February

NewsletterNewsletterNewsletterNewsletter

Hi everyone and welcome to ProKart newsletter #0903.

Saturday the 7th of February saw the first round of the 2009 ProKart Australian Endurance Championship Series.

With 35 entries, the series saw a number of debutants, a few ‘new’ teams and an incredible display of racing as competitors fought to manage the sweltering conditions and a gruelling 7 hours of racing around the famous Oran Park circuit. That over 25 teams finished an event of this nature, held in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees is a credit to all concerned.

ProKart’s commitment to improving the already high standard of the series was noticeable, as was the high level of kart preparation and presentation across the grid.

Congratulations must go to the WCR Jets who somehow fought back despite a number of early mishaps in the race… proof if it was ever needed that in endurance racing you can never give up hope of a result!

Remember if you have anything you'd like to report; anything you'd like to see in future newsletters or even just general feedback, please contact me at imcmah@netspace.net.au

See you on track; good luck and good racing!

IN THIS ISSUEIN THIS ISSUEIN THIS ISSUEIN THIS ISSUE

1.1.1.1. NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS

The latest news and views from ProKart and its competitors. This month we have news on Garry Taylor, a review of some of the more prominent ‘new’ team livery

designs for 2009 and more…

2.2.2.2.

POSTCARDS POSTCARDS POSTCARDS POSTCARDS FROM ORAN FROM ORAN FROM ORAN FROM ORAN

PARKPARKPARKPARK

A selection of photography from the Oran Park 7 hour

3.3.3.3.

RACE REPORTSRACE REPORTSRACE REPORTSRACE REPORTS

and and and and Championship Championship Championship Championship

UpdateUpdateUpdateUpdate

A full wrap up of the weekend that was Round 1 of the ProKart Australian

Endurance Kart Series

4.4.4.4. TTTTECHNICALECHNICALECHNICALECHNICAL

With this weekend seeing NASCAR’s stars race in the DAYTONA 500, we take a look at the technology that makes their

Television broadcasts among the best in the world

5.5.5.5. UPCOMING UPCOMING UPCOMING UPCOMING EVENTSEVENTSEVENTSEVENTS

Both the NSW and Qld series move to their 2nd rounds in March at Wollongong and

Cooloola respectively. Full details and race schedules are available in this section

6.6.6.6. FOR SALEFOR SALEFOR SALEFOR SALE

A number of Qld teams have race-winning equipment to sell… full details listed in this section

NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS

DQ unveil new ‘retro’ livery Congratulations to the team at DQ International on an innovative version of an infamous ‘retro’ theme for Kart 17. I’m sure you agree it looks great.

Based strongly on the infamous “Gulf” livery that’s adorned so many famous racing cars, from Porsche’s through Ford GT40’s and now even Aston Martin’s; I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a spectacular addition to an ever-impressive ProKart grid.

Update: Garry (Cranky) Taylor

We’re very pleased to report that Garry was almost back to his ‘best’ at Oran Park. Most importantly, we’re happy that he was there at all! Garry’s an invaluable and well-liked member of the ProKart community (we know the grumpiness is all for show) and his vigilance means we all go racing knowing we’re on a level playing field. Good to have you back on the road to recovery Cranky!

GUESS WHO?

Our “guess who” remains unsolved from our last issue! So a reminder… They’re a current and regular ProKart driver! Remember we’ll offer a glass of ‘rough red’ for anyone who can identify him and, if you can identify the car; you can have the bottle! This month’s photo caption (and clue) is “All finished - I built it with my own 2 hands”

More clues next issue if no one guesses correctly!

Phil Wallis and the ResiSales.com team debuted their new livery reflecting the support of Commercial Real Estate Australia and Resi Sales Residential Real Estate at Oran Park.

Despite a series of setbacks at Oran Park, the ResiSales Team are confident of strong results in 2009. To visit their website click on their logo or go to http://www.commercialrealestateaustralia.com.au/ and www.resisales.com.au

Team5150R debut new look and new sponsors at

Oran Park

Team5150R were proud to present their all-new ‘look’ at Oran Park. With the support of Pennzoil, PPG, Timken, Permatex, The Bump Shop, Doc’s Kart Kraft (DKK), South Burnett Kart Hire, CBC Bearings Power Transmission, JP Bookkeeping and NTN; the team unveiled its new livery and apparel on Friday and worked towards establishing a strong setup for Saturday’s 7-hour race.

With a solid 3rd and 5th place finish in the first round of the Qld Series and an on-track engineered (well done Steve and Darren!) ‘formation’ finish, Team5150R look

forward to continuing their championship at Round 2 in Cooloola in March.

Both karts demonstrated exceptional reliability and were it not for Kart #50 finding itself involved in someone else’s accident, we were a genuine shot at victory

first time out.

The team was proud to collect the award for Best Presented, a reflection of the work that’s been put in by all team members, in addition to the wonderful support

provided by our sponsors.

