Autumn Edition Mar - June 2015
Rex Driver #61
www.wrxsa.com
33 Woodlands Tce, Edwardstown, SA, 5039
Contact Sean and Jo phone 8277 2222
eblen
COLLISION REPAIRS Contact: Dario Tonon
Manager
240 Brighton Road, Somerton Park, South Australia 5044 t 08 8294 2952 f 08 8376 1133 w eblencollision.com.au
Subaru Collision Repair Specialists Eblens have been in the automotive industry for decades and since our companies inception, we have repaired more Subaru's than any other crash repairer in Australia and continue to be the number 1 choice when it comes to Subaru smash repairers in Adelaide. One thing we’ve come to know about Subaru owners is that a high level of importance is placed on quality. At Eblens, we know what our customers want in a quality vehicle repair and this is why ALL of our collision repairs entail the following: We source genuine Subaru parts
Eblen Collision Repairs / Team DDR Special !!! Eblen Collision Repairs is a major sponsor of Team DDR, and it’s young drivers Dan & Brad Day who are also WRXSA members.
Our technicians are specifically trained in all aspects of high tech repairs Highly trained staff, skilled & experienced in repairing Subaru models All repairs completed to manufacturer’s standard Absolute focus on customer satisfaction
In addition to our support of this V8 Supercar outfit, our clients who hold a ‘Team DDR Membership’ are eligible for $200 off excess of all insurance claims over $1500.00. DDR Members simply mention this special to save $200!
Remember – it’s your car, it’s your choice. When it comes to hassle free, premium quality collision repairs, at Eblens, we’ll do it all for you!
Club Address:
Impreza WRX Owners Club of South Australia Inc. PO Box 400, Unley, SA 5061 Incorporated in Adelaide, South Australia May 1999 Certificate number: AA0024461E
2014/2015 Elected Club Committee: President: Sam Jongenelis Mobile: 0402 936 908
Web Site Address:
Vice President: Spiro Koulianos Mobile: 0402 311 294
E-Mail Address:
Secretary: Tania Langcake
http:\\www.wrxsa.com
Information: info@wrxsa.com Club Committee: committee@wrxsa.com Magazine: rexdriver@wrxsa.com
Membership:
The Impreza WRX Owners Club of South Australia is a club for motoring enthusiasts with a passion for performance cars. Our focus is on performance oriented Subaru vehicles, including the Impreza WRX, STI, Liberty RS, Forester GT and BRZ’s, but membership is considered from owners of other vehicles.
Club Magazine:
The Club magazine Rex Driver is published quarterly and distributed free to all members. Contributions are welcomed from Club Members and interested parties alike and may be submitted via email directly to the Editor at: sethcoultas@gmail.com
Treasurer: Damien Hirst
Mobile: 0422 277 109
Membership Officer: Gareth Scanlen General Positions: Brendan Moore (Cruise Master) Damien Hirst (Motorsport Co-ordinator) Nigel McGaffin (Events Co-ordinator) Andrew Kreiger (Webmaster) Rob Gromball ( Social Media) Jarrad McGaffin (Business Liaison) Mitchell Bryres, John Tomazos CAMS OFFICER Matt Knighton Layout & design Seth Coultas (Magazine Editor) Email: sethcoultas@gmail.com Use the Club’s mobile number 0413 025 697 for any other enquiries to other committee members
All contents © 2015 Impreza WRX Owners Club of South Australia Inc.
DISCLAMER: The views and/or opinions expressed in any/all articles in this magazine are not to be considered the views and/ or opinions of the Club, editorial staff, or any committee member. While all care is taken in the preparation of this publication, the Club, its committee and its contributors accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the whole or any part of the magazine. The club wishes to highlight that that any modifications made to your car may void your factory warranty, and any racing / sporting events may void your insurance cover. Articles regarding either of these matters are for interest value only and are not recommended to our members.
We trust allBiz for all our Rex Driver printing needs. www.allbizsupplies.biz 125 O’Sullivan Beach Road, Lonsdale Ph: 8326 2899
Official Magazine of the
Impreza WRX Owners Club of South Australia Inc. Autumn 2015
Contents CLUB RACING
MOTORSPORTS
12
Motorkhana (CC Rnd 2)
22 Race to the Sky
18
Mount Alma Mile (CC Rnd 3)
26 Southern Rally
24
OZGymkhana (CC Rnd 4)
30 Rally America - Oregon Trail Rally
25
Peter Hall Memorial 6Hr Enduro
32 Rally America—Olympus Rally
36
Collingrove Hillclimb (CC Rnd 5)
38
OZGymkhana (Sate Round 3)
34 Rally America—Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally 40 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race
SOCIAL 44
White Knight Wander Cruise
Front cover: Jamie Pohlner / Ben Judd @ the Southern Rally — Photo by Frank Kutsche - “Sticks & Stones”
REGULARS 1
Club Info Page
4
Editorial
6
2015 Club Championship
9
New Members Welcome
12
Member Profile : Remo Siciliano
46
‘Classic’ Rex Driver
48
Treasurer’s Report
49
Rex Driver Advertising
50
Club Partners
52
Upcoming Events
ARTICLE & PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you so much to everyone that contributed to make this another fantastic edition of Rex Driver! Without your support this magazine would not be possible : Damien Hirst Frank Kutsche "Sticks & Stones" Remo Siciliano Richard Paul Tania Langcake Russell Badenoch Brendan Moore Jake Zuppa Alin Daju JLSWIFTdesign Possum Bourne Motorsport Lars Gange Subaru of America Subaru International If you would like to contribute or just send in some pics of your car contact me at sethcoultas@gmail.com.
Seth Coultas
It seems hard to believe that we are already halfway through the year, the time has just flown by with the events coming thick and fast to help fill up another bumper edition of Rex Driver. A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to bring the clubs new website to life. Russell Badenoch and his team at Beanstalk have been working extremely hard to create what will be a huge asset to the club and strengthen our web presence. So we all hope you enjoy it. I’d just like to take a minute to note that with the government and media normally so hell bent on demonising car enthusiasts it is encouraging to see that when a solution to take racing off the streets is presented there is someone in the federal government willing to give it some support. It was recently announced that the SA Motorsport park at Tailem Bend would receive another $7.5 million boost, helping to ensure a top class facility and create much needed jobs. Speaking of taking racing off the streets the first round of the WRXSA Go Kart Challenge was a roaring success with 13 members competing wheel to wheel with each other at Adrenalin Karts in Pooraka. In qualifying and race one Hugh McLaughlin set the pace but a spin in race two sent him plummeting down the placings. At the end of race two I had managed to get the lead but was unable to hold off Matt Knighton in Race 3 who won the final and achieved the fastest lap time for the night. Despite a few aches and pains that had most of us feeling a bit worse for wear, everyone was in agreement that it was 100% worth it. This is racing that anyone can do and I for one can’t wait for the next round, see you there!
Seth Coultas
Round 1: OZGymkhana
Round 2: Motorkhana
The year boosted off with a club favourite, the OZGymkhana at Tailem Bend Motorsport Park. It was a good start for the Club Championship with eight members entered and a good day of sunshine but hot windy conditions.
Back on the calendar this year due to members request, is motorkhana. Round 2 was held with MGCC run Monarto Big W motorkhana. There proved to be a great turn out encouraging new members to enter for only $30 entry fee.
Matt Knighton (00 WRX), had a shocker of a day, with three penalties added throughout the day. Rob Gromball ran his clean 99 WRX, a switch from his Bug STI. Ben Hersey (04 STI) started the day well but dropped out by run 4 with minor car problems.
It was great to see WRXSA’s female members participating, Tania, Zoe and also Nigel’s partner Jessica McGaffin.
Added to the OZGymkhana series is the new Interclub Challenge WRXSA’s regular ‘khana members are keen to win the Interclub Challenge Prize pool of $500. Much appreciated it would be.
