Other Events:
Before Christmas four cars made it to a BBQ just out of Palmeston. We had three MK1’s and a MK2. We’ve also had three MK1’s and a MK2 show up as the ‘support team’ for Daryl when he raced his MK1 NA in an Otago Sports Car Club hillclimb.

Summit Road on the Otago Peninsula, watching the hillclimb

Coming Events:
We’ve got a couple of contacts for Teretonga racetrack in Invercargill. A suggestion is to hire the track for the day and have a bit of a play - hopefully we can get this underway sometime in the next couple of months. I’d also be interested in finding a large car park and setting up a few cones for time trials. Other than that, we’ll just try and have the odd drive now and then.

Well, that’s all from me - keep up the good work on the newsletter! Spot ya’s

DANNY BLAIR ’87 SC

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PUKEKOHE

Hi ... I thought it about time I wrote.

I purchased a 1987 MKI SC targa top auto in late 1997 as a second vehicle. To enable my youngest son to drive safely and to compete in a number of events I joined a car club. I have now competed in gymkhanas which are a lot of fun and recommended for everyone to try, especially on grass. I entered a bent sprint, the first one being on route P in Tauranga on the afternoon after the targa cars had been through. My top speed on the day was recorded (by police radar) at 185 km/h. At Meremere my 1/4 mile was 16.22 seconds, at Taupo my best time was 53.5 seconds, and at Pukekohe my best time was 1 minute 21 seconds. In a hill climb in Rotorua my car came 1st in the family class in a time of 1 minute 10 seconds.

It has been good to meet up with Steve, Adrienne, Brad and Malcolm at the different tracks as the first time I went to Pukekohe, Steve jumped into my car and showed me how he went around the track. The practice was a bit nerve racking and a big learning curve of what the best speed was for each corner. For the 3 laps with a standing start my times were 4 minutes 26 seconds and 4 minutes 20 seconds.

I was then put in a group of 8 cars with similar times and we were let off 2 at a time and about 10 seconds apart.

The last two sessions on the track I was up against Brad who was driving Steve and Adrienne’s race car (for the first time at Pukekohe too). Brad had the advantage at the first corner and this helped me to find the quickest way around the track. After 3 laps from a a standing start my best time was 4 minutes 13.68 seconds, Brads best time was 4:09:03 (Steve’s best was 4:03:28, Ade’s 4:09:02. Best lap times: Don 1:21:72; Brad 1:20:29; Ade 1:18:48; Steve 1:17:84 (and Ade, Steve and Brad carried passengers most of the times - Ed). I thought my car was not bad for an auto.

For those who haven’t been around Pukekohe this is my experience of one lap:
The flag drops and so does my right foot. At the first right hand corner the car is on the correct lines at 140km. The "S" bends are coming up at a great speed, time to slow down. At 120km I go down to 2nd and make a bee line and power through the "S"s and break again for Castrol corner. I line the car up and plant foot, the car sledges left but I get through to the back straight - time to look around, no cars behind me (I must be going fast), check instruments, air conditioning off, fan off, radio off, speedo and revs still climbing.

At 150 meters before the hairpin (the car was revving just over 4500 and the speedo just past 180km/h) I brake hard and down to 2nd gear at 120km. The car slows just in time to take the corner at about 60 km/h and flat out to the next two sweeping bends, the first one at 120km/h and into 3rd. This brings us under the "tyre" bridge and ready to line up the last corner a over Mobil hill at 140 km/h for the dash past the bumpy starting grid and over the finishing line at 160km/h.

As I cruised home to Te Puke at normal speeds I was able to reflect on the days activities. Yes it was worth it for the experience and confidence I had for my car for what I can do, if required.

Don in his car at Meremere Drag Racing strip

I hope to do it again soon with better tyres, brakes and suspension upgrade. Since Pukekohe my thanks go to Trevor of New Lynn Auto Dismantlers for the set of backing plates and John from MasterParts for the Clubsport Mintex brake pads. The car stops much faster now from a high speed with no fading.

Thanks guys

DONEL SVENDSEN

LEVELS RACEWAY TIMARU - 28th NOVEMBER 1998

After the anti-climax of the blue car not being ready on time, at least the day started well - blue sky and sunshine - apart from starting too early. Still, with helmet, race suit and 20 litres of avgas in the boot, I headed north at about 7.30 am. There was little traffic, and I was running a bit late, so the 200 k trip took an hour 40, and was a lot of fun. Well, you have to prepare the car for what lies ahead, don’t you?

They are pretty laid back at Timaru. The documentation, etc taken care of, I waited for scrutineering. As it turned out, my car was checked after its first race!

Anyway, on with the race wheels (Hankook Z2000s), at which time club members from Christchurch and Dunedin started arriving. Great to met them all. And very helpful too. The jack would not fit under the front, but 3 MRtwoers each side soon fixed that - as another MRtwoer fed the little darling its diet of avgas. Thanks for all the help, guys - really appreciated.

Then - line up for practice. I have never seen, let alone driven on Levels before, so practice was a bit of an eye-opener. And, it is always daunting to arrive to a field full of purpose-built race and rally cars, when your car is totally stock. As one of the guys pointed out, my little white MR2 was the only car there with just road seat belts, and without a roll cage! The car I used is MR2 Number 3, bought for my son Billy to start into motorsport (but I told him he couldn’t have it till the day after Levels), and I only picked it up a few days before. It used to belong to club member Craig Nicolson, and Craig delivered it in very tidy and serviced condition. But, all I had time to do to it before racing was fit a new set of Metal King brake pads to the front, and of course, fit the race tyres. I still don’t know which way the wheels point - although it runs very nicely on the road, so is fine. I would have preferred to adjust in maximum negative camber, though.

Levels is quite a complex track. There is one longish straight and two short straights interconnected by tight corners, and doubling back on itself. There two tight sweepers, and there is not much camber built into the surface. There are ripple strips on all the tight corners, and these can be a bit of a worry as well.

After 5 laps of practice, I was still really struggling to remember the corners, and consequently screwing most of them up. Entrants were divided into 3 groups, based on practice times. I was in Group 3 (the slowest) but there was not that much of a difference in the times - with a couple of exceptions. I don’t know which practice lap they timed, but I was credited with 1 min 28.56, and placed on the 5th row of the grid.

Race One: I was on the second last row of the grid. The flag dropped, and the two cars in front of me didn’t seem to do anything! I buttoned off, then figured I could fit between them just as they took off. The MR2 is good off the start line, and I drove through between them! From there it was a matter of keeping them behind me (a rally Starlet, and a race Avenger) and try and catch the guys in front, who happened to be 2 Holden HQs. I was still struggling with the track, but slowly reeled in the HQs. Man those things can be wide when it comes to passing! And it is almost impossible to line them up for a passing manouevre under brakes - they basically point at the apex and hang on tight! Anyway, on lap 3, I managed to get the first one under brakes at the end of the long straight. On lap 4, I got the next one, but he seemed very determined to keep me out (in fact, I am not sure he even knew I was inside him) so, discretion being the better part of valour, I backed off, and he went through ahead. Next lap, I was right up his exhaust pipe into the straight, and got him comfortably at the end of it. Result - started in position 9, and ended up 5th, and feeling a little more confident about the track.

Race two: We started in the same grid positions. Normal practice is to reshuffle based on last race results (so I would have been 5th) but that didn’t happen. AND - the Starlet and Avenger guys were wise this time - they closed up off the start line, and I didn’t fit! I was on the brakes about 5 times from the startline to the first corner (a tight right hander) and the guys said they were agonising as they watched the brake lights flashing on and off. The end result was that I was totally unsettled and off line for the first corner, and finished up last out of it! I got the Avenger and a couple of others during the rest of the first lap, and finished up hard on the tail of the Starlet, with a group of 5 in total that you could have thrown a blanket over, including the 2 HQs I had passed in the previous race. But, although I got right up inside a few times, I could not get past the Starlet. It was a very frustrating race for me, and I made a few mistakes as a result. Hitting the ripple strips hard can really throw one side of the car in the air, and it is a bit exciting afterwards :-) BUT, I persevered with the Starlet, and lined him up for the dogleg straight (taken flat) leading to the finish line. I got the front bumper in front of him just before the line! Result - started in position 9, finished 6th.