Team5150R would like to thank the following companies for their ongoing support:

Qld Series presentation dinner to be held at Cooloola

ProKart will be holding a presentation for the 2008 Queensland Series winners on the Saturday evening of the ProKart round. This decision was made to ensure that all Qld teams could participate. More information will be communicated shortly, we hope everyone can attend this great opportunity to celebrate the winners from the 2008 Queensland Series!

2009 ‘VIP’ Priority entry available now

ProKart is providing teams with the opportunity to guarantee their place on the grid at each meeting in all 2009 ProKart race meetings, by offering a ‘VIP’ entry programme. Full details can be found at http://series.prokart.com.au/images/stories/2009Events/2009vipentryform%20(word).doc

ProKart’s website update

There is a great deal of work going on ‘behind-the-scenes’ as ProKart prepare for the 2009 season. 2009 will see the launch of a revamped ProKart website; and we need YOUR help to ensure it’s better than ever. One of the key initiatives in the new site will be team and driver’s pages. These will include information and photos on teams, their racing equipment and drivers/key-team-members. Team Manager’s can expect to receive a pro-forma this weekend requesting team and driver information, along with any relevant photos. We will also take photos at Oran Park to add and/or replace those already on file. There’s also a lot of other exciting developments occurring with the website and your feedback is also welcomed. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions, please email me at imcmah@netspace.net.au

POSTCARDSPOSTCARDSPOSTCARDSPOSTCARDS

FROM ORAN PARKFROM ORAN PARKFROM ORAN PARKFROM ORAN PARK

RACE RACE RACE RACE ReportReportReportReport

Wollongong City Raceway Jets Scorch to Victory in ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’

In very hot weather conditions; the Wollongong City Raceway Jets made the perfect start to the year with a commanding victory in the ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’ last Saturday (February 7) at the Oran Park Kart Track (Narellan, NSW). The ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’, which ran as the opening rounds of the National, New South Wales and Queensland Powered by Honda ProKart Australia Endurance Kart Championships, kicked off the New Year and they celebrated it by receiving a whopping 34 team entries. At the fall of the chequered flag of the ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’ the Wollongong City Raceway Jets team won by a total of five laps over its nearest rivals in what a dominant victory to say the very least. In total, the Wollongong City Raceway Jets completed 412 laps of the Oran Park Kart Track and their nearest challengers, KBC Racing, finished in second place on the podium and they managed to complete 407 laps. The battle for third place on the podium was a more intense affair with the Illawarra Karts and Parts # 2 team scoring the final spot on the podium and they completed 406 laps. Also finishing on the same lap as the Illawarra Karts and Parts # 2 was Adrenalin Rush Karting # 2 in fourth followed by defending National Champions Team Kaos and Horsepower Racing team in fifth and sixth place. Rounding out the top 10 finishes at the completion of the ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’ was the 3D Muscat Trailers Racing team, Bells Pipe Racing, Illawarra Karts and Parts # 1 and RPM Racing.

Despite the unpleasant weather conditions and the non attendance of some of their regular drivers due to previous commitments; the Wollongong City Raceway Jets proved to be a cut above the rest of the field in what was a sensational and well deserved victory. After a lean 2008 campaign by their own high standards; the Wollongong City Raceway Jets have kicked off the New Year in the best possible fashion and they have certainly made their intentions clear that they mean serious business in 2009. Earlier in the day during the ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’; it was the 3D Muscat Trailers team that set the early pace by topping the time sheets in qualifying and earned the right to start the ‘Oran Park 7 Hour’ from pole position. The 3D Muscat Trailers team finished the qualifying session ahead of Kart Blanche, Illawarra Karts and Parts # 2, Wollongong City Raceway Jets and Illawarra Karts and Parts # 1 whom completed the top five. The second round of the National Championship is scheduled to be held at Wollongong City Raceway (South Coast of NSW) on Saturday, March 7 for the running of the Wollongong 1000.

