Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[Tony]

Many happy returns Bryan.

See you on Sunday.

Regards...

[Dweezle]

Thats incredible!!!!

Happy bday Mate!! Under 2:00 SUNDAY!! DO IT!!

[Twiggy]

Happy Birthday Bryan!

[hamx5ter]

Happy Birthday Youngster Hope you had a blast..

[Guran]

10th April 2011

NSW Supersprint Round 2 - Eastern Creek

After the debacle of Round 1 in February, it was a hugely pleasant relief to find that the supersprint management had taken on board the criticism and put on an excellent show this time. The process of signing in, scrutineering and drivers briefing was a breeze in comparison to last time. The first runs started about an hour sooner than they did for Round 1. Which was a very good thing, because the weather forecast was for afternoon rain. So everyone was keen to clock a quick time before the rain arrived. And I had a brand new set of Bridgestone RE55s to play with!

I had a bit of traffic on my first run, getting passed by a few cars on my first lap but still did a 2:03.616. I was close on the tail of Peter Price's Class 3B MX-5 during lap 2, before carrying the brakes a bit too much into turn 7 and had a 180 degree spin as a result. The third lap was looking like an improvement until I had to back off for a Torana exiting at turn 4, and finished with a 2:03.776.

My second run was much cleaner and had little traffic. I did a 2:03.131, then 2:02.911 (including having to lift for a passing Torana at turn 10), and finally a 2:02.218. Not too bad, and I was gaining confidence to push hard on the new tyres.

After having an early lunch, I headed out for my third run, determined to have a really hard go. I followed Drew Rodwell's Class 3A Charade around in close formation, opening with a 2:02.48. I took turn 1 without lifting the throttle at all, and had a minimum corner speed of 162km/hr! It felt rock solid and the new tyres made a big difference. Apart from a slight lock-up into turn 2, the rest of the lap went nicely, especially with Drew to chase down and I did a 2:00.76. That was only 0.03s slower than my PB set in August last year (2:00.734). The third lap was going really well too ... until I started to get a little too close to Drew, misjudged turn 11 and had a 180 degree spin into the gravel. Bugger. To make matters worse, the official timing failed during the run so my 2:00.76 lap wasn't even recorded (I logged it via Performance Box).

Back in the pits, I was told that they would be re-running our group to make up for the timing failure. Great! Except that the rain was approaching, and the organisers decided it was time for a half hour lunch break. Huh??? That was the one blot on an otherwise perfectly organised event. Anyway, I went out for the re-run of my third session, started with a 2:03.088, built up to 2:02.195 and despite a poor entry to the main straight and a few drops of rain arriving, I was on target for a 2:01.4 lap ... until I had to lift at turn 10 to be overtaken by Lindsay Burke's RX7. So it ended with a 2:02.068 - officially my best lap on the day.

And then the rain arrived properly. My fourth run had light rain and I did a 2:12.774. My fifth and last run (two laps) was done in heavy rain throughout and I had a 2:33.942. It was slow but a lot of fun battling to keep the car on the track!

Natsoft Results

I finished the day 4th in Type 1 behind Stewart Temesvary's NC (1.56.922), Paul Bower's XR4 (1.57.110), and Saba Hanania's C63 AMG (2.00.146 - seriously!). Thankfully the timing error didn't make any difference to my result. I was the only one in Class 1A this time but still was credited with a "first in class" and 10 points towards the club championship. Fastest MX-5 was Steve Green with a 1:56.438. Remarkably, Stewart Temesvary set the second-fastest time in an MX-5, despite being in a standard NC roadster coupe with R-specs.

After Round 2, the MX-5 Club of NSW (242) are second in the club championship, behind ARDC (256) and ahead of NSWRRC (224). Round 3 is at Wakefield Park on 8th May, and is being organised by the MX-5 Club. It'll be followed by a Club Track Day on Monday 9th May. These double-headers are great fun and I'm really looking forward to it!

YouTube video to follow soon.

[Guran]

The graph below compares my PB of 2:00.734 on 29th Aug 2010 (red) against yesterday's best lap of 2:00.76 (blue). Things to note about yesterday's lap are:

1) slower Vmax at the end of the straight: 173.1km/hr vs 168.5km/hr - 4.6km/hr slower
2) higher Vmin in turn 1: 160.7km/hr vs 162.2km/hr - 1.5km/hr faster
3) Higher Vmin in turn 2
4) higher Vmax at the entry to turns 4, 5, 7 and 10, offset by a poorer run through turn 7
5) higher Vmin in turns 11 and 12
6) slower acceleration down the straight

All this is consistent with the north-westerly wind that was bringing in the rain yesterday, versus the more favourable conditions last August. Also, the higher corner speeds are indicating that the new tyres have made a substantial difference to corner speeds and braking points. In fact, yesterday's lap was six car lengths ahead by turn 7, and fell back to four car lengths ahead (16m) at the top of the main straight. But I then lost all that ground - plus an extra 1.5m - in the drag to the finish line.

