Nissan Datsun nationals 2013 Phillip island

Discussion in 'Post Event Discussion' started by ProckyZ89, Apr 1, 2013.

  1. ProckyZ89

    ProckyZ89 Senior Member

    2013 Nissan Datsun nationals! Phillip island, what a weekend!!!!

    Firstly a big thank you to all the NDSOC volunteers and club members that gave time to help organise this event, without you things like this are just not possible. So a big big thank you !

    day 1 thursday,

    JP, Chris greaves and John Pap met at UAS early 0730hrs. Left from there in convoy on the pilgrimage south. 2 hours down the road they pulled into Goulburn to resupply and pick up the wingman, PROCKY (myself). Also ran into the sydney Z car club here.
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    Team Unique collected now we continued south. With a very thirsty commadore tow vehicle we had multiple stops.
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    Cruising to nationals! Batman car in pursuit!!
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    After what felt like hours we finally arrived in Phillip island!! Found our new dwelling and we all packed in for the night
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    day 2- Friday, registration and BBQ
    Big sleep in! Needed badly.
    JP and myself got up to explore the island and get some excercise in.
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    John claiming the island for himself! This was not discussed prior haha
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    After lunch Graham (Tekky) and his son turned up to join team unique. Rob260 and his mrs also arrived . without his zed i may add!!!
    Gathering numbers now we set to work, doing some race check overs and changing the toe.
    Tekky leading a debate
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    BBQ time and registration rolled around, paper work signed etc and goodie bags collected. Got your hoodie too Wizard.

    Got to catch up with Jedi, Wykked, ray and Collin also.

    Team unique group photo!
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  2. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Race Day Pics

    Really glad I turned up to this despite the car playing up the week before. Big thanks especially to Procky and John P :) Great to meet Dean, Alex, Cam, Mark, Col, Sandeep, Abraham AND anyone I may have left out.

    Anyway not having a car to worry about meant that

    1. I could sleep in on race day

    2. I had plenty of time for pics!

    Unfortunately this is what I turned up to

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    First spot I set up was just before the straight. Picture quality isn't quite what I'd like as you could only get so close (even with a 200mm lens the following pics are really cropped) but hey you get the idea. Nice to get some pics of the action at any rate :)

    Couple of pics of Chris' nice red zed. He's not on the forum but has been a customer of UAS for a long time and has his car set up primarily for rally events. Stock engine as far as I know but loads of supporting mods and race mods, watch out if he ever does decide to pull the engine...

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    Chris was running in the regularity event (first run that I saw), I was amazed at how much faster the group 1 cars came around. This white GTR was the first one through the bend, man you knew he meant business right from the warmup lap...

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    Slot car coming through the bend

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    Some nice Datsuns out too. I'm not ashamed to say that the S30s were my favourite on the day. Very quick AND stylish :D

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    Wykked moving out into Pit Lane.

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    Went for a stroll through the pits while waiting for a fiery wreck to get pulled from the track... no pics of the accident but a sad end to a beautiful 260z. This is what was left.

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    Putting the fire out and moving the wreck took some time, so plenty of time for some nice photos.

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    Now I know what you young people mean by "Dat Ass"

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    Classic Datsuns

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    Couple more waiting in the sheds

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    Play resumed, some more Zeds moving out to the staging area

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    JT and Sandeep working hard down the straight

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    Moved down to one of the corners where you could get a little closer to the track.

    JP setting the pace through the twisties

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    JP setting up for the last session. Procky on a mission to speak to a certain 1600 about using his mirrors through the corners...

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    Moved to the end of the straight for some action shots towards the end of the day.

    Chris

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    JT

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    Sandeep

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    Last one of the slot car and probably my favourite shot of the day

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    The Vic crew

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    Great day, took 841 photos all up -heaps of fun! Will upload some more as I get through them. Would have been nice to get closer to the action (anyone want to chip in some $$ so I can buy a 300 or 400mm lens??), looking forward to Tektrader's shots....
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2013
  3. badxtc

    badxtc kirby's bitch

    im just uploading some photos now ,
    well what can i say my day was at the track was a nightmare as most know my engine let go and did not hold together i had 2 warm up laps and thats it , it said bye bye , all in all it was good to come down and see some of our friends from interstate and finally put a face to the name. thanks to everyone that helped out on the track ( and abz and dean for bringing us home safely) it was good to meet JP rob260 and procky and the others
    ( as for JP thanks for loving my car as you said your words:p:zlove:;) ) and for letting me take the slot car out next meet, hehehe

    random pics will be up soon
     
  4. BigCol

    BigCol That's what she said...