CHAMPIONSHIP TABLESCHAMPIONSHIP TABLESCHAMPIONSHIP TABLESCHAMPIONSHIP TABLES

Prokart Endurance National Championship 2009 7/02/2009

Pos No. Name Total Diff Gap Or Total

1 3 WCR Jets 200 0 0 200 200

2 71 KBC Racing 190 10 10 190 190

3 181 Illawarra Karts and Parts 2 182 18 8 182 182

4 86 Adrenalin Rush Karting 2 176 24 6 176 176

5 1 Team Kaos 170 30 6 170 170

6 777 Horesepower Racing 164 36 6 164 164

7 5 3D Muscat Trailers 158 42 6 158 158

8 23 Bell Pipes Racing 152 48 6 152 152

9 818 Illawarra Karts and Parts 146 54 6 146 146

10 84 RPM 140 60 6 140 140

11 50 Team 5150 134 66 6 134 134

12 41 Team Kartatak 128 72 6 128 128

13 661 PDS Grand Prix 122 78 6 122 122

14 21 Walkos Shire Racing 116 84 6 116 116

15 14 Two Dogs Racing 110 90 6 110 110

16 51 Team 5150 104 96 6 104 104

17 42 Civic Video 98 102 6 98 98

18 554 RGC Chorros 92 108 6 92 92

19 25 Kart Blanche 86 114 6 86 86

20 27Q ResiSales.com.au 80 120 6 80 80

21 8 UTEC DBR 74 126 6 74 74

22 22 BFRacing 2 68 132 6 68 68

23 2 BFRacing 62 138 6 62 62

24 52 1st Timers Racing 56 144 6 56 56

25 66 Damage Bros 50 150 6 50 50

26 101 D Q International 2 44 156 6 44 44

27 19 Sam Racing 38 162 6 38 38

28 40 Team KPR 32 168 6 32 32

29 6 Dolphin 26 174 6 26 26

30 88 All Birt Racing 20 180 6 20 20

31 9 Starky Motorsport 20 180 0 20 20

32 98 Adrenalin Rush Karting 20 180 0 20 20

33 2 Team SPR 20 180 0 20 20

34 18 BSF Racing 20 180 0 20 20

35 16 D Q International 20 180 0 20 20

Prokart Endurance NSW Championship 7/02/2009

Pos No. Name Total Diff Gap Or Total

1 3 WCR Jets 200 0 0 200 200

2 71 KBC Racing 190 10 10 190 190

3 181 Illawarra Karts and Parts 2 182 18 8 182 182

4 1 Team Kaos 176 24 6 176 176

5 777 Horesepower Racing 170 30 6 170 170

6 5 3D Muscat Trailers 164 36 6 164 164

7 23 Bell Pipes Racing 158 42 6 158 158

8 818 Illawarra Karts and Parts 152 48 6 152 152

9 84 RPM 146 54 6 146 146

10 41 Team Kartatak 140 60 6 140 140

11 21 Walkos Shire Racing 134 66 6 134 134

12 14 Two Dogs Racing 128 72 6 128 128

13 42 Civic Video 122 78 6 122 122

14 554 RGC Chorros 116 84 6 116 116

15 25 Kart Blanche 110 90 6 110 110

16 27Q ResiSales.com.au 104 96 6 104 104

17 8 UTEC DBR 98 102 6 98 98

18 52 1st Timers Racing 92 108 6 92 92

19 66 Damage Bros 86 114 6 86 86

20 19 Sam Racing 80 120 6 80 80

21 40 Team KPR 74 126 6 74 74

22 6 Dolphin 68 132 6 68 68

23 88 All Birt Racing 62 138 6 62 62

24 9 Starky Motorsport 56 144 6 56 56

25 2 Team SPR 50 150 6 50 50

26 18 BSF Racing 44 156 6 44 44

Prokart Endurance NSW Division B Championship

Pos No. Name Total Diff Gap R1 Total

1 Bell Pipes Racing 200 0 0 200 200

2 RPM 190 10 10 190 190

3 Team Kartatak 182 18 8 182 182

4 Two Dogs Racing 176 24 6 176 176

5 Illawarra Karts and Parts 2 170 30 6 170 170

6 Horsepower Racing 164 36 6 164 164

7 3D Muscat Trailers 158 42 6 158 158

8 WCR Jets 152 48 6 152 152

9 KBC Racing 146 54 6 146 146

10 Civic Video 140 60 6 140 140

11 Walkos Shire Racing 134 66 6 134 134

12 RGC Chorros 128 72 6 128 128

13 PDS Grand Prix 122 78 6 122 122

14 Kart Blanche 116 84 6 116 116

15 Team Kaos 110 90 6 110 110

16 Illawarra Karts and Parts 104 96 6 104 104

17 Resisales.com.au 98 102 6 98 98

18 UTEC Racing 92 108 6 92 92

19 1stTimers Racing 86 114 6 86 86

20 Damage Bros 80 120 6 80 80

21 Sam Racing 74 126 6 74 74

22 All Birt Racing 68 132 6 68 68

23 Team KPR 62 138 6 62 62

24 Dolphin Screens 56 144 6 56 56

25 Starky Motorsport 50 150 6 50 50

26 Team SPR 44 156 6 44 44

Prokart Endurance QLD Championship 2009

7/02/2009

Pos No. Name Total Diff Gap Or Total

1 3 WCR Jets 200 0 0 200 200

2 86 Adrenalin Rush Karting 2 190 10 10 190 190

3 50 Team 5150 182 18 8 182 182

4 661 PDS Grand Prix 176 24 6 176 176

5 51 Team 5150 2 170 30 6 170 170

6 554 RGC Chorros 164 36 6 164 164

7 27Q ResiSales.com.au 158 42 6 158 158

8 22 BFRacing 2 152 48 6 152 152

9 2 BFRacing 146 54 6 146 146

10 101 D Q International 2 140 60 6 140 140

11 98 Adrenalin Rush Karting 134 66 6 134 134

12 16 D Q International 128 72 6 128 128

Prokart Endurance QLD Division B Championship

Pos No. Name Total Diff Gap R1 Total

1 Team 5150 200 0 0 200 200

2 Team 5150 2 190 10 10 190 190

3 PDS Grand Prix 182 18 8 182 182

4 WCR Jets 176 24 6 176 176

5 Adrenalin Rush Karting 2 170 30 6 170 170

6 Resisales.com.au 164 36 6 164 164

7 BF Racing 2 158 42 6 158 158

8 BF Racing 152 48 6 152 152

9 DQ International 2 146 54 6 146 146

10 Adrenalin Rush Karting 140 60 6 140 140

11 DQ International 134 66 6 134 134

5 minutes with WCR Jets Manager, Oran Park winner and aspiring world leader Trent Warwick

