November 2017
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November 2017 Production Race Series at the First Round of the Summer Series – Hampton Downs Picture by Dave Goodwin P O Box 27063, Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand 1440 Phone: (09) 620-9797 Facsimile: (09) 620-5247 Auckland Car Club’s Monthly Magazine – Race, Rally, Clubsport and more… PRESIDENT’S LETTER It has been a while since I put a spiel together for the newsletter and there is much to tell. We have had two successful race meetings of the Auckland car Club Summer series the first in September at Hampton Downs and the second in October at Pukekohe. Both Meetings were well attended, averaging around 90 competitors. At the first round we had the Rotary Racing Enthusiasts (RRE) for their first run with Auckland Car Club and we welcome them aboard. Due to a tight schedule for the day they combined with the Racing Saloon class and a very reasonable size grid was the result. We have our next round back at Pukekohe on the 9th of December and with all of the classes confirming their attendance for this one it should be a very reasonable turn out. Please remember entry into our events as a spectator is free so please come along and enjoy the day. The last weekend in January (Anniversary weekend - 27th and 28th) we have our first foray to Taupo, which we haven’t done for many years, and although our format isn’t finalised it looks like we will be doing races Saturday and Sunday along with some dual and multi car Sprints. The Club needs your support to make Taupo a successful event and if you are able to enter a car it would be appreciated. The Club has added this to the season’s calendar as a result of the survey that was sent out last year in which a majority of you wanted us to provide Taupo. We have started our preparations for the next far north Rally and are working hard to make it bigger and better than the first one and are confident in doing so. Entries for this event we have decided to do paper and online to suit all entrants as some didn’t like the online system. The Rally winners over all for the previous Far North Rally event in June were Lee Robson (driver) and Glenn Goldring (co driver) who were awarded the John Woolf and Grant Whittaker Trophies respectively and received at our Roll of Honour ceremony. These Trophies were presented to Lee and Glenn by the Woolf family at the Auckland Car Clubrooms. Another award was presented at the Roll of Honour ceremony and that was the Michael McHugh Trophy and the recipient was young Liam Lawson who won the Formula 1600 series here and came second in the Formula 4 series in Australia. A well-deserved trophy for a young fellow that may possibly be our next big international achiever. This brings me to the Roll of Honour ceremony itself. I have to say this was a fantastic day and very enjoyable. It was very humbling to address a crowd that consisted of such achieved motorsport names and personalities with the formal part of the day finishing in a question and answer session with Jim Richards, Ross Stone and Jim Palmer. The end result is another 20 names have now been added to the Roll of Honour Board which is located at the Clubrooms for all to see. I offer many thanks to Kevin Lancaster for his role as our MC and to the people that turned out for the event, which I believe to be in excess of one hundred. Lastly we have finished construction of the new office at the rear of the clubrooms and a sliding door has been installed in front of the old roller door (which has been retained for security). Chris Watson along with Tim Hill from the Historic Racing Club (HRC) have now moved in and operate from the Auckland Club rooms in Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill. Well that’s it from me for now and hope to see many of you out at Pukekohe in December. Brett Davy A BLAST FROM THE PAST Jim Palmer was one of New Zealand’s most successful drivers during the height of open wheeler racing in New Zealand. In the 1960s Palmer raced Formula Junior; he raced in the highly competitive Tasman Series and won four Gold Star championships. Palmer started racing when he was 15, his first car was a Butler E93 with a Ford engine which he got for 500 pounds, he started racing in some local hill climbs, sprints and the odd club event. Palmer’s interest in cars, like most, came from his father, George Palmer. In early 1962 Palmer enjoyed his first win at Waimate. A year later he had won the same event for the second consecutive time, then backed this up with further wins at Renwick