1st Garry Dodd = 13pts Seth Coultas = 12pts Jason Bartsch = 11pts Tania Langcake = 10pts Brendan Moore = 9pts Jacob Richards = 8pts Daniel Caruana = 7pts Zoe Rule = 6pts Nigel McGaffin = 5pts
Motorkhana master Garry Dodd (99 WRX) was in action and took first place in Round 2 of the S&J Automotive Club Championship. Seth Coultas (00 STI) Tania Langcake started with her new finished second keeping his momentum dedicated track car, white 2000 model WRX from round 1 win. Jason Bartsch still in the and resulted well for a car straight off the Blue 99 WRX for third. Tania Langcake train/trailer. Brendan Moore (99 WRX always improving and took fourth place Wagon) was running top 8 and so too Jason over half the club members. Bartsch in his partners blue 99 WRX, while his STI was back at the DRIVEN garage. Brendan Moore was just behind in fifth spot; and newcomers, Jacob Richards (06 Damien Brand (99 STI RA) was slightly off RX), Daniel Caruana (GT Liberty) and Zoe pace and also struck a flat tyre which Rule (99 WRX) had a good run with the resulted Brendan Moore gaining a position. experience. Despite Damien’s flatty, he kept the top 8 and went on to win the shootout! Seth Nigel McGaffin chose to run a little Mazda Coultas (00 STI) was our most consistent on the day although lacking power, proved member of the day, as quick as Brand and great fun at a budget event. Thanks for resulted 3rd overall prior to shootout and those entering, WRXSA made a great First place for WRXSA in the Round 1 of the impression on the MG car club who run the S&J Automotive Club Championship. event.
1st = Seth Coultas = 12points Brendan Moore = 11pts Damien Brand = 10pts Jason Bartsch = 9pts Tania Langcake = 8pts Rob Gromball = 7pts Matt Knighton = 6pts Ben Hersey = 5pts
Round 3: Mount Alma Hillclimb
Round 5: Collingrove Wintercup
Personal Best Points (previous PB's in blue) Mark Gardiner 50.49/47.80 -2.69 Garry Dodd 47.98/46.43 -1.55 Remo Siciliano 48.14/47.85 -0.29 Jason Bartsch 46.97/46.82 -0.15 Damien Hirst 46.63/46.78 +0.15 Tania Langcake 54.24/54.59 +0.35 Richard Paul 48.84/49.52 +0.68
Personal Best Points: Matt Knighton 35.15/36.14 -0.99 Zoe Rule 40.42/40.60 -0.18 Dylan Thomas 38.22/38.31 -0.09 Glenn Breugem 35.24/35.27 -0.03 Alin Daju 41.92/41.95 -0.03 Remo Siciliano 36.06/35.75 +0.31 Jason Bartsch 35.01/34.70 +0.31 Daniel Carauna 39.14/37.06 +2.08 Tania Langcake 39.32/36.93 +2.39
Check out the full story on page 18. All in all it was a great weekend, it was good to see a few new members out there giving it a red hot go.
Outright Points Garry Dodd 46.43 = 7pts Damien Hirst 46.78 =6pts Jason Bartsch 46.82 =5pts Mark Gardiner 47.80 =4pts Remo Siciliano 47.85 =3pts Richard Paul 49.52 =2pts Tania Langcake 54.59 =1pt
Perfect weather saw some strong PB’s and plenty of Championship points up for grabs.
Outright Points: Jason Bartsch 35.01 Matt Knighton 35.15 Glenn Breugem 35.24 Remo Siciliano 36.06 Dylan Thomas 38.22 Daniel Caruana 39.14 Tania Langcake 39.32 Zoe Rule 40.42 Combined Total winning points for Round 3: Alin Daju 41.92 Garry Dodd = 17 points Rd3 Winner! Mark Gardiner =15pts Combined Total winning points for Round 5: Jason Bartsch =13pts Matt Knighton 21 Points Rd5 winner! Damien Hirst =13pts Glenn Breugem 17pts Remo Siciliano =12pts Jason Bartsch 16pts Tania Langcake =7pts Dylan Thomas 16pts Richard Paul =7pts Remo Siciliano 14pts Zoe Rule 14pts Daniel Caruana 10pts Round 4: OZGymkhana Alin Daju 10pts Check out the full story on page 24. Tania Langcake 8pts 1st Matt Knighton = 11pts Seth Coultas = 10pts Brendan Moore = 9pts Jason Bartsch = 8pts Brad Day = 7pts Tania Langcake = 6pts Michael Harding = 5pts
Summary:
Results after Round 5 of the S&J Automotive Club Championship puts last year's Grand Champ, Jason Bartsch, back Competitor in the lead with a total of 57 points! While Jason Bartsch Seth Coultas begun full attack on the khanas, he missed potential points at Tania Langcake Rd3, Mt Alma and Rd5 dropping him down to 4th. Tania Langcake is showing great form sitting in second position on 39 points! Matt Knighton’s big win at Round 5 advances him to third position. Garry Dodd with full winning points from Rd2 & Rd4 gives him a steady fifth spot on 30 points. Brendan Moore, Remo Siciliano and Zoe Rule are sitting just behind the top 5 with many more rounds yet to compete should see some close results. Zoe Rule now leads the Standard Class. Matt Knighton leading the Modified Class And Jason is running away in the Open Class. Jason and Tania are the only two having entered every event so far for the 12/12 Medallion. It’s still not too late to enter the S&J Automotive Club Championship with big points to be gained by beginners to win their classes or for a run to win the Grand Champ Trophy and a $1200 voucher from our sponsor, S&J Automotive (08) 8277 2222.
RD2
RD3
RD4
RD5
TOTAL
9
11
13
8
16
57
8
10
7
6
8
39
11
21
38
Matt Knighton
6
Seth Coultas
12
Garry Dodd Brendan Moore
12 13
11
10
34
17
9
Remo Siciliano
30 9
12
29 14
26
Zoe Rule
6
14
20
Daniel Caruana
7
10
17
16
16
Dylan Thomas Mark Gardiner
15
15
Damien Hirst
13
13
Alin Daju
10
10
Damien Brand
10
10
Jacob Richards
8
8
Rob Gromball
7
7
Richard Paul
7
Brad Day Ben Hersey
Damien Hirst
RD1
Nigel McGaffin Michael Harding
7 7
5
7 5
5
5 5
Welcome New Club Members! Fellow members please make new members feel welcome at future events. We hope they will enjoy their time in the club, and wish them the very best.
518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526
Johathon Loader Feroz Osman-Latib David Kim Terence Corcoran Lona Zhang Petros Louca Nick Galliford Mark Rogers Jess McGaffin
Welcome aboard!
Hey guys! I’m delighted to be presenting my member profile. For those of you who don’t know me, my name’s Remo Siciliano. Little bit about me, I’m 24, born in Adelaide, Italian background, I’m a civil engineer and am soon to be married to my beautiful fiancé Alana. My hobbies include bodybuilding and cars… and SUBIES!! Before my WRX my car history was pretty dull. I had two 3 series BMW coupes a 1995 and a 2002. The thing that always frustrated me about European cars was the lack of mods that could be done; I’ve always had a desire to build and modify things, which probably goes back to my days of racing RC cars. After the two beemers, I decided I wanted an economical everyday car to try save some money, so I bought a 2008 Honda accord euro. That lasted two months before the lack of power drove me nuts. I just so happened to drive past a blue GC8 one day when I was having a moment about the lack of power of the Honda and I said “that’s it I’m buying a WRX!”. So I bought a black 2003 Wrx Club Spec Evo 7, now know as “The R9” or “R9”.
