Supertruck racing news

Biante Car: Round 1: Clipsal 500 Event
Adelaide 19–22 March 2009

After persistent calls from John Bowe to join the clan, Bob the builder went down the path of investigating just what the Biante category was all about. A number of calls took place between Bob and Tony Hunter based in Bayswater Victoria which then followed a flight to Melbourne taking Mark ‘birdman’ Peacock with him to evaluate things.

On arrival in Melbourne Tony’s wife Sue picked up the boy’s in one of the builders favourite cars a Chrysler and was delighted when not far into the journey Sue pulled over allowing the builder to take the wheel. We were off to a good start.

Tony would show Bob and Mark the car in question, a Camaro that had been based in Alabama, USA and was owned by a man named ‘Jesus’. Bob could not help but feel as though there was holy intervention playing a part – could it be this car had been sent by the heavens?? Based on Bob’s childhood where for many years he served as an alter boy, going to church several times each day over a weekend was now being rewarded for his dedication. After much discussion and with Mark indicating his enthusiasm, the decision was made to purchase the car and a franchise to become part of the series.

Wednesday 6th August, Bob and long time best mate Gary Reuter, headed to Melbourne in a sponsored Mercedes Benz Vito Van and trailer to pick up the ‘new baby’.So within a couple of days of the arrival in Adelaide, the camaro was completely dismantled to be sent away for a racing roll cage to be fitted. Interestingly, one would have to ask the question whether this car was ever part of “Bonnie and Clyde” type dealings as hidden underneath were 4 x bullet holes!!!

From here all the components were refitted and once exact placement had been set, was again pulled apart to go off to All Transport Crash Repairs for the “yellow” paint makeover – once done back to the workshop where Mark again painstakingly and methodically refitted the car out.

Completion was on the Tuesday prior to bump in to the Clipsal Adelaide circuit. The builder not given any track time to shake down the new girl. Wednesday a limited window was given to all competitors to get into the track with their vehicles.

Thursday morning there was a 7.30 am drivers briefing, followed by 8.30 am practice. In the practice session, Bob would complete 9 x laps, with his best time 1.47 with Bowe, Bullas and Richards the three top runners in the mid to high 1.30’s.

Qualifying was held at 12.55 which saw Bobby qualify 19th of 26 cars in his debut meet. He would complete 7 x laps, with his best lap on the fifth with a 1.39 considerably better than practice. Fastest time was set by Bullas with a 1.31 followed by Bowe 1.32 and Richards 1.34. From 4th to 19th all cars were in the mid to high 1.30’s, the rest of the field in the 1.40’s.

Throughout the day, the team was chasing a fuel pump issue that was starving the engine of fuel, grip issues, a faulty ‘kill’ switch – each time Bob would go over a bump the kill switch would activate and turn the engine off and a gearing issue which we would not be able to rectify for this meeting. The Camaro is fitted with a Jerrico gearbox and set up for rolling starts as was the case with Nascar, however, the starts for Biante are from a standing start and the high gearing simply does not allow a quick response off the mark, so would result in losing positions off the start. The gearing parts need to come from the States and will be addressed prior to the next round at Winton in Victoria 1-3 May.

Race 1, to be decided over 7 laps was held at 16.45. A warm up lap of the circuit was completed and the green light was on – only to find that we had no clutch and were forced to retire before we even got a start. Mark, Ron and Gregg busily set about removing the clutch, while Shaz, Ian and Michelle headed to Whiteline Depot to pick up parts to take back to the track.Through the day school kids were shown the ropes around the pits with Bob participating in various promotional activities as arranged by Biante Category Management. This included a visit to Prince Albert School where a curious youngster asked Bob, you have driven lots of things, have you ever driven a bus in a race!! And the kids nicknamed the number 95car, the ‘Bumblebee’.

