Wakefield 300 2014.

evil_weevil · Postby **evil_weevil** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:48 am

Think I'm going to start saving from now so I can enter the 2015 event. been saying i'll do this for the last 4 years.

Cal · Postby **Cal** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:01 am

little decks wrote:the only other contact made into a corner was when a driver in the Targa Toyota 86 just turned in on me... I looked at my video and at the other car after the race and my wheel hit him square in the drivers door after I had checked up because it was clear he was oblivious to the other cars around, if you consider where the wheel hit the door, the front of my car would have been past the "A" pillar but I heard later that he was not happy and feels that I punted him off, but I defy you to find a form of motorsport where that far up the inside isn't good enough.

TCR was driving the 86.

Motor racing is a non-contact sport.

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:36 am

As Cal has pointed out, I was driving the 86 at the time. I was fully aware of the other cars on the circuit and have been racing longer than you've been alive. I have been co-driving for other people for quite some time, and pride myself on never having scratched a car, until Sunday.

It is the responsibility of the overtaking car to make a clean pass and for the "slower driver" to maintain their line (which is exactly what I did). Not that I'm agreeing that you did, but even if you got the nose of your car near the A pillar at point of contact, to achieve that by dive bombing someone into the corner is by no means ever going to be considered a clean pass. If you'd been up to the A pillar prior to me beginning to turn in for the corner then I would have conceded the corner, you were clearly not. Had you exercised a little patience, you would have made an easy pass 10 seconds later going down into the fish hook, as you were on slicks and easily carrying more speed. That would have eliminated any chance of one or both of us being taken out of the race, or even worse in the wall.

By your own admission you made contact with at least three cars during the race, I'm sure most would agree that is three too many.

Brian · Postby **Brian** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:57 pm

TCR wrote:By your own admission you made contact with at least three cars during the race, I'm sure most would agree that is three too many.

Paul is absolutely correct. Little Decks your aim should be to win without contact, anyone can dive bomb and barge their way past cars. The last time I hit someone was in 2009 in similar circumstances to what little Dicks has described. Since then I have probably done 50 races over the last five years in five different categories. I have a reputation as someone you can race with wheel to wheel and trust. I won't cut you any slack and will be tenacious not easily giving up a position. I have won races, series and championships during those 5 years.

When I hit that person the first thing I did was go up and apologise. In fact I drove to his pit at the end of the race.

My car can out brake just about anything including Mx5's and my philosophy is get the car fully beside, nose lined up with nose so there is NO debate about who's corner it is. The "A" pillar crap is just a recipe for getting smacked.

Watching the last lap of the B Main just about everyone was anticipating a great duel to the finish between the first and second place cars. Instead almost everyone was saying or thinking who is the hothead in the white Mazda and what is he thinking. Answer he wasn't thinking.

Learn to race clean!!!!

mazmad · Postby **mazmad** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:29 am

Got the pics from JC yesterday. The ones on Saturday remind me how wet it was. A couple from Sunday.

Cal · Postby **Cal** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:41 am

That is a nice car.

Here is the best one I've seen yet of the BMW.

Photo courtesy of RaceViewPhotos

mazmad · Postby **mazmad** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:12 am

You guys did well Cal. Car went ok?

Cal · Postby **Cal** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:16 am

For it's debut race meeting we were stoked. Here is a write up did for FB and Performance Forums for anyone that cares:

The Wakefield 300 is probably not a great place to debut a freshly built race car, nevertheless, that's what we did on the weekend in Neil's (Ned-Racing) BMW M Coupe.

70 cars started practice for the WP300 on Saturday morning in atrocious weather. After qualifying, they would be split into a fast grid and a slower grid. In possibly the worst conditions I've ever dríven in, we managed 16th. This secured us a spot on the faster grid for the A main event on Sunday afternoon. Neil was in town getting fuel when the start driver nominations closed. Not being able to contact him, I nominated for him to start the race.

His car and all.

Thankfully the rain stopped on Saturday night and the track dried. This finally gave us a chance to see how the car was on slicks. Neil went out for morning practice and reported all was well. So far so good. No major dramas and no damage.

The flag dropped at 2.20pm. It was mayhem. Loads of contact and cars started dropping out from the second lap. Being cautious to stay out of the melee, Neil settled in to what would be a 64 lap stint in the car. The safety car was deployed a number of times to cart away the wounded. Falling to 30th position at one point, Neil fought back to 14th before handing the car over to me. A hell of an effort on his behalf.

As soon as I left the pits the safety car was deployed once again. Retrospect is 20/20 and all, but we should have left Neil in the car for just one more lap. Before the race I'd thought if all went perfectly for us, to finish in the top 10 would be a magic result. I had 64 laps to drive and keep out of trouble before we would see the chequered flag. I tagged onto the back of Brian Anderson's M3 for quite a few laps (although he was a lap ahead of us). I couldn't drive any faster than that and eventually I asked to much of the brakes and they went to the floor. I had however recorded our fastest lap of the race at 1.07.04. I dearly wanted a 6, but there is always next year.

After 2 hours & 50 minutes of racing we crossed the line 9th, 2/10ths of a second in front of Ray Vandersee's Skelta. We were over the moon. The car didn't have mark on it and still felt as strong as it did at the start, so long as I kept the brakes cool.

Huge thanks to Neil for trusting me behind the wheel and for the countless hours he put into preparing the car. To Robin and Peter for taking the car down and back & for helping all weekend. Valley Car Clinic for their help in the workshop, Frank for being our only pitcrew all weekend and finally to no pics & the kids for allowing me to indulge myself in this crazy sport.

[IMG]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/1622743_10151897555646577_265913206_n.jpg