Phillip Island Historics

[Craig Sinclair]

Especially if you have this kind of horsepower Evan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfCE_-q3-JU
Absolutely awesome to watch . The history of this car is amazing as well. Surely only an Australian would buy an F5000 car as "donor" to make their own ground effects sports car. John Bowe was the original driver .

[alfagtv58]

Yes, but most of the Typ901 boys are in Sb.

I know, but its still good to have some variety in GroupS, like that yellow Marcos in with us, that was pretty cool and once its sorted should be quick too!

It's can-opened from the floor on the driver's side all the way across the tunnel and into the floor on the passenger side. The hole is big enough to put your hand into.

Chris, glad to see you back in the pits after the race all OK.  Sorry I couldnt hang around any longer to see the damage.

There's a braking point for turn one?

Moto GP guys even go back some gears.....pussies.

and the Mazda RX 2 , seem to be be getting quicker & quicker, maybe more RX7 than RX 2 .

I believe they have had some freedoms grated recently, something to do with Teflon bearings apparently.  Not sure how much longer that will go on, something like 8 rotarys in the top 12 in Group N....that wont last long, guaranteed!!

[Chris Blanden]

Not having put any photos up before I'm not sure this will work, but here goes.

The smashed windscreen is a result of the switchbox on the tunnel (you can see it in the passenger footwell) becoming a missile when the donut let go and hit the tunnel from underneath.

I'll separately post a couple of close ups (hopefully).

[img/Users/cblanden/Desktop/cockpit[5]http://PI 2011.jpg][/img]/Users/cblanden/Desktop/smashed[9] PI 2011.jpg

[Chris Blanden]

Well clearly that didn't work, so here's another go.

[Chris Blanden]

Having got it right here are a few more.

[Paul Gulliver]

That must have been terrifying, or at least got your attention especially on the fastest part of the track. Glad to hear your OK.

Gully

[Sheldon McIntosh]

HOLY CRAP!!!!!   

I'm guessing you'll be in the market for a new driving suit.  And seat.  And floor pan.

That is really frickin scary.

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Beautiful steering wheel BTW.

[Chris Blanden]

Attention grabbing is a fair description.

Pleased to report that both the driving suit (the only fluid was oil on the leg) and seat came out of it relatively unscathed, but new floor pan and tunnel segments required. Rear casing of the g'box broken, drive shaft mangled and lots of dings in the muffler (from shrapnel). Nothing that can't be fixed and the race solution reinforced and steel encased donut replacement from Spruell in the US is already on its way.


BTW the steering wheel is an original 1970's MOMO Jacky Stewart signed model.

[Neil Choi]

Found this footage of a 200kph mini, has good footage chasing and being chased by Bill Magoffin and Phil Simmie in Gp N race.

Pretty good and entertaining.

Cheers

[vin sharp]

Attention grabbing is a fair description.

Pleased to report that both the driving suit (the only fluid was oil on the leg) and seat came out of it relatively unscathed, but new floor pan and tunnel segments required. Rear casing of the g'box broken, drive shaft mangled and lots of dings in the muffler (from shrapnel). Nothing that can't be fixed and the race solution reinforced and steel encased donut replacement from Spruell in the US is already on its way.


BTW the steering wheel is an original 1970's MOMO Jacky Stewart signed model.

You were lucky to get away with this one Chris!
I cannot stress enough the importance of the condition of components for competition use; not only the donut itself(which should be replaced with h/duty type every year), but also the gearbox output-shaft ball-nose which spigots into the tailshaft and spins the whole assembly on centre. Wear is very common after 40 years and if not attended to there is nothing the retain the whole mass from flailing around off-centre and failing. As like many things promblematic (solid carb mounts spring to mind!), much of this is stuff that has been known since the 60's/70's, but seems to have been lost in the midst of latest tyre compounds, billet-machined gear knobs and assorted high tech electronic devices that seem to take pre-eminence these days, none of which will are of any value when the car is broken.....(OK, the data logger can show you EXACTLY where on the cicuit you stopped!)
A point that people often overlook is that in a 105 (as opposed to an Alfetta) in 5th gear, the tailshaft is spinning around 20% faster than the engine, so 7000rpm at the end of the straight is 8400 at the output of the gearbox.
Alfa used donut cages back in the 60's and these have been available and used here in Aus for at least the last 25 years, along with heavy duty donuts for the 105's.
To all those people who just toss old gearboxes etc to the recyclers, think twice before you do! Shafts and other bits are mostley interchangeable, and the older one that you toss away will most likely have something that you will need one day for your 'good' one.........
Vin

