Skidpan at Lakeside! (1st Nov)

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:55 pm

Great to meet you Fatty. See you again next time you're up here.....hopefully at a place where we can all sit down and have a chat and beer or two.

NMX516 · Postby **NMX516** » Sun Nov 02, 2008 8:03 pm

Fatty wrote:first off i would like to say a big thankyou to CapitalF / Peter for all his hard work on the day. I told him on the day what a great time i had, but forgot to actually thank him ... sorry about that mate.

The biggest thanks must of course go to Boags (and Bec.... mainly for the yummy sandwiches ). not just for putting me up for the weekend, or taking me for a run with the boys on friday night, or all his hard work in organising the skidpan event, but mainly for letting me drive his car for the weekend! i was very impressed with the performance of the nb8b (i'd never dríven one before) , which is a very refined car compared to what i'm accustomed to (my rough as guts na6). the engine was just super sweet and sounded absolutely horn with that air intake. it's amazing what a good car the nb8b is straight out of the box. the only mods were the intake and some sway bars, but it feels just about perfect (altho a set of teins wouldn't go astray ... )

second biggest thanks must go to Andrew / 1red5 who also handed me the keys to his car for a couple of runs on the skidpan. i felt more "at home" in this car as it more what i'm used to (an na6 into an na8 is not such a huge jump), and it has given me a real point of reference and a target to aim for with my ongoing suspension / chassis tuning efforts. it felt rock solid, extremely well balanced, and was so easy to correct if i ever got a little unshapely. again, thank you Andrew for handing me the keys, that was a very nice surprise!!! the fact that my times in the na8 were actually faster than in the nb8b goes to show what a good job you've done in setting the car up.

i'd also like to thank JBT for standing out on the hot concrete under a blazing sun for so long, performing time keeping duties. thanks for introducing yourself and making me feel very welcome too. and guys, as JBT said earlier, it's not a bad idea to offer to help out in any way you can. the timekeepers etc are all volunteers / club members who would probably rather be out there driving, and it's really not that hard to share the duties around a bit. jump on the stop watch for 15 minutes or so while you catch your breath between runs... it's actually really good fun and i enjoyed manning the clip board briefly while boags stole "MY" car for his runs

tezza, was nice to meet you too, i enjoyed our chats. now hurry up and post some pics / vids! and thank you so much for bringing some shade !!! they really should build some shelters down by the skidpan, that sun was just ludicrous (says the pastey white Melbournite) .

thanks also to Gerard, Tim, Andrew (again) , and ummm.........the other guy (i feel TERRIBLE but i can't remember your name ) who came for the run, and dinner, on friday night. that was a great introduction to some fabulous QLD roads...

I know this is turning into a bit of an Oscars Acceptance Speech (but hey i'm on a roll, and i need to write this all down while it's fresh in my mind, so i can "cut and paste" it for when i write my article for the ragtop review )

Now, and this one's important, i must say many many thanks to that crotchety old bastard AJ / Clive , and the lovely Kim, for their hospitality (and beers) as well. Clive, you did a pretty good job of incinerating all those lovely sausages that Kim bought for us, well done. i enjoyed that meal immensely (mmmm home made salsa). It was very nice to meet you mate, and it was nice to find out that, in person, you really aren't as much of a wanker as you seem to be on the forum

so in the tradition of the Oscars Speech "oh god i hope i haven't forgotten anyone" .... oh yeah. Spy / Mark / Mr Prez , thankyou and very nice to meet you. nice club you have there, keep up the good work! from what i've seen, you've got things heading in a good direction up there.

I go back to work tomorrow, after 4 weeks of annual leave spent mainly in Paris, then Spain, London, and finally Brisbane. My final morning , this morning, before returning to work was spent driving Boag's awesome nb8b over Mt Mee ... i don't think you could ask for a better finish to a holiday than that! You guys really do have some nice roads up there.... as Arney would say, "I'll be back" .

Cheers,

James

Nice speech mate! Good to meet you too, glad you had a good time of it up here. As Boags has so rightly pointed out, many more good roads up this way to savour.

Sorry I didn't make the dawn run this morning :oops:

Slept in, then didn't get the sms until mid a.m when I turned the phone back on. ( :oops:

again) I hope you enjoyed Coopers Camp Rd!!

Did you go up it or come down? Good in either direction though of course...

Cheers
Gerard

sabretooth · Postby **sabretooth** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 2:09 am

Thanks for the day, it was really good! I'd never been to Lakeside before. It really didn't look like there was going to be a track nestled up the back there behind the golf course, but somehow they fit one in!

I didn't stay for the whole lot because after we'd fixed up Andrew's handbrake, I'd developed a headache and called it quits. But, I had a good time. It was well run and well worth the fiddy.

Good to meet you Fatty, however brief. But when you pull up the handbrake in a 5 just make sure you don't pull it up too far else we have to start taking things apart and poking them with screwdrivers to get them to release again! :lol:

Tezzax5 · Postby **Tezzax5** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:31 am

go hard or go home!!!!(The video should be good)

Fatty · Postby **Fatty** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 5:09 pm

1red5 wrote:You are most welcome re having a go in my car, and you should've asked for more.

i was a bit hesitant to ask for the keys again, after "the handbrake incident" :oops:

thanks for fixing my little stuff up there sabretooth.... nice to meet you as well . shame you weren't feeling well and had to leave early.

Fatty · Postby **Fatty** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 5:17 pm

NMX516 wrote:Sorry I didn't make the dawn run this morning Slept in, then didn't get the sms until mid a.m when I turned the phone back on. ( again) I hope you enjoyed Coopers Camp Rd!! Did you go up it or come down? Good in either direction though of course...

Cheers
Gerard

i don't blame you for sleeping in, saturday was a very exhausing day. is coopers creek rd that skinny one with no line markings? i think we went up it, i'm not sure. boags will know for sure.

NMX516 · Postby **NMX516** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:50 pm

Yep, that's the one - narrow, no line markings, and plenty of blind corners!

Fatty · Postby **Fatty** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:51 pm

ah yep... that was a tad scary that one. great road tho.

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:59 pm

Fatty wrote:
1red5 wrote:You are most welcome re having a go in my car, and you should've asked for more.

i was a bit hesitant to ask for the keys again, after "the handbrake incident"

thanks for fixing my little stuff up there sabretooth.... nice to meet you as well . shame you weren't feeling well and had to leave early.

Nah, it's cool Fatty, and thanks yet again Sabretooth for your help. You should have told me you weren't feeling the best as I always bring headache tablets with me.