Race three: This was seen as an equaliser race. The grid positions were reversed, but there was no handicapping. After the first two races, I was really looking forward to this one. I started in position 3. Directly ahead of me was a race Mini (we had the inside line into the first corner), beside it was a rally Escort 2000 (very competitive), and beside me was the Starlet. Off the start line, I damn nearly finished up in the Mini’s back seat. I had two wheels in the grass, wanting past him, but he blocked me out. As a result, the Escort went in first, the Mini second, and because I was held up, the Starlet drove round the outside of me. Damn! - I really needed a good start, and it didn’t happen! I took care of the Mini in the first part of the long straight, and what followed was what I thought would happen, given a clear run. The Escort, followed by the Starlet, followed by the MR2 (a blanket could have been thrown over us) simply drove away from the rest of the field. But, I could not make any impression on the Starlet, so was resigning myself to 3rd. Now, I have to say something about the Escort (by the way, the Escort and Starlet drivers are brothers, and very competitive) - it has interesting suspension. It was lifting its inside front wheel up to 6 inches off the ground through the tighter corners, as Escorts are wont to do. Looks spectacular, but is not the best for grip and stability. Well, with the MR2 sniffing the Starlets exhaust pipe, and the Starlet sniffing the Escort’s, maybe a little brotherly rivalry came into play, but the Escort overdid it on the tightest sweeper, and rolled on lap 4! Nothing serious, and no injury, but the race was stopped. When it was restarted, the Starlet and I were on the front row, and were told we had 3 laps to go. The MR2 performed brilliantly off the line, and I was first into the first corner, and although he was snapping at my heels all the way, that is the way it remained. The MR2 and Starlet drove away from the rest of the field, and finished hundreds of metres ahead of the next bunch. Result - started 3rd - WON !!!!!!!!!!!

The club guys that were there in support were ecstatic, and I was totally over the moon!!!!!! I am probably still on a bit of a high as I write this, but I have to say (seriously) that the MR2 is just brilliant. To take an essentially stock car and achieve what we did is nothing short of phenomenal. Its handling was what mostly shone. I was able to brake later than most (although I did have a number of interesting moments when I wondered whether I would run out of track!) and it was so stable through the corners that my confidence built quickly as the day went on. Not once did I feel that it was about to swap ends on me. It was drifting much of the time, but in a very controllable manner. And this is one of the stock cars. With the extra power of the blue car, and some suspension work, who knows what may be achievable. Not many lap times were taken during the races, so I have only a few. The best lap I did in race 3 was 1 min 24.2. The only other times I managed to get were for a Race prepared Datsun 280Z (1 min 22.0) and a very fast classic racing Mini Cooper S (1 min 24.8). One of the club members timed the fastest car of the day (a Nissan 1800 turbo powered Corolla Sprinter with 350 bhp!) at 1 min 15.0 All round, a great day, and I am delighted that the results made the club members drive worthwhile.

Next events;
13 December - round 4 of the Otago Sports Car Club Speed Championship. This is the Queens Drive bent sprint, and consists of a sprint through the centre of town, to a turning point and then back again. It is sealed, and fast from earlier years when I have watched it. Yet another learning curve!
20 December - Grasskhana at Milton. I am hoping that Danny and Jason, and a few others will enter this event. I will be there, as will son Billy for his first event in his car. Four or five MR2s competing would be Great !! They are well suited to this type of event, and should be competitive, at least amongst the two wheel drive cars.

All in all, it is coming together quite nicely.

DARYL MUNROE

MR2 CLUB RUN TO MANFIELD - DRIVER TRAINING

I wish to begin this article by thanking the Wellington Chapter of the MG Car Club, for inviting us to their driving training day. Also Grant for organising such a great day.

I nearly died when I was told what time I had to be at the Plimmerton weight station. 8:30am on my day off, you have to be joking!!!!!!!! On arriving, late as usual, I found 10 MR2’s waiting, and none were willing to give me a chance to stop and talk. I wasn’t the last person, Neil had to catch us up on the road. I don’t know when he caught the rest of us up, but he was at the end of the line when we arrived at Manfield.

At Manfield we found Jason and several other club members from Palmerston North awaiting our arrival. When we finally got around to counting the cars we were very pleasantly surprised. The number of MR2’s present was 19, beating our largest previous turnout by 1 car.

Once all the formalities were out of the way and the rules were laid out, the fun could begin. The first ones out on to the track were the track virgins (I fell in to this category). Regarding the track, I can only speak for myself, Manfield is a beautiful track and opening up an MR2 on it is great fun. However I believe that the smiles that everyone was wearing all day means that they will agree with my comment.

To say that the day was not eventful would be to lie. All you need to do is ask Nick how he won the P’O’D award. I heard that it has something to do with traveling backwards through a corner after suffering brake fade. I can not give any further details, because I was on the track at the time and didn’t see his brilliant effort. Before you start to worry, there was no damage done to the car and Nick was able to drive home that night. This was the only unplanned maneuver that an MR2 member participated in during the day.

A bunch of the club members deal to the track.

So Nick, how does it feel to be famous, or is that infamous?

The day was a total success, with everyone who went on the track able to drive home. I must add that some members did look a little ridiculous, picture it, a nice sports car and the driver is wearing the biggest grin you have ever seen. It reminded me of a scene out of the Stephen King movie ‘Christen’.

Anyway, thanks to all who turned up, I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you on the next run. In addition to the earlier thank yous, Tony keep up the good work.

DAMON SMITH

MORE RACING FROM THE DEEP SOUTH

I can’t recall how far I got with the saga of little darling build #2625, but to recap, after a brilliant weekend at Teretonga, and trip back, the car used a few litres of oil on the second new set of rings, so I have accepted that the dust infiltration not only chomped up the first set of new rings, but the bores also.

So, the blue car is back in the shop, currently engineless, but with a shiny new one (well, second hand) waiting to go in this week, hopefully in time for Levels at Timaru next Saturday (28 November).

But round 3 of the Otago Sports Car Club hillclimb championship was today (22 November), and it seems clear to me that to have any sort of a chance of finishing near the top of the 1600 class, it is essential to compete in every event to keep at least some points adding to the tally. So, after much grovelling, pleading and promising to do the ironing for a month, I persuaded my partner to let me borrow the white car - the ex Craig Watson completely untouched standard 1984 N/A car (build No. 2671). (I drove it REAL careful, Craig)

Having heard the weather forecast was for sun, I decided to leave the road tyres on, on the basis that there would be insufficient heat build up in the Hankooks, and cold race tyres are worse than road tyres in the grip department. Well, true to tradition, it started to rain lightly just as we got underway. It is known as Scotch Mist.

The road is up Bethunes Gully, and is a steep winding sealed track not much wider than a car, and surrounded by Dairy Farms which use the road for bovine ingress and egress. I am told that it is the oldest hillclimb in New Zealand. Given that this is predominantly a Scottish settlement, and used to be very busy, it may well be true. One can imagine the first event being held by default when the rumour went out that Farmer Bethune was putting on FREE haggis! It is equally possible that the first man (or woman) to the top back then set a time which remained unbeaten for years :-) There was a supplement to the local paper last week with photos from the 1920’s, and there is one of a very happy looking gent in a Bugatti racer, having just set fastest time of the day at the 1921 event. I wonder what became of that car.

Anyway, the road is (shall we say) unusual. It has been patched and repatched over the years, and now it resembles a patchwork quilt. There are ditches on either side, except for up through the cutting where there are twelve foot high perpendicular earth banks on either side. There is one flat straight which runs past the main entrance to the milking sheds, and is affectionately known as Cowshit straight. Add the drizzle, and the track was diabolically slippery, with Cowshit straight being almost the worst - it was almost impossible to keep the car pointing ahead no matter what you did! The patchwork didn’t help one little bit either!

