SSEEPPTTEEMMBBEERR 22001111 The Official Newsletter of the Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club Inc. Welcome to the September newsletter and remember the club will be meeting on Wednesday, the 21st of September, at the Mudgeeraba Showgrounds from 7.30pm (Gold Coast UBD, Page 47, Q-13). Mikko Hirvonen & Jarmo Lehtinen win Rally Australia Photo taken from www.abc.net.au/news Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 1 of 12 GOLD COAST TWEED MOTORSPORTING CLUB (INC.) 2011 COMMITTEE President: ……………………Peter Preston - 0412 487 329 (M) Vice President: ……………...Jason Ruse Secretary/Membership: .........Bob Bowden Treasurer: ……………………Simon Petty Club Patron: ……………….…Alan Jones MBE Club Captain: ………………..Tony Taylor Points Scorer: ………………. Matt Linning & Lynne Taylor CAMS Delegate: ………….....Bruce Hodgson: 0408159 515 Club Equipment Trailer: ……. Peter Preston (24 Hours Notice Please) Club Historian: ……………….Mick Bruce Web Site Editors:…………….Denis Baker & Shaun Brown Newsletter: ………………..…Thomas Rosengreen ([email protected]) Web Address:………………..www.gctmc.org.au Postal Address:………………PO Box 8582 BUNDALL QLD 4217 Please consult the GCTMC Inc website for up to date event information, news and club activities. The Club Membership Form can be found attached to this edition and also on the GCTMC Home page. Khanacross #3 – 25 September 2011 The third GCTMC Khanacross of the year is to be held this weekend at the Tanah Kita Nursery, Yawalpah Rd, Pimpama. You can get the Supp Regs and Entry Form from the GCTMC website. Remember to bring your CAMS licence, CTP extension, sunscreen, water, hat and don’t be late as entries close at 8.30am. October Nav Run – Kate Bruce Hi Guys As previously discussed, we are running the nav run for the local Rotary Club on Sunday October 16. Anyone from the car club wishing to participate is welcome to. Cost is $15 per person which includes food and drink at the pit stop. Anyone requiring further information can contact us on: [email protected] or Mick 0416 140 948. Thanks Kate Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 2 of 12 RALLY OF FINLAND – BEST RALLY IN THE WORLD – Ron King I took the opportunity to join 10 other Aussies and Kiwis to go to the Rally of Finland this year, which has been high on my bucket list since watching videos of this amazing event since the early 80’s. Our group arranged by Rally Sport News, were part of the Brendan Reeves supporters club and we were joined by 50 other rally enthusiasts from Rallytravel.Com, on the bus mainly from the UK but from all countries around the world. We all met at Helsinki on the Wednesday and after a pleasant day of sight seeing were bused up to Jyvaskyla for the rally. I expected the rally action to be hot, but I was not ready for the 30deg C, 99% humidity, I did not even bring shorts and I didn’t need a jumper or jacket for the who trip. Apparently it was even hotter last year and the Finns only get a few weeks of these temps every year. Only problem was none of the Hotels and airports had air-conditioning! The Rally We ( and about 6000 other spectators ) went to watch the crews practice on Thursday morning around a special forestry Road with jumps etc and I noticed straight away how much traction there was in the dirt roads in Finland. The sand was course and there was no sign of clay anywhere, so even the top crews had to increase their entry speed into corners as they were backing off too soon then having to power on again before the right angle corner I was standing at. Most drivers took 3 runs before they had the speed right into the corner, Speaking with Brendan Reeves later in the rally he said the same, that he could have gone faster through the corners as there was plenty of traction. We went back to HQ at Jyvaskyla were we met Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth ( his sister ), they were doing a photo shoot in the “ Family room “ were the young WRC Academy entrants Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 3 of 12 in the Ford Festivas 1600 front wheel drive cars, were asked to sit in the children’s toy cars, it was a laugh but to me they all looked like kids anyway, ( I must be getting old ). I mentioned to Brendan I used to compete against his dad Mike Reeves who was a Victorian Rally Champ. We also ran into Molly Taylors Mum, Coral, who was there to support the other Aussie entrant in the WRC Academy class. I must mention