Flying Rubber Racing

This is the “motor-head version” of our trip to New Zealand for the 2008 Southern Festival of Speed comprised of three race weekends at Ruapuna, Levels and Teretonga.  I have included YouTube links to in-car videos at all race tracks and lots of photo and commentary on racing in New Zealand.

The day after Suzanne and I landed in Christchurch to kick off our New Zealand racing adventure, I received an email from coordinator and chief mechanic Tony Garmey that the cars had arrived safely after their 5 week ocean “cruise” and everything was safe and dry.  They were being transported to the Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway at Ruapuna Park for the first race “meeting” (weekend) called the SKOPE Classic.  I let out a sigh of relief and reflected on this journey.

Ten months earlier in April, 2007 at the ”Sovren Defrost Kickoff” race weekend at Pacific Raceways I had a chance meeting with Tony – a veteren racer and former Kiwi – who just happened to mention the Southern Festival of Speed.  My mind whirled with the possibilities.  Suzanne and I had travelled there in 2006 and really enjoyed the country and people.  It took just a few seconds of thought and I knew I wanted to go.  The following weekend at Laguna Seca, Tony gave me some more info on the trip and I broached the idea with Suzanne.  Rather than “how much will this cost?”, I got “New Zealand again?  Absolutely!”.  …I love that woman…

By the end of April, I was corresponding with Tony to pin down cost details, looking into airfare, researching licensing requirements and the journey began.   There are a number of requirements to race Internationally and a lot of paperwork.  First, I needed to get a FIA Historics racing license and with the help of SCCA Member Services (Kathy Cowan – great help!), I worked my way through that gauntlet.  Second, there is the paperwork to sign up for each of the 3 events.  This wasn’t too difficult, but just more preparation “stuff”.  The bonus in this exercise was corresponding with folks like Lloyd Proctor (CEO of the Canterbury Car Club).  We shared lots of photos, videos and stories about racing in our respective countries.

The other lengthy item for preparation were the travel arrangements.  This wasn’t an organized ”tour”, but rather each couple had to arrange their own airfare, lodging, etc.  Unlike our first trip to NZ where our only reservation was the first night B&B stay and a rental car, this trip needed more planning since it was in the heart of their summer and we had set places to be.  Suzanne did a fantastic job of booking B&B’s throughout our trip and this worked out really well in the end (see my other blogs: NZ Adventure Part 1 and Part 2). 

Tony and his wife Annie worked out all the shipping logistics for the cars -both to and from New Zealand and the transportation between the tracks.  Tony also provided “arrive and drive” services for two of the drivers and provided varying degrees of support for the rest of us depending on what we had worked out in advance.  For myself, I like to handle tires, fuel and some of the other more mundane preparation, but being a mechanical dolt, I need support when something goes “bang!” – which seems to happen a lot in vintage racing… 

In the Fall of 2007, one of the six drivers car blew an engine and he had to drop out.  Ian Wood quickly filled the spot and in December of 2007, 2 containers were packed with 3 cars each – along with large assortment of spare parts, engines and anything else we could fit in “just in case”.  The containers were then loaded onto the ”NYK Castor” and started their slow voyage to the Southern Hemisphere.

The group consisted mainly of SOVREN members ( Society of Vintage Racing Enthusiasts ) and  included:

Jack Healy - “Pete”, my 1969 BMW 2002 – Whidbey Island, Washington
Jim Loveall – 1961 Porsche 356 Roadster – Everett, Washington
Mark Powell – 1960 Porsche 356 Roadster – Bend, Oregon
Greg Campbell – 1964 Porsche 356 C – Vancouver, Canada
Ian Wood – 1972 Rawlson CR11 Can-Am – Vancouver, Canada
Tim Osborne – 1967 Brabham BT21 – Woodinville, Washington

Many of the cars above are very rare and all are amazing vintage cars that are ”pampered” – and I know most in the group were a little nervous sending one of their prized possesions on a long voyage in a container…  In my case, I had gone back and forth as to whether I would send an “old” car (my first 1969 BMW 2002 that I had “retired”):