Practice confirmed everyone's worst fears, with slow times, and big grins at the finish line from the tail out cowboys, and very pale faces from the newer competitors. basically, everyone seemed to scare themselves silly at least once on the practice run, and generally the first timed runs were slower than practice! My decision to use road tyres was wrong, I believe, as all day, I simply could not get grip. The lack of a Limited Slip Diff certainly did not help (almost everyone else had one!) and a combination of all of this means it is a minor miracle that I did not spin. There were some very close calls, I can tell you.

I decided to get a little more serious on the second timed run, and took 4 seconds off my previous time (and 3 years off my life) which was great. By then, I had managed to pull up to third in class (I think). But, everyone was getting their confidence back despite the continued rain, and although I took another half second off in the final run (should have been more, but I went in too hard at the start of the three “S” bend combo, hooked the ditch on the apex, and unsettled the car and me for the rest, which involved hooking more ditches and a somewhat more sideways attitude comparative to the verge than was desirable - if ya know what I mean) finished 5th in class.

I am, at least, pleased to report that the 4 cars ahead of me were; First, a purpose built Starlet powered by a modified 4-AGE (a quick car which was quicker than the blue car at Teretonga), Second, a period rally Lotus Escort (owned by a local car dealer, and lives with his racing Cooper S, two immaculate E-types, etc), Third, the ex works 1981 Corolla hatch also running a heavily modified pre 4-AGE twin cam (this is the guy I was beating by a second or two in the blue car in previous events, although he got me by quarter of a second when the head gasket had blown), Fourth, a road Corolla Levin (with 4-AGE recently rebuilt and modified by Bruce Saxton - local guru engine builder of his own NA 4-AGE Starlet with 220 bhp which lapped the Dunedin street circuit quicker than Ray Williams in the 911 Turbo Porsche which once held the NZ Land Speed Record - and newly fitted slippery diff). I am also pleased to report beating a road Civic twin Cam, and a Turbo 323 2WD amongst other cars. I guess, all in all, the white car did pretty well, considering its total lack of modification and running on road tyres in the wet on a road not driven before and with a driver terrified of how he would survive telling his partner that “a bloody ditch jumped out Right in front of me - there was really NOTHING ANYONE could have done, sweetheart - I SWEAR”. As it turned out, all I have to do is clean all the cowshit off the sides of the car and the wheels, and the inexplicable bits that seem to have attached to the strangest other parts of the bodywork. I will also clean out under the guards, even though she didn’t look there .. thank God!

While everyone had at least one scary excursion, there were no "offs", and a good day was had by all, despite the “Scotch Mist”. A few times;

Mitsi EVO IV Rallycar (Fresh from Targa)	55.29	1st
Mazda 323 Turbo Rallycar	55.71	2nd
Subaru Impreza Rallycar	56.20	3rd
Starlet 4-AGE Racecar	1.02.03
Escort Lotus Rallycar	1.10.10 (I think)
Factory Corolla TC Rallycar	1.10.51 (I think)
Corolla Levin	1.12.70 (I think)
My white MR2	1.14.34
Honda Civic TC	1.18.15
Mazda 323 GTX	1.26 ish

Now, all prayers are directed to the God of “Getting the Blue Car Finished in time for Levels” next weekend. Otherwise, it is back to the white car, and another frustrating (if otherwise enjoyable) day of not enough power. And, of course, the risk of having to do the ironing for a Year!

Ah well - such is MotorSport. More after the Levels meeting at Timaru.

Cheers, DARYL MUNRO

MX-5 DRIVER TRAINING DAY 30th NOVEMBER 1997

It was all very "last minute" really. The MX5 Club had organised a driver training day at Pukekohe race circuit and were having trouble filling all the places available. To make up numbers, the MX5 Club invited Club Lotus, but they couldn’t generate enough interest at short notice, so 5 places were offered to the MR2 Club just days before the event. A few hasty emails and phone calls and the places disappeared quicker than a NZ opening batsman facing the Aussies. That was how a small group of MR2 owners came to be surrounded by a sizeable mob of MX5s .... and a few other mixed vehicles.

Driver training is all about learning car control - not driving fast. There are many ways to learn car control and some are safer (and more legal) than others. Hooning on public roads may allow you to learn about your car, but it will also attract a lot of attention from the local constabulary and if you get it wrong, the results are likely to be very expensive. There are various advanced driver training courses available, and they all teach you about oversteer, understeer, braking and emergency situations. Most of the courses available, however, are not conducted in your car. The advantage of learning advanced driving skills in your own car is that you learn your car’s warning signs, and how your car behaves in emergency situations.

The training day we attended simulated road hazards like emergency lane changes, threshold braking, swerve and recover, etc. as well as the traditional slalom. The course was designed and run by volunteers from the BMW club and the Ford Advanced Driving School. These guys were all experienced drivers, many of them with many hours of track time in a variety of cars. Their advice and comments were generally very helpful. The idea was that each driver tried the exercises at different speeds to experience how their car felt in each of the simulated emergency situations. Gradually increasing the speed of each exercise demonstrated how small increases in speed can make huge differences in the amount of control the driver has over the car. The exercises were designed so that mistakes could only result in hitting cones or spinning harmlessly on the track.

A steady drizzle in the morning allowed ample demonstration of wet weather handling and tyre characteristics during the exercises. The afternoon’s activities were more focused on car control while cornering in speed limited sessions lapping the race track. Drivers were optionally accompanied by instructors and were invited to explore the handling characteristics of their cars around Pukekohe’s corners at speeds less than 100 km/h. Despite the speed limit, it was definitely fun and 100 km/h is plenty fast enough in some of those corners. Later on in the afternoon there was an optional "open speed" session for those drivers who wished to further explore the handling of their cars. Once again, instructors were optional, however, helmets were mandatory.

I couldn’t believe how much I learnt about my car and the way it handles. More importantly, I learnt a lot about my own abilities as a driver. In the dry, full throttle became fun to play with .... the resultant oversteer was predictable and controllable ..... and fun. In the wet, it was a very different story though. Even though MR2s handle extremely well, wet roads require a lot of good judgment and a lot of respect.

I would strongly recommend attending a driver training course if you’re at all interested in learning about your car or improving your driving without running the risk of damaging your car or your driving record. Any of the driver training courses available will help you, but those that use your own vehicle will teach you more. These courses tend to be a lot of fun and you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn.

We are currently investigating the possibility of organising a driver training day for the club, though we’ll need a fair amount of support to make it viable. It is more than likely that we’ll have to combine with another car club to get sufficient numbers to keep costs reasonable. Keep an eye out for a driver training day advertised in the newsletter and take the opportunity to have some fun and learn about your car at the same time.

MOTORKHANA MADNESS - RUAPUNA RACEWAY SUNDAY 17th JANUARY

Sunday dawned fine and sunny with a hint of warmth that most at the motorkhana seemed to miss, judging by the number of sunburnt faces at the end of the day (Deb and myself included). However it was a day well worth the price.

Following the advice of Dick Gurney, Deb and I (Red AW11) arrived at Ruapuna at 11:15 to find only Mike and Jan Kelly (Red Turbo), and Dean Strachan (Red SW20) sitting outside the locked gates. Where were our hosts, The Canterbury Car Club? The next to arrive was a Red Mk1 Escort followed soon after by organisers Kevin and Raelene Hocken in a burgundy Commodore (It’s a kind of red). Kirk Brocas and Vicki Wilkie (Red Turbo) joined us in time to sign up for the ‘khana. Dick (Red MK1) turned up in the afternoon to have a look-see. The sight of all 5 MR2’s being red seemed to tickle quite a few funny-bones among the CCC members - the comment was even made that Toyota had one hell of a can of red paint!

