Mason, Hunter, King, Bowe, Richards and Miedecke.
By the end of the 3rd lap disaster struck for Bobby with a loud bang which was the engine crank – this caused a spin and thankfully managed to miss all walls.
In the meantime, Hunter and Makarios had coming together – the race triggered the yellow and safety car, by this time the order was Mason, Bowe, Richards then Andrew. The race was then declared.
It was then deemed a non race with no points allocated as not enough of the race had been run.
The 85 Camaro was towed in on a tilt tray and upon inspection under the bonnet the level of damage was clearly evident.
For Andrew in the 95 car, the guard was pulled
back from the tyre and tidied up. In fact, had the
race gone the full length it is doubtful that the
tyre would have lasted with the rubbing.
The starting order for Race 3 was as they finished
in race 1, which meant Andrew would be out of 3
alongside Steve Mason. With the race underway,
the bad starts that have plagued us this year
would continue, with Andrew dropping back to
9th and his work cut out for him. By the end of
the first lap, Andrew had made up a spot, then
end of the 2nd another spot to be in 6th, behind
Richards, Bowe, Mason, Youlden and King.
Andrew would pass King on the 4th, then on the
5th lap Youlden to now be travelling in 4th. This
would remain the status quo, despite a visit onto
the grass on the 9th, but with Bowe experiencing
mechanical issues would now be in third behind
Richards and Mason, which is how they would
finish with Andrew and Mason travelling
very close to the end.
The result for the weekend would place
Andrew in equal 2nd place with Steve
Mason on 104 points with Jim Richards
taking out the win. The weekend
result now means Andrew sits 4th in the
standings, reflecting his dropped round.
Packing up went into overdrive with Bobby
deciding that he would leave asap to be
back in Adelaide so as what was left of
an engine in the 85 car could be removed. The
engine that failed was as supplied with the car
ex New Zealand with some minor work done.
Gregg Hayes Performance Engines are now
under the pump to put together a motor with the
view of running at Homebush. Despite the fact
the meeting is 2- 5 December, the transporter
will need to leave Adelaide early Tuesday 30th
November to meet bump in requirements for the
street circuit, so as you can imagine not a lot of
time to play with.
The 95 1969 Camaro of Andrew’s will undergo
some body work and general repairs, but more
about that post Homebush in the final newsletter
for the series.
Kind regards,
Shaz
Media Release -
21 November 2010
Richards back on top at Sandown
Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn legend Jim Richards reclaimed the championship lead with a timely victory at the penultimate round of the 2010 series at Sandown International Motor Raceway (VIC), this weekend.
After being voted among the country’s top five best touring car drivers of all time, Richards showed off the skills that earned him his well-deserved ranking as one of the sport’s greats.
Quick straight out of the box, Richards’ Shannons Falcon Sprint topped the timesheets in Friday’s opening practice session. As fellow touring car legend, John Bowe returned serve with the fastest time in practice two, it was a second engine failure in as many rounds for series leader Gavin Bullas that proved pivotal as the series nears its conclusion for 2010.
While his crew worked feverishly to change his engine once again, Bullas was forced to spectate through qualifying and then Saturday afternoon’s race one, making it the first race that Bullas had not been on the grid for since the series began in 2007, ending his perfect record as the only driver to have contested every TCM race.
Hands on building a new diff |
Looking set for a strong weekend after setting the third fastest qualifying time, Leanne Tander was another of the leading pack sidelined after her Falcon’s engine failed in qualifying, which ultimately ended her weekend and dropped her from fourth to fifth in the series standings.
While Bullas and Tander looked on, it was Richards who scored his second pole position of the season, with Bowe second fastest. Enjoying a home-track advantage Group 2 title contender Chris Stillwell and Group 3 series leader Phillip Showers set the qualifying pace for their respective classes before the session was cut short following an oil pump failure on Keith Kassulke’s Monaro that brought out the red flags.
RACE ONE
Richards lined up in pole position alongside the WesTrac Cat / Wilson Security Mustang of Bowe for the start of race one, with a vacant grid slot in third place for Tander’s absent Falcon.
As the lights went out, it was Bowe who led the field into turn one with Richards in tow and Brett Youlden in third place after a cracking start from sixth on the grid.
The pace was red hot right from the outset with Bowe briefly setting a new lap record on lap two, only to have Richards eclipse it a mere fraction of a second later with a scorching 1:17.4546m lap.
Loaded up and ready to head back to Adelaide |
By lap three the leading duo had scampered away on their own, while former Touring Car star Andrew Miedecke reeled in and passed Youlden for third place, dropping Youlden back into the clutches of inaugural series champion, Steve Mason.
