Freeman Experience - V8 Sandown

[kartone]

My wife presented me with a gift voucher from Freeman Experience for "V8 Race Day (6 laps) at Sandown Raceway".
In the promotional literature they indicate the cars available are "race-converted" Ford Falcons BA XR8 and Holden Commodores (automatic  & manual ).
Has anyone participated in these events ? Ford or Holden ? Dos & Donts !     

[Evan Bottcher]

My wife presented me with a gift voucher...    

Seriously...... Sell it on ebay ASAP...

That might be interpreted as an act of war?

[Anthony Miller]

C'mon Paul, haven't you owned one of these XR8 thingos
and surely, it's gotta be a blast to throw one at Sandown as hard as you dare, especailly a hottie that belongs to someone else 

A mate and I did the V8 thing at Calder and I must say it was serious fun, the cars a very fast and have much more grip than our cars ever will but the Calder V8's are Ex Supercars, not too sure about the Freeman cars

[kartone]

Went to Sandown on Sunday for the V8 Race experience event and drove a late model race-prepared Ford (cage, racing transmission, etc), overall I had fun (7 laps).
I liked the layout of the track although I thought there were too many cars on the track considering the various driver skill levels.
On a few occasions I noticed a loss of engine power and confirmed my young instructor was the culprit: 3/4 down front & rear straights power levelled-off, and when getting too close to someone in front in the twisties; top speed achieved maybe 220-230kmh.
One suggestion I would have for the organizer is to allocate one lap for the driver to evaluate the handling of the car: stomping on the brakes, sudden change of direction, etc.
When is the next club track event ?

[Barry Edmunds]

Next Club track event is at Winton on Sunday March 6, the day after the driver training and race craft day.
I know a guy who recently did a V8 drive day at Sandown and he does not speak kindly of the experience, nor would he recommend it to anyone. At slower speeds down the straights than what many of our Club cars do in a sprint event I guess he is entitled to feel somewhat dudded by the operators involved. From what I have been told the cars were not just underpowered but nowhere near as well prepared as one might expect of a supposed V8 Supercar and their performance matched their poor level/standard of preparation.