In this segment we pose some hard questions to the hard man of ProKart Racing…

Q: Congratulations Trent on a great result in the season opener. Tell us about the early part of

the race where you seemed strong; then disappeared off the timing charts effectively. What happened?

A: Thanks Ian, we are all pretty pleased with ourselves! We got a great start and along with IKC managed to gap the field a little bit early on. After the first 2 hours we were really in a great position until the radar clocked us at 14kmh in pit lane so back in we had to come. To add a little bit more drama we broke a seat bolt which had the seat rubbing on the right hand side motor. It wasn’t hot enough already but that was just too uncomfortable for JV. By the time we fixed that we were back in 11th. As a team we had a chat about it and knew that if we were sensible we could climb back into the top 5 by the end of the day…..but a win was not expected!

Q: How did you come back from there to win the event against one of the strongest fields in

recent memory? A: We had a good kart, good drivers, good strategy, and together as a team we executed a plan

the way we wanted. No doubt some other teams had a few problems but so did we. I think we just managed our problems the best we could and came out on top. Every one in our team had a role to play and they did it perfectly.

Q: There are reports the weather hit 44 degrees Celsius a few hours into Saturday’s race. How

did your drivers cope with the heat and did it impact on your race strategy? A: I don’t think anyone ‘coped’ with the heat….everyone just got on with it. Chinny couldn’t go as

long as JV & Kurt mainly due to race fitness (and he is a little bugger) but his 2nd stint was really quick and gave Kurt & JV a springboard to attack the last 2 hours of the race. Kurt woke up on Sunday 5kgs lighter so it wasn’t easy going. JV’s fitness was outstanding so he managed to do a few longer stints which really helped.

Q: Pending your decision on which championship(s) you’re chasing, the WCR Jets are potentially leading all 3 series. Are you chasing all 3 or looking to wrestle back the green and gold #1 National Championship plate from KAOS?

A: We copped a lot of flack for running that number last year so I would love nothing more than to take it off KAOS for next year as National Champs. There are still 3 more national events to go including a 24 hour so we are aware of the effort that is needed, and this year looks to be the toughest on record. The National Championship is our main goal, but we will compete in all 3 and both State Championships are still important. To come so close last year in the QLD series was heart breaking, but we just weren’t quite good enough. To win that one would mean a lot to me. Having said that, with so many races in one year all we can do is focus on the next race which is a NSW event at Wollongong. I guess you could say our priority is our next race!

Q: Trent, the JETS have been one of the more successful ProKart teams in the past few

seasons, despite some significant changes to your driving line-up over that time. What to you attribute the basis of your success to?

A: I would say there are 3 main things that contribute. You need a good strong kart, good clean drivers, and a well executed strategy. I know that seems fairly obvious but 5 or 6 years ago when I started racing we watched the best teams very closely and almost mimicked what they did. By having a good understanding of the rules and planning ahead we were finishing in the top 10 instead of fighting over 20th. Nowadays, with a better kart and drivers, we are racing for wins as opposed to a top 5. There isn’t a huge amount of strategy involved anymore, but there are bits and pieces and sometimes that can be the difference.

Q: The #3 kart was in the dirt at the end of the back straight early in the race… what happened? A: Ha ha! I think Kurt got a little carried away with his victory celebrations! Our karts don’t do

burnouts but he was trying his best! Q. Finally, what’s this I hear about a fanclub? A. That’s a funny one! Shona (WCR JETS #554) and I started a little fan club for our team and

said we wouldn’t start the season until 20 people were members! At last count we had 128, and half of them don’t really know what we are on about! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=38692196618&ref=ts

Memoirs from Oran Park Luke Delaurence: DQ International

Luke Delaurence has been kind enough to share his personal reflections on DQ International’s season-opening assault at Oran Park last weekend…

****** I decided to compile the events of our weekend in the hope that we never forget the resilience we showed and the positives we can take from the lowest racing point we as a team have endured. It's a bit of a long winded story I guess but I hope that if we read it again at the end of the year we can smile at it. It's Monday morning and I have just recovered from the events of round one 2009 at Oran Park but truth be told the season began for us several months ago. Ever since the hard fought climb back to 5th place at Indy money has been poured into preparation for the new season to ensure the best possible chance at upgrading our victory in the QLD championship into a National title. With Josh taking on a senior managerial type role within the team and Troy taking responsibility of the DQ#1 Kart I was left in a position still yet to be defined within the team. Given that an absolutely minimal financial burden had been placed on my shoulders at this time, I resolved to simply make myself available whenever necessary and do whatever was required of me to make things easier for Josh and Troy. The whole time the three of us were working on the chassis, testing, working some more, cleaning, organising, rebuilding and repairing we maintained competitive and positive attitudes towards the upcoming season. The whole atmosphere was that of team spirit, friendship and good times. We could start 2009 with a good result and build from there, in fact there was no reason why we couldn't challenge for the win at the opening round!

