Christchurch Grass Kart Club - 2nd Septenber 2012
Casey had a great day out in her kart today. She is improving every meeting and passing some fast karts and having a great time. She's not too keen on the bruises though. Toughen up Casey LOL

Woodford Glen Speedway - 6th & 7th April 2012
Another double header meeting with the Easter Finale at the Glen. We had another successful weekend with a third place on the friday night and set our personal best lap time with a 17.75sec. We also broke another right front suspension bolt which forced a dnf ... this also smashed our new brake rotor which Les Hunter Racing Products had just supplied us dammit! I gotta mention here that there's always plenty of offers of help and parts when someone damages a car which shows just how great the camaraderie is within the class. We also scored a 3rd place in the first after starting from grid 5. Also lapped under 18secs and set the fastest lap of the race in this one. Very encouraging considering the greasy track we were on. It brought back memories of how competitive we were in Jane Honda on the wet tracks. Ian Burson continues to dominate the Super Saloon racing at present but we came close to beating him in the last race on the saturday night. At the conclusion of the meeting we were informed that sashes had been up for grabs for the top 3 overall. And even more surpising was that 811 had finished in the top 3 Yeehaa!!! To say I was rapt is an understatement. Probably a good thing I didn't know we had a championship to race for cos I probably would have tried too hard and stuffed it up.
So thats it for this season. I gotta thank Aaron for joining the team as his help is proving invaluable. Also gotta thank Pam and Casey for all their efforts. And to all our team partners for their support. If it wasn't for their help we wouldn't be on track.
Now the winter rebuild will get underway with an engine to freshen plus a diff to rebuild. Next seasons signage is already designed but ya will have to wait to see the final product. You will be able to keep an eye on 811's progress over winter as I add details to the workshop page.
Meantime cheers for now I gotta go play some golf !!! ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - 23rd & 24th March 2012
Wow what a weekend! Two nights of racing at the Glen ... 7 races and 7 finishes with a couple of podium placings and nearly our first race win.
Friday night started out alright but we struggled with the track which rutted up badly. This saw 811 launching into some wicked wheel stands but slowing progress considerably. However we got our best finish in the feature race achieving 3rd place. A good solid performance really and with both Casey & Aaron helping out on the team in Pams absence the night went smoothly with basically no damage on the car.
Instead of going to the workshop on Saturday we prepared 811 in the sun outside our home. This created a bit of interest with passers-by, some of which ended up going to the track for the first time that night. After mediocre results in the first two races Aaron & I decided to experiment with a slick track setting on the car. This worked very well and saw 811 go from 3rd on the grid to leading and even extending that lead through till lap 7. A caution was thrown for a spun car which bunched the cars up again and on the re-start I should have covered the pole line better as I was passed so had to settle for 3rd Dammit!. This race was very encouraging for the team as it means we are learning and getting to know how to get some serious speed from 811 for the future. That race alone left the team very happy by the end of the weekends racing.
Casey also took a heap of videos so if you're keen check out this one.
Cheers ... Flash