…or my “new” ‘69 BMW that I started racing in the 2007 season:

This new car was built to a much higher standard by Racecraft in Woodinville, Washingon and was “bullet proof” throughout the 2007 season – not one lap missed the entire year – no contact – no off track excursions – a flawless season that resulted in the overall Season Points win for the year.  This was an expensive project, but the results in terms of reliability were worth it. You can read more about the restoration project of this car by clicking here .  We have nicknamed this car “Pete” – a shortened version of “Picolo Pete” because of a whistle it makes at higher speeds (we’ve given up trying to locate the source of the noise, and just consider it part of Pete’s personality).

Had I known more about the racing style in NZ, I definately would have sent the old car (#068).  However, being completely clueless about racing outside the US vintage racing scene, I sent Pete (interpretation: the much more expensive car)….  As I will discuss later in this blog, the style is a bit more assertive and the rules a bit looser in NZ.  “Bangin Doors” is not encouraged, but the penalties for contact, off-track excursions and blocking are minor and not always enforced.  I raced with a lot of great drivers in NZ that were respectful of my “racing space” but I also raced with a few folks that had the “red mist” in their eyes and battled hard for every corner…  …more on this later…

So it was with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that we arrived to our first race “meeting” on Feb. 1st at the Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway at Ruapuna Park – the “SKOPE Classic”.   Just 10 minutes from the Christchurch Airport, the 100 acre motorsport park is home to a beautiful track with decent amenities.  To see more information on the Canterbury Car Club, the track itself and the event,   click here

Our group was graciously offered time on the track Thursday morning before the “official” practice sessions started after lunch.  Upon arriving Thursday morning, we stopped and snapped a few photos:

That’s Jim Loveall’s beautiful Porsche 356 – the “pumpkin” – in the background.  The containers were our cars transportation between the three tracks while in New Zealand as well as our official “locker room” for changing.   

We set up our canopy and pits for the weekend – I was pitted next to Tim Osborne’s beautiful Brabham:

We headed out onto the track with minimal paperwork or fuss – things are pretty relaxed in comparison to our Sovren events!  There were some workmen on the track but we were told to simply “avoid them”…  We ran on the “Grand Prix Circuit” which is the longer setup at that track.  This circuit reminded me of a longer version of Mission but with much better runoff area all around.  It’s technical in nature but not overly complicated.  I was really glad to have the time to “figure it out”. 

During the day, some competitors started showing up.  I quickly learned that a “classic car” in NZ is anything that is 15 years old and beyond.  …so I would be up against M3’s from the ’80’s and even early ’90’s like these guys:

Pete looks a little small in comparison…

While we were the only ones on the track, Suzanne snapped this photo:

That was the most room I was to get on the track after the other cars arrived…

Friday was another practice day and the three saloon classes (sedans) including mine were to qualify between 5 PM – 6 PM.  There was a lot of “sorting out” during these first few practice days.  The Porsche’s all had some issues to deal with and Tim’s Brabham had a mysterious transmission problem.  Unfortunately this problem with the Brabham continued to get worse and ultimately the car was retired by the second weekend and Tim could not race in Invercargill.  Tough luck for Tim – all that way just to have problems with the transmission (and to make it uglier, Tim realized he had the perfect replacement sitting in his garage back in Woodinville…).

Tony Garmey was running between cars with a frantic look on his face both days but pulled through heroically and in the end, most issues were resolved.  Thankfully for Tony, he got more help for the second and third weekends of racing.

Friday afternoon, we were introduced to a unique Christchurch weather phenomena – fast changing weather.  The day started with pleasant partly sunny skies but the wind picked up and the clouds started coming in and pretty soon it was REALLY windy.  Canopies were flying, dust was everywhere and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees in 30 minutes – no, that is not an exaggeration.  Around 5 PM, we were huddled inside the containers and rain seemed imminent.  I was debating whether or not to put on my rain tires for my qualifying session at 5:30, but opted to cross my fingers instead.  It turned out OK and my group narrowly escaped the rain.  I qualified 8th out of 30 cars with a 1:44:50 and was happy to head home to shower off the dust and grime. 