Many things went against us. Our new chassis was delayed and could not be used for round one, spares took too long to arrive, new systems didn't fit the old kart properly, engines weren't as race ready as they claimed to be and getting in touch with the people we needed for specialist jobs was never a simple matter. Time was short and the list of jobs seemed never ending. To the absolute credit of Josh and Troy we were ready to go testing a few weeks before the season kicked off. The first real hint of trouble came at our favored testing grounds of Lismore kart track, 720 meters of tricky sweeps up and down hills that test every aspect of chassis performance. We were slow. There seemed to be a few factors getting in the way but the furthest thing from our minds was any issue with our proven champion Azzurro chassis. In a common act replicated by racers all over the world when the lap times are more Minardi than McLaren, we blamed the tyres and the engines. We had time for one more test day before round one, new tyres were purchased and our reliable motors lovingly named 'the dragsters' were made available by our engine builder. All we needed was a few sessions and we would know exactly how optimistic we could be going into the following weekend’s race. At the best part of 190kg a ProKart is a very heavy kart but around Lismore our testing the previous year had shown us that even on old tyres we could lap it in 35.5, a highly respectable time even by sprint kart standards. Unfortunately on our last day to get the kart right it rained heavily making running new tyres pointless and any performance gain from engines totally invisible. Towards the end of the day we finally got a dry session in and I jumped behind the wheel. I was slow, very slow. The best time I could force from our kart was 36.2, a full 0.7 off our target time and to make matters worse we were running the kart at 170kg. The maths around Lismore is easy, for every 10kg you can add 0.15 to a lap time, which is to say we were a full second off the pace with no chance to fix the problem before Oran Park. In keeping with the spirit of eternal optimism we elected to continue to blame the motors and the tyres and then add the track conditions into the mix to further protect our hopes and dreams for the weekend. On the Wednesday before the race we met at the shed after work and gave the kart its final going over. We strapped on the dragsters, Troy and I set up throttle cables and fuel lines while JT drooled over our new colour schemes for the season. After Troy had given our chassis a bath in WD40 we spent some time getting the front end set up perfect before rebuilding the lead insert we use for ballast, pausing from time to time to giggle at Josh and his efforts to 'float' between the Azzurro and the 'yet to be sold' BRM. Packing everything away it was about 10:30pm when James Brown sang his last song and the day ended. Thursday was travel day. Travel night to be correct as Josh and Troy were going to pick me up after I finished work at around 8pm. It didn't begin well with carefully laid plans by Josh going up in smoke late in the day. He was casually informed that the parts we needed and would pick up on the way had been shipped off in a rival team’s trailer entirely because the

supplier did not wish to be involved even though it had indicated otherwise. A minor set back but not catastrophic, just infuriating. At 8pm I found myself behind the wheel of Josh's trusty little Ford Focus with its huge payload of karts, engines, tools, spares, suits, helmets, drivers, trolleys, a Quick shade and a bonus esky, we were finally on the way. Having settled in and feeling pretty good we were making good time when, about an hour into the drive something very strange happened. Being so heavily loaded in the rear made the little Ford's front lights point up into many an oncoming drivers eyes. This resulted in many an angry high-beam flash coming back into ours. Completely unavoidable and we just grew to deal with it. Driving along near Woodburn a Mercedes coming towards us with its high beam full blast started to drift into our lane. Troy started cursing loudly as I quickly computed our options. As the Mercedes was no longer 'drifting' into our lane so much as fully entering it, pointing directly at us, I completely resolved in myself that I was about to get hurt and our weekend was over. I pushed down on the brakes as hard as I could without locking up or jack-knifing the trailer and I pulled the Focus as far to the left as possible, which wasn't very far as we were on a bridge with about barely a meter of room between the edge of the lane and a concrete wall. I was later asked by my father if I had beeped the horn and to be honest such action seemed a little pointless and impossible at the time especially with my bracing grip on the wheel. Troy screamed "FFFFFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRKKK!!" in my left ear, which he immediately followed up calm and cool with "...Well anyway as I was saying...” barely a moment after the Mercedes swerved back into its lane surely only doing so within meters of the front of the Focus. After a few calming deep breaths we got on with it. After dinner, a driver change, some GPS navigation, toll evasion, and a red eyed breakfast, we arrived at Oran Park as gates opened at 7.30am on Friday. We set to work with the plan to be at the hotel by 4pm and in bed asleep as early as possible. We could not have fallen further away from that plan if we had actively set out to do so. Our first few practice sessions were misleading, we could see that we were slow but then again we had to spend the first sessions running in our engines and learning the layout of the track. We knew that we were off the pace but then again our tyres had endured the rough 12hr at Indy and a few practice sessions after that. Outwardly Josh looked as smooth as ever and the Azzurro was comfortable and easy to drive, we even received comments from other teams along the lines of 'jeez your team is fast' and 'looking good guys!' There was an early warning sign when we were stuck in around karts and teams that over the course of the previous season we had become accustomed to being a long way in front of. On the stop watch Josh posted consistent 57.6's on our old tyres, meanwhile on reasonably fresh rubber Ian McMah in the Team5150R kart was easily punching out 56.8's. True to all usual form guides we have often found ourselves a little faster at most tracks relative to Ian's kart but here were struggling .8 off the pace. We had a few little set backs, a chain snapped and wrapped itself around the chassis and a clutch slipped but other than that we were completely bewildered by the lack of pace.