Best and worst decision of my life. Best because these cars are truly amazing and are everything I ever wanted in a car, the power, the handling, they are a true drivers car with that raw, back to basics feeling, and worst decision, because I’m forever poor because the mod bug bit me very hard.
car and the extra grip it will deliver, after that, possibly a surge tank. Then, when I either win the lotto or get a pay rise, I Factory EJ205 running E85 with Ecutek anti would love to do a big build fully forged closed deck EJ257 with v-mount intercooler -lag tune making 236awkw and Borgwaner EFR turbo mated to a straight cut PPG dogbox. Engine Ceramic coated IHI vf34 turbo My plan for the car is to have it as a Process West top mount intercooler dedicated motorsport car and continue to 3 inch catless turbo back exhaust with build it up. Its funny, I do mods not so straight pipe much to make the car better, but out of id 1000 injectors curiosity… what will this do and how far can DW375 fuel pump I take the limits of the car. I am obsessed AT Performance Fabrication custom catch with making the car have infinite grip. I can enjoy spending hours researching on Pierburg 3 port boost solenoid forums and learning more about these cars. Perrin silicone inlet hose I started out only wanting an exhaust and tune… Here’s my current mods list:
Suspension and steering JDM Spec C 2.2 quick steer rack Tein Monosport coilovers 22mm front and rear swaybars with heavy duty mounts and endlinks Roll centre adjust kit Front and rear lateral lock kit Cusco type OS front strut brace Subframe lock kit Camber bolts Anti-Lift Kit
I have a love for hillclimbs, particularly those in Europe and am inspired by events such as the St Ursanne Hillclimb in Switzerland. My favourite subie and dream car is that of Mike Jelinek (750HP 2dr GC8 tarmac rally car). Currently I am enjoying entering the car in local hillclimb events but ultimately I would love to do some Targa events, I enjoy longer stretch hillclimbs vs the short sprints and have already shotgun my cousin to be navigator... poor him!
Brakes Alcon mono4 front calipers and 2 piece rotors & DS2500 pads Rear DBA3000 rotors and Project Mu HC+ pads Cusco master cylinder brace Goodridge braided lines Motul RBF600
The whole experience with my WRX is one I love and enjoy. The club, WRXSA, and its members have been so welcoming to me and we have a presence at events unrivalled by any. I would like to thank everyone who has been so welcoming at events and I enjoy the culture… lets knock those evo guys of their perch! I would also like to thank SnJ for their help and immaculate treatment of my car, particularly Shane and Sean for always answering my annoying questions.
Exterior 18x9.5 +35 Enkei RPF1s 255/35/18 Yokahama AD08R Interior Takata racing harness OMP steering wheel Velo GPT2 seat Beatrush rear seat divider Miscellaneous Pitch stopper Battery relocation to the boot Lightweight Lithium battery Positive shift kit and Perrin gearbox stay kit Future mods plans I recently purchased a torsen lsd r180 rear diff, next will be a Cusco 1.5way lsd for the front and looking to also do a DCCD centre. I am very excited for this change to the
So now that you know a bit more about me, when you see me round say hi, id like to get to know more about you and your car! Take care.
Jacob Richards turning in hard.
Round 2 saw the return of Motorkhana to the Club Championship, and the organisers of the event were quite happy to welcome the influx of WRX’s to the competition. Out of a field of 50 drivers we had 10 club members competing, including Nigel McGaffin and his wife Jessica driving their Mazda 121; and Daniel Caruana in his Skyline. As it happened race day also coincided with International Woman’s Day and it was impressive to see that there were a total of 13 women competing including three of our own. It is good to see the return of Motorkhana to the championship as it is a fantastic introduction to motorsport for anyone that is looking to start out. For $25 you get an exciting day of racing that will put your driving skills to the test, without placing too much stress on your car; and all you need is a CAMS licence (and club membership, but you already have that of course!). That’s right, for Motorkhana you don’t need a helmet, fire extinguisher or anything! Furthermore each of the 4 tests driven on the day are run twice with only the fastest counting towards the results, this is great for both beginners and more experienced drivers as it encourages you to push that little bit harder than you might otherwise as you know you have a fall-back position or second chance to get things right.
Garry Dodd practicing his handbrake turns.
Tania Langcake going a tad wide.
For the majority of the team this was there first time competing in a Motorkhana so it was great to see everyone having fun and also getting some great times, there were even a few class records broken which created some great competition. BANDIT The first test was the Bandit which gives drivers quite a bit of room for a motorkhana test, it comprises two wide loops separated with a tight slalom. I was extremely happy with how my first run went and when I got my time back even more so as I had managed to beat the class record by over a second! 21.57 seconds vs 22.61 seconds. Garry Dodd (our clubs Motorkhana King) was running a few cars behind me so I wasn’t sure what he would have in store but after he hit a flag / marker on the slalom I know I was safe at least until he got his second try. For the second try I was not able to beat my original time but Garry came back with a 21.43 second run giving him the win for that test. Jason Bartsch also showed that he meant business with a time of 22.02 seconds which was still half a second quicker that the now old national record. Nigel wasn’t doing too badly either, for his very first run he was just 2 seconds off the 121’s Class National Record (which incidentally was a second quicker than the AWD class record).
DOUBLE KIDNEY The Double Kidney test was a bit trickier as it is quite tight in the middle meaning that if you get a bit too excited and hit a flag then you can say hello to a 5 second penalty and goodbye to a fast time. Most took it fairly easy, avoiding all the flags except for Nigel who clipped one and Zoe who managed to take out three! Unfortunately this was also the last test for Nigel & Jessica as this was when their little Mazda 121 decided that it had had enough. Electrical issues prevented them from competing for the rest of the day but luckily the car did get them home, and that is always something to be thankful for! After the two runs I ended up getting the fastest class time with 26.02 seconds which was two hundredths of a second of the record. Garry was close behind, followed by Jason.
MANOUVRING The Manoeuvring test is a bit similar to the bandit in that you start and finish the test with a couple of wide sweeping corners that allows you to put a bit of power down but it also adds some tight right handers either side of the middle slalom. On my first run at it I found a good rhythm and after carrying a reasonable bit of speed through and out of the slalom there was enough time to set up a nice hand brake turn for the bottom right hairpin and carry the speed around the final sweeping turn and into the finish garage. Considering I don’t normally use the handbrake in my driving style it was a great feeling to pull this move off and to once again beat the Class Record on this test by a second was even better (25.12 vs 26.12). Garry also beat the record time but by only a tenth of a second (26.03). With the pressure on for the second run I tried hard to improve my time but was just a bit slower. Garry however, relishing the challenge put his foot down, putting me back in my place with a time of 25.02 seconds.
Jason & Zoe really seemed to enjoy the practice session!
Garry makes it all look too easy!
NOUGHTS & CROSSES Then it was back to another tight layout; Noughts & Crosses. Garry drove this test beautifully breaking the class record on both his runs and it was amazing to watch. This was not only enough to give him the Class win but also 1st outright for the day! Jason was also quite quick on the final test, just a couple of seconds off Garry; but this was one test that I was not able to find my rhythm on and without that flow I was over 5 seconds slower than Garry. Luckily this was still enough for me to hold onto 2nd in our class and 4th outright. Consistent driving from Jason saw him finish 3rd in the class and right behind me in 5th outright. Tania drove quickly and cleanly all day with no real mistakes and was rewarded with 4th in Class; just beating Brendan in 5th. Both of their times were close all day with only a second between them in the final results.
The fun and comradery of race days are what appeals to most of us and none more so than Zoe who is always on hand at events supporting her partner Jason so it is awesome to see her giving it a go as well!
Close behind them was new club member Jacob Richards, as always it is great to meet a fellow subbie driver that wants to give motorsport a go. Jacob showed some good improvement through the day and even beat me on the last test so he could be one to watch out for in the future!
Finally Daniel Caruana did well to get his big R33 Skyline around some of the tighter corners achieving some quick times and finished up around the middle of the field.
Zoe Rule brought up the rear of the AWD field and while she did make a few mistakes, hitting markers and a couple of Wrong Directions; the grin on her face spoke volumes.
The perfect driving conditions may have helped contribute to the number of class records being broken on the day, but as always it came down to everyone getting out there, giving it a go and having some fun along the way. Seth Coultas
Garry Dodd achieved the clubs fastest time up the hill Photo by Frank Kutsche “Sticks & Stones”
One of the big Club Champion events of the year is the Mighty Mt Alma Hill Climb for Round 3. This ever so popular two day Hill Climb has been a regular on the S&J Automotive Club Championship calendar for a few years now. It’s well run by Ultimate Motorsport Events and volunteers, making it ideal for any WRXSA member to participate in a larger scaled event among club setup and support.