Dean, Jan and Vicki decided to be spectators for the day, and no amount of cajoling could change their minds. Since no Canterbury Car Club women entered, Deb was the only female competitor, which came as something of a surprise given the number of women there.

This was the first ‘khana for Deb and myself, and I must admit to having self-doubts when I saw the map of the 6 courses we’d be competing on. They’re MANZ sanctioned courses that had some of the experienced competitors commenting on their difficulty. Just in case the names mean anything to anyone, the courses were “Sabrina”, “Napoleon”, “Cyclops”, “Banana Slalom”, “Glove” and “S-Slalom”. Each competitor did two runs on each course, with the quicker time counting towards their overall time.

The event was run on asphalt with the 22 competitors split into two groups, each group running a different course simultaneously. Each group was a mixed bag as far as abilities went, so we all had someone in our group to try and emulate. The drivers to watch in my group were Kevin Hocken in a Mini Moke (someone told me he’s the national champion) and Ken Mackay in the 4A-GE-powered Escort. Ever seen a Moke execute a reverse 180 without slowing down? It was a first for me, and with that sort of driving it was easy to imagine Kevin as the national champion. Unfortunately he (or rather one of the other drivers in his car that day) snapped an outer CV joint during a hand-brake turn, which forced him to retire. Ken (and fellow Escort drivers) put on a great show of car control, demonstrating the benefits of hand-brake turns on tight courses. As I had my good street tyres on, I was unwilling to attempt any hand-brake turns, and so learnt the limitations of attempting a U-turn around a cone in a car with a 9.6m turning circle! On my shopping list is a pair of standard rims shod with dead tyres for the back wheels so I can also experience the benefits of legalised hooning!

Mike, I’m afraid I have to single you out for showing us how not to drive a motorkhana - namely stopping halfway through to look at the course map :)

All the MR2’s acquitted themselves very well, and my fears of having all the 2’s finish at the end of the roster proved unfounded. I was really proud of my little car, and surprised at getting 8th in my first attempt at any kind of motorsport. Both Deb and I are going back for the next ‘khana. It’s the same courses, only this time on grass.

 

Here’s a selection of the ‘khana results:
1st	Steve Hall	130.56	Mini
2nd	Ken Mackay	136.94	4A-GE Escort
8th	Rex Webb	179.16	AW11 N/A
11th	Kirk Brocas	181.75	SW20 Turbo
15th	Deb Webb	207.53	AW11 N/A
16th	Mike Kelly	211.78	SW20 Turbo
22nd	Brian Casey	306.82	Mini

Kevin and Raelene’s attitude seemed to be "more the merrier", so if you’re near Christchurch and interested in attending the next motorkhana, give Kevin or Raelene a call on 327-7667 and tell them you’re with the MR2 Club. Only red MR2’s need apply.

Many thanks to Dick Gurney and to Kevin and Raelene of The Canterbury Car Club for inviting us to participate in the motorkhana.

And before I forget - I believe Kirk and Vicki are getting married on February 6. Congrats guys!

REX WEBB

PORSCHE LE MANS RELAY RACE

Well, as you may know Ade and I were mad enough to answer an email asking for interested people to complete a team for the Porsche Le Mans relay race. I just thought I’d let y’all know what happened.

The race is a fun event which is probably more interesting for the competitors than the spectators as it gets impossible to tell who’s leading after about 8 or 9 laps. Anyway, the format of the race is that each team sends one car out for 12 laps. The driver wears a garter on his/her right arm and after 12 laps the driver must come into the pits, stop the car, get out, run over to the next driver in the team, shake his/her hand and transfer the garter. The new driver can then start his/her engine and leave the pits to complete their 12 laps. The race ends after a certain time period (2 hours in this case).

The key to this race is to consistently and reliably lap the track without breaking down and to transfer the garter without breaching any of the many rules. To ensure that each team adheres to the rules, a "plombeur" wearing a French gendarme’s hat and cape polices the garter changes.

"Twitchy" - the race car - all ready for the Porsche Le Mans relay race

The team that we hesitantly hooked up with was made up of Doug St George driving a Ford 2 litre powered Lynx (Lotus type open sports car), Ian Lloyd driving a Toyota 1600 powered Lloyd special (similar style to the Lynx) and Ade driving the 1600 supercharged MR2. We were a bit nervous about it all because we’d never driven the car around Pukekohe, we didn’t know what times we could achieve or how reliable the car would be, but Doug assured us that the whole idea of the team was to get out there, do some laps and have fun.

We quickly decided that we’d need all the practice we could get so when we found out that Thursday was available for testing, Ade organised the day off work and with the help of Malcolm Cambridge and Brad Nolan (don’t engineers ever have to work?) she headed off to Pukekohe for some testing and practice. Thursday was showery and the track had very little opportunity to dry between showers. Conditions were far from ideal but at least Ade was only sharing the track with a VW Sirocco and a TVR Tuscan (!) After spinning once, Ade was recording lap times of 1 minute 28 seconds with a best lap time of 1:25.

I managed to get a couple of hours off work to join Ade at the track (thanks to the Monica taxi service). It was still wet and slippery but Ade was insistent that I get out on the track and give it a go. After 3 spins in my first 5 laps (including one that finished about 18 inches away from an Armco barrier) I was not too confident of my abilities to drive the car, however, I persisted and when the session finished I found that my first clean lap had equalled Ade’s best (ooops, sorry Ade). I had managed a best lap time of 1:23, but I was convinced the car could go faster ..... maybe even a 1:20.

A free practice session was available on Friday so we were back out there for more laps. This time the track was dry(ish) and lap times dropped a bit. There were more cars and it was interesting to see how the MR2 compared for power and cornering. It was a little hard to tell, but the Datsun 260Zs didn’t seem to have the same straight line speed or brakes as the MR2, but they were close. The MGs and Spitfires seemed to be down on brakes, hp and cornering, but to keep our feet firmly on the ground, the TVR Tuscan was lapping at around 1:02 and a Ferrari was roaring past with monotonous regularity. By this stage Ade had shaved her lap times down to 1:22’s with an occasional 1:21. By the end of the day I had managed to bring my lap times down to around the 1:19 mark.

Saturday was the big race day for Ade. She had an official practice session in the morning and the relay race was scheduled for the afternoon. The race was orginaly going to be 3 hours long, but because of delays etc, it was cut to 2 hours. During her practice Ade was lapping at about 1:20.

It was decided that Ian would be the first driver out, Doug would be second and Ade would be third driver. Ade was a little unsure of herself, particularly when Ian and Doug were consistently lapping at around 1:16. The guys were happy with Ade’s lap times and kept saying they were just out there for fun.

When the flag fell, Ian took off and tore around his 12 laps in sterling fashion. The pit board system the guys had devised worked perfectly. On the 9th lap, the driver was given a 2 laps to go board. The pit board person rang a cellphone in the pits when the 2 lap board went out to alert the next driver to get ready. On the 10th lap the driver was shown the 1 lap board and on the 11th lap the IN board was hung out. The change-overs all went very smoothly, and all three cars ran perfectly.

Not all of the teams were so fortunate. More than one driver was observed running back to the pits with a garter on his right arm. The only reliability problem our team (which by the way was called the Pheasant Pluckers) had was when Ian’s radiator overflow hose failed with a loud pop and sprayed hot water around the engine bay. A 5 minute repair job was required and kept the car running for the rest of the weekend.

Doug transfering the garter to Ade with a handshake

Because of the 2 hour limit, Ian got to drive 3 complete sessions, Doug drove 2 complete sessions and about 3 laps and Ade drove 2 sessions. The only thing that had the team really worried was when Ade after lapping in her last session at a consistent 1:18 pace was shown the IN board. Ade had an Escort hot on her tail and determined not to let him past on her last lap, tried a bit too hard through the S’s. The team was getting Ian ready for his last session and things were going really well. We knew Ade had been shown the IN board and she was driving really well. Panic set in, however, when over the PA system we heard the following from the commentator:
"What’s this, someone’s had a big lose!! The little MR2 has done a big 360!! Oh he’s had a big spin and he’s definitely flat-spotted his tyres!! He’s gathered it all up again and he’s away"

Ade was pretty philosophical about it all. No damage was done and nobody had to change their undies ..... except maybe the Escort driver.