It had to be solved. We bolted on some fresher rubber and I took over the wheel of a chassis I had grown attached to over the course of the previous season. Exiting the pits with every intention of demolishing the time sheets and proving to ourselves and everybody else that we still had one of the fastest combinations for pure speed in the whole series at our disposal, if any other team wanted to be on pole they would have to wrestle it away from us. The first few laps were promising with the times cut almost immediately to 57.4, but they never got any better and in fact as the session wore on they got worse and worse. I reported to Troy over our radio that the kart was very bad at the rear and was carrying far too much grip around corners bogging us down. In my mind it was time to get radical, it was an unpopular effort but I managed to convince my team mates that we needed just one more session to answer some questions. We loosened everything that had been tight, figuring that our tightly bound chassis was just a little too pent up on this fast flowing NASCAR inspired speed ring of a circuit. One lap out of the pits and the answer to all of our questions became horrifyingly clear. As I pulled the kart into the pits with the strangest handling characteristics I have ever experienced it ground to a halt on one of the bumps in pit lane. Stepping out of the kart and looking at the rear my heart sank. The axle had completely detached itself from the chassis taking the bearing housing with it on one side and cracking the chassis half way through on the other. A race ending failure, a season destroying failure, It's hard to imagine seeing anything worse happening to the back of a kart that hadn't just been involved in a massive pile up. Back in our Pit bay we sat down, exhausted from lack of sleep, emotionally sapped and coping with the reality of our situation. "Ok" said Josh "Realistically what are our options?” Short of getting the kart repaired, which didn't look possible given where we were, we decided to use bearings on the inside rails and just grind the race out with a sick kart. Just before I started to take to the kart with spanners I turned to Josh and said "Before I do this, do we have any better ideas?" Right at that moment an inspired Troy ran up to us with an address and phone number of a welder who (courtesy of Tony Pullen) could see us immediately and would fix the kart for cash. Keeping Josh 'floating' around to make sure the 'players' weren’t about to accidently hop into a chest of IKEA drawers to drive around instead of the BRM, Troy and I loaded up Tony's Honda with our now stripped bare Azzurro frame and raced off down the road to get it repaired. It took us almost 4 hours to get there, have the kart fixed up, reinforced, braced and drive back to the hotel to meet back up with Josh but we made it back in time for hot showers and dinner. The mood in the camp was of utter disappointment and confusion 'where did we go wrong?' 'how could this have happened?' and the realisation that with the race starting at 9.30am Saturday morning we had no choice but to rebuild the kart that night. It was around 8.45pm when Troy and I set out finding a good flood light in the golf course car park under which to begin rebuilding the Azzurro.

By this stage we had both been up and going for at least 36 hours and we had no choice but to push on. We displayed a little mutinous behaviour and sent Josh to bed, his eyes heavy and red and displaying the disappointment of a man who had realised that he had paid a massive amount of money for the privilege of what we were currently enduring. Out in the car park with all concepts of time completely evaporated Troy and I pressed on and piece by piece rebuilt our Azzurro. We had a moment of panic when electrical storm clouds began brewing above our heads but with some god sent late night assistance from Ian McMah we got everything we could reasonably complete, finished and packed the kart away. It was about 11.45pm and over 40 hours (43 hours for Troy) since getting up Thursday morning when my head finally hit the pillow only to be instantly greeted by Josh's alarm clock at 5.30am Saturday morning. Race day. Josh and I left Troy to get some much needed sleep in the hotel room at around 6.15am and headed over to the track to work fixing up the red eyed mistakes myself and Troy had made in the panic of the previous nights rebuilding process. Still unsure what awaited us once we got behind the wheel of the stitched together Azzurro; I headed out as soon as practice began. It was still slow, and now making a lot of noise like the chassis was scraping on the ground. It was too much, after all of the effort how could something still be wrong? Why was our kart so slow? What had changed? The engines felt flat and worse than they had on Friday. The scraping sound was making me back off in corners to save completely destroying the kart. I came into the pits and we had a look over the kart. Discovering only a few small issues; The clutch was free spinning and needed to be bolted up and locked tighter and it was a side pod bolt that was scraping the ground so we flipped it upside down. That done and I went back out to see if we were ever going to get out of this hole we seemed to have fallen in. Coming out of the pits I lined up behind one of the ARK team karts, typically one of the fastest teams on the grid. Within a few corners not only had I passed it but I was pulling away easily! The chassis had come alive and lap by lap was getting faster and faster and faster, flying past rival teams left right and centre. The engines were singing and the handling was like having old friend come over and picking up a conversation exactly where you left off many years ago. It felt awesome. After so much trouble we were finally getting to the silver lining. Official practice over we were ranked 1st with a fastest lap 0.1sec better than anybody else out of 35 teams. 56.5sec was full 1.1 seconds faster than we had been the previous morning and we still had our brand new tyres to bolt on!