The weekend was one of the best weather conditions Mt Alma’s had over the years, not hot and not a drop of rain in sight. WRXSA had seven members entered. A camp was setup in Pit Paddocks with four members camping overnight and the others choosing to stay at Victor overnight. WRXSA was off to a great start and quickly the speed trap times became a favourite aim among us. Many other competitors had issues on the first day including Matthew Fairweather’s 300kw+ monster WRX blowing a turbo on first run disappointing a lot of spectators. Tania Langcake did well to bring her 2litre WRX up to speed and matching previous Personal Bests of the 2.5 Litre 06 WRX last year. Richard Paul (00 WRX) had the best launches of the day, consistently running great speed trap times but not yet bettered his Personal Best probably due to the weight of his new full roll cage.
Two newcomers to Mt Alma are Mark Gardiner (00 STI) and Remo Siciliano (04 WRX Club Spec). Remo showed potential with fastest speed trap time of 143km/h (club record) and a Personal Best 47sec run on his first time at Alma. Mark had an off on the Sunday pushing the rear strut camber in. But great work missing one run to fix it and back out pulling off a best last run pass to take Remo by zero point of a second!! (M47.80/R47.85). Jason’s debut at Alma, with a very fresh engine build of 280kw in the 06 STI, saw quick 46 second passes. Damien Hirst (99 STI) improved his speed trap times from previous years but not his Personal Best, 46sec passes were made several times with consistency took out Mt Alma’s 1st place Modified 4WD class. Garry Dodd started strong and on the last day pulled a WRXSA club record of 46.43seconds, point two seconds off Hirst’s record. Garry’s Personal Best and Outright fastest resulted in Round 3’s winner of the S&J Automotive Club Championship. Great weekend, good to see a few new members give it a good go. Damien Hirst
Richard Paul climbing turn two Photo by Frank Kutsche “Sticks & Stones”
The Cars of Jason, Richard and Tania ready to tackle the Mountain again. Photo by Richard Paul
“This is my 5th running in this event and it would have to be the sheer speed of the corners that makes this event so appealing. It is definitely a hillclimb suited for cars with big power figures on their dyno sheets. Sitting at the start line waiting for the countdown to reach zero is the most nerve racking experience of this event for me. The adrenaline is pumping and the countdown is fast approaching zero. And when it hits zero, I drop the clutch at 5000rpm and all sense of fear and adrenaline just seems to disappear in a flash! After that, complete concentration takes over. My eyes are now firmly glued to the road. I’m working overtime as I race up through the gears and then down through the gears while making sure I brake at my braking points and ensure the car is positioned correctly for each corner. I somehow whiz through the chicane without hitting any of the pylons and continue on to the next set of corners. After taking the last few corners flat in fourth gear, the run must now come to an end. Before I know it, I’ve reached the finish line at the top of the hill. Once my run is completed it’s hard on the brakes. Really hard! Just past the next corner the road turns to gravel. Nobody wants to hit that going too fast!” Richard Paul Reliability wins over power for Hirst (STI 99) to take 1st Class win in 4WD modified 2litres with Willall's 'Bobo' (WRX wagon) and Luke Bosman (EVO X) both missing out!
“Great day for it, great cruise too Brendan, plenty of fun and nothing stupid” Russell Badenoch “Was good to see a few new faces to the cruises too. Cheers for coming Russell” Brendan Moore
“Mt Alma 2015 was an awesome experience. Unquestionably my favourite event so far. The two day event is a true spectacle with a combination of local car nuts with cars of all shapes and sizes, to the big wallet boys putting on an awesome show for the crowd; combined with a bit of smoke from none other than Jake Jones The Drift Squid. What made the day so enjoyable for me was being in close running order with Daniel ‘twitch‘ Smith in his awesome evo, Damien Hirst in his inspiring 2dr GC8 and a new friend made at the event Daniel Badawee in his evo 7 who has become a friendly rival at local events given our cars are evenly matched. Watching all 3 of the guys do some nice AWD burnouts in front of me made the day even more enjoyable. We each shared stories about our run once parked on the dirt turnaround road at the top of the hill and we were all excited to tell one another about our runs. Apart from some minor surging the car felt fantastic and my speed traps were quite good. This is definitely an event I looking forward to doing again next year.” Remo Siciliano
“Nice meeting some of you guys. My legs are sore from walking up the hill a couple of times“ Mike Harding
Remo lining up for the last couple of sweeping corners before the finish line. Photo by Frank Kutsche “Sticks & Stones”
A good looking line up! Photo by Damien Hirst
“Congratulations to Alister McRae and the Vantage Motorsport team on taking out first place in the Repco Race to the Sky 2015. As a tribute McRae drove the Vantage Aluminium Joinery 98 WRC car that Possum Bourne used 14 years ago to win the same event. Possum Bourne Motorsport are proud partners with Vantage and have continually developed this car to be competitive at the highest level whilst keeping it true to its roots. We can’t think of any better way to keep Possum’s legacy alive!” Possum Bourne Motorsport Ltd
New Zealand's iconic Race to the Sky was last held in 2007. In April this year, with the support of Repco, the Highlands' Motorsport Park team brought this unique and thrilling event back to life! Since the world-famous Pikes Peak route was sealed, the 14.5km Race to the Sky is now the world’s longest gravel hill climb, it has 135 turns and climbs 1050m. There were a few Subaru’s competing but the one everyone was watching was Alister McRae. As a tribute McRae drove the same car that Possum Bourne used 14 years ago to win the event in 2001. Possum Bourne Motorsport and Vantage Aluminium Joinery have continually developed this car to keep it competitive and with the return of the event it was a fitting way to commemorate Possum’s legacy. Alister McRae qualifying 2nd fastest on day 1, driving the 98 WRC Subaru (Unlimited Class) to a time of 8:26.795. “There’s so much history with the car,” said McRae, a former WRC driver. “It’s my first time here, so it’s not the easiest of things to do because the road’s so technical. The weather’s great, the car’s working amazing and if it continues on like that for the rest of the weekend, it will be great.”
