BMW Club NSW - Oran Park Supersprint 12th April 2009

[Michel]

Bump. Only a week away now.
Next Sunday 12th April. Watch the first of the Mercedes VS BMW showdown events!
There'll be German exhaust fumes everywhere.
Come and witness the might of the Silver Star take on the.......... Blueish whiteish chequered circle BMW emblem thingy.
There will be 2 Team W116 car's representing on the day.

I aim to be there, for support purposes....

 

[Styria]

Hi Michel, we need a "call to arms". All going well, I will also be there to support SELfor50 and to cheer him on.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORTERS. Also, I have been in touch with Cameron to try and work out a venue, such as hotel, club etc. where we can have a bit of a get together, probably on the Sunday. I have reason to believe (if memore serves me correctly),that Cameron will be coming up to Sydney on Good Friday. So, that perhaps is another day, although I am not sure if establishments will be open. For me , SATURDAY is out, as I have a family commitment. Okay everyone, can we have further input and thoughts on this very important subject matter ? Days, location, etc. etc.

Regards Styria

HOT, HOT NEWS ----------------OSCAR IS COMING UP FROM GRIFFITH.

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[Styria]

Okay, I have had some very meaningful and searching discussions with myself - (apart from a couple of others). Sunday, after Oran Park (come on guys, let's support the two heroes), it is to be a sort of Pub GRUB FEST at the:

ROSE AND CROWN,
VICTORIA ROAD,
PARRAMATTA.

If anyone wants further details, please ring me on 0428-50-1800. Alternatively, if anyone wants to discuss another venue, happy to hear from you.

The Rose and Cown has been completely refurbished over the last few years, it is in a handy location, the quality of food IS MORE THAN ACCEPTABLE and palatable, and it does not cost a fortune.

Parking is best on the North Parramatta side of Victoria Road. At the moment, we have abl567 and his wife Karen, Michel (hopefully with Paula) and myself (hopefully with Julie)...and then, of course, Ossie and Cameron hopefully with Natalie and Julie Anne. Also, not to forget David and Helen, and perhaps a few others. Regards Styria

 

[oscar]

It's definite that I'll be on the grid I'll get round to posting some updates on POVO soon.

As for making this a GTG of sorts, I like your thinking styria and it would be a perfect way to top off the race day to kick back at a Pub. Buuuut, I'm not sure I can fit it in sorry.

Here's my plans so far. We're coming up on Friday too, however we're staying at Moss Vale all weekend with a sister and my folks are coming too. Then Saturday will be cityrail to the Easter Show and back. Sunday's race day of course and whilst I'm not sure if we're heading home that night we'll be going back to Moss Vale and having a family dinner down there. I'd hate to commit then disappoint on the day but I reckon I'll be buggered by the end of it.

 

[Styria]

Hi Ossie, that's fine and fully appreciated. At least, you'll be taking part on Sunday and there will be time for a chinwag. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Well, the day has come and gone. I managed to get to Oran Park despite getting lost a couple of times and having to ask for directions. You wouldn't think that was possible seeing I had been there in November, but old age must be getting to me.

It was good to see Cameron (SELfor50) and Simon (Oscar) entering their cars against some pretty still opposition. Cameron, with his 450, was in Group Three, whilst Simon competed in Group Five with his manual tranny 280S. I believe that the 450 lapped the long Oran Park circuit about fifteen seconds quicker than the 280, but Cameron's car had the benefit of racing brake pads and tyres. Simon's 'POVO', I believe, was running standard equipment.

Along the main straight, about 190 and 150 were the order of the day, and I was amazed at the close racing that the 450 was engaged in with a six cylinder 3.2 BMW Sports Coupe (Z4 ?). In fact, the 450 outhandled the BMW in the corners. What an effort. Also, one has to marvel at the amount of preparation involved in getting the cars to Sydney from Griffith and Canberra respectively. Loading and unloading the race cars several times, preparing the cars themselves, all the spares and equipment needed - it's almost never ending. Fellows, great effort and well done. Regards Styria

N.B. We also did manage to get to the Rose and Crown - what a splendid little pub, with excellent and very reasonably priced food. All in all, there were five couples, and there were certainly no boring moments. A big thank you to everyone that showed. Sorry, no pics.

 

[Michel]

My apologies for being a NO-SHOW

Some family commitments came up at the last minute and my Sunday was thrown into shambles.

I hope Simon and Cam might have some pics (or video clips) to share with all..

 

[oscar]

There's nothing like a family to wreck a bloke's plans!
Not to worry Michel. Is all good as Don would say.

It was great to catch up with styria again and I had a few others turn up albeit briefly but as is typical with these days, it can be hectic in between sessions and leaves little time to really catch up. In fact Cam and I were loaded up at the end of the day and we were still chatting till we got kicked out so they could lock the gates. LOL.