VIDEOS: Fri 23rd March VIDEOS: Sat 24th March

ELF Super Cup - Rounds 3 & 4 - 2nd & 3rd March 2012
What a huge weekend! Firstly we wanna thank Lance from Invercargil-Southland Load Pilot Services for supplying us with methanol for these 2 meetings. Your assistance is very much appreciated thanks Lance.
I dunno where to start with this write-up cos the weekend was so busy. It was just Pam & I for this trip as crew and family had other commitments so it was always gonna be tough. First problem was a blow-out on the trailer but Shane Carey's team pulled up and helped us sort that one. We ended up completing the whole trip back to Kaiapoi without a spare for the trailer but luckily we didn't get another puncture.
On arrival at Dunedin's Island Park Motor Speedway the weather didn't look good and showers during the races were the norm for the night.
Heat 1 ... I'd drawn the crappy 8th place grid and started on the outside of Shane Carey directly behind his brother Mark on grid 6. The car felt good in the warm up so when the green flag dropped I easily accelerated ahead of Shane just as Mark was trying to get to the pole line. This opened up the outside line which I gladly took and within a lap I was ahead of both the Carey boys. 811 was goin' real good and I felt very confident with the car, however this confidence didn't carry on for long as during cornering I felt a vibration/grinding coming from the R/F. In the next turn the R/F suspension collapsed putting us out of the race. Back in the pits (working in the rain) we found the lower king bolt had snapped allowing the brake rotor to chisel itself in to a saw blade and cut the lower coil-over mount off ... GREAT !!!
It's the camaraderie I really like about the ELF series and it showed when Craig Petrie from ELF Oils came to our rescue and hunted out a replacement king-pin bolt while I attended to all the other broken bits. Meantime Pam got soaked and cold in the rain while trying to de-mud the car but she was also helped out by other crew. I certainly hope this series can keep going for many more seasons and we are very much looking forward to the prize giving function in Kaikoura this year.
Heat 2 ... Started on grid 9 and with the car handling very differently than heat 1. Managed to pass one car then Mike Verdoner half spun in front of me starting a chain reaction of contact with us then Kane Lawson. I pressed on with an even worse handling car to finish in 8th place. This was our best result in the ELF Super Cup series to date which was great considering the amount of damage the car had sustained. And "what if?" in that first heat ... would we have made the top 8 shoot-out???
The car was repaired/prepared for the final heat and then the rain came. We tried to pack the track but then more rain came and the meeting was canned. BUGGER ... 811 was the best we have had her going and the result could have been a lot better. So car speed: tick, handling: tick, driver confidence: tick, result: still below average but looking like it's gonna improve "Fast".
Saturday ... over to Cromwell and spend most of the day repairing the car (again). Knackered parts to replace/repair: L/F shock mount (thanks Dennis) L/F lower trailing arm, L/F wheel, bodywork, wheel alignment etc etc. Pam was awesome cleaning the whole car on her own and I gotta tell ya it probably had 1/4 of a ton of mud on it after all that wheel packing the night before.
Heat 1 ... Drew grid 6 for this one on the outside of Dennis Bolt and being the very first time I had raced at Cromwell I was a little bit dubious about the tightness of turns 1 and 2. Didn't take long to shrug that off though because within a couple of laps I had passed not just Dennis but also Richie Taylor and 811 was absolutely flyin! Next pass I made was Ray Stewart with home track advantage and I felt VERY confident with the car. At mid race stage we were in 3rd place and challenging Mark Carey for 2nd which was new territory for 811. A momentary slower than normal exit from a turn saw Ray slip back past us but once back up to speed I was right on these guy's bumpers again while they fought over 2nd place. I felt confident I could beat both the cars ahead and carefully planned my spot and time. The both of them were slow and realtively wide exiting turn two every time so next lap I ventured into turn one with the intention of taking turn two tight and fast. However 811 got a bit loose on a wet patch caused by other cars on the previous lap, this resulted in cutting across the pole-line on turn 2 and clipping Richie who was obviously pressing on as well. This shredded our R/R tyre and broke the R/F steering link (BUGGER again). The panel damage made things look worse than what they really were but it wasn't long before 811 was repaired and ready to race again thanks to Craig from ELF for his man power (again).
Heat 2 ... Grid 11 from memory and the track was considerably drier but the car still felt strong. My confidence is growing considerably now and we managed to pick up a couple of spots before I spun all on my own in that same bloody wet patch (think I would of learnt from the first race) final placing 11th. So again ... "what if?" that first heat I had of settled for 3rd (like Bruce Boulton suggested from his vantage point just behind our pack), could we have been in the top 8 shootout? That's Racing! (apparently but I'm sick of hearing it).
Final Heat ... Crappy grid at the back of the field due to our poor results in the previous heats. And at the back is where I stayed cos three cars in front of me were dicing for the same spot so I knew it would only cause carnage if I stuck 811's nose in there. They did well for the whole 25 laps to not leave me any gaps and as the race went without caution that is how we finished, 811 at the back (BUGGER). So although our overall results table looks bleak the vast improvement in 811 has not gone un-noticed. Several driver's and crew were complimenting and impressed with the improvement in our car speed which is very encouraging. From starting the ELF Super Cup series in Blenheim in December where we quickly went from the front of the pack towards the rear, we are now managing to pass cars and head towards the front. Next aim: "FINISH the bloody races somewhere in the front half of the pack".
So a "full on" weekend with only Pam assisting and I can completely understand her sayin' she aint doin' all that on her own again. But if it wasn't for Pam, Lance, Craig we wouldn't have been racin' at all. Thanks heaps.
Next meeting ... Not sure at this stage as we have a family wedding in Nelson to attend so will miss the South Island Champs in Blenheim. Meantime enjoy the pics plus there's more on Facebook too. I have also linked to some videos produced by 4 Wide Productions (Great work!)
Cheers for now ... Flash