Unfortunately on the second day of racing the Possum Borne Motorsport prepared 2L engine (that produced a staggering 854HP) sheared the heavy duty flywheel bolts half way up the course, stopping the car from having any drive. Luckily the them was prepared for any eventuality and within 3 hour were able to remove the engine and replace it with an old engine they had on standby. While not as advance as the original it still produces more than 700HP, enough to power Alister McRae up the hill one more time with a new time of 8:17.616 and first place! McRae’s grin on the podium said it all. “The whole event’s been great. Yesterday was like a learning experience, but then to stop on today’s qualifying, well, I’ll not tell you what I said to myself because there’s kids here but obviously I was very, very disappointed. But then you think, well, hold on, we’ve got a spare engine. The time to change that was very tight, but the Possum Bourne Motor Sport boys did a tremendous job. I know what Possum means to the motorsport community here so to do that in his car, for Craig to invite me down here, it’s been a great weekend!” Seth Coultas
Subaru Results 1st
Alistair McRae
Subaru WRC 98
8:17.616
7th
Kieran Hall / Glen Wightman
Subaru STi
8:58.691
14th
John Giltrap
Subaru WRX
9:11.511
20th
Trevor Crowe
Subaru Justy
9:24.358
22nd
David Thexton / Thomas Thexton
Subaru Impreza
9:26.323
27th
Leigh Marston
Subaru Impreza
9:31.956
79th
Rowan Morgan / Mark Clarke
Subaru WRX
10:32.961
80th
Andrew Lowe
Subaru Legacy
10:34.267
84th
Joseph Begley / Graham Begley
Subaru Legacy RS
11:01.822
Photo by Damien Hirst
Its still early into the year with the Club Championship, and it is another round of OZGymkhana. A date change may have kept low numbers on the day as other events were scheduled involving WRXSA members. Still the club got seven members entered with one newcomer, Michael Harding giving it a go. Tania Langcake (00 WRX) set off strong only to make a few mistakes costing a lot of time. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Tuner boys enter our championship but Brad Day got his blue WRX wagon out for this one. Though, a few too many penalties saw Brad mid field. Jason Bartsch entered his 06 STI this round with probably a bit too much power at hand. Brendan Moore (99 WRX wagon) ran the top 6 while Seth Coultas (00 STI) kept just above Brendan. Matt Knighton made a great comeback from Round 1, leading the OZGymkhana a few times even with a penalty! Consistent times have Matt Knighton the Round 4 winner of our S&J Automotive Club Championship. The OZGymkhana Interclub challenge has taken a hit on WRXSA with SDCC and WRXSA both tied
on 39 points. Next Gymkhana (May 17th) is not a Club Championship round but regulars, Seth, Brendan and now Damien Brand will be keeping it honest. Also new Associate member Nick Galliford entering his Nissan R33 under WRXSA will be a big help if he can hold up to the AWD’s. Damien Hirst
To date Modern regularity event have not had a great appeal to members, the idea of prioritising consistency over speed seems to put most members off. But if you are not concerned about winning the event the Peter Hall Memorial 6hr Enduro can been seen as a great opportunity to get some cheap track time. This year Tania Langcake (WRX) & Daniel Caruana (Skyline) both gave it a go, supported by Jake Zuppa taking some great shots. Looking over the results they may not have been competitive in the Regularity competition but they had a blast non-the-less. Seth Coultas Photos by Jake Zuppa
We were there for fun and track time, which I got plenty of. I was a bit of a track hog driving 49 laps of our 165 laps. Shows how great these cars are!! What a fantastic experience that was! To be on track with up to 20 other cars of all sizes all doing different speeds! Learnt so much about racing today, even managed to overtake as many as overtook me. Also appreciation post to the humble Subaru WRX. The car sat idle for 12months b4 being freighted to SA, 269000+ km on the clock, minimal events entered, I was unsure how it would cope with a Enduro at Mallala......I couldn't fault it! My 'little Bandit' was on song all day. Love these cars!!! Tania Langcake
Photos & story FRANK KUTSCHE
Guy Tyler drifting wide in front of the spectators at Bedlam Flat
Last year much to everyone’s disappointment, the last round of the South Australian Rally Championship. the Southern Rally was called off after the CFS declared a total fire ban. The rain falling on the rooftops of the rally cars on the day just mocked the decision! At the time the rally stages included a long loop using Ballaparudda Road and many stages snaking their way through the Second Valley Forest. Fast forward a few months later to March 2015, and the rally was given a second chance. This time as Round 1 of the SARC, albeit minus the Ballaparudda test after the local council no longer allowed it to be used. Fortunately there were plenty good roads and tracks offered by Forestry SA to use in the various plantation areas of Second Valley Forest. Four stages, Springs, Jones, Mt Hayfield and the oddly named Bedlam Flat would be used, most being used 3 times, either in forward or reverse direction. The longest stage was Springs at 19.98kms and shortest stages being Bedlam Flat and Jones at just under 6kms. A modest total of 17 cars and 5 introduction drivers (being run under separate regulatory event rules) contested the event. ‘Introductory’ was a loose term as one of the most experienced rally drivers in SA, Barry Lowe entered his Saab in this category to have some fun.
Simon West took the jump with respect
One big name missing from the top of the list was James Rodda, who unfortunately could not get his car ready in time for the event. Henry Nott/Georgie Denver (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6RS) would be topping the list of drivers after a stellar year in 2014 taking out the SARC. Other notable combinations were Gary Brown/Mike Dale (Mitsubishi Galant VR4), Simon West/Simon Orme (Subaru STI), Neil Gehan/Andrea Gehan (Subaru STi RA), Tyson Brown/Kim Brown (Subaru), Jamie Pohlner/Ben Judd (Subaru) and in a 2WD car but always very competitive, Peter Jones/Bryan Jones (2WD Datsun 180B). (continues bottom left...)
( ...continued) T)o ne) rally cars )ere on debut for t)e 2015 SARC season, being the Ford Escort BDG of Wayne Mason and Guy Tyler leaving his troublesome Renault Clio for a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5. First stage at 9:08 was the confusingly named ‘Springs Reverse’ where the word ‘reverse’ usually implies a stage run later in the day which are often shorter versions or have ‘Short’ in the name. The stage was run in this direction only once. Towards the end of the stage it included a long sedate downhill section leading to a dropoff (read big jump!) followed by a sharp left corner. The many photographers present all thought the three leading cars would be the only ones ‘getting air’ with most drivers erring on the side of caution. Henry Nott, eager to show his intentions for the championship hit the jump hard and the EVO well and truly flew high. This caused the car to hit the ground hard nose end resulting in a damaged radiator. Definitely not the start for the defense of the SARC he was looking for. Lengthy repairs to the radiator back at Service Park saw the car miss 3 stages. Several of the more competitive drivers took a more cautious approach opting to keep it real, but with no lack of ‘spectacular’. The Jones boys launched the Datsun high and a heavy landing at the front end resulted in the car lurching to the right and into slippery pine needles and an overcorrection caused the car to plough through weeds and large gravel off the left side of the track.
The climb out of the Mineshaft for Neil and Andrea Gehan
The turn left was successfully negotiated. Smith and Glover in the Mazda RX7 not renown for taking big risks also too big air and regretted the decision as the Mazda hit the front end hard, breaking the front left shocker/coil and causing damage to the right as well. The big jump, it was reported by drivers afterwards, had caught many out even after doing recce!
ised by several tricky off camber sections with big drop-offs adjacent to catch out the unwary and a chicane through piles of logs. Luckily no cars left the road. Bedlam Flat followed and this
The most distant stage, Mt Hayfield was run next and was charact-
Simon West about to enter the Mineshaft obstacle
has the distinction of being a stone’s throw from Rally HQ, as it runs along the back fence so rally crews can watch their cars compete without leaving the service park area. Jones stage contained a water splash located at the bottom of a steep hill followed immediately by a sharp left corner and a steep climb to the finish of the stage. The dark brown slush at the water splash contrasted significantly with stage surfaces before and after being gravel needing speed to get up the hill quickly to the finish. A large pool of water on the left hand side was avoided by all drivers. Instead to chance it in the deeply rutting muddy sections on the right hand side. There was a risk in doing
this as the car could be grabbed, resulting in it travelling sideways as was the case with the Smith/Glover Mazda RX7 narrowly missing a tree as the rear wheel drive car scrabbled for grip.
Henry Nott took to the jump with spirit but paid the price
Off road excursion for the Jones Brothers after the big jump on Springs Reverse
Neil and Andrea Gehan getting pulling right in the water splash Andrew Gleeson entering the Mineshaft‌..yikes!
Jamie Pohlner/Ben Judd entertaining the spectators on Bedlam Flat Stage
A short service park stop and regroup was followed by runs of Mt Hayfield 2 (SS5), Bedlam Flat 2 (SS6), Jones 2 (SS7) and lastly Springs 1 (SS8), the long stage. The fastest time on Mt Hayfield 2 went to Tyler again, dominating
the event despite his limited competitive time in the car. Nott returned to the rally for experience, and continued to show his form with 2nd place 11secs behind, but was nursing the fragile radiator.
Wayne Mason in the red Ford Escort was forced to retire with a broken brake line. Pohlner kept nipping at the heals of the guys in front only 4secs behind Nott. Pohlner stepped up to the plate on Bedlam Flat 2 to take the stage win by the closest of margins from Tyler with Nott a further 7secs behind. This could have been a real fight at the pointy end without the problems of the first stage for Nott and the ailing radiator. Shane Alker and Karien Heimsohn retired their Celica GT4 with CV joint problems.