Once again, the weather changed quickly and by the morning of the first race day – Saturday – we were back to pleasant dry and not so windy conditions.  Perfect!  …even for these guys:

After all the other cars qualified Saturday morning, we were set for racing that afternoon.  My class (called the “The Ernie Sprague Saloons”) was one of the first groups to go out.  I was a bit nervous about the standing starts (versus the rolling starts we normally see in the states) but that turned out to be the least of my worries.  These are short 5 – 6 lap sprints and the Kiwi’s know they have just a few laps to “get it done” – and coupled with the somewhat lax rules – there tends to be some “frantic driving”. 

In my first race, I learned the following: 1) get ahead of as many cars as you can at the start – this is the easiest way to pick up spots (I learned the hard way…); 2) ignore yellow flags (I was passed by 4 cars during one yellow flag); 3) Protect your spot – even if it is considered “blocking”; 4) don’t think to yourself:  ”I’ll get by him on the next lap”.  ….you only have a few laps… ; 5) Expect your lap times to be 2 – 3 seconds slower during the races (versus qualifying) due to all the mayhem – err – fun you are having.

I seemed to be spending a lot of time behind this green mini:

By the end of the first race I had dropped from 8th to 16th…  Lest anyone think I’m complaining – far from it.  I really appreciated running against cars I would never get to race against in the States on a fairly decent track.  …for example, when are you going to get to race against two of these (this is the husbands – the wife’s is identical):

 …yeah, both were in my group and I didn’t stand a chance…

I also appreciate how efficient the Kiwi’s are at getting races going one after the other with very few delays.  You will get in at least 3 races per day – Sunday I had 4.  It’s just a matter of learning how the game is played.  If you find yourself in a “scrum” of cars that are too aggressive for your taste – just drop back a bit and play with someone else.  If things don’t feel right – just head into the pits – you’ll be out again in a few hours.

The following video is from Race 13 on Saturday, Feb. 2nd. In this race, you will see a 1970 Ford Lotus Cortina driven by Rob Halliday that I met up with again down in Invercargill and a BMW E30 M3 driven by Garry Cliff. Garry ends up punting me gently in one of the corners (it’s hard to tell in the video) and left some of his paint on my rear quarter panel. He apologized afterwards saying “I was just having a bit of fun”. 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMfJbUbfO4o[/youtube]

The paint rubbed out, so the damage was minimal.  All in all I had a blast and wore a grin on my face most of the weekend.

Unfortunately the “Mad Max, Kiwi Style” racing took its toll on Mark’s 356 during his first race that Saturday afternoon.  A “classic” Ferrari (1992) spun in front of him and an MGB plowed into him when he checked up.  I guess his braking for a spin was “out of the norm” (said tongue in cheek) and this was the result:

On the positive side, Tony and Leitch Motorsports were able to pull out the dents, apply what seemed like a dozen rolls of tape and he was back in action that afternoon!

Kiwi’s are some of the friendliest people on the planet and part of the enjoyment of racing here are the folks you will meet – both fellow racers and spectators.  Russell Grace (1987 BMW M3) was near our pits and we duked it out in several races.  He was cleaner on the track than some of the other guys so I really enjoyed running with him.  Here is his car:

Since the track was a lot busier than most, I was able to make up for a lack of horsepower by focusing on cornering and braking.  …then again, maybe Russell was just taking it easy on me.  He did express interest in buying Pete, so who knows. In this photo taken by Euon Cameron, you can see Russell’s M3 in the background along with a yellow 1967 Vauxhall Viva GT driven by Michael Eden (see the video during the Invercargill race), and a 1991 Alfa Romeo (yes, considered a “classic”):

…and this one is when he was teaching me a few things like how to keep up:

Something that stood out during this race weekend from what we are used to back home is the number of spectators.  …there were thousands…  Kiwi’s are racing fanatics and for a town that is smaller than Tacoma, I was amazed at how many people there were at this event.  Here is a view of one of our standing starts from near our pits:

…and there were the cars…  There were 240 cars entered in the event and at least triple that amount of classics in the parking lot.  Where else are you going to see a Cobra replica with a tow hitch that was actually used to get another car to the event:

OK – it’s hard to see, but trust me it’s there.  And this car was nice! 

