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SUMMERNATS SLAM 2021
The Summernats team is gearing up for a big 2021
Summernats recently released an all-new calendar which it says features some of Australia’s best automotive lifestyle events taking place across the country. If you’ve never been to a Summernats, organisers say this is the year to check out the nation’s best car builds and unveils, show ‘n’ shines, vehicle demos and competition plus a huge trade show with the best aftermarket solutions and products on display.
The all-new Summernats Slam will feature three huge days of drags, burnouts, show ‘n’ shine, motorkhana, trade and more at Sydney Dragway across January 8 to 10. The event kicks off on Friday January 8 with the Garrett Advancing Motion Drag Day – a huge day and night of racing on the newly upgraded track with $10,000 in prize money up for grabs. There are categories for everything from dedicated race cars to street cars, and everything in between. Plus, there is a 10,000 HP Blower Vs Turbo showdown ready to rumble on Friday night. Saturday and Sunday at Summernats Slam will see the madness of the Burnout Masters hit the pad as well as Motorkhana, Show ‘n’ Shine, Skid Row, and a VIP park-up in the pits, as well as non-competition drag racing sessions. Organisers say it is set to be a huge weekend with a total of $30,000 up for grabs. Another first for the event is the offering of exclusive Corporate Box Packages which include seven Corporate Season Passes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, premium viewing of all the action from a private airconditioned area plus a food and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage package.
For more information, visit www.summernats.com.au/slam POTENZA RE-71RS WINS OVER TIME ATTACK CHAMPS The new tyre made its competitive debut at the Australian Time Attack event at Wakefield Park
Bridgestone says its new street-legal semi-slick tyre, the Potenza RE-71RS, entered the market having already proven its credentials with a onetwo finish in the Australian Time Attack Club Sprint class at Wakefield Park. Bridgestone explains that the RE-71RS has been released on the Australian market promising increased grip levels, improved handling, and better wear life over its predecessor, the RE-71R, while retaining practicality for everyday use. The tyre made its competitive debut at the Australian Time Attack event fitted to the Mitsubishi Evo VI of Club Sprint winner Jamal Assaad and Evo X of runner-up Nik Kalis, who both recorded personal best times around the NSW track on the new tyre. Bridgestone Potenza shod cars filled the top four positions of the class, with Andre Naz’s Evo VIII fitted with the RE-71R tyre claiming third, and the Honda Civic of Adrian Pazman also on the RE-71RS in fourth. Winner Jamal Assad and runner up Nik Kalis both praised the new tyre, vouching for the RE71RS’ increased grip levels, as well as better longevity and consistency across their flying laps throughout the event. Jamal set an impressive 1:01.1130s to take out the Club Sprint class, bettering his time by more than a second on the RE-71RS, and was reportedly impressed by the consistency of the new tyre. “It’s the best road-legal tyre I’ve driven on to date. The feedback the tyre provides is outstanding,” Jamal said. “I was surprised by how consistent the tyre was and my lap times reflected that. It didn’t drop off during my runs and every lap on the RE71-RS was giving me more confidence to push harder. “It feels like a very safe tyre because of the amount of grip on hand and the feedback it gives in the corners and under brakes. When you’re chasing Time Attack results, being able to trust your grip levels is crucial and the RE-71RS is a tyre you can trust.” Runner-up Nik Kalis has been a part of the Australian Time Attack community for the better part of a decade and rates the RE-71RS as the best tyre he has competed on, impressed by its responsiveness, grip and durability. Nik believes the switch to RE-71RS was the key factor in setting his 1:01.9020s time – a respectable improvement of half a second. “It’s so direct. Wherever it wanted the car to go, it went and what I wanted it to do, it did. It feels like a really good tyre,” Nik said. “The grip level is noticeable over the older tyre and I was adapting my driving style to carry more speed through the corner. I was able to go deeper under brakes and be back on the throttle earlier because of the ridiculous amount of grip. “The other impressive thing I found with the RE71RS was how long they stay in the optimum window for. Other tyres I have used in the past are only good a lap of two, but the RE-71RS seems to have a longer life in each run, and each session felt as consistent as the previous.” The RE-71RS is available through Bridgestone’s network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centre stores, as well as dedicated motorsport tyre distributors.