Jones 2 threw in a surprise as Tyson Brown grabbed the stage win, so it was a real merry-goround with different stage winners. It was a trip of Subaru's for the fastest stage times with Polhner second and Simon West in 3rd. Tyler appeared to have problems as he was 13secs behind 3rd place. Would this be where Tyler’s dream run would start to unravel? The long Springs stage was next, this time run in the forward direction and including a section known as the ‘Mineshaft’ a formidable dropoff and steep climb on the other side, reminiscent of the famous Mineshaft stage in the Rally of Canberra. This stage would prove to be a killer for a few drivers including Tyson Brown whose rally came to an abrupt halt just before the Mineshaft section as the Subaru got stuck in 4th gear, and with realistically Too much air broke the front shockers of Brian Smith’s Mazda RX7 Novice class driver Paul Knopka more used to Rallysprints
Daniel Ludlow/Leigh Stokes amongst the large gravel
no chance of completing the remainder of the rally it was game over. Tyler went through the Mineshaft and his Evo 5 inexplicably cut out….twice on the climb out, however he was able to continue but lose 34secs to stage winner Nott who of course was out of contention. This stage would also see the retirement of Brian Smith in the Mazda RX7, with the cars front suspension finally cracking after the massive jump he took on Springs Reverse as stage 1. It was probably surprising the car lasted as long as it did. Three stages remained, Jones Reverse (SS9, 4.67km), Hayfield Short (SS10, 6.27km) and the monster Springs 2 (SS11, 19.98km). Tyler was back on song after the recent hiccups and a much needed service grabbing equal first with Pohlner. Nott continued on grabbing 3rd hoping the car would get to the end. Simon West comfortably in 3rd overall continued his good form with a 4th place but his luck was about to change. Hayfield Short didn’t have a ‘log chicane’ for the final run through this time. Tyler was now back in top form grabbing stage wins for Hayfield Short and the final stage, the long Springs 2. This long stage would have been a burden to the remaining drivers who probably just wanted to finish! Nott finished 2 nd on Hayfield Short but the final stage proved too much and rather than damage the car he limped through the stage taking 20mins 32sec compared to the winning time of 12mins 15sec of Tyler. Andrew Gleeson also was to retire the Datsun Stanza with a broken diff bracket. The strange thing about long final stages, especially with ailing cars being brought gingerly home is that more consistent cars lower down the order can climb up through the placings. This was the case for the Jones brothers in the bright orange 2WD Datsun 180B SSS as the climbed from 8th outright at the end of Hayfield Short to finish a very impressive 3rd outright at the end of the final stage. A case of a 2WD car amongst the 4WD pigeons! West was to blow the gearbox in the stage and limped home. The rally was a car breaker with only 10 of the 17 SARC cars finishing.
Simon West/Simon Orme cutting up the mud after the water splash on Jones stage Guy Tyler/Steven Fisher getting big air on Springs Reverse stage
Brian Smith/Doug Glover sliding close to a tree through the water splash
Final results were: 1st. Tyler/Fisher (EVO 5), 2mins 12sec clear of 2nd. Pohlner/Judd (Subaru), 3rd. Jones/Jones (Datsun 180B), 4th. West/Orme (Subaru), 5th. Gehan/Gehan (Subaru), 6th. Cagney/Cagney (EVO 3). The result was a very popular one, given the bad luck endured by Guy Tyler over the last couple of years in the Renault Clio. The move to the EVO 5 had clearly been a wise one, and gave Guy a ‘second chance’, and one that should send notice to the other competitive drivers in the SARC that he is on the move up! RD
00 Car threw the water splash
Tyson and Kim Brown over the jump on Springs Reverse
David Higgins flat out through a high speed corner at the Oregon Trail Rally
David Higgins Claims Third Straight Win of the Rally America Championship at Oregon Trail Rally Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins fought to his seventh consecutive victory of the Oregon Trail Rally behind the wheel of his 2015 Subaru WRX STI rally car. Higgins with co-driver Craig Drew have now won the first three rounds of the championship. The Oregon Trail Rally is the most diverse in the Rally America Championship with a varying mix of road types that include both high-speed flowing and tight and technical roads. The team’s 2015 Subaru WRX STI met the challenge perfectly as Higgins won all but two of the event’s eighteen stages. “This rally has such a mix of road types, so if you have a car that works well at this rally then you know you have a car that can do well at all the other events,” explained Higgins. “It gives us really good confidence heading into the next round, the Olympus Rally, and the whole season ahead.” Higgins and Drew led from the start of the rally, winning all four of the spectator friendly stages held at the Portland International Raceway. But an intermittent technical issue coupled with new rules designed to limit performance factored into the duo losing some time on Saturday, but never relinquishing the lead.
On the event’s final day Higgins pulled away from the field on the technical and tight stages and cruised to a nearly threeminute victory. “The key for me is you’ve got to learn to drive around problems,” Higgins said. “Winning rallies and winning championships are all about making the best out of the bad situations, keeping your head down, concentrating, and enjoying it, because that’s the main thing: if you can drive through it all with a smile on your face it makes it a whole lot easier.” “This is a challenging rally with diverse conditions, and our competition continues to increase their pace,” stated Rob Weir, Subaru Motorsports Marketing Manager. “We’re proud of the team’s result this weekend and thank the organizers for putting on a spectacular event.” Subaru Rally Team USA will stay on the west coast after Oregon and prep for the Olympus Rally, May 16-17 based in and around Shelton, Washington. The Olympus Rally, a former round of the World Rally Championship in the 1980’s, is back on the Rally America National Championship calendar after a two year break.
Photos by Lars Gange courtesy of Subaru of America
David Higgins Stays Undefeated with Victory at Legendary Olympus Rally
David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew claimed victory at the 2015 Olympus Rally, marking their tenth consecutive Rally America victory and fourth consecutive win in the 2015 championship season. Higgins led from the first stage in his 2015 Subaru WRX STI rally car and pulled away from a chasing field throughout the challenging two-day event. The Olympus Rally, held in scenic western Washington, has a storied past. The rally was part of the first US Rally Championship in 1973 and later ran as a World Rally Championship event from 1986 -1988 during the sport’s legendary Group B days. The Olympus Rally returned to the championship calendar this season after a two-year hiatus and was as gruelling as ever with over 130 miles of technical, treelined forest roads. Higgins dominated the first day of competition winning all but one stage when a punctured tire slowed his progress. He further added to his lead at the start of the second day before a late rally mechanical
Photos by Lars Gange courtesy of Subaru of America
issue forced Higgins to give up a large chunk of his lead. However, Higgins’ buffer to second place was big enough that he was able continue to victory after making repairs. The podium was an all-Subaru sweep for the third time this season after four rounds, with Adam Yeoman in 2nd place and Nick Roberts in 3rd. “The last few stages went really well, the boys did a great job in the last service to get us back out there. A great rally, a great win for us and the team, it wasn’t easy,” stated David Higgins after the conclusion of the race. “The 2015 Subaru STI is undefeated thus far and it is only getting better. We keep making small improvements with each mile, the car is a joy to drive, Subaru and the team have done a great job with this new car.”
Higgins Earns Perfect Win at STPR David Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew completed a dominating win at the 2015 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally at the wheel of their Subaru 2015 WRX STI rally car. Higgins earned a rare perfectrally, winning all fifteen of the event’s competition stages on his way to victory. Higgins and Drew are also perfect thus far in 2015, having won all five Rally America National Championship rounds this season, with just three events remaining. The Wellsboro, Pennsylvania based STPR event included 119 miles of competitive stages over two days. The event’s fast serpentine roads are lined with trees, earning STPR the reputation as one of the fastest and most harrowing events in the Rally America series. It is also steeped in history, having run for 38 years consecutively. This was Higgins’ fifth career STPR victory. “This new 2015 Subaru WRX STI has been absolutely 100% perfect,” exclaimed Higgins at the podium. “The roads here are such a challenge, they are fast and technical and the sight lines are limited with how dense and close the forest is. We beat our previous stage records here, yet we are now running the required smaller restrictor, meaning we have less power. It proves how great this new chassis is and how great of a job the team has done preparing it.”
Higgins and Drew ran trouble free all weekend, winning each stage of the rally and progressively extending their lead over hard charging Subaru privateer driver Adam Yeoman. Yeoman nearly spoiled the perfect rally for Higgins on the final stage, a headto-head spectator friendly ‘super-special’, where Higgins crossed the line just twotenths of a second ahead of Yeoman. It was another Subaru clean sweep of the podium, with Yeoman and Subaru Super Production class driver Nick Roberts joining Higgins in the champagne spray. With just three events remaining, Higgins may now be thinking a perfect season, winning all eight-rounds, is possible. A perfect rally season in the USA has only been accomplished once, in 1987 by rally legend, and Subaru Rally Team USA rally manager John Buffum. The Rally America field heads to Newry, Maine July 17-18 for the New England Forest Rally, where several top competitors may guest enter and look to spoil Higgins run, including long time rival Ken Block.
