2013 NSW Supersprint Championship

[mazmad]

Bit of a bummer, they used to offer one free Practice day and discounts on all other Practice Days, and chance of a totally free 'Track Day'. Was well worth while, paid for itself. Still is worthwhile btw....

[david_syd_au]

Entry forms are out for round 2 at SMP GP circuit.
Championship registrants have until 29th March to reply for preferential entry.

Also, out of 90 drivers entered for round 1 at Wakefield Park, 24 are representing the MX-5 Club of NSW.
Looks like it will be a great start to the 2013 championship!

[david_syd_au]

The first round of the 2013 Supersprint Championship was run yesterday at Wakefield Park, organised by the Mini Car Club.

It was not a day for setting records, but there were opportunities for PBs and some good track time, with 5 sessions run on the day, each of approx 5 laps. Some smart grid marshalling allowed most drivers the opportunity of some clear laps.

The 26 MX5 club members that participated all contributed points toward the club tally of 180 points, beating 2nd placed ARDC with 118 points.

By my count there were 6 first-time Supersprinters (maybe more?) from the MX5 club, including myself, and it was the enthusiasm of all the MX5 club members, plus the level of participation that carried the day for the club.

Standout results were Glenn Thomas winning class 1B, with 6 club members gaining 2nd places, and 5 with 3rd places, in their respective classes.

As a first timer, I really enjoyed the day, and found it very similar to a MX5 club track day at Wakefield Park, just with the intensity turned up a few notches, and I am looking forward to the next round at SMP on Sun 14th April.

Thanks to the Mini Car club and the CAMS Supersprint team for putting on an enjoyable day.

[greenMachine]

Excellent result for the Club, good to see new people moving up. Most of the entrants were registered for the series, which is good for the series, but it also means if you don't get your entry in during the preferential period, you stand a good chance of missing out.

Well done to the Mini people, I cringed when I heard at the briefing they expected to get four runs in, but glad to hear they bettered that. Regardless it would not have mattered to me (see below).

I ran the GM in 3B, as the white car not ready (still, again ... ), hoping to pick up a few points if fewer that 10 turned up. The GM is seriously out of its league here, as the only performance mods it has are the CAI, Torsen and PSS9s. Very surprised, and happy, to pick up 5th, and even more surprised not finish last in class! OK, second last is not much better than last, but it IS better ...

Looking at the Type 3 times, I am even more motivated to get the racecar sorted, as decent results look achievable.

For even more motivation, there is nothing like having a serious overheating event in the GM in its return to the track after a long layoff. After bad overheating in the second run, I was on my way home by lunchtime. Diagnostics about to start, hopefully only radiator/thermostat issue, maybe water pump. Please, not the head gasket ...

[PeterB]

Bad luck Green Machine didn't see out the day.

The Mini club did very well considering many of their key officials were not available. Luckily one blue group was almost all MX5s and after a quick re-sort we all got plenty of good clean runs.

Britney ran faultlessly, which was good after her little hit last clubday, for a 2nd in class 3A (out of 2) so some good club points.

The day was hot and cloudless and my old R888s (a mix of worn 2011 and 2012 tyres) would not offer up any real grip and I was very dissapointed with my poor 1.14.7, but I still had great fun chasing or trying to keep away from other MX5s.

A 56 second run for the Radical was impressive to watch.

[Guran]

Considering there were 91 drivers yesterday, with a 9:30am start and 4:00pm finish, it was a great effort to get in five runs of six minutes each (typically five laps per run), plus warm-up and cool-down laps. Much credit to Joe Kovacic for that - he did an extremely efficient job on the marshalling grid, and well done to the Mini Car Club in asking for his help.

[mazmad]

Bryan how come no mini's? There was a flock of them at the MRA last November (also a mini challenge race).

[Guran]

Just noticed on the Supersprint website that NSWRRC seem to have shifted allegiances from the CAMS NSW Supersprints to the Interclub Supersprints. They're organising two rounds at each this year, but had only 9 drivers on Sunday, versus 24 at the Interclub supersprint last weekend. The other main clubs competing in the Interclub Supersprints are SSCC, AROCA and WRX. The CAMS NSW Championship will be mainly fought out between the MX-5 Club and ARDC, with lots of other clubs represented in individual classes. With so many CAMS NSW rounds being held at SMP, it'll be a tough challenge for the MX-5 Club to take out the Club Shield again. However, our strong showing at Wakefield Park is a very good sign of things to come.

[Guran]

Bryan how come no mini's? There was a flock of them at the MRA last November (also a mini challenge race).

No idea. The Minis seem to prefer racing instead of supersprints. I'm amazed that MCCNSW continue to organise CAMS NSW Supersprint rounds when they have so few competitors running in them.

[greenMachine]

Good news: the GM has new radiator, new thermostat, and seems fully recovered!! Time will tell, but the head gasket seems to have survived its rough treatment without damage.

Even better news: There is a reasonable chance the racecar will be ready for the next round. This would be a good thing, as the GM would really struggle on the GP circuit at SMP.

[Guran]

Just spoke with Alex from ARDC and Round 2 at SMP-GP is FULL. They've reached the cap of 110 entries and they're now putting new entries on a reserve list. I got mine in last Friday.

[Tony]

I've had to withdraw due to car "issues", so there's one more spot available!

[david_syd_au]

Just spoke with Alex from ARDC and Round 2 at SMP-GP is FULL. They've reached the cap of 110 entries and they're now putting new entries on a reserve list. I got mine in last Friday.

Wow, no time for indecision.

I posted my entry in a few weeks ago, and the ARDC debited my CC on 20th March, so I assume that means I got in.

How lucrative is the black market for SS entries? ... just kidding :-)

[evil_weevil]

Just noticed on the Supersprint website that NSWRRC seem to have shifted allegiances from the CAMS NSW Supersprints to the Interclub Supersprints. They're organising two rounds at each this year, but had only 9 drivers on Sunday, versus 24 at the Interclub supersprint last weekend. The other main clubs competing in the Interclub Supersprints are SSCC, AROCA and WRX. The CAMS NSW Championship will be mainly fought out between the MX-5 Club and ARDC, with lots of other clubs represented in individual classes. With so many CAMS NSW rounds being held at SMP, it'll be a tough challenge for the MX-5 Club to take out the Club Shield again. However, our strong showing at Wakefield Park is a very good sign of things to come.

HSV club left the inter club championship this year and the RRC took their place.
I'm with SSCC but wasn't at first round, hoping to do 1 or 2 this year.

[Guran]

Ah OK Chris, thanks for the inside goss. HSV have joined the CAMS NSW Supersprints. They had 7 championship entrants there on Sunday and already placed 4th in the club pointscore, ahead of MWSCC.

Tony - any news from Peter yet? Hope it's nothing serious.

Tiit has posted his photos from the supersprint on Sunday. Beautiful shots, as usual. Click on the photo to see the full set.

Melissa's 10AE turbo looked great out there!