Saturday night was a BBQ at the track that included an awards ceremony and lots of hilarity.  At one point, Ian Wood who brought his Rawlson CR11 Can-Am car from Canada in one of our containers sang one of his infamous songs many of us have heard him sing at Mission.  

On Sunday, there were a lot fewer mishaps.  I broke an exhaust mid-day but Tony found a tig welder and get me back on the track.  The next photo is during that repair – but notice Tim and Suzanne peering at a particularly large military transport jet that happened to be passing overhead:

We were right under the approach path for the Christchurch airport.

Later on during one of my last races – a handicapped sprint – I misjudged the first corner while trying to pass on the outside and dipped two wheels off the track.  …that was all it took for a wild off track excursion through the grass.  I had no idea there was a gravel trap out there but when I saw it, I attempted to steer out of it but something locked up in the drive train and within a few seconds I was solidly beached – or “parked” as the announcer noted…  I was a bit taken aback when instead of a tow, it was suggested I get “craned” back to the pits.  We need one of these things at Pacific Raceways!

Miraculously all checked out OK and within 10 minutes I made it to the final race of the weekend for me – a ”fun race” where they mix up different classes of cars.  This one was called the ”Tourist Trophy” (appropriately enough) and had an interesting mix of cars.  In the following video, the car right ahead of me for much of the race is a 1974 Datsun 1200 SS driven by verteran Kiwi racer Wayne Murdoch. Ahead of him is a 1972 Holden Torana GTR-XU1 driven by John Armitstead.  These cars were only built between 1970 – 1973  by Holden (GM’s offshoot down under) for the NZ and Aussie markets.   John owns 6 of these and races a “rally version” in the Targa events.   This race was a lot of fun:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFRX6U3a84A[/youtube]

I got 6th place - my best finish, best time and such a great time dicing with Wayne’s Datsun (Wayne – aka Noddy – really knew what he was doing).  Fantastic stuff!

Next up in the Southern Festival of Speed was the PlaceMakers Classic & Historic Race Meeting at Timaru International Motor Raceway (formerly called “Levels”).  This event was put on by the Classic Motor Racing Club but the circuit is actually owned by the South Canterbury Car Club (click on the link if you would like to see the track layout).

Friday we were able to practice in the morning and then qualified that afternoon.  The weather was decent and the track is smaller than Ruapuna but has a great corner at the end of the long straight that challenges you to brake as late and as little as possible to carry your speed through the long left hand sweeper.  The track was also a lot less forgiving with run-off room.  There were places where you just didn’t want to head off the track or you would be met with a stout stack of old tires with the consistency of granite.

I was originally classed with the “Small Saloons” but made the unfortunate mistake of doing well in qualifying with the 4th fastest time of 1:17.87.  One of the things I had failed to notice was that a bit of sand-bagging in qualifying is usually advantageous.  As it turned out, this qualifying time resulted in my getting bumped up to the “Large Saloon” class full of V8’s and V6’s on Saturday morning. Here are the type of cars I was up against:

Don’t let that little red Anglia fool you – it has about a 300 HP engine… My car is looking a little puny behind this Detroit Iron:

…no that RV in the background was not part of the group….