Photos by Lars Gange courtesy of Subaru of America
Glenn Breugem getting ready to warm up his tyres
The day was perfect sunshine, 21 degrees for Round 5. One would have mistaken it for summer time again. Unfortunately OZGymkhana was on this same day taking a few members but we still saw nine entered.
Knighton did well and finally lowered his Personal Best and a jig dance was performed for the WRXSA group! Both Matt and Glenn will see the 34’s anytime now with such potential.
A BBQ lunch was provided around the club’s Marquee setup which was great advertising for a few other fresh Subaru’s owners entered. Round five goes to Matt Knighton, taking a massive 21 points on the day with new Personal Best and Outright scores. Great work Tania Langcake (99 WRX) was under the weather but showed she is never too sick to Matt. Photos and article by compete. Jason Bartsch (06 STI) had big Damien Hirst spin on first cold run but took grip to pass several low 35’s with his new motor. Zoe Rule was smooth all day learning the ropes with a best of 40.42. As was Dylan Thomas, achieving his first time personal best of 38.22. Newcomers are Dylan Thomas (06 WRX), Zoe Rule (99 WRX), Alin Daju (Hyundai). Alin use his Hyundai while his WRX is being transformed. Daniel Caruana (R33) was also out of his Subaru and into his Skyline.
Remo Siciliano (04 CS WRX) got his immaculate black Club Spec dirty on the grass and managed a best of 36.06, falling short of his Personal Best. Glenn Breugem’s (99 WRX Wagon) new setup was working great with low 35s matching his Personal Best. Matt
Zoe psyching herself up for another run.
A Class win for Brendan and a podium finish for Seth equals a great day of racing!
Once again it was Darren Masters who dominated the 3rd round of the OZGymkhana State Championship, but at least this time it was in a real Subaru! After winning the first 2 rounds in his Toyota 86 he discovered some mechanical issues with the car so for round three he upgraded to another coupe with a boxer engine and quite a bit more grunt; a V5 STI. Having only taken delivery of the car days before the event he was still getting familiar with it and consequently his results were a little erratic. There were a few times, especially at the start of the day when he would pull up into the finishing garage shaking his head in disappointment; in three of his runs he was only 8th or 9th fastest. But when it all went well he was blisteringly quick, achieving the fastest times on three of the tests with his biggest margin to second, over 7 seconds on one run! These fast runs gave him more than enough of a buffer to take 1st place before the shootout, 9 seconds ahead of Damien Brand.
For me consistency was the key (as usual) to keeping in reach of the top 3 drivers, while my best time was only 3rd fastest on one of the tests my slowest was never less than 7th which was better than the three ahead of me. In his first OZGymkhana Jacob Richards did very well only hitting one cone all day and impressing everyone with his ability to use the handbrake on the tight barrel turns. Finally Nick Galliford in his skyline had a fairly slow start but climbed from 25th place all the way up to 13th. PLACINGS AFTER EACH TEST Test Number 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0 1 2 3 Outright Position
Damien, also in an STI 2 door, started the day very strong and held first place for the first half until Darren overtook him. He then went on to hold second place until the shootout and achieved the fastest times on 3 of the 7 tests. His only mistake was hitting a cone on the 5th tests that hampered his chances of catching Darren.
Brendan Moore in his GF8 Wagon, running a new set of semi slick tyres was hot on Damien’s heels all day and was the only other driver to get a fastest time on one of the tests. He ran strong times all day with his slowest being 9th but despite this he was never lower than 3rd outright before the shootout.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Darren Masters Damien Brand Brendan Moore Seth Coultas
Brendan doing what Brendan does best!
WRXSA had 3 drivers make it into the top 8 safely and with a class win and trophy he shootout at the end of the day, Damien still had a smile on his face as he left. Brand, Brendan Moore and myself. It was Seth Coultas heartbreaking to watch but a blown intercooler pipe resulted in a DNF from Brendan; and possibly due to the tricky new layout that was used for the final runs Damien only managed to get 6th fastest in the first elimination. Unsurprisingly Darren Masters was leagues ahead of everyone else (more than 7 seconds to be precise) but I was able to keep a good pace in each elimination round and was able to take 2nd outright! Thankfully Brendan was able to fix his intercooler pipe and drive the car home
Gearbox, Differential and Transfer Case Parts, Repairs & Complete Rebuilds. Shot Peening, Isotropic Super-Finishing. Dimple Drain Plugs & Genuine Bearings, Seals, Small Parts. Neat Gearboxes 15 Manfull Street Melrose Park SA 5039 Owner/Operator: Sam Charlick Mob 0407 698 692 Email sam@neatgearboxes.com.au www.neatgearboxes.com.au
2015 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race
For months Subaru Tecnica International (STI) have been gearing up for the biggest race of the year, the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race in Germany. The SUBARU WRX STI Nürburgring Challenge 2015 car has been under development since last July and undergone rigorous testing. The rigidity of the chassis was improved compared to last year's car, along with the aerodynamics and turn in. A paddle shift system was also introduced for the first time. Before this years race Yoshio Hirakawa, President of STI said, “We felt the sting of defeat last year, so we are really hoping to get a win back in the SP3T class this year. Therefore, we started this project last July soon after coming back from the race, and since then, I have been urging the development team to build a race-winning car with bold thinking. If you look inside the engine room, I believe that you'll notice a large difference from last year's car. Even this one aspect should raise expectations”.
In the qualifying races before the main event Subaru faced a number of setbacks that the team had to overcome. The first came during practice at the ADAC Qualifying Race 24h on Friday the 10th of April. As the free practice got under way, problems with the newly introduced paddle shift surfaced, preventing the team from running more laps as they had wished. In the end they had to replace the whole transmission. “We have introduced bold improvements to win this year, but as usual, new attempts don’t always work so smoothly”, said STI General Team Manager Hideharu Tatsumi.
In the qualifier driver Carlo van Dam recorded the team’s best time of 9 minutes and 10 seconds; this enabled the Subaru to start the 4-hour race from the top of the SP3T class. The race started at noon in dry conditions with van Dam behind the wheel. After completing normal laps, van Dam came back to the pit and passed the car over to Kota Sasaki. On his 3rd lap, an unexpected accident happened when the Team Manager Masahiro Ozawa echoed his WRX STI contacted another car while running side-by-side with it. By ill fortune president saying, “Our advantages have been reliability and durability. We have also the tyres on each car hit one other, causing the STI to leap into the air and land askew. been working to incorporate performance which is as good as our rivals' in the 2015 Sasaki managed to make it back to the pits, model. I know that our rivals have also but damage extended into the bumper, the improved and they will be strong. Our under-floor parts, the suspension and a part whole team will work together to compete of the body. As a result, the team had to against them”. retire from the race.
The second chance to test the car in Germany was another 4-hour endurance race on Saturday 25 April. This time the Subaru team fielded drivers Marcel Lasée, Hideki Yamauchi and Tim Schrick. Lasée and Schrick, who did not have the opportunity to drive in Qualifying Race last time, joined the team and checked the feel of the car driving 3 laps each during the practice session. Schrick, sitting behind the wheel of the WRX STI for the first time, commented that the car felt wonderful and he was looking forward to the race. However, in the qualifying to determine the starting grid for the race, a car right in front of the WRX STI got into a spin. Despite his best efforts Lasée could not avoid the situation and made contact. Unable to continue, the team could not record any time, which meant that they would not qualify for the 4-hour race. Lasée said, “The track surfaces were slightly wet and still not as wet as we need slick intermediate tyres. However, I collided into a car which had spun on the corner after the high point, at the 14km mark from the start. It was an unavoidable accident, but I would like to apologize to the team”. The car sustained damage to its bumper, grill and a part of its radiator, but these were all easily replaceable parts thankfully the areas such as the frame and suspension arms were unaffected.
Unfortunately the this was not the last challenge the Subaru team had to face; just two weeks before the big race it was announced that Subaru Tecnica International Inc. would change its driver lineup as Kota Sasaki; who initially planned to drive for the team had bowed out of the competition. The lineup now consisted of 3 drivers as its base; regular drivers Carlo van Dam from Holland and Marcel Lasée from Germany as well as newly arrived Tim Schrick. In addition, the team signed up 26 year old Hideki Yamauchi, who has been competing in SUPER GT as a Subaru driver, as the fourth member.
