Fourth Round of the Taupo Car Club Clubmans Series

19 September 1998

After an early (!) start leaving from Auckland to reach Taupo before 9:00 am, we set ourselves up for the fourth (and final) round of the Taupo Car Club’s Clubman Series. It was to be our first outing on our new race tyres and we scuffed them in by driving the 300 kms from Auckland to Taupo on them. Probably not recommended, but it certainly scuffed them in. The new tyres were required after some reverse motoring and some rather unusual racing lines two weeks previous at Pukekohe.

Not only was it the car’s first outing on race tyres (our previous tyres were road tyres), but we had a video camera mounted inside the car (presumably to record my unusual cornering techniques).

The second round of the series, I was gridded with the RX7 race cars and a rotary powered Mini, this time the RX7s had their own grid and I was in with a mixed bunch of cars including a turbo MX5, a huge yellow V8 powered Chevy, the rotary Mini, a 1950s Wolseley and an Escort on slicks. Ade was in the Saloons Group 3 which consisted of a Suzuki Swift 1300, a couple of Datsun 1200s, a handful of HQ Holdens, the rotary Mini and its 2nd driver, a Triumph Herald Vitesse and a Hillman Imp Ute on slicks.

Both Ade and I were cautious during our practice/qualifying sessions as we’d never raced on these tyres before and we had to guess at suitable tyre pressures. The car felt really different, partly because the tyres were full tread, and partly because we were running about 20 psi (as opposed to about 36-38 psi in our other tyres). I ended up 5th on the grid for my first race and Ade was placed 8th on the grid.

My first race was fairly uneventful, despite the very slippery new seal on the racing line through two corners and I managed to finish the race where I started .... 5th. Ade’s first race though was quite exciting. The MR2 appears to be very quick from a standing start and Ade managed to get a good start, taking a couple of places off the start line. For the next two laps Ade managed to take a place a lap, which put her in fourth behind Brian Hilliar in the rotary Mini. Chris, the Mini’s owner, assured me that Brian would make life difficult for Ade, but shortly afterwards Brian missed a gear and Ade rocketed past to 3rd .... Wooo hooo!! The next couple of laps Ade caught up to the 2nd placed car, she just wasn’t able to pass the guy before the checkered flag came down.

My second race saw me move briefly from 5th up to 3rd only to slip back to 4th and back to 5th behind the MX5 turbo. I eventually finished 4th due to the retirement of the Mini with a broken universal. Ade’s second race featured an awesome start. Because of her 3rd placing in the first race, she started 3rd on the grid. The first two cars were so worried about each other off the line that they didn’t notice Ade scorching off the second row until she’d passed them into the first corner. With some careful driving Ade managed to lead the race for the best part of 5 laps. In an effort to shake the Suzuki Swift off her tail she outbraked herself, briefly left the track and gave the Swift driver an opportunity to sneak through under brakes at the next corner to take the chequered flag.

My third race was much the same as the 2nd .... start 4th, finish 3rd due to the retirement of the Wolseley. Ade’s start off the 2nd row of the grid was baulked by the now wise Swift driver and the driver of a very quick Datsun 1200. Some smart driving and some patience saw Ade sneak into 2nd which she managed to maintain till the finish.

By my fourth race, the grid was so depleted by cars breaking down, they decided to combine the Muscle cars and Saloons Group 2 to make a full grid. As you might expect, the muscle cars took off from the start fairly quickly and I managed to finish the race without being lapped, but I have no idea where the leader took off to. Ade’s fourth race was a reverse grid and she had to start 2nd from last. Ade admits that she was a little conservative in this race and crossed the line 3rd or 4th.

The car performed brilliantly without breaking down (like a lot of cars did) ..... the tyres were excellent. Although they felt compliant, you could feel the car move and then stick. I’m told they will get better and better as they wear down.

Donel Svendsen was entered in the dual sprints in his AW11 supercharged. Donel was trying out his new race pads ... the first time he’d used them in anger. He quickly adjusted to them and managed to drop his lap times significantly.

It seems like the hot setup for your AW11 is a set of Mintex brake pads and some Toyo RA1 race tyres.

Steve White