On the following lap, the action got busy at the front of the field as Richards passed Bowe along the main straight to lead the race for the first time. However, Bowe returned serve on the very next lap, passing Richards under brakes at turn one.
Soon after, the leaders came up on lap traffic, scuppering any further attempts at the race lead for Richards. While Bowe took the race win, it was Richards who assumed the series lead.
In a drag race down the front straight, Mason in the www.usgmsp.com Camaro finally shot past Youlden’s Driving Force Monaro into turn one to grab fourth place in the closing stages of the race.
In ninth place, Chris Stillwell was the first of the Group 2 runners, taking a satisfying win on home turf in the Stillwell Motorsport Mustang ahead of series leader Bernie Stack and the Tilleys Automotive Pacer of Cameron Tilley.
Phillip Showers took the Group 3 win in the Northern BM Escort ahead of main rival Tony Karanfilovski in the TIFS Warehousing and Distribution Alfa Romeo GTAM.
RACE TWO
Featuring the popular reverse top-eight grid for race two, Tony Hunter in the Sunliner RV Monaro lined up on pole with Steve Makarios’ 351 Motorsport Falcon XY GT for company on the front row, while Bowe and Richards started out of row four.
A rocket start from Mason off the third row saw the ’69 Camaro into the lead going into turn one.
Photo by Rob Lang |
With another engine change completed for the #1 Rain City Mustang, Bullas rejoined the fray starting off the back of the grid. In a blinding performance, the two-time series champion was up from 27th to 11th by the end of the opening lap.
Bowe was also on a charge and was into second place by lap two and in pursuit of Mason. Richards was in fourth behind Hunter.
Richards quickly disposed of Hunter to move into third spot, while Bullas charged all the way to sixth place before an incident between Hunter and Makarios brought out the safety car on lap four. As the field circulated for a lap under safety car conditions, Hunter returned to the pits while the marshals retrieved the stranded Makarios Falcon and Bob Middleton’s stricken Whiteline Camaro which suffered a broken crankshaft.
With time for a restart looking unlikely, the red flag was brought out to end the race. With only five of 10 laps completed, it was declared a non-race and no points were awarded, which was especially disappointing for Mason who looked set to take his first race victory of the season.
RACE THREE
Using the results from race one to form the grid for race three - minus the reverse top eight - Bowe took pole with Richards beside him. In a win for the spectators, the luckless Bullas was forced to start from the rear of the grid and carve his way through the pack all over again.
Photo by James Smith |
A clean start was quickly followed by an incident at turn one. While Stack was caught out and sent to the rear of the field after a spin, his main challenger Stillwell was left nowhere to go and unable to avoid contact with the errant V8 Charger of Michael Acheson. Both cars retired from the race.
Starting around on their second lap, a lock up for Bowe at turn one allowed Richards to close up on the back on the Mustang. Heading down the back straight, the Shannons Falcon shot past Bowe to assume the race lead.
Meanwhile, by lap two Bullas had climbed to seventh place from the rear of the grid.
As the race wore on, Richards led Bowe, Mason, Miedecke to Bullas until disaster struck Bowe on the last lap of the race. Dropping rapidly down the order, Bowe was slowing along the straight before crawling to a complete stop.
Richards took the win, with Mason in second and Miedecke racking up another third place race finish for the weekend, just ahead of the hard-charging Bullas in fourth. Impressive in eighth place in the SportsMed Porsche 911 RS, Greg Keene crossed the line as the leading Group 2 runner, scoring his first race win of the season, ahead of Tilley’s Valiant Pacer and Ian McAlister’s Ford Mustang.
Group 3 finished in a carbon copy of race one with Showers winning ahead of Karanfilovski and Cameron Mason.
OVERALL
Richards took his third round win of the season and assumed his position at the top of the championship standings. Mason and Miedecke rounded out the outright podium for the weekend with second and third respectively. Bowe’s race three failure hit hard, dropping him to third place in the championship battle behind Bullas.
Tilley scored his second Group 2 round win for the season ahead of Keene and Stack, with Stack still securely in the championship lead.
Photo by James Smith |
Showers’ clean sweep over Karanfilovski and Cameron Mason further extended his current series lead over Karanfilovski, however with the entire field required to drop their worst round, Showers is still four points behind his Alfa-driving rival on adjusted points.
The Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn now heads to Sydney’s Olympic Park on 3-5 December for the all-important championship decider with all three title battles set to go down to the very last lap. |