    Got up nice and early on Sat in preparation to head off to Phillip Island. Unfortunately I left the boot open overnight and the battery was flat as a tack when I went to leave. And to make matters worse the jump starter pack was also flat. So put it on charge for a couple of hours to no avail. Ended up racing up to Supercheap and buying a new one as soon as the shops opened and flew down to PI arriving just before lunch.

    Immediately found a few of the vic zedders and had a catchup. Unfortunately Alex's car had carked it which was a real bummer as it is a rocket. Then really briefly met Rob260 & partner. Was great to put a face to the name and would have loved to have more of a chat but unfortunately our paths didn't cross again over the weekend. Next time though!

    It was right at that point that a beautiful restored 260 (i think) went backwards into the wall at the top of the pits and burst into flames. A real hush fell over the place but all the emergency services personel did a great job of getting the driver out (apparently he's ok but bruised), the fire extinguished and the car off the circuit so racing could resume.

    RedZedMikey & I decided to head out over the back side of the track to take some shots for when racing resumed. We went firstly went to Siberia, followed by the back straight, and then MG.

    A few classic zeds burning around...
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    JT heading into Lukey Heights...
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    Skyline chase...
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    Wykked mobile. Not sure if Pete or Jen were behind the wheel for this one...
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    JT around the back straight...
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    A few more of the Wykked mobile...
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    Sandeep giving it a red hot go...
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    JT again...
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    JT & Sandeep dueling...
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    Sandeep...
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    This 370z was pretty quick...
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    One of about 50 1600's...
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    Not sure if this guy is on the forum or not, but he was giving it a great go:
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    The UAS Slot-car...
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    Some older zeds...
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    A few Skylines. First the Camo Skyline. This guy loved hanging the arse out at MG corner...
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    Another Skyline...
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    There were only a couple of 200's attending. This was one...
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    Even a Crown hit the track...
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    180 resisting the urge to drift...
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    370...
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    GTR. Very little engine noise out of this, but geez did it make the tyres squeel...
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    I had to leave early so some of the other guys should have some great pics of the rest of the day.

    On Sunday the show and shine was held on the foreshore at Cowes. It belted down from about 7am til just before 9 sending lots of people flurrying. There were more cars than spots available which is a great sign for the organisers. I didn't take pics, but did get to say hi to JP again, plus meet Procky & Joe (ZOE) and spend some time with him looking over his car which was a real personal high point.

    Huge congratulations go to the NDSOC for organisation of a great event, some of which are members of our own forum. A job very well done!
     
  5. sandeep

    sandeep Active Member

    Thanks to all the organisers and volunteers for running the Nissan nationals. I was only there on the Saturday for the track day but can imagine that organising 3 days of events is a massive task :thumbup:
    I missed the last Vic nats back in 2007 so had been patiently waiting for the last 6 years for this. Now I have to wait another 6 years for the next one in Vic... I'll be 30 by then :eek:

    The track day was awesome, couldn't really ask for better weather. I can finally tick the box and say I've seen the UAS slotcar in person and was nice to finally meet JP & the UAS crew. Would've liked to chat more about the car and race/aero setup but being in different groups usually meant we didn't have much time in the pits together, will have to chat to you more next time you're down here. Good to meet the rest of the NSW guys like Procky and Rob, next time bring your zeds yeah? :p

    Also got to meet our new team Vic member JT and share a garage for the day. I think the two of us gave all the photographers some nice shots of two identical twin silver zeds following each other in session 1 and it was fun trying to chase you down on the straight, I think we should go back to PI soon.

    Nice to see the usual Vic crew again and special thanks to my race engineer Chris, next time you're racing and I'll watch :br:
     
  6. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Moar pics

    Couple of Dattos hustling through the corner

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    A 370z that was Tahli's favourite

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    An S130 (I think?)

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    Nizpro 1600 that was quick quick quick

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    More S30s

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  7. 8300zx9

    8300zx9 Active Member

    Such a great weekend that went waaay too quick! Good to hang out with the VIC crew again and meet some New Southers (your not as bad as everyone makes out :p

    Can't wait for next time and/or make it to the next Nats wherever it may be....VIC guys, are you in??
     