We came in and changed tyres over, taking our time and waiting for an announcement for qualifying to begin. We were full of confidence that we could now do the business and get back into the form that had seen us take so many pole positions in the previous season. It was not to be. Qualifying was never announced (ed: I think the correct statement would be we never heard it!) and by the time we got curious and headed over it was finished. Call it an honest mistake on our part, but curiously out of the 35 karts entered in the race 11 of them did not turn a single lap in qualifying. Truly a bizarre situation in any racing series one would think. Worse than that, our kart was not even on the grid list which meant we were added last, which meant starting from the back of the karts that also did not turn a lap. As far as getting off on the wrong foot goes, this was about as bad as it gets. I lined up on the grid right at the back; leaning to the side to see around the guy in front of me so could watch Garry drop the flag. I reacted much faster than the karts around me, put two wheels on the grass and passed half a dozen karts before the first corner. Passing several more in the course of the first lap I found myself not looking too bad in terms of position and for a moment allowed myself to think that by the end of my stint there would be no reason we would not be in the top 5. I passed a kart down the back strait only to see him flying out of control at me in the braking zone. I gave him a little room then took it back and reclaimed my spot only to turn the next corner and see a wall of karts piled on top of each other blocking the whole track! I backed off and looked for a way through the mess only to be flanked by a kart on the inside. I aimed for the biggest gap I could see and slammed on the brakes. The wheel was yanked from my hands and the left stub axle took the whole impact. Limping back to the pits we repaired the kart and I went back out. The steering alignment was clearly wrong, the kart under steering where it previously had not and it was very unstable under braking, but importantly it was still fast. We posted a fastest lap of 56.2sec little less than .3 off the best and this was despite the kart being wounded. With Troy keeping me company via the radio I settled in and picked off the karts in front of me one by one.

With less than 5 laps to go in my stint I radioed Troy, the steering was getting worse and I concluded that the steering wheel itself must be becoming loose. No sooner had I radioed Troy to tell him we had a problem, I would be in that lap and to get some tools quickly, I turned into the flat out left hander over the bridge only for the whole steering wheel to come off in my hands! The kart sped strait off the track, pulling up a few meters from the wall. The bolt holding the wheel on had cross threaded in the first crash, worked its way loose and then elongated the steering column meaning repair was virtually impossible anyway. We retired the kart. Game over. What a weekend, the toughest I have ever endured. Over the course of two days our championship hopes were dashed and our title defence in QLD made considerably harder, but here are the plus points: We never once snapped at each other (although I did snap at one guy I’ve never met "kart busted??" "Keen observation there mate!" and at Michael once "where are the kingpins?" "Same place as every other go-kart" but in my defence I was really tired). We maintained humour throughout the whole ordeal and supported each other as only the best teams do. I don't think I have ever laughed as hard as I did on the car trip home. We know truthfully in ourselves that given the same circumstances over again we could not have done a better job or done ourselves any prouder. I am proud to be a member of a team like this.

2009 Calendar2009 Calendar2009 Calendar2009 Calendar

The remaining rounds of the 2009 Calendar are listed below.

Full schedules for each event are available at

http://series.prokart.com.au/content/section/24/291/

2009 RACE SCHEDULES2009 RACE SCHEDULES2009 RACE SCHEDULES2009 RACE SCHEDULES

All 2009 Race Schedules are available by clicking here: http://series.prokart.com.au/content/section/24/291/

NSW Round 2NSW Round 2NSW Round 2NSW Round 2

QLD ROUND 2QLD ROUND 2QLD ROUND 2QLD ROUND 2 • please note this round is ANTI-CLOCKWISE (opposite to 2008)

•

TECHNTECHNTECHNTECHNICALICALICALICAL

With this coming weekend seeing the running of the NASCAR Sprint Cup DAYTONA 500, this issue’s technical piece focuses on the award-winning RACEf/x system utilised by NASCAR. This system is utilised to enhance television viewing around the world and allows viewers and fans the chance to quickly and easily identify cars on track; not something that’s always simple given that NASCAR’s can exceed 300kph at some circuits.