[vin sharp]

Phil ,
Really enjoyed the Group S racing on the weekend. The Alfa representation in the Under 3 litre touring cars wasn't quite as strong as in previous years and the Mazda RX 2 , seem to be be getting quicker & quicker, maybe more RX7 than RX 2 .  Not trying to hijack your thread but I found this footage from last years meeting with the leading RX2's.  They might go fast in a straight line but it looks like you have to very brave under brakes or around corners.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJzM7WgmFdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUJL6fPbaBE&feature=BF&list=ULTYvT7M6SpDM&index=4.

Cheers

Gully

OK, time for a whinge!
Historic racing used to be a refuge from the appalling raaaap, raaaap, raaaap of bloody rotaries that invaded all and sundry types of racing years ago.
One of the most pleasant and noticable differences at historics, up until the last few years, was the vast range of pleasant sounding engines. But alas time has caught up with us and we are to be invaded again by the aural onslaught of overly-loud (how DO they pass noise tests?) and terrible, chainsaw massacre-sounding wankle engines!
And to add insult, they are powerfull and virtually impossible from an engineering point, to regulate relative to a piston engine equivalent on which so many period restictions are (correctly) placed.  
My vote is for a RX bonfire at the end of each meeting, just to control numbers and discourage breeding........
Cheers,
Vin

[Chris Blanden]

Vin,

Quite right, but this donut was only 12 months old and the other bits you mention had all been checked as well. I think that means for peace of mind, something better than just the original type donut is required. Also for PI at least, I think a longer rear end (currently have a 4.55)  would ease the strain on everything.

Let me know if you have a 4.3 ! !

Cheers 

[Sheldon McIntosh]

And to add insult, they are powerfull and virtually impossible from an engineering point, to regulate relative to a piston engine equivalent on which so many period restictions are (correctly) placed.  

If they are powerful, surely that is a triumph of engineering that should be celebrated?  They're not the best sounding engine, granted, but many people love the sound of them.  Why do you say they are "virtually impossible from an engineering point, to regulate relative to a piston engine equivalent"?  I thought they'd been given an equivalency factor years ago;  have the rotary builders found some more tricks, or have the rules changed?

Yes, I have driven a Mazda rotary, and other than the lack of a nice engine note and hampered with an atrocious thirst and a lack of torque (cured somewhat by turbocharging), it is one of the finest engines you could ever drive.

[Gary Pearce]

In my knowledge of rotaries the equivalency to piston engines has always been in question, in part because of the difficulty in working out the working capacity of the triangular shape of the rotor in each housing (2) and also the extreme low weight of the powerplant. The capacity of each rotor housing is in the vicinity of 573 cc each, therefore 12A two rotor engines are usually stated  as having a capacity of 1146 cc. The black magic occurs when you bring in to consideration how much performance benefit occurs when the trailing set of spark plugs fire (rotaries have 2 leading sets of plugs and 2 trailing sets of plugs) that are there firstly to burn any unburnt gases, but as a consequence also helps push along the rotor a bit more in a secondary manner.....therefore adding some horsepower. Thus this is why in race car terms a factor had to be used to draw comparisons to piston engine cars. That factor is 2.0 times engine capacity hence 2292 cc. This gets even more dodgy when (like) back in the 80's they found out what might occure if your didn't care about fuel economy but just poured in more fuel to the trailing side of the rotor to give it an even greater help along. (Known as P.P) Now this is not happening here in Historic racing but there seems to be quiet a lot of options available to the clever rotary developer to get additional performance. I say it is time, that due to the nature of the combustion chamber possibilities that for racing terms rotaries be considered 3.0 time capacity ie 3438 cc which would bring them in to line with equivalent performance historic vehicles. As for the noise......... we just have to leave that up to the D.B meter. Gary.