that the Family room was a great thing as children could play in the toy cars and watch their rally heroes on the big screens while the parents had a cup of coffee and watched them, something for Rally Aus to consider, get the kids interested in rallying. The Rally spectator points were idyllic with thousands of Finnish fans in the beautiful forests and roads to rave about. On the Saturday stages our group was treated to the sight of Loeb ( first car on the road ), at maximum attack, putting a gap between him and Ogier, which he did. Ogier was clawing back, but a puncture put paid to his run. I must say I love the current WRC cars, they are light nimble, about 300 BHP from the 1600 turbo motor, ( that’s enough! ) they are about as wide as they are long, great formula. There was about 40 WRC cars, and about 30, S2000 cars which are also a great formula to watch, followed by about 50 PRC Subarus and Evos which is not my favorite formula, but it was great to see Hayden Padon in the PRC Subaru win the class for the Third time, I then watched him win the PRC class for the 4th time in the Rally Aus to take the award, this young Kiwi can really drive, well done. At the same spectator point, when the 160 cars in the WRC event went through, there was a 20 min wait for the Historic Rally, I kept an eye on the crowd around and behind and not one person left. Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 4 of 12 There was about 87 classic / historic cars and it was great, they put on a great display for the rally fans. I spotted an ex Competitor from Victoria in a Mk2 Escort, Ernie Graham, he was still in an Mk2 Escort and putting on a great display. When I got home I looked up my rally results and the last time I competed against Ernie was in 1990 in the Kanga Trial, ( he crashed out, we came 3rd O right ). But when I blurted out at the spectator point that I knew Ernie, they just said, sure you did Ronny. Bad news was there was only one Datsun in the whole field, a Datsun 100E? a Datsun I never seen or heard of before, it looked like a rear wheel drive 1983 Pulsar! While I am talking about this spectator point I must mention the open air urinal, which was located about 3m from a Porta Loo where many ladies were lined up, watching the men at the Urinal. I could not line up with girls for the loo as they would have pushed me out as they were all bustin, so I had no option but to point percy at the open air plastic tank with holes in the sides. I took a photo as you would not believe me otherwise, notice how it was placed in the open not out back. We all went back to the lovely town of Jyvaskyla for the final power stage held on a ski slope and then the ceremonial finish, a great end to what must be the best rally in the world. Cheers Ron King Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 5 of 12 Cars for Sale – Cars taken from http://www.my105.com Subaru Impreza 22B STI Genuine 1998 model sti 22b, very rare collectable, Imported for race/rally use, can have permit registration, build 46 of 400 made, has service books & homologation papers from Subaru japan, more photos & video available upon request $39,000 Night Time Phone: 0402317513 State: South Australia Post Code: n/a Country: Australia Subaru Impreza WRX STI Competitive CAMS log booked dedicated rally car, high quality build by Flood Motorsport, full cage, seam welded/reinforced. Motec M800. Completed 3 Targa rallies. Low K's and many other items and spares, in exc condition, always garaged. Price is ONO and includes delivery to Syd, Melb or Adelaide Day Time Phone: 0417 187 464 Night Time Phone: n/a State: Western Australia PostCode: n/a Country: Australia Nissan Pulsar Gti-R Best Pulsar in Australia. Motec, M4 Pro, GpA rods, NME GpA magnesium sump and pump, NME centre and rear viscous diffs, Titanium/Stainless exhaust, Modena straight cut box with bronze selectors, Modena Torsen front diff, camber tops, Davis susp Porsche Brembo radial mount brakes. Truck load of spares Day Time Phone: 03 9775 0133 Night Time Phone: n/a State: Victoria PostCode: 3201 Country: Australia Gold Coast Tweed Motorsporting Club – September 2011 Page 6 of 12 Rally Australia 2011 – taken from Wikipedia on the 19/09/11 The 2011 Rally Australia was the tenth round of the 2011 World Rally Championship season. The rally took place over 8–11 September, and was based in Coffs Harbour, a coastal city in the New South Wales state of Australia.