Winton Tampered day, 21/12/08

Just got back, great day.

It was very very hot on the track but still a lot of fun even though I think times suffered for the heat. (And driver inexperience in my case...)

My best time for the day was around 1'22.5"ish which I was neither extremely pleased nor upset with. It is a decent starting point to work from

I only drove in the first 4 sessions as after my car had cooled down a little after the third and fourth session it dropped about 10 little drops of (very black) oil from somewhere at the front of the gearbox. Hopefully it is just very old oil (possibly still original 1990 Nissan factory oil ) thinning out too much in the heat and slipping past a seal and nothing nastier. I will get it flushed, replaced and checked over soon anyway. Driving and shifting was not noticeably affected but I thought it best to call it quits for the day rather than risk any real damage for the sake of an extra couple of seconds, I can always go back another time chasing them and I am sure I will.

Thanks to RedZedMikey and KEZA for coming along to say hello too, they both took some good pictures and Mikey took a bit of video so hopefully we will see them soon. Extra thanks to KEZA for a few tips on likes to take which were an enormous help on some of the corners up at the back of the track which gave me quite a bit of trouble, they still do but a bit less now at least.


Peter

 

Sounds like you had a good time! As always will be interested to see some photos! One day I'll have a freee weekend that ties in with you guys going!

 

Kerry and Mikey both took some nice pictures so there will be some up soon I am sure

 

It was a pleasure to meet

you Peter and to be of some assistance, in a very small way, helping you to come to terms with those corners that you were having a small problem with. Great to see that you improved your times and will no doubt better them when next you venture to Winton.
I must thank Ross to for allowing access to area's, so that I could get some better shots of the action.

By the time I had to leave, I was wishing that I too was out there once again with the Zed, maybe next time. Although I did promise that if the opportunity arises, I would love nothing more than a few more laps around Oran Park again, just to relive old memories.
It was also great to meet Steve Siggers and help him improve his times by more than 4 seconds in his 260 Zed.
A great day had with a nice bunch of Zedders, I look forward to the next time.
Shame I missed Mikey, who obviously is finding difficult these days to get out of bed.
I will send the photo's to you in the new year when I get home and find my USB Cable to download them.
All the best for Christmas and the New Year.

Cheers
Kerry
:zlove:

 

Great to meet you too Kerry, and I owe you at least three tenths of a second for the advice, probably quite a lot more than that as my driving skill improves enough to follow it a bit better. With that and the help you gave Steve there might be a calling for you as a pit lane tactician.

Still, it would be great to see you out on the track too.

For those who went to DECA, Steve Siggers' 260Z is the blue Chev powered one with the black bonnet and scoop. Great car and for someone who readily admits he is a beginner (DECA was his first motorsport event) he drives it very well and was right up amoungst the serious drivers (and cars) with his times.

 

Another great day.What more could you ask for,good weather, good laps,a well run event and good company.Peter, thanks for the hand getting my Z off / on its trailer,yes I should invest in wider ramps.It's great meeting other rev heads of the caliber of yourself,Kerry and Tim ,makes for a very enjoyable day of motorsport. Hopefully we'll all catchup at some future event where I can again pick Kerrys knowledge bank on suspension setups.Tim , your racecar is getting closer every day, preparation and setup is the key I.E prepare the wife,setup the wife....LOL....Peter some semi slicks would help your times immensely, your steering smoothly on the correct lines so a bit more grip under acceleration out of the corners and later breaking into them will slice seconds away.Have a good break everyone....Steve

 

Hi Steve, great to have a chance to have a better look at your car, I didn't have time for a propper look at DECA.

Kerry was saying I was kicking out a bit coming out of corners so you could be right about the semi slicks. Still, I think the best improvement I can make for my car at the moment is a more experienced driver so I will just keep at it at as many track days as I can get to.

I will definitely be going back to Winton for another go next year (hopefully a few times) so I may see you there again.

I have to add here (I really should have put it in my main post) that it was indeed a very well run event, stress free, plenty of track time in small well matched groups, results up to see straight after each session, a couple of small incindents (in one case an air filter on an HQ powered clubman caught fire!) were well managed with minium loss of track time while still keeping the event safe for everyone. Highly recommended and excellent value for money, well done Adam and crew.

 

what up with the pics ???????

 

Seconded.....we want pics.

 

Thirded!



Kerry took some good ones which we will see in the new year, as for Mikey, no idea what his excuse is, he took some video too.

 

I will post up my pics

When I get home Pete.
I'm away until the 5th Jan, so you'll just have to wait until then. Unless Mikey posts a few to tied you over.
Cheers for a SAFE and Prosperous Christmas and New Year.
Kerry

 

I'll just have to be patient then Kerry. Mikey is on Holidays and has no net access from home at the moment. Maybe he will be able to post some when he lands in WA?

 

Maybe he will .....
I'm not sure how the vid will appea r as this laptop doesn't seem to cope adequately. I can't double check that what looks OK to me on the camera still looks OK after its been uploaded to Photobucket. Feedback please! And yeah, I've landed in W.A., catch you Vics after the New Year, maybe in a Z even!

Anyway, as Kerry stated I didn't arrive until after he had left, however his reasoning was incorrect ; I only saw Pete on track for 1 session, so hardly any pics. However:

Waiting, waiting - while I try to shoot through chain link fencing.



Coming onto the main straight.



Same corner, 3 laps later (vid)

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s208/redzedmikey/Mikey%20Vids/?action=view&current=DSCF2143.flv

 

The vid looks fine Mikey........Merry Christmas.

 

Pete, Peter has the photo's

Unfortunately for me, my computer can't post them, because of their size.
But I'm sure peter will put them up for all to see.
Cheers
Kerry

 

Got all the pictures on my computer at work, thanks Kerry.

When (if) I get a free moment I will resize and post them, hopefully before the end of the week. Sorry for the delay Pete, my fault, not Kerry's.

 

Great video Mikey, thanks.

 

KEZA's pictures

A quickly edited selection, thanks Kerry.

 

No photo's present Peter

 

Odd, I can see them.

Not sure if it is a problem at my end or yours, can anyone else see them or not see them?