Dunedin Heat 1	Dunedin Heat 2

Woodford Glen Speedway - ELF Super Cup Round 3 -11th February 2012
During the day we had 811 on display at the Kaiapoi New World supermarket to carry out a bit of promotional work for both ourselves and the ELF Super Cup at Woodford Glen.
Had been looking forward to this meeting for a while and was hoping to improve on our ranking within the series. The first heat had 811 called infield before the race even started to check the right rear wheel which appeared to be bent. I drove to the pit gate and called 3 minutes. Aaron with the help of Brendon & Ham from BRT got another wheel on the car in no time and we made the start grid ... phew! Although we couldn't make any headway in this race we also didn't lose any placings either. After further investigation it appears the rear axle may be bent which was probably from the crash we had at the NZ Champs in Nelson so need to sort that.
Lost a few spots in heat 2 with some of the top guns making there way past but the car felt better in this one. We made a few adjustments for the 25 lap final and got held up and lost placings due to a spinning car but had it not been for this we would have finished in the top 10. Very happy to still finish all the races to cap off a reasonable night. Got some good in-car videos too which I need to edit for ya's at some stage this week but meantime check out the Dennis Bolt screen-shot ... Yeehaa!!!
Although we don't think we have improved our series ranking I'm really looking forward to the final two rounds of the series in Dunedin & Cromwell. For these rounds we also welcome aboard Lance from Southland-Invercargill Pilot Services. Your assistance over those rounds is very much appreciated.
Cheers for now ... Flash

Nelson Speedway - NZ Championships - 14th & 15th January 2012
What a weekend!!! Where to start ... Thursday Night Practice I guess. I was glad to get onto the Nelson track again but with the recent rain it caught a lot of us out somewhat. A lot of cars understeered with several hitting the wall including Steve Williams (twice).
Friday Night was to be qualifying and as soon as the meeting got underway so did the rain dammit!
Qualifying postponed till saturday night and I gotta tell ya ... we went okay. Our group included the likes of Steve Flynn, Steve Williams, Richie Taylor, Ian Burson, Paddy North, Martin Halcrow etc so it wasn't realistic to expect 811 to qualify against such experienced competition. The car performed very well and we were rewarded with a 6th in the first heat ahead of Burson & Flynn. A 7th in the second heat was also very pleasing and we weren't that far off the pace. The third heat is where any chance of us qualifying ended. At the start the outside line of cars basically all drove straight out to the turn 1 wall with Taylor starting a chain reaction which tore 811 up quite badly and left us watching the race from the infield. A shame as apparently we would have been close to the cut-off point of entering the 20 for finals night. Plus this ended our reliable finishing streak at 17 races in a row. Once back in the pits it became obvious the severity of the damage which included r/r shock, rim & tyre, top and bottom links, bent exhaust system plus bodywork etc. However the main problem was the broken chassis roll hoop on the right side. This was stopping any chance of the replacement wheel & tyre fitting at all. Over to the rescue came Brendon & Ham from BRT and with a huge effort from both teams the car was miraculously ready for the repercharge. It was about this point that we found out we had won "Best Presented Car" for the meeting so one would assume they decided that before this crash LOL. I was very pleased to be able to finish the night with a driveable car although plenty of work was gonna be needed in the workshop before we went much further.
Overnight my Nelson crew team had arranged for Garth of Creative Colours to open his workshop for us and my sincere appreciation goes out as without this assistance we would not have raced on the sunday night. Thanks heaps Garth. Check out the workshop page for images.
The sunday night produced our best results to date with 2nd & 3rd placings in the consolation races however 811 received a punctured left rear tyre in the final race retiring 811 to the infield. Not the way I would have liked to finish.
This whole championship was very satisfying for all our team as the car (and the driver) are progressing very nicely. We appear to be getting some reasonable car speed and with a bit more effort and experience this should hopefully continue to improve. Thanks to Bryan at Austin Transport for your continued support. Thanks also to Charlotte & Cooper for helping out their Great Uncle Flash.
Next meeting ... ELF Super Cup Round 3 at the glen. See ya's there.