In this first race, I was immediately passed by some of the bigger horsepower cars (it seemed like all of them) as they muscled their way through to turn 1 and a tight chicane. By now I was understanding the “race protocol” and was able to hold my own for the remaining laps by making myself as wide as possible when necessary and poking my nose deep into corners on the inside. …stuff I would never try at home… …and I had a blast! My only issue during this race was a newer Renault Megane (1997 model – why was this car in a “classic” car event?) that was simply too fast on the straights but would slow down to a crawl in the turns. As it turns out, this guy was in the next race with me as well…

My second race of the days was in another one of those “fun races” – where they mix up all types of saloons together just to really mess with your head. It was called the “Big Boys Power Tools” race (or something like that). The aforementioned Renault was in this race but I had a great start and was able to get ahead of him before the first corner, so he would stay behind until the very end… This was one of the most eventful races I have ever had. I was having a great battle with a Porsche 911 driven by a Kiwi named Roger Carter. His car:

He was a good driver and we went back and forth a few times but I couldn’t manage to stay ahead of him for very long. At one point, a silver M3 driven by another Kiwi – Noel Sutherland – spun in the high speed left hand sweeper at the end of the straight which sent me, Roger and a Vauxhall flying off the track to avoid contact. Noel’s car:

We were still going fast so everything happened quickly. I shot right and ran down the grass between the track (and Noel’s spinning M3) and one of those rock hard tire walls for about 100 meters trying not to make one wrong move. I was then able to get back on the track right behind my friend Roger. It was one of those moments that etches itself in your mind.

A few photos from this race:

You can see the Renault Megane – the yellow/blue “classic” in the background of this one:

We had one more lap to the finish where I gave it a go at the last corner to try and catch Roger, but just couldn’t find the speed to get by. I let out a breath after the checkered since it was such an intense race, slowed the car for the first corner, looked in my mirror, and before I could say “Oh Sh…”, that ’97 yellow/blue Renault I mentioned earlier came screaming through the finish without slowing down – who knows what he was thinking – and about 50 meters away – instead of maneuvering around us he slams on the brakes – and hits me. I go spinning into the infield in total disbelief at what had just happened. After the checkered! Slams on his brakes! What a moron!!! I have to admit I got pretty hot about it, but the officials calmed me down, threw the remains of my fiberglass flare into my car and sent me back to the pits.

…and it’s all on video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn_LZCIAUIM[/youtube]

Unfortunately since my buddy Fish wasn’t there, the camera angle was not the best, but it’s still a good one.

Here’s Pete afterwards:

My souvenirs:

I spent some time with the “CRO” (Chief Racing Officer) who had seen the incident. I asked him if the driver would be sent home, but he was unsure… Later, there was a determination that yes, this guy was at fault, and he was fined $100. …yep – that’s how they do it in NZ. I get stuck with a really large repair bill ($5,000+) and this yahoo gets slapped on the wrist with a $100 fine. …however, being one to always look on the bright side, Pete was still driveable. I got my act together and went out for my third race of the day sans flare and had some fun. I figured – what else can happen?

The following Sunday we woke up to rain and I was pretty happy about it. How else was I going to compete against cars with twice or triple my horsepower? I threw the rain tires on and went out and put down the fourth fastest time in the group. This was a lot of fun with cars that were sideways half the time and since the track was slick, their horsepower was a hindrance rather than helpful. I really enjoyed this race and my trusty Toyo Proxes came through with predictable performance and decent grip. I was dueling mainly with Noel Sutherland in the silver M3 that had spun in my race the day before. I was able to get by him after he faltered on the exit of the last corner – he tried an unsuccesful inside late braking move that had us side-by-side through the chicane after the start/finish – another intense, but fun battle with a decent driver that gave me room.