  8. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Moar Pics pt 2

    Couple of nice zeds around the carpark

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    And that quick GTR again

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  9. ProckyZ89

    ProckyZ89 Senior Member

    Day 3-nationals. ProckyZ side.

    day 3- track day

    Another early start for team unique, up at crack of dawn to prepare car and convoy out to Phillip island track

    John unloading his beautiful monster 32 skyline
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    Datsun owners... Hmmm
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    Setting up in the pits and surveying the straight.
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    Datsuns datsuns everywhere!!!
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    The two johns having a race meeting, !
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    A slightly slower 35gtr (1:52)
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    JP and John ready to blitz the Tarmac!!
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    Unfortunately, John, on his warm up laps threw the PS belt when he gave it some and also lost the oil pump belt. Pulling back quickly to the pits and the pit crew!
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    Chris greaves ready to race!
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    As rob260 has said and shown, all racing has risks, for a gorgeous blue 260z ... It didn't end well..
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    2 Zcars ready for action!
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    2 more Zcars ready for action
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    Slotcar means business!!!
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    Alex having a slight mangasm over the slotcar?
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    Aus300zx state of origin! VIC crew meets NSW crew!
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    Unfortunately John had gearbox issues in the skyline before he could map out any blistering time but down the straight I think it would be neck on neck wit the slotcar!
    JP didn't pull his expected times but was still the 2nd fastest RWD cars on the track . BUT in saying that after watching helmet cam and in car cam, ... He didn't really get a clean lap. Between Datsun dodging and kamakaze 4 door skylines he did really well!

    The zed boys all did really well even Sandeep and JT! Alex unfortunately had a domestic with his zed, which then refused to play game and work for him.

    Later that night state of origin continued when rob and I and his partner invaded Vic camp again after a brilliant dinner at an Italian restaurant

    Presentation dinner coming next
     
  10. ProckyZ89

    ProckyZ89 Senior Member

    JP setting up for the last session. Procky on a mission to speak to a certain 1600 about using his mirrors through the corners...

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    Back story here is, JP was battling with alot of slower cars, one came off the racing line then moved over when JP was overtaking forcing him onto the grass, I was tasked with a intimidation mission! Lol

    (Or a friendly-eyes open for faster cars message)

    But intimidation sounds cooler
     
  11. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Some great pics in there Col and really good to meet you albeit briefly.

    Gotta ask, some of your pics show some vignetting around the corners. Is that intentional? Cause I think it looks great -wondering how you did it??
     
  12. BigCol

    BigCol That's what she said...

    Yeah the vignetting is on purpose via Lightroom (I've just started playing with it and it seems pretty good). Much easier for that particular function than the old version of Photoshop I have.

    Your pics are great btw!
     
  13. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Cheers mate!

    Might have to look into it... I'm using the canon Digital Professional software (came with the camera) at the moment. Great "basic" software but it would be nice to have some more controls. Looks to be about $200 cheaper than photoshop too...
     
  14. JEDI-77

    JEDI-77 Jedi Master

    Yes, a great weekend!

    As part of the organising committee, I'd like thank to all you guys that came along and participated. Without you guys, the Nationals wouldn't happen, and big thanks to the guys travelling interstate.

    For me, this was my first Nationals as seen from the other side of the fence, ie, organising. As such, between checkin on Friday, scrutineering on saturday and judging on Sunday, I felt like I spend the whole weekend working. I didn't even take one bloody photo!!! But big thanks to all you guys, Procky, Rob260, BigCol and others I'm sure that took some awesome shots.

    As a whole, I think the event was well run and organised. There were maybe a few minor things we could have done different, but with such a large event, hindsight is always a wonderful thing. Thats alright, we have 6 years to prepare for the next one.

    The track day on saturday was awesome!! There were a few incidents on the day that marred the day, big crashes, exploding cars, wheels falling off, engines dying... But thats motorsport I guess. Big congrats to JP, JT and Sandeep for getting some trophies for the Z32 crew!! Awesome job guys...