and Mt Maunganui. Palmer’s performances saw him win his first Gold Star championship. He won the 1963/64 title then won another three, in doing so becoming the first New Zealander to win three Gold Star titles in a row. During this time, he was also competing in the renowned Tasman Series. He enjoyed two New Zealand Grand Prix podiums and was rarely outside the top five, competing against Australians like Frank Matich and legends of Formula One like Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark, Palmer was establishing himself as one of New Zealand’s great drivers. The picture below is Jim Palmer receiving 3rd place in the Lady Wigram Trophy Race in 1965 along with Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren. Pictures courtesy of Auckland Car Club, content info from speedcafe and members of Auckland Car Club. SOMETHING NEW… BMW Motorsport has finally revealed that they have indeed been working on a new M series and it’s a mix of old and new. BMW has been working hard on integrating technology and performance to hopefully create a car that rivals the new Mercedes hyper car called Project One that was unveiled in September along with BMW when they formally unveiled their new BMW M8 GTE at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA). The V8 engine with BMW Twin Power Turbo Technology, which is restricted by regulations to a capacity of 4.0 litres, has a nominal base output of more than 500 hp, depending on the classification. The cylinder block and cylinder head are taken from the production engine and the focus of the development work is on achieving the greatest possible efficiency. BMW says that “virtual development” plays a central role in the development of the BMW M8 GTE. For example, the traction control is being developed with the assistance of an artificial intelligence system. Topology optimisation with 3D printing gives the engineers far greater freedom in their search for innovative and creative solutions for the design of the car. Rapid prototyping also allows them to take delivery of a new part, as a usable prototype, just 24 hours after the virtual development…pretty high tech stuff really. It’s scheduled to make its race debut at the Daytona 24hr race in January 2018. The concept for the new Mercedes Project One Supercar REMEMBERING ANDREW MITCHEL Andrew Mitchel 19 November 1966 – 22 August 2017 On 22nd of August we sadly lost a member of Production Race Series and Rotary Racing Enthusiasts rather suddenly. To honour Andrew and his family, Auckland Car Club had a lap of remembrance at Hampton Downs at Round 1. We also had a minute’s silence during drivers briefing with his wife and family members that attended the round. These are some of the trophies that Andrew had won so far this year. VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME There's a spot for you to learn more about the sport you love, and take your turn with those who put in their time to help you go racing. Contact [email protected] for more information. NEWS FROM ROUND 1 OF THE SUMMER SERIES Production Muscle Round 1 Mike Oldham, winner of the Ian Bean Memorial Trophy presented at Round 1 PRODUCTION RACE SERIES ROUND 1 We had a good race day despite the weather not being the best, we had a 35 car grid with a few awesome prizes from sponsors such as Motul and Race Brakes to name a few….. We had driver of the day which was awarded to Dion Clerke. Dion Clerke, Winner of the Driver of the day Round 1 Group A Points Group B Points Graham Ball 130 Treva Smith 118 Mark Grover 115 Darron Curphey 114 Gerald Fava 99 Des Redgwell 93 Steve Elliot 97 Steven Vodanovich 93 Anothony Munns 91 Eddie Dreaneen 82 Peter Vodanovich 90 Raymond Dufton 81 Scott Beaumont 87 Nigel Nichols 70 Michael Cozens 84 Colin Jones 60 Rob Wolff 84 Michael Kitching 53 Marcus Heke 78 Alan Greig 47 Samuel Carpenter 57 Randal Liupuhi 36 Graham McDonald 56 Phil Hall 28 John Mulrennan 51 Marco Holtrigter 23 Tony Balwind 28 Aaron Wharerau Neville Carpenter 21 CLUB INFORMATION 44 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland Licensed Bar, Lounge, Large Screen TV Regular Club Night The club rooms are open every Thursday night from 7:30pm until 10:30pm. License examiners are usually available to assist new Members with license exams. Several members of the Executive Committee are usually available to discuss any issues or provide assistance. Club Rooms Hire Rates The Members’ Lounge is available for hire for special events such as birthday or anniversary parties, meetings, bingo/housie, quiz nights, training courses, etc.