Sportvision’s most advanced system, the RACEf/x™ system, has revolutionized motorsports broadcasting and has become an integral component of each NASCAR Sprint Cup Race. It provides fans “not at the track” with graphic effects and relevant data enabling them to follow the action of their favorite drivers more easily. The most advanced sports tracking system ever created, RACEf/x uses patented technology and global positioning system (GPS) satellites to track 43 cars, traveling in excess of 180 MPH, five times per second, creating a complete digital record of the race, while delivering a broad array of visual effects for television, as well as data for other applications.

RACEf/x enhances the viewing experience, as fans can easily identify their favorite drivers on television, while having the opportunity to customize their experience when following the race on the internet, Pay-Per View or a wireless device.

The on-board GPS system, via a “black-box,” captures all telemetry and positioning (speed, acceleration/deceleration, time behind leader, exact car position-within 4cm, RPM, brake indicator, throttle percentage) and creates a digital record of the race in real time. In fact, a car is cannot run in an official Cup race if the “black-box” is not installed.

As part of the RACEf/x System, live position and performance data are displayed on the TV screen -- offering the ability to add pointers, arrows, and bubbles that move in real-time with the cars to easily identify them for fans at home. Data collected via the RACEf/x System is also available in real-time on the Internet, Pay-Per-View and wireless applications.

RACE F/X – HOW IT WORKS

Sportvision’s most advanced system, the RACEf/x™ System, uses GPS (global positioning system) to track and display information on all cars involved in the race, in real-time. Using what’s called differential carrier phase GPS, the RACEf/x system is able to accurately measure the position of each car on the track accurate to two centimeters. Each racecar contains a DAPS (data acquisition and positioning system) unit as well as a telemetry and GPS antenna installed in the roof.

Antennas are set-up around the track to collect information from each car five times per second. This information is relayed to the Sportvision production truck where the data is aggregated and processed by an array of computers running proprietary software developed for the RACEf/x system. The total time needed to collect, process, and display this information in different various graphical forms is less than a second.

The most prominent graphic of the RACEf/x system is what’s known as the pointer. The most heavily used cameras are outfitted with specialized camera pan and tilt heads that track the movement of the camera. These cameras are calibrated by a process that “teaches” it where the track is in the video in relation to its position in the real world. Using this information and the GPS information, Sportvision is able to super-impose a “pointer” that points directly to any of the cars, and tracks the cars actual movement with its movement on the screen. The pointer consists of an arrow pointing to the car as well as a car number badge, driver name, real-time position, and one or two data items (ie. speed and time off leader).

The RACEf/x System generates several other graphics, including: Track mode which shows a graphic of the track as well as a badges of the car in question and the race leader along with relevant position information; and Dashboard mode which shows the driver’s RPM information, brake information, and throttle information.

UPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTSUPCOMING EVENTS

NSW Series Round #2

WOLLONGONG CITY RACEWAY

www.wollongongcityraceway.com.au

Wollongong City Raceway hosts round 2 of the NSW ProKart Endurance Championship on the 7th of March. Practise is available the day before, full details are on the race schedule.

Wollongong City Raceway is the ‘home’ of ProKart and always provides close racing. A tight and challenging circuit, this venue provides a solid test for karts and drivers alike.

Full circuit details can be found at www.wollongongcityraceway.com.au

QLD Series Round #2

COOLOOLA KART CLUB

www.cckc.org.au

Cooloola Coast Kart Club hosts the 2nd round of the QLD Championships this year on March 22-23.

The Cooloola circuit is one of the newest in Australia and is an excellent layout well suited to the ProKart category.

For the first time, this event will be run in an anti-clockwise direction, offering all ProKart competitors a new and very interesting challenge.

FOR SFOR SFOR SFOR SALEALEALEALE

DQ International offer for sale their ex Team BRM chassis, most recently campaigned by DQ Int. at the 2008 ProKart Indy 12 hour. This kart placed 2nd at this year’s 24 hour event at Eastern Creek and remains one of the fastest karts in the series.

• Complete package, ready to win • Freshly powdercoated chassis • Brand new stub axles and tie rods • Trolley • Spare front rims • Developed chassis and setup to achieve endurance success • Setup and race assistance from DQ members available • Spare Engine Available • Numerous other spares

Results include 2nd Eastern Creek 24hr 2008 3rd Toowoomba 6hr 2008 4th Ipswich 6hr 2008 Fastest Lap Toowoomba 6hr 2008 1st 2008 QLD Prokart Championship Price $4,000 including spare engine $3,700 without Contact Josh Townsend on 0407 656 974 or email jtr_16@hotmail.com

FOR SALEFOR SALEFOR SALEFOR SALE

Darren Farmilo offers for sale his ex A1 Racing Azzurro chassis, most recently campaigned by Triple 1 Racing at the 2008 ProKart Indy 12 hour, setting the race lap record. It is the same brand and design of chassis (late 2007 Azzurro) as that used by DQ International to win the Queensland Series last year, so has a lot of inherent pace and will provide immediate results.

• Complete package, ready to race/win • Trolley • Very fast kart • Setup and race assistance available from Team5150R members

Price $3500 ready to race Contact Darren Farmilo on 0405 698 051 or email daznes@mysoul.com.au