    The Sunday Show n Shine was also a great day!! It started off a bit shaky with some persistent rain, but by 9am the rain was gone!! I even took my targas, and the rain did not come back!! It was great to see so many awesome cars on display!! I'm hoping someone got some awesome shots from this day, along with our Z32s. I got a 1st place trophy for my category. But its one unfortunately that doesn't sit well with me :( It was very clear on the day that this trophy should have gone to Joe, as his car is immaculate as we all know. I would have been much happier with the 2nd place trophy, and I think thats the order that most people expected. Joe 1st, Mark 2nd. Instead, I got 1st place and 2nd place went to a nice, but not show n shine quality 180sx. Both I and most of the committee members were quite surprised by this. I don't know who was doing the judging for the Z32s and the 180sx, but its something I'm going to look into for my own interest and satisfaction. Anyway, I would like to offer big congrats to Joe for his car, as it truly is one fabulous zed. And also a big congrats to the other Zed owners (Cam, Wykked, JT) that had their Zeds on display. In addition, I offer my apologies to Joe for unfairly missing out on the trophy he deserved.

    Overall, I had an awesome weekend! It was great to meet the interstate crew, and hope to see you guys again at a future event.

    The Nationals event is now handed over to the Queensland club for 2015. Although the wife and I travelled to Warwick in 2009 for the Nationals, I'm afraid we will be missing the 2015 Nationals. Travelling for 3 days in 2009 was an awesome road trip. But travelling in 2015 for 3 days, with one (and most likely 2) kids is just not feasible! Hopefully it will be a great event! Us Vic folk will have to wait till 2019 for it to be back in our state!!
     
  15. JEDI-77

    JEDI-77 Jedi Master

    I use Lightroom quite a bit...

    Its a fantastic piece of software for photo enthusiasts :) I would really recommend you purchase it, as it allows total control over you photos.


     
  16. ProckyZ89

    ProckyZ89 Senior Member

    Full respects

    Jedi, it takes a great deal of humility to say what you did above. I admit, even I was shocked that 180 got something! And when joe didn't get anything.... I think that is a first ever.

    And it's nothing against your zed in the least! It's a great example and by far one of the cleanest I have seen in my zedding experience!
    Joes is just well, there isn't anything more to do?
    I felt like the judges missed his car!?

    But full props for saying what you did, just with that attitude you show that you deserved an award regardless and good job 1st time organising!

    Just perhaps one / two suggestion next time?
    Can we keep the slow datsuns out of the slotcar group :/ lol
    Also, the driver briefing was rather hard to hear anything!? Perhaps elevate the speaker next time or someone that can project their voice more?!
     
  17. black baz

    black baz black 'n blue Bazemy

    Big Col ... your photography just gets better and better ... brilliant shots.

    JEDI (Mark) .. great write up to finish off the event .. seems to have been a top weekend.
     
  18. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    So I downloaded the trial version aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it won't run on windows 7. Got to upgrade to vista.

    Wonder how I do that?
     
  19. sandeep

    sandeep Active Member

    Here's a few laps from session 1 of me following JT around. I think we were both running around the 1:59 to 2:00 range in this session so fairly evenly matched and similar power levels. Car is a bit twitchy in this session, ended up lowering the tyre pressure slightly for the next session which helped.
    Some of you will want to watch the rpm gauge (speedo stops moving past 180km/h...) to figure out what diff ratio/tyre sizes they need for a track like PI. I'm running about 270kw at the hubs (so around 250ish kw at the wheels I'd guess), 285/30/18 tyres and the car is NA-TT converted so still has the 4.08 diff ratio. I think those of you with big power (over 350kw) will probably need to stick to the TT diff gears to avoid topping out on the straight.

    [yt]ZlSQgSmMqDg[/yt]

    Unfortunately the GoPro battery died so I don't have any vids of session 2 which was where I ran the 1:56 :( Anyway, I'm happy with the times and still room for improvement as I learn the track. The car was going strong all day, only thing it needs now is a powersteering cooler to stop the powersteering fluid boiling, might also switch to a synthetic fluid like Transmax Z.
     
  20. badxtc

    badxtc kirby's bitch

    Ladyssssss annnddddd gentalllmeeennnnn

    I COME BEARING GOOD NEWS
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    well this is what happend i spun 2 rod bearings , so my cosworth pistons are still good .( thank good ) so its going in tomorrow and should be back soon , im in no rush to get it back. so im happy now.
     

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