Friday the team still went about fixing the Camaro following some machining work that Mark had done overnight – at least given that race 2 was not scheduled until 18.55 this gave the team plenty of time to do the repairs.Track conditions for race 2, another 7 lapper were fine and warm, with a clean but slow start off the line, Bob would complete the 7 laps, with his best time on lap 4 a 1.38 and in keeping with a swag of other competitors. Finishing in 15th place, Bullas, Tilley and Bowe would take out 1,2 and 3 respectively.

On return to the pit, Mark and Gregg discovered that the timing on the engine was out some 9 degrees and went about resetting this, changes to the sway bar were also made.Saturday another 7 lap race commencing at 10.50 took place – a poor start due to the gearing issue which was hampering Bob’s efforts and his best lap time was on lap 6, but slower than yesterday with a 1.39. This race was not without incident, where Bob spun twice – the initial spin, then another spin to come out of the spin!!! It was popular with the crowd and earned him a resounding applause.

The 95 Camaro’s finishing position was 17th with Bullas, Mason and Richards taking out 1st, 2nd and 3rd.Race 4, which was the final race for Biante for this meet was at 9.00 am It was scheduled for 7 laps, however, due to an incident on the warm up lap, where the Jim Richards entrant was bellowing smoke from under the bonnet it was reduced to 6 due to the time lost in clearing the vehicle from the circuit. Bob would finish 16th however, had reported the engine was not running on all cylinders. The crew investigated this and found that a plug lead was off the distributor. His best time on lap 5 with a 1.39. First Bullas, 2nd Mason and third Bowe.

Interestingly, even on the 7 cylinders Bob was now achieving the times from the beginning of the weekend on 8, which indicates, that with some laps under his belt, he is getting more settled and handling the Camaro better – this can only mean that with the 8 cylinders, in the last race potentially was capable of better things.

Overall weekend result for group one was Bob in 11th of 20 cars in this division. Group two, there were another 9 starters. Bullas, Mason and Wilson are the top three after round 1.

Some of the issues, had there have been time for testing would have been ironed out prior to the event – the gearing issue we were stuck with and already have made arrangements for parts to come from the U.S. Bob commented about how prominent the concrete walls are on this circuit, so are glad we have no panel beating to do and can concentrate wholly on improving the handling and performance.

A definite highlight was catching up with many of the guys involved in nascar and running with respected drivers such as Gentleman Jim and John Bowe. Winton is next, a circuit Bob has raced on in nascar and the super truck so we are hopeful of a good meet.Look forward to touching base with you all then.

Kind regards,Shaz

Bullas executes perfect start to championship defence

Defending Biante Touring Car Masters Champion, Gavin Bullas began his quest for back-to-back titles in dominant fashion, claiming pole position, winning all three championship races, the RSPCA Trophy race, and setting a new lap record in his Rain City Racing Boss Mustang in this weekend’s opening round at the Clipsal 500 meeting in Adelaide (SA).

Battling for Group 1 honours in race one, Bullas fought off a determined John Bowe in the Westrac CAT Camaro and then further demonstrated the speed of the Mustang package with a storming drive from the fourth row in the reverse-grid race two to win and secure pole for the third race.

Last year’s Clipsal-round winner Steve Mason in the Hercules Engines Camaro got the better start in race three and fought hard to retain the lead, but it was Bullas who not only won the race but established a new lap record of 1:31.777m to complete a perfect weekend.

Mason finished second overall for the weekend with a consistent run, and it was also consistency that rewarded a delighted Rod Wilson with an excellent third overall in the Rain City Racing XY Falcon GT HO Falcon. Drew Marget in the Marget Engineering Trans-Am Mustang finished fourth, just six points in front of Tony Hunter in the Sunliner RV HQ Monaro which was making its race debut.

For other leading contenders there were plenty of problems with Jim Richards experiencing rear brake line issues in race one and the Bowe Camaro blowing a diff in race two, putting them both down the grid for the points races. Richards made amends in race two by coming from the back of the grid to finish third, but an under-bonnet fire in the Shannons Falcon Sprint on the warm-up lap of race three resulting in a DNF, was not the sort of weekend he wanted to kick off the seven-round series.
The Alastair MacLean Dukes Bodyworks Camaro was withdrawn after seizing an oil pump in the non-points RSPCA Trophy race while the Tilley’s Automotive XY GT Falcon of Brad Tilley failed to finish race two due to broken drive belts and then, while running in third place in race three, copped a mechanical black flag to close an errant left-hand back door that kept opening on right-handers.