Woodford Glen Speedway - 7th January 2012
Basically a night of testing tonight before we head up to Nelson for the NZ Championships later this week. We just needed to get another heat cycle through the engine for cylinder head re-torque and make sure everything is good to go. Gotta say I'm very pleased to have now finished 15 races in a row, however thats bound to change now that I have mentioned it here. Got our best race finish to date too with a 5th place in race 1. Our new crew member Aaron was invaluable tonight when he was kept busy changing the right front shock after we broke it during race 2. Race 3 I just cruised at the back as the track was knackered and we didn't need any more repairs this week. Got a lot of prep work to complete so see ya's all in Nelson.
Cheers ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - Remembrance Championships - 26th December 2011
One word ... WOW! We are starting to get some car speed finally. A lot of good comments (except from the referee LOL) as we did a heap of wheel stands and generally had a ball (isn't THAT the whole idea?) We even finished one heat in the front half of the pack on a track that I had set the car up completely wrong HAHA.
The middle images are from Mainland Photos website so check them out for more.
Here's a small video of some of the action including two seperate versions of the 5 car pile up in heat 3. 811 was actually parked on top of 3 other cars but we still managed to drive off and complete the entire race LOL.
We will have 811 at the annual Spencer Park Gala on New Years Day which is always a great day out so see ya's there.
Also looking forward to the NZ Champs in Nelson in a couple of weeks. It's gonna be HUGE!
Cheers for now ... Flash

ELF Super Cup - 2nd & 3rd December 2011
One word ... AWESOME!
We finally got to compete in the ELF Super Cup. The first two rounds were held at Blenheim on the friday night and Nelson on the saturday night. We joined with another 15 drivers from around the south island and had a blast. We finished all six heats for the weekend which is a great start for us.
In Blenheim we had the generosity of Noel & Trish who put us up at the Aston Court Motel. Thanks heaps for helping at the track too Noel and we will see ya's again soon. Your help is most appreciated. On track we struggled for grip in the slick conditions and absolutely burnt the tread off the right rear tyre but it was a heap of fun doin it.
In Nelson we were privileged to use the cleaning bay at Austin Transport. Thanks for the assistance Bryan and we will definately take up the offer again in the future. Thanks also to Carl Nees & Scott Bonnington who prepared the car all day then crewed at the track and without their assistance we would have struggled to stay going. Thanks heaps guy's. I was a bit concerned at first that I would struggle to get the car around the tight Nelson track compared to the Honda that we raced there for many seasons. However I thoroughly enjoyed the hard revving sideways style and can't wait to get the chance to do it again. Our next meeting is the annual Remembrance Championships back at the Glen on Boxing Day so meantime have a great christmas everyone. Cheers till then ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - 19th November 2011
Tonight was the Canterbury Super Saloon Champs at Woodford Glen. This was always going to be a tough night as cars from all over the south island fronted with 16 starters all up.
The Canty Champs always seems to bring out the best (and the worst) of a lot of drivers & teams for some reason. Tonight was no exception and although I knew from past years this meeting usually produces a bit of carnage, I didn't think it would be such a crash-fest!
It took many attempts to get some of the heats underway and by race end the infield was littered with cars virtually after every heat. 811 suffered a fair bit of damage during the course of the evening but we were very pleased to be one of only 9 cars which completed all three heats.
Heat 1: As the flag dropped I instantly lost vision due to the track being quite wet. Between this and struggling amongst the close quarter racing plus pulling tear-offs in the opening laps I lost a lot of placings. The track did not suit us what-so-ever so to finish in 11th ahead of a few cars was a nice surprise. And the bloody engine misfire is just not helping the cause either!
Heat 2: Again I struggled with the ruts in the track and just drove to avoid the crashes which were happening. 12n Shane Carey suffered extensive damage in this heat when 17c Brent Emmerson launched into the air along the front straight landing on Shanes bonnet and roof on the way through. We had a few good laps racing with 46e Paddy North (see video) during this heat but still finished at the blunt end in 10th.
Heat 3: Right at the start of this race we were crashed in turn 3 suffering damage to the rear suspension and wiping out the brake system (plus the bodywork was pushed up which had our rear spoiler as high as the roof yuck!). This race took several attempts to get underway with the north end of the track virtually blocked at one stage while I tried to avoid hitting anyone without any bloody brakes what-so-ever! In hindsight it's probably a daft idea trying to run a 700hp Super Saloon without any brakes but at the time I just wanted to finish all three heats. So I achieved that goal finishing at the blunt end again, this time in 9th place.