The rain quit and the skies cleared by lunchtime. The Can Am boys put on a show right after lunch and then the 356’s in our group went out next after putting back on their dry tires. I got to watch this race and the intense battle Jim Loveall was having with this 911:

During the last lap, Jim appeared after the twisty bits down the final straight billowing some blue smoke (ahead of the 911) and it was apparent he had body damage that was rubbing against his tire. I ran down to the pits and sure enough, yet another one of our cars suffered some damage on the track:

What a shame… Jim was pretty disappointed in not only getting hit from behind but the comments made by the other driver afterwards about how Jim had turned into him. Fortunately Greg Campbell had everything on video and it clearly showed that the 911 had plenty of room but had actually moved towards Jim’s car…

This incident led to another conversation with the CRO who to his credit was trying to understand why we were so upset. …after all, this is racing… We explained how vintage racing in the States is a “no contact” sport. This rule is supported by a very rigorous system of checks and balances – and consequences – that makes sure all drivers understand on-track conduct and eliminates those drivers who “don’t get it”. This is our system. In NZ, they have different rules – right, wrong or indifferent – it’s a different program. Under our rules, an incident such as this one with Jim would result in the other driver being sent home on the trailer. Here it is called a “racing incident” (unless you want to go through a long protesting process).

We are their guests and racing in their country, so we have no right to complain about the way they do things. …however, we are in hopes that at least for these few vintage/classic events, the various committees and racing organizations in NZ might rethink their system. If they want drivers from other countries to spend the money on bringing their rare and beautiful vintage cars to these events, a “no contact” rule needs to be in place – and enforced. I think had some of us better understood the style of driving for these events, we would have either skipped the trip or brought “lesser” cars (as I pointed out earlier).

Regardless of the above, I had a great adventure, meeting lots of friendly people, staying in some amazing places, breathing clean air and racing against cars that I may never have an opportunity to see again. Where else can you race against something like this:

A Renault Dauphine with a Ford engine in the “backseat” open up that rear door and you have access to the engine. A true oddity.

My last race of the day was spent mostly behind this car:

The driver Michael Eden campaigns this Vauxhall GT with his wife (she was driving the same car in the “small saloon” class). It is powered by a 2.3 liter engine and is smoking fast. Michael was a great driver and even on tires that gave up on him half way through the race, he “tank slapped” his way through the corners and stayed ahead to the finish. ….and here is the video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXqbcSm7eIg[/youtube]

So what about Pete? Tony worked his magic and was able to find a “panel beater” that would take on the repair project on such short notice. They promised to repair the fiberglass flare, pull out the dents and have everything back together (excepting the paint) in just 3 days! This is where Pete spent the following 3 days after the Timaru event while we wine tasted our way through Central Otago:

The next weekend was the last of the three meetings in the Southern Festival of Speed - the Leitch Motorsport “Classic Speed Fest” held at Teretonga Park in Invercargill.  This track is the Southern most track in the world and has a lot of great history.  This track is operated by the Southland Sports Car Club . Click the link and go to link marked “circuit” to see the track.

The weather can be tricky, but it was cooperating Thursday afternoon for our first “test & tune” time on the track. The entry to the motorpark:

Pete’s fender was about half finished with the fiberglass flare repaired and some rough body work done and primed in silver. It looked great from about 50′ away – but I couldn’t complain based on the time the shop had to do the work (and on such short notice). Back in the states, I will just need to do some final sanding/filling and then get it sprayed to match.

Teretonga was a fun track and a lot faster than Levels or Ruapuna. …however, it is a “horsepower” track so my underpowered car would be challenged here vesus the other two tracks. Regardless, it was a blast and I had two long sessions with just myself and one other car on the circuit before we discovered a problem with the alternator that shut me down for the day. The alternator turned out to be toast, so I would have to rely on battery power all weekend… This turned out to be sort of a hassle as the battery is very small and would only get me through a short race with a full charge.

Friday we had some more test & tune time in the afternoon but by now many of the participants had arrived, so we were out with a lot more cars. The track wasn’t difficult to learn, but had some tricky corners that could make or break a “momentum car” like mine. I saw a few familiar cars and faces from the past two events but there were also a lot of new cars along with “club cars” that would be running that weekend (newer cars that all seemed to have wings).