It was a really fun event. Ade seemed to enjoy the experience despite some last minute nerves and a last minute loop. The team finished 12th over the line and after complicated handicapping and adjustment of positions finished 12th on handicap. With 19 teams competing, a 12th isn’t too bad. At least the team finished which is more than 2 teams managed.

Thanks go to Doug St George and Ian Lloyd for inviting us to join the team and for being so encouraging and supportive, for Doug’s team of lap scorer’s, pit boarders, plombeurs, etc. and to Malcolm Cambridge for volunteering to be the team’s flag marshall and having to endure a day with the infamous Matthew.

STEVE WHITE

QUEENS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND - TAUPO 30th MAY 1998

The opportunity to throw caution, brake dust and tyre tread to the winds and throw the race car around Taupo Car Club’s cool little circuit over Queen’s Birthday Weekend was too much to resist. Saturday 30 May was the second round of the Taupo Car Club’s clubman series, and the following day was the Ford Capri Club’s dual sprint day. the possibility of two days racing and a day off afterwards to recover sounded like a perfect weekend in the making.

Because of the absolutely mental Auckland long weekend traffic, we decided to leave for Taupo early Saturday morning. We needed to be at Taupo in time for scrutineering between 8:00 and 9:30 which meant we had to leave Auckland at 5 am!!! Good Lord, if that ain’t dedication to motorsport, I dunno what is.

After many a curse and some trepidation about driving a car with no windows or heater for 3.5 hours in the dark and cold pre-dawn, we set off for Taupo. We swapped drivers in Hamilton when we met up with our friends and their 12A powered Mini, so we both got an opportunity to enjoy the open-air (frozen ears) motoring experience (!)

The grids for the Clubmans meeting are based on lap times, however, there is only limited scope for placement when you’ve got 5 grids to choose from, one of which was dual sprints for cars without rollcages, one was single seaters (basically), one was muscle cars and the other two were for saloon cars. Two drivers in the one car meant two grids, and I got put in Group A with all the RX7s and the rotary powered Mini, while Ade was put in with the second group of saloons and the Mini’s second driver.

As it turns out I probably would have had closer racing with the muscle cars than I had with the RX7s. Grid positions for the first of our 4 races was determined by lap times during practice and as expected I was to be starting off the back of the grid.

I must admit that I hadn’t raced on Taupo for a while and my enthusiasm was probably a lot higher than my skill level to start with. Coupled with a determination to do well, my rustiness resulted in some spectacular lock-ups under brakes and some sideways navigation for my practice session and my first two races. It was of some comfort (but not much) to see that Ade was suffering from a touch of the same problem which resulted in her parking up in the kitty litter at the sweeper after 2 laps of her practice session.

Race 1 saw me frustrated by the car’s ability to launch well, but having nowhere to go with 7 cars to get around. This situation didn’t last long as the chicken cookers all took off and left me floundering after the first corner. Now this may sound like blasphemy but these guys were all fairly experienced race drivers, driving fully race-prepped RX7 class or higher spec cars on race tyres, and worst of all .... the drivers had their brains plugged in!! In an over-exhuberent effort to at least keep up with some of these guys, I managed to fall off the track just after the hairpin. Ade couldn’t understand how I could fall off just after the hairpin, and I’m not entirely sure of the details myself, but it involved fairly savage application of the accelerator, little sympathy for the traction limitations of the rear tyres and sloth-like responses when it came to correcting the pendulum effect of the massive amounts of oversteer. Never mind, no damage done and the marshals seemed to enjoy the show.

Race 2 saw me struggling in the dust of the gaggle of Wankel-powered cars again, however, I managed to pass one of the RX7s in a desperate braking manouvre at the end of the back straight. Feeling rather pleased with myself for passing this car, I was determined to stay in front of him, which I managed to do ..... for a while. It all ended in tears (almost) at the exit to the sweeper, Taupo’s trickiest corner. Trying just that little bit too hard, I overcooked it, the rear end slid out in a wild oversteer. Correction of that left me set up for a spectacular 270 degree spin which left me (briefly) travelling down the back straight backwards. This gave me a wonderful view of the car I’d passed earlier exiting the corner and emerging through a cloud of my tyre smoke towards me. Now, as one or two may be able to attest, travelling backwards at speed in an MR2 is not necessarily the most comfortable sensation. I decided I’d better do something about it and found that braking while travelling backwards at speed in an MR2 has the almost magical effect of spinning the car. What the hell, I was getting used to it by now. I finally managed to get it all together and finish the race, but I decided I had to try and avoid that particular manouvre again.

It was decided during lunch that while my immediately past performance may be interesting to watch, its best not to continue racing in the current manner and that I really needed to plug my brain back in. Races 3 and 4 were (thankfully) less spectacular and involved considerably more thinking and less spinning.

Ade had similar problems in the morning, but managed to recover well in the afternoon and enjoyed some good racing, including blitzing about 3 or 4 cars off the start line by passing them with two wheels on the grass. All in all it was good fun but I probably would have had closer racing with the muscle cars.

After thinking about things overnight, I realised that the cold weather probably meant that the tyres were not heating up properly and I was expecting way more grip than the tyres could provide. Having said that, the fastest lap time recorded for me was 48.02 seconds. My previous best was about 49.7, so I was pleased with that result but somewhat sceptical.

Sunday was the Capri Club dual sprint and Dave Nation made the trip from Hamilton to drive his newly repaired Mk1 MR2 in this event. The idea of a dual sprint event is that cars of approximately even performance are paired up and they sprint 3 laps around the track competing against each other and the clock. It can be a lot of fun if the cars are fairly even in their performance, and its the closest you can get to racing without having to have a rollcage, etc.

David peddling his car through the ‘S’s

Anyway, being a Capri Club event, there were quite a few Capris in evidence. Some of them looked the business too, lowered, flairs, nice paint jobs, etc. Until you look under the bonnet or get them on the track. I don’t mean to insult people who have a penchant for Capris or Fords in general, but the Capri is a pretty heavy car. The suspension is the same setup as a 1960s Mk1 Escort. A lot of them have the standard SOHC Ford 2 litre .... some of them have a 1600. I’d say that many stock Capris could be seriously embarrassed by your average MR2. Anyway, far be it from me to pour scorn on another persons choice in car, but I’ll just say that while some of the cars were quite quick, some of them were substantially less competitive.

Matching up against the Capris was a bit of a mixed bag. One or two of the cars were quicker than our MR2, others were way slower, but whatever car I was up against, I must admit I enjoyed the competition. One car in particular with the number plate GRUNTY was a lot of fun to race against as our two cars were very well matched in performance ... or should I say the two drivers were well matched.

After thinking about Saturday’s performance I managed to behave myself on Sunday. I didn’t fall off the track at all. Maybe it was because we’d played with tyre pressures, maybe it was because I had passengers, maybe it was just that I’d plugged my brain back in .... I dunno, but it was all a lot of fun.

Ade entering the ‘S’s with a passenger

If you’re at all curious about motorsport, a dual sprint will certainly give you a very good idea of what happens in a real racing situation, but you only have to think about what you’re doing and what the car you’re paired up with is doing. Its certainly safer than playing on public roads, and there aren’t any cops to give you tickets on the track. Even falling off the track is not necessarily a big drama. Dave tried to scare thepants off me by taking an alternative route through the kitty litter at the sweeper (I told you it’s a tricky corner!) with me in the passenger’s seat. I kept my pants on, but I almost had to change them afterwards. No damage to car, driver or passenger .... just Dave’s pride.

STEVE WHITE

RACING CARS - THEY SHOOT HORSES DON'T THEY?