So considering the damage on some of the cars I guess we got off quite lightly but still a lot of work and repairs to be done. The damn engine misfire is proving elusive to find. We stripped the electronics and coil from the car and had them tested but they appear fine. So still looking for possible causes on that front. Suspension and brake repairs are also priorities.
We next head off to Blenheim and Nelson for the first rounds of the ELF Oils Super Cup series the first weekend of December. I am really looking forward to this as the past two years we have had to withdraw our entry due to blown engines. Gonna be a nice change to be racing in the series instead of being race director so fingers crossed we can keep the car going. My goal is to just finish as many races as possible regardless of finishing place.
Yours in Racing ... Flash
P.S. we are still looking for a suitable victim (oops I mean helper) to join the team so if you think you've got what it takes give me a call on (027)229-4644.

Woodford Glen Speedway - 11th November 2011
Only got a small amount of track time tonight. 811 had an oil surge issue which cut race 1 short for us however we did get some good video clips including in-car footage. Then when driving off to grid up for race 2 a rod end snapped in the rear suspension. One relief about this happening in the pits is that the damage is minimised compared to what would have occured should the suspension collapse at race speed. Phew!
I'm not gonna discuss race 3 here for the risk I will say something which could result in officialdom having yet another go.
Maybe I should write a book one day - wouldn't be a best seller but would be a good eye opener for a few people.
Lets all look forward to a fair and enjoyable Canterbury Championship meeting on the 19th Nov. Cheers ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - 28th-29th October 2011
Our race season has finally got underway after a week's delay due to the stadium being doused with rain the week before.
This meant we had a double header to kick off the racing with the Trophy Challenge on Friday night and the Fireworks meeting on the Saturday night. Plus the bonus of a feature race each night. This meant 8 races planned for the weekend.
The aim with 811 for this season is to finish as many races as possible while getting in valuable (and much needed) track time so placings are not a priority. Now that may sound quite conservative but with the bar being lifted considerably in this class every year I gotta be realistic.
It's pleasing to have the engine behaving itself with normalised fluid pressures and temperatures which is a very promising start. We are chasing a misfire but once sorted we can concentrate on getting in a decent amount of track time hopefully.
We finished out of the top 5 in the trophy challenge on friday but we finished all 4 races for the night. Saturday night was a different deal with the biggest crowd attendance for the year at the Glen, 811 decided to tear the front driveshaft in half (see picture below) and that was just in the pre race warm up laps. So for the third year in a row we were spectators at the fireworks meeting. Maybe 811 is jinxed for this meeting !!!
Repairs and a new driveshaft are already underway so see ya's at the Glen next meeting. Plus I'm still seeking a suitable person(s) with reasonable mechanical knowledge to help out in the workshop and in the pits on race nights. So contact me at (027)229-4644 if you reckon you've got what it takes and want to be part of a fun team.
By the way! - I prepared the car outside home on saturday instead of using the workshop and it reminded me of a photo I had in an old album. Upon investigation I reckon it's exactly 30 years earlier. If nothing else it's a good laugh to compare it with the skinny guy workin on his 67 Falcon. Yours in Racing ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - 17th September 2011
Well ... It's been a long hard road getting the new engine for 811 but finally we are up and running again. Today we had the first practice before the 2011-2012 season gets underway. We used this practice day as an opportunity to ensure all the fluid temperatures and pressures were behaving and generally just have a good time. It is pleasing to have the engine peforming as it should and it was very enjoyable pulling a couple of wheel stands on the day. However I did have the master Greg Keegan "coaching" me somewhat along the way and by the end of the day both he and I were pleased with the progress being made. Thanks Greg!
We hope to get in another practice before the racing kicks off for real in October so see ya's there. Cheers ... Flash

Ruapuna Speedway - 26th March 2011
WOW ... That makes a change to have a heading stating "Ruapuna Speedway".
Today I had the opportunity to have a couple of test drives in a TQ at one of their practice meetings. Father and son team Nigel & Aymon Bridger own and race the #23c TQ and I wish to thank them for offering me the drive.
After 29 years of racing a vast variety of classes I realised this was the first "open wheeler" and by all accounts we went okay. The car obviously isn't overly powerful compared to our Super Saloon but the power to weight ratio more than makes up for this. The car corners a heck of a lot faster which itself is a whole lot of fun!
Although I really enjoyed the opportunity, there is no intention of giving up getting the Super Saloon back on track and very soon hopefully.
Cheers for now ... Flash