Things are pretty relaxed at Teretonga, so Saturday, we didn’t get to qualify until things got started at 10 AM.  I was one of the first groups to go out (classic saloons) but not before several meetings – the new drivers meeting, the regular drivers meeting, another classic saloon meeting (where we learned that they would be splitting the group up into two), etc.  I had little time to get my suit on and dashed down to the pregrid area for the qualifying session.  A woman who seemed to be running things was decidedly “un-kiwi-like” and demanded that I put on a Leitch Motorsport sticker (their big on stickers in NZ). I said that I would put one on when I got back to my pit area (with the Leitch Motorsport folks) and that I doubted Barry Leitch would mind if I ran the qualifying session without the small stickers that no fan can see anyway… This was met with some serious disapproval, an attempt to slap a sticker on my car anyway (rebuffed) and some finger wagging. ….geez…

I was disappointed to find out that once again, the three Porsche 356’s in our group would be in a different class of cars and I would be grouped with the mustangs, corvettes, M3’s and other big engine beasts… This turned out to be one of my biggest gripes about NZ racing – how they group cars. They don’t use engine displacement but rather what seemed to be the “shape” of the car to determine grouping. On the flip side, there were a few Cortina’s, Anglia’s and Vauxhall’s that I could “play with” in the back of the pack. …but it would have been fun to have raced with the Porsche 356’s since our times were relatively close…

In my first race of the afternoon that Saturday (Race 8), I had a great time running with a 1970 Ford Lotus Cortina driven by Rob Halliday. Although you can’t see it in the video, Rob came within a few meters of beating me at the finish after I checked up a bit during the all important last corner behind a 1972 Vauxhall Firenza was driven by Dennis Etevenaux:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLmgYNlyy2U[/youtube]

Rob and his Dad shared this car during the weekend.  A shot of the car in the pits with Rob in the background:

Saturday was the day that the “NZ curse” came to closure. The only two cars out of the 6 that came down here in two containers that were relatively “unscathed” were Ian Wood’s Can Am car and Greg Campbell’s 356. The first tough break of the day was a broken stub axle on Ian’s car. He was motoring along and all of a sudden saw his rear wheel flew by! He was able to get the car safely off to the side of the track, but had to be brought back on the “crane truck” (remember my car at Ruapuna?). Some photos:

For the size of this car, I was surprised at how small the spindle was and suspect this will be a weak link on this car unless Ian can come up with a “beefier” design. In typical fashion, Ian took it with aplomb and managed to come up with another one of his infamous songs – this one to the Kenny Rogers Lucille song, with the slight improvisation: “You picked a fine time to leave me Loose Wheel”. Funny guy.

…that left Greg Campbell… None of us wished any ill will on Greg, but Jim Loveall and I were giving Greg a hard time that he was the only driver/car that hadn’t had too many problems during the trip. we suggested it was his turn, and sure enough, the next race he spun (uncharacteristic for Greg) while dicing with an MGB and as he ran off the track his rear windscreen flew off and headed towards Mark Powell who was behind him. Mark ducked to avoid the flying plastic saucer and Greg soldiered on. Photo after he got back to the pits:

About 5 minutes later, there was a general announcement: “will the driver that lost his windscreen please report to the pit office to retrieve it”. Greg after picking up his souvenir:

Sunday morning we woke up to howling winds even though the prediction had been for a fair day. When we got to the track, our cars had been moved and there was an empty field where the large Leitch Motorsport tent had been. …apparently it had blown down in the wind right before we arrived. We moved our “circus” to the scrutineering shed nearby and carried on. Later the rains started and I actually had to put on my rain tires for the first time during the trip.

We wrapped up the day early (I only got two races Sunday) and packed everything up that was going back in the car to prepare for the journey back to the Port of Seattle. …the Festival of Speed was over… We are now in Hawaii for a few weeks and then back to Whidbey Island after having been gone for so long. We are crossing our fingers that all will go well with US customs and we can get the car down to Laguna Seca the second week of April for an SCCA event (I love that track!). 

Another project that I’m working on is my rally car being built by Racecraft for the Targa event in Newfoundland next year.  If all goes well in Newfoundland, I will be very tempted to bring that car (yep, another BMW 2002) down to New Zealand for the Targa NZ.  …yeah – it’s a disease…