There was a group in the 70’s called The Racing Cars that had a song called They Shoot Horses Don’t They - not particularly memorable - I can only recall it because of the name of the group. After searching for an MR2 on which to base a race car on, the title could be changed to They Shoot Cars Don’t They ? Maybe I was being picky because of the as new condition of my last AW11, but some of the cars I looked at could best be described as fit only for storing compost. I wasn’t fussed on the condition of the car, as long as it was rust free and hadn’t had any major smacks (little ones I didn’t mind) First up was an 86 manual supercharged being sold by a possible future serial killer who looked disbelievingly at Ade every time she pointed out a pitfall of the car - after all she is a woman and what do they know about cars - despite me mentioning that the reason I brought Ade along is because of her far greater knowledge of superchargers than me. About $2000-$3000 had been spent on the car in maintenance since purchase but cosmetically it was still a dog. None of the panels lined up, the panel behind the headlights was bent - obviously had been hit in the front - but the most worrying aspect was the gap between the left and right front wheels and the guards - about 2cm difference between each side. There was no oil in the supercharger and the owner was very very reluctant to let us drive it. No insurance, and we might just drive away and not come back he said. Hmmm, leave the MX5 in his driveway and steal his MR2 - us city folk maybe crazy, but we are not that crazy. Upon driving, it didn’t perform like it should, like a lot of imports it felt more used than the mileage said and to quote Jeremy Clarkson the handling was like sharing a waterbed with a baboon that had been dosed in itching powder. Ade drove it next, and watching the car accelerate down the road there was a large amount of oil smoke coming from the exhaust. My offer of $3000 was $1000 too short, but $4000 was too much for that car. Next was an 88 manual supercharged with an interior that looked like it had been used to house seventy very hairy cats, that didn’t matter as most of the interior was going to be biffed anyway. The exterior was better, the brake pads were worn, the sandals were bald and there had been a frontal, but the repair was ok. Now if I thought the interior was bad, boy was I in for a shock when I opened the engine cover. If you can remember "The Worst Toilet In Scotland" in the film Trainspotting you will be able to get an idea as to the condition of the engine compartment. It appeared not to have been serviced ever, there was a thick layer of oil and dirt over everything and checking the oil level - which had the texture and colour of tar - the level was way BELOW the minimum mark, barely registering on the dipstick. There was no water in the cooling system and what was left was a trace of dark brown soup. The warrant had expired 6 months ago and it wouldn’t get another one without a lot of money spent on it -I didn’t even bother driving it. Next I decided to look at a 93 NA manual SW20 - I could race in the 2 litre class as opposed to the over 2 litre class with a supercharged 1600. It was fairly straight bodywise, but upon starting, first the oil light took 20 seconds to go out accompanied by a nice rattle from the engine and then smoke emerged from the dashboard. After getting off the phone the day before from a friend who lives in England whose workmate’s TVR Griffith had a similar problem followed very quickly by a fire that destroyed the car, I quickly turned the MR2 off and again didn’t bother driving it. The search for racecars continued and after talking to a few people the cheapest and easiest way to do it is to buy one already built. Unfortunately MR2 racecars are hard to come by and I eventually found what I considered to be the next best thing - a Corolla AE86 RWD hatch which had cost the guy I bought it off $25000 - $30000 to build as a rally car. Being set up for rallying and having Intermediate Rally tyres I obviously didn’t expect it to be that quick on a testing day at Pukekohe , but I wanted to see what it was like to give me an idea as to what needed to be changed for the track. I had some slicks which I didn’t end up using as they had a slow leak through the valves, and when I dropped them off at the local tyre shop, the tyre guy said "You want to spend money on those? They haven’t got any tread left on them" to which I replied that they were race tyres and were supposed to be like that - he hadn’t seen any before. Initially I was lapping at 1 min 23 which was slower than the MR2 but after some practice I got down to 1 min 19 - not too bad considering the tyres and the soft rally suspension set up.

It was amusing watching Steve disappear down the straight as being an NA I didn’t have anywhere the same power, 4 secs a lap slower than Steve is a long time. I think with some decent sandals, harder springs and a proper wheel alignment I could probably get down to 1 min 15 - 16. Despite all the fun there is still a lack of complete fulfillment that I get from an MR2. Owning the Corolla reminds me of an old Chinese proverb - which says you have to travel to discover that you need not have left home. So I’m probably going to sell it and build an MR2, which will be more expensive but more rewarding and judging from the last newsletter the idea of MR2 racing is gaining in popularity. The search for more possible racecars that should be shot will carry on, once the Corolla is sold..........

MATT HALLIDAY

Ed’s Note: Brad has now purchased the Corolla off Matt and will hopefully be making his debute at the Club Lotus Dial-Your-Own-Time event at Taupo on the 29th November. Keep an eye out for him!

RACING IN THE DEEP SOUTH

Sorry I have not been more consistent with reports on motorsport events entered with the MR2 MK1 N/A down here - and am writing to catch up. The July event was two gravel hillclimbs on different parts of the same forestry road, and these were the last two events of the 97/98 championship. It was bitterly cold at scrutineering at 9.30 am, and the pit area (totally sheltered by trees) was frozen solid with frost and ice everywhere. It is a privately owned forest access road that winds up the back of Three Mile Hill just west of Dunedin. It is probably wide enough for two cars to pass, but only with care at a couple of kmh - and is solidly lined with mature trees all the way up on both sides. I have not seen the road before, so looked forward to the practice run with some trepidation. That was fully justified !!! My only comment when exiting the MR2 at the top was BLOODY HELL - Thats FAST !!!!! Geeze; call this a hillclimb? It was more like a Rally Sprint. Even on the practice run I went across the finish line sideways at 140 kmh. Having said that, it was actually brilliant - demanding but brilliant. The basic requirements for a good time were power and balls. The most scary part was a long sweeping flat left hander entered by way of a tightish right hander over a hump created by an joining road. It was scary enough keeping it on the road over the hump, but the sweeper was something else again. I left it in second during the first two timed runs, but it hit the rev limiter about half way through. For the third run, I went over the hump quite a bit quicker, and hit the rev limiter about a third of the way along. Then it was - close eyes - bang it into third and hard up it - chanting “Our Father who art in heaven .... “ out loud. I figured that if I lost it completely I wouldn’t go far, and it would be all over so quickly it would not even hurt !! I was very busy keeping on the road, but it showed well over 160 kph before braking hard for the next tight right hander. I know that the Rally boys do this sort of thing all the time, but for me, second time on gravel, and still feeling my way with the car, 160 k’s sideways through the forest on gravel was a new experience. Strangely, although I sat quietly in contemplation for a minute or two after the finish line, I was disappointed that it was the last run! That run was over 2 seconds quicker, and earned me 6th place in the 2 litre class. The event was won overall by Bruce Saxton in a Subaru 4WD producing 480 bhp. The same combination came 6th or 7th in the big hillclimb at Queenstown earlier this year (with Rod Millen etc), and he is awesome to watch. The second event of the day was steeper and tighter, therefore slower, but just as much fun. Figuring that as I had survived the morning event someone was watching over me, I pushed the little darling a little, and managed to retain 6th in class again.