I didn't have time to get my own lot of photos so I missed some good opportunities to get the 50 odd cars in one or two shots. So the following photos are from later in the afternoon when some of the family turned up. Also there's a video, a lap in each of the cars, a POVO lap and one in ol' Silver.

Official results aren't up yet but in a nutshell, Cam's ride is becoming more and more competitive which is great to see and despite developing smoke on the overrun, povo ran well but in the end, only beat a couple of first timers but it was a great day and the event was a success. We were also lucky to avoid any wet weather. There was a few wet spots out there from overnight showers which eventually dried up.

It was fun to tackle the figure 8 for the first time which is a bit daunting when you miss the familiarisation laps due to running around filling in paperwork. I nearly turned onto the karting track a couple of times first time round and the exit off the figure 8 is a bit confusing at first. It's sharp but can be taken at speed given the right angle. I couldn't quite get it right and I couldn't master the main straight either. 165km/hr was my fastest approach to the left kink but I backed off and braked too soon every time. Then I found myself lagging and going to WOT to get to the first corner into the fig8.

Was great fun though. None of the group 1 or group 2 cars (the real fast ones) are in these pics unfortunately but here are some others.

 

[-bb-]

Glad ya all had a great day; wish I could have been there. Anyone got more pics? I wanna see the Merc's sticking it to the BM's

 

[Styria]

Glad ya all had a great day; wish I could have been there. Anyone got more pics? I wanna see the Merc's sticking it to the BM's

Hi bb, stupid so and so that I am, I didn't even take my camera - as I said, I couldn't even find the track initially. Referring to Ossie's pics, the one of ol' silver shows the Bimmer that Cameron had to not only contend with, but also give him a hell of a fright. Just think about it - new vs. old technology, weight penalty and so on. As I said, the 450 either outhandled the Bimmer, or the driver was extra cautious.

I observed Cameron approaching the long left hand sweeper at the end of the main straight, and it was very noticeable how little brake he applied - just a couple of dabs, so his car certainly handled very well. Yes, it was a fun afternoon for me, and I really appreciate the time and effort, AND Money, both put in to be there on the day. Well done, guys, and greatly appreciated. Regards Styria

 

[oscar]

Talk about cost. I got slugged $299 for trailer hire. It's hard to know whether it's worth buying one or not. These hire ones I use are super strong and the cheaper ones I've checked out in the past look suitable for carrying around small cars only. There's rego costs and repairs that I don't have to worry about I suppose, plus no storage concerns.

I just wish there were trailers built like Transformers so a 14x8 car trailer could fold down into a 6x4

An aluminium tilt tray is what I need. But with a 5 figure starting price I better start collecting coke cans.

 

[B13]

What about a small trailer which only mounts the front wheels and drags the rear wheels on the road?

I.

 

[oscar]

I've never seen them before except off tow trucks. I've checked a few trailer places online in the past and they've had nothing like it. I saw an ideal low loading speedway trailer on ebay in Vic recently where the trailer had wheels in front and behind the car. The listing said those trailers are now illegal. At work we've been discussing the number of retirees coming through town with small cars attached to "A" frames on the back of Winnebagos. So all four wheels of the towed car are on the ground. Not sure if they're illegal in NSW but judging that most have Vic plates it must be ok there. Not sure how they link up to the steering but towing with just the front off the ground would be ideal. Might go google.

 

[SELfor50]

Sorry about the delay, here's some more pics.

Thanks to Styria for dropping in to support!! It looked like he had a great time watching us go round in circles... And thanks again Styria for your question of the BMW M Coupe driver, where you said: "The merc's going alright isn't it?? I mean honestly, you're driving a 2000 model car and VS a 1978 model it's pretty impressive that it can keep up." Thanks mate, it was good to see him stumble for an excuse...

Sorry I didn't make the dinner, next time I'm up in Sydney I'll make up for it.. beers are on me.

Results for the day can be found here: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?12/04/2009.ORGP.S2.Y

They don't seem to match the final results the the BMW club sent out, that had myself about 2 tenths of a second quicker @ 1m31.8xxx and Oscar also about half a second quicker.

Anyway, enjoy.

Ol' silver arriving


Povo arriving


Scrutineering, Povo's cherry is popped.














Povo chasing down a 318i


Povo on the lean


The Grid


Ol' silver's too quick for the camera...

 

[oscar]

Povo chasing down a 318i

Yeah, that's the way I remember it

Can't believe it was that wet in the morning. We were so lucky for it to dry up during the day.

 

[Michel]

Great Pics chaps....

Again, my apologies for not making it (after saying I would) to Oran Park, however, last minute family commitments prevented me from doing so.

Oscar,
My recommendations is for you to invest (I know it aint cheap) in a car trailer.
There is nothing like the knowledge that your race car is Off the road and safely behind you.
Plus, you can set up YOUR trailer to have a few spares fitted (tyres, Tool box, etc....)

Look at the back of racing magazines (including dragster..) for "trailers for sale".