Held in conjunction with the Victorian Motor Racing Championships there was all sorts of delectable car racing served on a plate for hungry spectators. We had the thundering Sports Sedans, Sports Cars including a gorgeous Ford FT40 replica, Formula Ford, Porsches, Lambos, Ferraris...but as far as good, close racing goes- the highlight was obviously US, in our rapid little billykarts.

Some seat-shuffling was the order for this meeting: Hyper Racer could no longer afford Mark Wicks' exorbitant pay demands so it was mutually agreed that he would drive the event for Peter Howard's team. The vacated Hyper seat was filled by Russ Occipinti. It was good to see Howard Equipment Racing's immaculate Arrows back in the fray.

Wicksy in a different yellow.

Saturday was overcast as we struggled to erect the marquee kindly loaned by Britek Motorsport. However, we had seen nothing yet.

Sandown is bumpy. Very very bumpy. It's basically two long straights joined by some interesting squiggly bits. You'd think there'd be ample time to rest the knuckles but no, you have to hang on for grim death at full speed down the straights as the weigh-nothing karts buck and jump sideways over the bumps.

I promised myself I'd stay out of trouble in the single morning session but with only 15 minutes of qualifying with which to familiarise myself with a new track, there was pressure. Sure enough, although managing to post a reasonable time by my fourth lap, I rode up on the nasty kerb exiting turn 4, bellied along like a tummy-surfing penguin on a sheet of ice, and spun backwards into the barrier driver's left. Sean Whitfield had done the exact same thing two laps earlier, without the barrier-hitting bit.

Race control ordered that any such driver making (even light) contact with a barrier had to visit medical. That was a new experience. As the saying goes, the medical staff did a brain scan and couldn't find anything so I was cleared to race. I had more chance of injuring myself changing the bent axle I'd incurred. Worst...job...ever... RACE 1 It's been a while since I've run a race meeting without an error, unforced or being involved in someone else's. So my goals for this meeting were fairly low. The trick is to remember this as you barrel towards turn one behind a guy you'd really like to pass, with the rear wheels four inches off the ground over the bumps...

Tarzan...need...bigger...hammer

It took a while to get moving...

Things settled down and I had a race long duel with Scott Appledore for 5th place, while Gerard McLeod closed in, although I tried to ignore Mcleod as he was getting a black flag. Up front was Colin McIntyre, with Brendan Luneman almost running Wicksy into the wall to claim second. Rod Clarke was not far behind but separated by lights' Peter Strangis.

I was content to sit behind Appledore knowing I could outbrake him into the final right-left and hold him off to the start-finish line. It was a good plan until some light drizzle arrived. The plan stuck until the final left where I understeered off, almost into pit lane, and Appledore and McLeod sailed past. Seventh place. Further ahead in lights was Gary Pegaroro, chased by Hyper's Russ Occhipinti and Dean Crooke, those three separated by two-tenths of bugger-all.

My seventh became sixth when McLeod was excluded for ignoring a black flag.

SUNDAY

RACE 2

It rained. I will never knock racing at Phillip Island in the wet again. Here you have more chance of losing it halfway down the straight than on the corners. A river ran across the track between turns 1 and 2 and everywhere down the start-finish straight.

Apparently you have to use litres of anti-fog on the visor before it starts working. I didn't use enough, and could see nothing into turn one, not even the rain lights. A sense of self-preservation prevailed to see me drop to close to the rear of field. It was seriously hopeless. However, I circulated without error which pulled me from last to seventh again, with a little help from Brad Stebbing who lost it into turn four inside a hapless David Byrne, who obligingly straightened him up and went off in the process.

Yep. That pretty much says it all.

Chris Jewell had a cracking race after a sticky power valve fix and came home fourth behind Clarke, Wicksy and Luneman.

Sadly the only non-finisher was Hyper's Shaun Trounson who spun with one lap to go. Sean Whitfield spun into Dandenong on the second-to-last lap trying to stay ahead of the heavies which gave Zach Jones a clear win in Juniors. Colin McIntyre never made the start due to a poor grid call. Had he made it I daresayI would have been eighth.

RACE 3

The rain came back just in time for our third race. This time I had used enough anti-fog to clear Tullamarine Airport, determined not to be slowed down by something so mundane when the kart was working reasonably well. I had a race long duel with Matthew Palmer, but wthout the latest in ultra sticky wets I could not keep up and he nailed me in the final left-hander onto the straight, with a little contact.

Sixth place again. CJ was behind me in seventh, and would have creamed me at 2 secs a lap faster, but for a spin on the last lap. In Heavies Wicksy won from a fired-up McIntyre, coming back from nowhere.

In Lights it was Pegaroro by light years from Strangis and Stebbing. Zach Jones again accounted for Sean Whitfield in Juniors.

RACE 4

Before the on-track dramas began, Chris Jewell gave us all a scare with some nausea and chest pains, so he was sent to Medical. While we were all hammering around, we didn't know he was being taken to Dandenong Hospital. It turned out to be severe dehydration.

The race was declared dry, but with the small matter of a torrent running across track between turns 1 & 2. This was to be a, um, watershed moment for the race as the field barrelled out of turn one and all soggy hell broke loose. I got a ringside view of Cavallin, Luneman, 2 x Stebbings and Lord knows who else gyrating into turn 2, with the unfortunate Shaun Trounson getting nailed by all comers, including me.

The incident claimed Shaun, the two Stebbings, Colin McIntyre, Lee Cavallin, Gerard McLeod and the very unlucky Zach Jones, thereby robbing him of a State Title.

At the risk of sounding glib I was relieved to finally NOT get involved in someone else's accident. However I blotted my otherwise mistake-free races with a spin in the same corner the next lap, putting me back behind Luneman, Byrne and Filliponi.

Still a little spooked by turn 2 I put in some fast ones and reeled in Byrne, getting by him on lap 4. Filliponi was half the straight's length ahead but I caught him by lap 7, perhaps he had a problem. It couldn't have been that bad because he re-passed me out of the final corner again. I nailed him again into turn 1 and came home fifth, a long way behind Luneman in fourth. Wicksy won, wrapping up the State Title, from Appledore and Clarke.

I was happy enough with all that. We got a full slow-down lap to acknowledge the soggy, cold and hardworking corner marshals including my Grand Prix mate Angelo, giving me a rousing applause from turn 4.

"I can't feel my fingers"...Race 3

Pegaroro, the 250 legend, couldn't be stopped in Lights and made it all look so easy to claim the State Title. Russ Occhipinti however did a magnificent fill-in job for Hyper to follow him home in second place from a consistent Peter Strangis. Dean Crooke was a whisker behind in fourth overall, ruing a spin in race 3.

Meanwhile, what can you say about Mark Wicks? Had he been in anything half decent he would have won, let alone the Howard Equipment Racing machine. A hearty congratulations goes to Peter Howard's team, whilst sympathies go to Zach Jones who found out, the hard way, there are downsides to a Championship decided on one race meeting. Sean Whitfield kept it clean to take the points.

More sexy pics courtesy of


As usual, up there all day,a little unlucky, but a lap record to boot

Can't go one day without dropping something...

Maybe the scrutineers will find it...

"Drop something...?" "No. Everything's fine. Go away..."

Off to bed...