In Group 2, Graeme Cook in the Racemoves/Buik Motorworks Porsche 911 RS, now running a 3.2-litre engine, took out race one from the similar car of John Nelson, who then turned the tables in race two and the stage was set for a thrilling Group 2 showdown in the final seven-lap stoush. Unfortunately, Cook failed to finish the third race which left Nelson to take the round honours from the Dukes Bodyworks LJ Torana XU1 of Trevor Talbot and the Waddington Racing HQ Holden SS of Greg Waddington who scored a well earned third overall.

Nelson finished sixth outright in races two and three, showing that the Porsches may prove to be a thorn in the side of the V8’s when the series moves to tighter circuit layouts. There was more rough sailing over the weekend as Mark Forgie had to revert back to a 2.8-litre in his Gawler Self Storage Porsche after overheating his 3.2-litre engine, and last year’s Group 2 Champion Greg East worked through front suspension issues on the Gary O’Brien-owned HQ Holden SS, now running in Group 1 with Chevrolet power.

Series newcomer and Australian Truck Racing Champion, Bob Middleton had a number of “new car” problems with the Whiteline Racing/Westrac Chevrolet Camaro but promises improvement by the next round.

Round two of the 2009 Biante Touring Car Masters will be held at Winton Motor Raceway (VIC) on 1-3 May, again supporting the V8 Supercars Championship Series.

Biante Touring Car Masters Championship Standings (after round 1 of 7):

Group 1
Gavin Bullas 180
Steve Mason 160
Rod Wilson 135
Drew Marget 129
Tony Hunter 123
John Bowe 108
Steve Makarios 102
Nigel Benson 99
Brad Tilley 79
Mike Erwin 66
Bob Middleton 57
Greg East 57
Jim Richards 52
Alastair MacLean 45
Tony Edwards 36
Garry Treloar 0
Graham Alexander 0

Group 2
John Nelson 176
Trevor Talbot 156
Greg Waddington 153
Rory O’Neill 138
Richard Fairlam 126
Mark Forgie 123
Graeme Cook 112
Cameron Mason 75
Mick Wilson 48

Racing from strength to strength with packed grids throughout the popular seven-round series, the 2009 Biante Touring Car Masters is proudly supported by Biante Model Cars, Rare Spares, Shannons Insurance and Hoosier Tyres. Official series charity is RSPCA Australia.

Words by: Barry Oliver, Biante Touring Car Masters Series On-course Commentator.

For further information contact:
Marscelle Tully, Media Manager
Biante Touring Car Masters

Live PR & Media
0408 581 147
Email: marscelle@liveprmedia.com

THE RACING CALENDAR FOR 09…

The Australian Series 2009:
Round 1 – Oran Park (Sydney, NSW) – Fri 15, Sat 16 May *
Round 2 – Winton (Benalla, VIC) – Sat 15, Sun 16 August
Round 3 – Barbagallo (Perth, WA) – Sat 19, Sun 20 September
Round 4 – Barbagallo (Perth, WA) – Sun 18 October **
Round 5 – Mallala (Adelaide, SA) – Sat 31 October, Sun 1 November

Notes:
* The round is being conducted on the Fri & Sat.
** This round will be a Day/Night round. The date is still subject to change to Sat 17 October

2009 BIANTE Touring Car Masters:
Clipsal 500, SA – March 19-22
Winton, Vic – May 1-3
Darwin, NT – June 19-21
Qld Raceway, Qld – August 21-23
MCM Eastern Creek, NSW – September 4-6
Bathurst 1000, NSW – October 8-11
Sandown Historics, Vic – November 6-8