Having competed in 4 out of 10 events for the year, I was somewhat surprised to discover that we finished 8th for the year in the 2 litre class! And so on to the 1998/9 championship. The first event was gravel again, and a terrific piece of road. Fast, but not scaringly so, and a lot of flowing corner combinations that allowed a rhythym to be established. The worst corner was the first. We took off downhill, and at about where you would change from first gear to second there was a right hand elbow with a reverse camber and a bloody great ditch on the outside. Everyone had problems with it, and try as I might, I could not avoid stuffing it up on each run. I tried leaving it in first - hard on the brakes - turn in - drift - hard on the gas again, but there was not enough left in first to pull out of it cleanly. So, I tried the same, but putting it into second as I went round. Unfortunately, because I have only two feet, all I did was screw up the gear change, and had nothing at all to pull me out of it. So, for the third run, I tried putting it in second before braking - but the revs were too low to pull me out of it. Maybe I will figure it out next year - but somehow I doubt it. The MR2 had, between events, been consuming water, and I was a bit mystified because I could not find any leaks, there was no sign of water in the oil and the fans were not coming on. During this event, I used about 10 litres of water, and had to stop every 10 k’s on the way home to add another few litres. More on this in a minute. Anyway, I was very conscious during the event that I wanted at least another 50 bhp, and was plotting how to do it. I knew by then something was badly amiss with the engine, and my worst fears were confirmed when on the last run (and even though my time was almost as fast as the second run) my 3rd place in class was stolen by a guy in an ex Factory Corrolla rally car by quarter of a second. In the previous events, I was able to sneak in ahead of him by 1 to 2 seconds. He, of course, was delighted ! So, first thing Monday it was down to the repair shop to investigate. Pulling the head off confirmed what we had already assumed to be the problem. A blown head gasket. I have never seen such a blown head gasket. It was blown between every cylinder. We checked the compressions first, and they were around 110. We figured that it would have been struggling to produce 90 bhp. No wonder the Corolla got me! A bit of “hindsight” sleuthing suggests that the guy that had the motor rebuilt about 10,000 k’s ago didn’t bother having the head re-torqued. Then, when it ran itself low on water, I simply filled it at the rear, being blissfully unaware that without bleeding the radiator at the front I had simply created a large air pocket. I kick myself when I look back - it didn’t even occur to me. The explanation for the fans not working is equally simple / stupid. When I first bought the car, I noticed that the reversing lights were disconnected. Connecting them made the dash board light up like a christmas tree when reverse gear was engaged. I dealt with that by disconnecting the lights again, and made a mental note to take it the auto electrician for repair. Then I got busy at work, and completely forgot about it. In the meantime, a warrant fell due. The helpful guys at the testing station (unknown to me) reconnected the reversing lights. The end result was to short out the radiator fans, and the ultimate end result was one sick little darling.

Daryl’s car ready for action at Teretonga race track in Invercargill.

We took the opportunity to clean out the head a little (nothing major) and to remove the butterflys to allow it to run on 8 ports all the time. The head was also planed to raise the compression a little. The cost of hot cams is too great right now, so instead, we fitted drilled tuning plates to the existing cams which will allow us to play with the cam timing. I understand (and would appreciate comment from anybody familiar with this) that they are set at 100 degrees in standard tune, and this relates mainly to emission control. I have been told that different engines may respond best to different settings, but around 106 degrees will give more power at the upper end. It is basically trial and error in the meantime. We honed the bore, imported a set of total seal piston rings from Australia, bought a set of new big ends, and bolted it all back together. The only other thing we did was check the wheel alignment, and reset everything. The alignment was all over the place, and it sure helps if the wheels point forward in a straight line. We found between one and two degrees of positive camber at the front, and about neutral at the rear. It has now been reset at 0.7 negative at the front, and 1 degree negative at the rear. With tyre pressures set at 28 front and 34 rear, the handling and roadholding has been improved considerably - even more like a go-cart. I managed to get 400 road k’s on it before event number two for the current year (18 October). And - very pleased with the way it was running. Definitely better then before, and we have only mildly played with the cams at this stage, so I hope to extract a little more power yet. Another piece of road I have never seen before, again forestry, but with quite a soft surface, and very marblely gravel with the result that it was super slippery. By the end of the event, the start line tracks had trenches over 4 inches deep ! The track itself had a long dog leg climb, a delightful sweeper leading into a series of left then right snakelike bends, followed by two tighter sweepers and a left hander over the finish line. These three sections were joined by two tight hairpins with a bloody great bank down the outside. So - it was basically flat from the start line and well through the rev range in third gear (around 150 kph) before the first hairpin and into the sweeper. The “snake” bends were absolutely magic as the road fell away quite sharply on both sides, and by setting the car up right, it was almost like skiing moguls. The worst hairpin scared me a little and I showed it a great deal of respect.

My practice run was, as usual, slow. The worst part of driving quickly on a road you don’t know is where you encounter “blind” corners, or humps. It is nice to know what happens around the corner or over the hump! Practice sort of helps, but not much. I am still finding that by the third (and last) run I am taking seconds off, and would prefer to be able to do maybe 5 or 6 runs to achieve best times. Still, achieving that in 3 runs will come with more experience, I hope. The first timed run was not very good at all. I couldn’t remember most of the course, and apart from going well on the dogleg straight and the moguls, screwed every other corner, and was almost down to a standstill at least twice. I was, however looking forward to the next two runs, confident I could substantially reduce whatever my time was. But - Disaster !!! By the time I reached the bottom of the hill to line up for the second run, my little darling was out Bonding James’ Aston Martin in the smokescreen stakes. It was still running smoothly, and didn’t seem to have lost any power, but the amount of smoke was unbelievable. Discretion being the better part of valour, and not being sure what the hell the problem was, I decided to withdraw. Imagine my surprise when I checked the board, and discovered that in the first run I was fastest in the 1600 class! I was eventually beaten into third place in the next two runs, by about two seconds. I may be dreaming (as in “the one that got away”) but I was sure I would have improved by up to 5 seconds in the second and third runs. That has been the pattern in the past events. So, the day was a real disappointment in that sense, but very encouraging in terms of the future. The next few hillclimbs are, however, on seal, and I am just starting to get used to gravel - bloody typical !! Interestingly, the guys who beat me (a Sarlet and Corolla - both with modified 4 AGE power) didn’t compete in the first round, and the guys who beat me in the first round didn’t compete in this event. So, the combination of a 4th and 3rd means that after two rounds, the MR2 is leading the 1600 class by 4 points, despite being terminally ill first time round, and having only one tentative run this time. I limped back home to Dunedin, using almost 2 litres of oil in 70 kilometres, and laying a smokescreen that would be a major asset to any army. The head came off this morning to find the problem - which turns out to be very simple in origin - for some reason the induction sock failed, and it sucked a heap of dust into the engine. This simply wore the rings, and allowed oil up past them. The hone marks have vanished. All of this inside 500 kilometres. The remedy is yet another hone, and new rings and big ends, and a general clean out. I will also fit a K & N filter, and clean it thoroughly after every event. What a pain! But, these things happen in motorsport, as we all know, and there is little point in whingeing about it - as I will explain to my Bank Manager!

Then I have to run it in again in time for the Otago Sports Car Club / Southland Sports Car Club Challenge race meeting at Teretonga on 1 November. I think we can get 1.5 degrees of negative camber in the front wheels without having to replace standard suspension parts. In the meantime, I have bought a set of very second hand Bridgestone racing tyres, and can’t wait to get them on, and on to the track. The next problem was how to transport 4 wheels down there in an MR2 with 2 passengers. That is in the process of being solved by fitting brackets to the “flying buttresses” with removable poles between them to mount the tyres on, and tie them down, thus creating an MR2 Ute! I have some photo’s of hillclimb action coming, and will get more from the Teretonga meeting. I hope to be able to post these to you in time for the next mag. Events for the MR2 in the immediate future are listed below.

I am hoping to enter the Southern Festival of Speed in early February (three events at Levels, Dunedin Street Race and Teretonga), and also the endurance event (three hours) at Teretonga on 13/14 March. I’d love Jason, Danny et al to have a go at some of these events too. Come on guys - get your Superchargers out there and give me something to chase in my innocent little underpowered N/A. I dare you.

More after Teretonga (if car and I survive). In the meantime, keep up the great work with the Mag.

Cheers, Daryl Munro, 1984 AW11 N/A (with what may be fast becoming the most expensive motor in the country!)

RACING IN THE DEEP SOUTH II

The Team Munro MR2 saga continues here in the South.