For more information, visit www.bridgestonetyres.com.au
AARON GREGORY’S MEMPHIS HELL WINS SMOTY 2020
Aaron has claimed the Valvoline Street Machine of the Year trophy and a 20k prize
Since 1988, the Street Machine of the Year award has been a highly coveted prize. It is a lucrative one too, thanks to a $20,000 first prize thanks to Valvoline. In 2020, boat builder turned performance car builder Aaron Gregory was awarded the Valvoline Street Machine of the Year award for his ’51 Chev ute, dubbed Memphis Hell. The ute was built in a three-month dash and first broke cover at MotorEx 2012 before being promptly put to work cruising up and down the east coast of Oz. All those road miles didn’t stop it from making two visits to the Summernats Top 60 and scoring a swag of other tinware at shows all over the country.
fully-electric future for DTM
At the final DTM race weekend of 2020 in early November, Schaeffler showed what the future of the DTM will look like: green and electric. As the new Series and Innovation Partner of the DTM, Schaeffler and the umbrella organisation, ITR (Internationale Tourenwagen Rennen e.V.) presented a demonstration car at the Hockenheimring. The demonstration car features four batterypowered Schaeffler drivetrains – one for each wheel – and is also equipped with Space Drive steer-by-wire technology. The prototype was driven by Formula E driver Daniel Abt and two-time DTM champion Timo Scheider, as well as Schaeffler Brand Ambassador, Sophia Flörsch. “We are looking forward to the partnership,” Schaeffler Chief Executive Officer for Automotive Technologies, Matthias Zink, said. “Our innovative e-drive technologies have been Aaron’s treated the truck to five genre-busting rebirths since then, most recently chopping both the roof and the hand-made tub and reinventing it as a corner-carving, pro touring marvel. Off the back of that rebuild, it scored another feature in Street Machine and qualified as a Valvoline Street Machine Of The Year finalist before being voted as the most popular street machine of 2020 by the magazine’s readership. “I really didn’t expect to be nominated for a second time, eight years after the car debuted and up against an epic field of cars, I didn’t see this one coming,” said Aaron, the owner of Memphis Hell Custom Vehicle Builders. “I played to my strengths, which was driving and using my car, but I enjoyed being cheeky about it. How many other SMOTY contenders were picking up toilet paper in their nominated car? “I didn’t build it to win trophies, but I think people like seeing it at interstate shows being used and driven. If I have had a bad week at work, the only thing that gets me out of that headspace is jumping in the truck and finding a twisty road or freeway to blast. “Winning SMOTY is a great thing for me because producing success in Formula E since 2014 and are now also used in production vehicles. “The collaboration demonstrates pioneering spirit and innovation, and underlines our desire, as technology partner, to make progress that has an impact on the world.” The demonstration car that was in action at the Hockenheimring generates almost 1,200 hp with 800 kW – that is virtually twice as much power as the current DTM cars (over 450 kW). The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.4 seconds, making it roughly 0.4 seconds faster than the current Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM. It also features Space Drive steer-by-wire technology, which Schaeffler says has been successfully tried and tested in motorsport, as well as an integrated vehicle dynamics control to control the four motors. In its role as a development platform for the electric DTM, outings are planned at DTM events in 2021. mini-truckers get boo-hooed all the time, but have a look at what shops mini-truckers are running and the cars they’re turning out – Ryan Carter at United Speed Shop, Graeme Brewer up at Down Town Kustoms, Michael Ellard at Image Conversions, Pete Lamb at Melomotive and Brendan Carroll at Car Builders – and me here! “I get offended when people call it a show car, or ask where I have towed it from. It is a car; you drive it. I don’t understand people who look at it when it’s parked and laid out and say things like: ‘Oh, you can’t even drive it.’ Well how did I get it there?”
For more information on the Valvoline Street Machine of the Year Award, visit
SCHAEFFLER PARTNERS WITH DTM The new partnership will see Schaeffler play an instrumental role in shaping a
www.whichcar.com.au/streetmachine/events/smoty
Schaeffler says it is then possible that the DTM will be a fully-electric race series from 2023. The global automobile and industrial supplier has only recently launched a new image campaign, with the goal of positioning the corporate brand Schaeffler and communicating the new claim “We pioneer motion.” At the heart of the campaign is the concept “Green makes the difference”, which Schaeffler says symbolises that it is a trailblazer when it comes to motion. “The partnership with the DTM is perfectly suited to Schaeffler. As a pioneer, we want to challenge the status quo and push the boundaries – and, in doing so, to make a difference,” Matthias said.