In any case, I'm now convinced that with these new tyres and hopefully favourable conditions later this season, I should be able to knock off that Class 1A supersprint record (2:00.61), and maybe even drop into the 59s!

[Hammer]

Happy Belated Birthday Brian.

[russ mx5]

Advise RE- sub 2 min Brake Later!!!! if thats humaniy POSSIBLE? HBDish Mate

[Guran]

Advise RE- sub 2 min Brake Later!!!! if thats humaniy POSSIBLE? HBDish Mate

Would if I could! Maybe if I had the brakes off your car, I'd get away with it. But then I'd be bumped out of the standard class.

[Guran]

It's YouTube time ...

My 2:00.76 fastest lap of the day at Eastern Creek Supersprint on 10th April. Shame it didn't count because the official timing system failed.

For something different, I taped the spy camera onto my rollbar this time - so you have the "in-cabin cam" rather than "grasshopper cam".


Bloopers reel from Eastern Creek Supersprint on 10th April.

[Guran]

8th May 2011

NSW Supersprint Round 3 - Wakefield Park

The MX-5 Club ran this round of the Supersprint Championship and it was the first of the season at Wakefield Park. I drove down in the morning with Little Reddy loaded to the gills with a set of wheels & R-specs, a trolley jack, tools, helmet, gear, laptop and clothes. I packed in accordance with the "Munnings Method": one wheel in the boot (spare left at home), one wheel behind passenger seat, and two wheels standing up on the passenger seat and tied down with a compression strap. It's amazing what you can fit in with an imaginative packing sequence!

The MX-5 Club ran things like clockwork on a cold, clear and mildly windy Goulburn day. I pity the poor flag marshalls who had to stand out there in the cold. Being held on Mothers Day, numbers were down to only 71 drivers, which was great for entrants but not so good for the finances of the club. I had eight runs of four laps each!

My first run was traffic free and I warmed up with a time of 1:17.024. The only incident was when I slid off into the dirt exiting turn 5. On my second run, I got stuck behind a Pulsar on the second lap. I overtook him under brakes at turn 10, but he had a better exit and we were side-by-side through the kink. I lost him across the top of the hill, and then went on to do a 1:16.327 on lap four. The third run was uneventful but a bit slower (1:16.535). The fourth run was very busy. I got stuck behind Anthony Crott's MX-5 which I overtook on the back straight, then I was overtaken by an MR2 going into turn 2. The MR2 and I then got held up behind John Lamond's lovely Triumph TR2. John waved through the MR2 after turn 5, and I tried to follow him through. Unfortunately John didn't see me coming and tightened his line through turn 6, squeezing me onto the inside dirt. That was a scary moment but no harm was done.

After lunch, I forgot to take my spy camera off the charger so didn't get any video of my fifth run. Which was a shame because I had another spin at turn 5; best lap on that run was 1:16.848. Run six was going beautifully with a 1:16.860, then 1:16.740 and I was on target to match my PB of 1:15.85 with only turn 10 to go - except that I had to dodge the MR2 which was stopped on the exit of turn 10, facing the wrong way. I had a bit of traffic on run seven, which slowed me up through turns 3-8 on the final two laps and I couldn't improve on a 1:16.270 from the second lap. My eighth and final run was my best of the day. I started with 1:16.398, then 1:16.245, and 1:15.977 on the third lap. The last lap was surely going to beat my PB, until I carried a bit too much speed through turn 3, was too far right for turn 4, and then drifted off into the dirt at the top of the hill, ending up facing backwards after turn 5. Keith Monaghan was not far behind at the time and he was laughing all the way! With an optimal time of 1:15.72 on that final run, a new PB is surely not far away. But 1:15.977 was my best on the day.

Throughout the day, I tried out the new "Predictive Laptiming" mode on my Performance Box. It's a bit clunky to set up, but once going it is a very useful tool. It instantaneously compares your current lap against your best lap of the day, and shows whether you're going faster or slower, and by how much (to the nearest 0.01s). You can instantly see the results of trying different lines through corners. It's great!

Natsoft Results

So in Round 3, I was 4th in Type 1 behind and Saba Hanania's C63 AMG (1:14.315), Stewart Temesvary's NC (1:14.716), and Paul Bower's XR4 (1:14.772). I was first in Class 1A behind a pair of Pulsars (1:18.430 and 1:22.247). Fastest MX-5 was Patrick Bramston in his new turbo NA6 with a 1:07.913 (a new club record for his class).

After Round 3, the MX-5 Club of NSW (360) have hit the lead in the club championship, followed by NSWRRC (353) and ARDC (352). Round 4 is at Eastern Creek on 22nd May, and is being organised by ARDC.

YouTube video to follow soon.