I think I left the last report with the little darling back in the shop billowing smoke everywhere, needing another rebuild and run-in before Teretonga on 1 November. The motor was duly rehoned and reringed, and the head stripped, cleaned and relapped. Then came the chore of clocking up 1,000 or so kms in the week before Teretonga - hey, its a tough job, but someone has to do it!

The first 500 kms were great - everything as it should be. But, after 500 kms I figured I should take it beyond the self imposed rev limit of 4,500 to 5,000. So, in a passing manouvre I used 7,000, and then just let it slow back into the traffic on the overrun. When I hit the accelerator again there was a massive amount of smoke out the back. With a sinking “bloody hell - not again!” feeling I tried it time after time - same result every time, but only from high revs. There was nothing from under 4,500 rpm.

So - straight back to the shop with less than a week to go. They tried it, and said it wasn’t smoking. I took the guy out and showed him that it was. By this stage everyone was getting a little nervous, and I sensed the potential onset of a dose of buck passing. It was a peculiar situation. I was sure that it was not mechanical, as it would happen all the time rather than the inconsistent way it was acting. After talking with a few other Car Club guys, we concluded that it must be to do with either pressure build up in the cam covers, or simply there being too much oil at high revs to drain away, and being sucked down the valve guides. We tried a simple experiment, by blocking off the cam cover to throttle body breather pipe, and taking a new breather pipe from cam cover to atmosphere by way of a Coke bottle elegantly stuffed into the induction system. A trip out over the Northern motorway at high revs showed some smoke, but not much. As it was Thursday before race day by this stage, this had to do, and in this form I headed to Teretonga.

But first, a quick trip to the second hand mag shop for another set, and to the tyre man for a set of Hankook Z2000 race tyres which had been recommended. Thus, on Saturday night, I headed to Invercargill with 4 race wheels in the passenger seat, and a boot full of helmet, tools and a container of Avgas. By eleven that night it was shod with its racing boots and three quarters full of Avgas. To show I was going to be serious about this, I even removed the spare wheel, although didn’t bother taking out the rubber overmats or anything else.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day in Invercargill, and the car was running sweetly, and handling brilliantly on the way to the track. On arrival for scrutineering, a quick inspection indicated about 45 or 50 cars, the vast majority having been trailered in as they were purpose built race cars. This, I can tell you, was rather daunting, and I had strong images of the poor little road going and basically stock MR2 trundling around a very distant last. Add to this the fact that I had not driven on a track for 10 years, and have never driven a mid engined car on a track, and I had to do some head mechanics to persuade myself that I was just there to have some fun and to get to know my car a little better. Having successfully achieved this, I headed out with the rest of my class for some much needed practice. The cars went out in a very straggly fashion so I was essentially on my own. I reached the loop, braked hard, and powered into it. It held on great. Then hard to the floor going very wide out of the loop down the short straight before castrol corner, hard on the brakes momentarily and hard onto the gas for the triple S, feathering the throttle through the apex of each. Then it is hard on the brakes for a nasty left hander (can’t remember what it is called) and flat out down a dogleg straight before braking hard again for the elbow onto the long start-finish straight. At this point things became very interesting. No Brakes!!!!! A quick flick back into second and flick the wheel to the left to try and scrub some speed off, followed by an ungainly sideways flight through and beyond the apex culminating with a back wheel in the gravel, foot now flat to the floor and car and driver emerged onto the straight pointing more or less the right way leaving a cloud of dust behind. Fortunately, there is quite a long straight which allows time to calm down a little!

All that had happened was that during the shenanigans with the engine during the week, everyone had forgotten the competition pads that were supposed to be ordered, and the wheel camber adjustment. God alone knows how old the road brake pads are, but they simply refused to grip after three hard braking sessions. Oh well, I reasoned, I will just have to adjust my driving style to acomodate the lack of brakes, and besides, they only slow you down anyway :-). One enters the straight via the hairpin at about 30 kms, and I was reaching almost 170 kms before having to brake down to about 100 km to enter the loop, which can be very unforgiving. There were really only three places where I had to brake hard, and all I could do was get off the gas earlier and rely on changing down to slow me down, helped by a little “scrubbing off” of speed using the tyres. I also persuaded myself that as I was going to lose 2 or 3 seconds a lap because of this, I needed to make it up on the other sections of the track. I eventually finished up taking the triple esses flat (which was exciting) and really concentrating on getting the lines right.

Anyway, I was somewhat surprised to discover I had qualified 9th out of my class of 15 (at 1.23.5 - there were 4 cars in front of me between 1.23 and 1.23.5), despite all the above. Thus, to race one where most of the cars were racecars powered by the trusty 4-AGE in various states of tune. The little darling left the line like a startled rabbit (try as I might, I could not make the Hankook’s lose traction - brilliant!) and overtook 4 cars in the first 100 metres. WOW, I thought, this is great! Just the words Murphy loves to hear!!! Into the loop holding position after using the brakes for what I knew was the first of three times I could for that race - and all the way round to the hairpin - holding the car in front of me - then the lack of brakes - passed by a car on the inside under brakes which screwed my line up. But, I managed to hold on down the straight, only to be taken under brakes by the rest of the cars I had dragged off the line. This threw me right off line for the loop, and consequently Castrol, with the result that another 2 cars got through, leaving me second last. It took the next lap to settle in and get determined to recover at least a little honour by pulling back at least one place. I really tried to calm down and concentrate and started to catch the car in front. I caught him by the hairpin on the last of 4 laps, and brakeless or not, was determined to get by. Another real hairy hairpin followed, but with a good exit, and from there it was a straight drag to the finish line which we won by a car length. Best lap time - 1.22.4 - which must have been the last lap. But, the first race achieved a lot. The car felt great, the tyres were really holding on, and I was dialing myself back into circuit racing much more quickly than I expected.

Race 2 was a handicap or reverse grid race. Having finished third last in race one, I expected to be third away, and was determined to get it mostly right and be very hard to catch. God knows who did the handicapping, but I was 6th car away. The first car was given 15 seconds on the second, and it was 1 or 2 seconds per car from then on. During the first lap I managed to struggle past all but the first car away, and found myself in 2nd. I canned any thoughts that might offend Murphy, and settled in to getting the circuit right (compensating for no brakes as far as possible) and thoroughly enjoying myself. Laps 2 and 3 were concentrated on reeling in the car way out in front. By lap 4, he was getting closer, but so was a fellow club member in a very hot Corolla 1800 behind me. He knew I had no brakes, and I let him through on the inside of the nasty left hander, tucking in behind him. I stayed with him on the run down to the hairpin, and he passed the leading car towards the end of that straight. I had to button off way before him, so couldn’t take the (now) second placed car before the hairpin. But, I knew that I would get him before the finish line, which we did, coming in second with a huge grin and having thoroughly enjoyed the race. Best lap - 1.21.7.

From then on, the classes were all mixed up, and I didn’t do better than 8th for the rest of the day, although consistently getting faster in each race. In the last race, I finished last, and it was the best race of the day for me. It was won by a Transam series Falcon producing something over 750 bhp, followed by a Group A Holden Commodore, a race prepared Mustang (Paul Fahey replica) producing around 450 bhp, a race prepared Corvette StingRay, a couple of very fast race Mazda Rotaries. Then followed a group of 6, which included the guy that won the reverse grid race from me, another OSCC guy in an equally fast Nissan powered by an 1800 (he finished third in the reverse grid race) three HQ Holdens, and the MR2. By this stage, my lap times were quick enough to hold them, albeit from the back of the bunch. They would pull away from me in the braking zones, and I would catch them through the back of the track. There was absolutely nothing in it down the back straight, and most of the time, we were separated by inches. I got past the HQ in front of me a couple of times, only to lose to him again under brakes into the loop. This is what racing is all about - But I wish I had remembered to take some brakes with me - DAMMITT!!!!!

Best lap time was 1.20, which I was delighted with. This far exceeded my expectations, as does the way the car handles. There were a lot of other people somewhat surprised at how it went. The good thing is that it can only get better. By way of comparison I have set out some best lap times for some of the cars;