[Guran]

9th May 2011

MX-5 Club of NSW track day - Wakefield Park

Finally we're back at Wakefield Park for an MX-5 Club track day. February seems so long ago! With the supersprint/club double-header, I decided to stay overnight in Goulburn and joined the rest of the crowd at the Bakehouse Motel. The atmosphere and fellowship was wonderful. After the Supersprint, everyone crowded into Mike & Cobie's room for pre-dinner drinks and nibblies before jumping into cars for dinner at the Lilac City Steakhouse. The food was OK, the beer was cold and the company was excellent. We left at 9pm to watch Mark Webber finish second at the Turkish Grand Prix (I struggled to stay awake for it all). Overnight, Manchester United beat Chelsea in the EPL to virtually seal the Premiership for 2010/11 ... very happy about that too!

The next morning saw everyone chipping or melting ice from their windscreens. Damn it was cold! After a quick brekky at the Bakehouse, and a refuel next door at the Shell, it was off to the track. Another cold and mildly windy day was ahead, and the forecast showers never arrived. Perfect track day weather for the competitors - the marshalls struggled to stay warm and deserve our admiration for their dedication to the job over both days.

Remarkably for a Monday, there was a huge turnout of 75 drivers, even more than the day before at the Supersprint. Don't you people work? There were a dozen first timers and 14 visitors too. I enjoyed helping out with the driver training again, and had two students this time: father and son pairing of Ken and Amos Byrne driving Amos' modified NB8A. It was a nicely balanced car, and Amos did very well to finish the day with a best lap of 1:21.34 which was the second fastest of the MX-5 newbies. Ken was enjoying himself and did a 1:32.36, which is pretty good considering he could hardly bend his knees!

With the great conditions, there were plenty of new PBs set. The most notable were new club records:
Patrick Bramston (Class 7) 1:07.91 (at the Supersprint)
Mark Hellmund (Class 6) 1:09.35
Tony Williams (Class 5) 1:12.80

The quickest MX-5 on the day was Patrick Bramston (Class 7 Turbo NA6) with a 1:08.44, followed by Mark Hellmund and Dennis Brady (Class 6 NC) 1:11.36. Val Stewart had the fastest car on the day with a 1:07.11 in her RX7 (Class 9 / Group 2B), which was a PB I think.

I had six runs of five laps each, which was a great result. I was running on RE001 Adrenalins after swapping over from the RE55s I used at the Supersprint. My best lap was a 1:17.69 in the fifth run (0.69s slower than my PB), which was the fastest time in Class 1. I had a total of eight laps in the 1:17s which I was really happy with. I reckon the track was about 0.6-0.7s slower than it was on that "perfect day" of 21 June 2010 when I set my 1:17.00 PB. I also struggled with turn 10 this time; either turning in with too much trail braking and battling with oversteer, or not braking hard enough and washing it off with understeer. More practice required, focussing on braking a tad sooner!

Allan Cruz wasn't there this time, but I still had heaps of fun battling for quick times against the other blokes in my group: Bob Pimm (standard NC), Phil Mayo (modified NA6), Peter Stephens (modified NB8B), and Lindsay Burke (modified NA6).

Due to the high number of entrants, there was no regularity event. Other class winners were:
Class 2 (Std NB): Keith Monaghan 1:17.97
Class 3 (Std NC): Roger Palfreyman 1:16.51
Class 4 (Std NA/NB on R-specs): Ian Vickers 1:16.55
Class 8 (Group 2F): Will Rugg 1:13.06
Class 10 (non-MX5s): Keith Bridgement (WRX) 1:11.50
Class 11 (visitors): Barry Rees (WRX) 1:08.08

YouTube videos to come soon. We have a new photographer at Wakefield Park, Daniel from DGB Photography. He took some great shots at both days and I love the following sequence which shows how I like to get through turn 5. Lots more photos are posted here.


p_0201[1] by Guran5, on Flickr


p_0202[1] by Guran5, on Flickr


p_0203[1] by Guran5, on Flickr

[bensale]

That is an awesome sequence of shots..! Interesting to see the back to back difference in times between the re55s and the re001s... I would have thought the semis be worth more than ~2 seconds per lap, surprisingly says a lot about the performance of the re001s!

[Guran]

I think there's a fair bit more to go in the RE55s at Wakefield Park and I'm aiming to get into the low 1:15s this season - there are three more Supersprints in June, July and October. This was only my third run at Wakefield with R-specs and I'm definitely still getting the feel for them at this track. I'm sure there is more time to be found in turns 2-5 especially, but it's trickier to get used to sliding the R-specs when they change grip quite a lot during a four lap sprint. Though I did bring myself to take turn 3 without lifting the throttle this time - and it didn't end badly.

[Guran]

Videos!

1:15.977 on RE55s at Round 3 of the Supersprints on 8th May


1:17.69 on RE001s at the club trackday on 9th May


The conditions were fairly similar on both days, so this is a good comparison of the two second gap between street tyres and R-specs. The street tyres might be slower, but they're a lot more fun sliding through turns 3, 4 and 5.

Supersprint Round 4 at Eastern Creek tomorrow. We'll be set up in garages 29 to 32 inclusive in case anyone wants to drop by for a chat.