STI General Team Manager Hideharu Tatsumi had this to say, “It is regrettable that Kota cannot take part, but we don’t STI General Team Manager Hideharu have to worry as Carlo, Marcel and the Tatsumi commented, “Although we couldn’t newcomer Tim are all good on the run in the race, almost all of the problems Nürburgring. I believe that they will drive which happened in the qualifying race two this year’s WRX STI with all the strength weeks ago have been solved. I would say they have.” that we got a positive feeling for the 24-hour race. We still have some small problems, so we will consider measures to prevent a recurrence.”
Finally after all these struggles the team arrived at the legendary Nürburgring 24Hour Race. The Nürburgring, for anyone not familiar is located in the Eifel mountain range in the west of Germany near the Belgian border. The name “Nürburgring” means “circuit of Nürburg Castle” because it sits on the grounds of the medieval Nürburg Castle. The racecourse combines two circuits into one colossal, 25.378 km challenge, that is widely considered to be one of the most demanding circuits for both cars and drivers. With rough surfaces coupled by blind corners and crests, minimal lighting and a multitude of sections where racecars jump clear off the track surface; it is not a place to be taken lightly. The team achieved class pole position after the official qualifying sessions on the 14th and 15th of May, notching up the fastest time in the SP3T class (Sub 2 litre turbo charged vehicles). A total of 151 vehicles started the 24-hour race at 4:00pm on the 16th of May in three groups, and as the SP3T class led the second group, meaning the Subaru STI started the race at the front of the group. To establish the class lead, van Dam got the ball rolling. Yamauchi and Lasée then consolidated the top position before Schrick further widened the gap over the pack. Repeating driver changes in this order around the clock, the team never looked back and maintained their lead for 3,629km until Yamauchi took the chequered-flag after 4:00pm on the 17th to secure the class victory.
Indeed, because there were no problems, accidents or mistakes from the drivers or mechanics, there was no time lost on all 143 laps. Furthermore, it is worth noting that all four drivers kept their fast speed without backing off from start to the very last lap. This time, the team also recorded their best overall position of 18th since they started continuously participating in this race in 2008. In fact, all the front-runners were FIA GT3 racecars based on sports cars or models just as fast. This has been Subaru’s third win in the SP3T class following 2011 and 2012. STI General Team Manager Hideharu Tatsumi said, “We were able to run a perfect race this time. Had it not been for the drivers, engineers, mechanics and team staff all working together, we wouldn’t have made it. I am pleased that we could prove again the excellence of Subaru for our fans around the world. I would like to thank them for their support.” Seth Coultas Images by Subaru International
THE WHITE KNIGHT WANDER So the dust has settled (or beach sand) from our first official cruise of the year so its time for a good old hills run. This one was a new cruise put together by Shane and timed to make the most of the final weeks of daylight savings. Starting from the TTP carpark everyone wound their way along 87km's of Adelaide's favourite roads taking in the sights along North East Rd to Gumeracha, on to Lobethal, Oakbank, Littlehampton, through Hahndorf and finishing with a tunnel blast on the way to the end point at Burnside Village. Everyone had an enjoyable evening and we look forward to seeing even more of you all there next time.
Photos by Alin Daju & Seth Coultas
“CLASSIC”
Celebrating Over 15 years of Rex Driver! Autumn 1999 Look Who’s Torqueing Bugger! I could see that I was not going to slow in time for the corner, and a second later BUMP, BUMP, I sailed the edge of the black top and onto the grass. Now at this stage you are probably having visions of a bent STi planted firmly into a tree or some other immovable part of the landscape. This was not the case however as this off road excursion happened at Mallala Motor Sport Park during the Clubs untimed Come’n’Try track day held during February.
with danger and the consequences could be very severe. A circuit such as Mallala offers many advantages over public roads for such driving, it has wide run-off areas, everyone is going in the same direction, and the road surface is constant. A well run track day offers the additional benefits of Safety Flag Marshalls, limited numbers of cars on the track at one time and the grouping of drivers with those of similar abilities.
For the Club to put on such track days is quite expensive, requires many hours of forward planning, and the support of numerous volunteers on the day. However On this occasion I had exceeded the limit of when you consider the many benefits, I feel the cars adhesion and brakes at the entry it is well worth while, and would suggest all of the esses, but the great thing about members give it a try at least once. By the doing it here was that I was not hurt, nor way, its also great FUN! the car, nor any other road user. Sean Jenner Once the car slowed enough I simply reentered the track and on I went again. I did however re-enter the track with a little more knowledge and experience. You never quite know where the limit is until you exceed it! This incident highlighted to me again the benefits of such days where you are able to explore your driving ability and the abilities of the car in a relatively safe and controlled environment. To attempt to fully explore these abilities on the open roads is fraught
Treasurer’s Report WRXSA has had a moderate start for the year and as we go towards June/July financial year, we have lost a couple of main sponsors but gained Driven Motorsport and Yukari Road Performance Parts which both work in conjunction with each other.
Rex Driver has always been subsidised by our sponsors over the years but with increase publication and postage costs it is becoming quite costly with the small amount of sponsorship WRXSA received.
Damien Hirst
Instead the club will publish a low volume of hard copies for contributing sponsors and any member request and all others will Committee is working to improve involvement for our much needed sponsors. enjoy an online read on phone or laptop at your convenience. In doing so, we can Please use their services where possible, invest in the new webpage, allowing more support them to support WRXSA. advertising for sponsors, bigger and bolder, Membership is slightly down with around 90 rolling ads and direct links. paid members and we welcome Nick The intention is to build the club’s fund and Galliford as our first official Associate use the savings for bigger better WRXSA member. WRXSA will be aiming to offer events such as running track time at the more outsiders to join the club as an associate which will allow them to compete NEW Tailem Bend motorsport Park! One upcoming event WRXSA is working on is our in our motorsport with WRXSA as their very own Collingrove Hill Climb private day choice of CAMS affiliated car club. This is for September 27th. Please put this in your great way to build club funds and member diary plans now as we like as many numbers and at same time let those members as possible to enjoy our first ever without a Subaru turbo vehicle be part of club motorsport event, on track or one of SA’s strongest growing clubs. spectating. Our marketing still has a stockpile of club t-shirts available and small stickers so just With the financing of the new webpage the ask at any event and we can organise this if club will be focusing on fine tuning this up not on hand. till the AGM in August where then we can finalise the running of Collingrove Private Day before annual member renewal time is WRXSA have given Beanstalk the task to due in September. create a new upcoming Webpage for WRXSA. Russell Badenoch of Beanstalk is a valuable club member offering WRXSA much needed discount to create such a page. This will incorporate Forum / Facebook / Tapatalk / YouTube /Rex Driver and more! To compensate for such a service and to move with the times, WRXSA have now shifted the magazine Rex Driver to online reading saving the club around $1500 a quarter.
Photo by Frank Kutsche “Sticks & Stones”
Advertising Rates
Club Sponsors / Partners
Platinum Partner - $480 (annual) Includes: 4 x full page ads in Rex Driver Naming rights to cruises or charity events etc‌ Website Advertising Forum & Facebook Group access Copies of the Rex Driver publication. Gold Partner: $250 (annual) Includes: 4 x 1/2 page ads in Rex Driver Website advertising Forum & Facebook Group access Copies of the Rex Driver publication
Effective 2014/2015
General Advertising / Single Issue Full Page Colour: $100 per issue Half Page Colour: $60 per issue 1 /3 Page Colour: $30 per issue All advertisers will receive a copy of Rex Driver Publication
Silver Partner: $150 (annual) Includes: 4 x business card sized ads Forum access Copies of the Rex Driver publication
WRXSA committee reserve the right to change prices subject to consultation by the committee. Material Requirements: PDF or JPG files preferred for advertising. The editor reserves the right to select the location of advertising space. Articles submitted by members can be submitted in Word or Publisher format, however desired fonts must be supplied or a substitution will be applied. Please ensure all photos submitted are high resolution so they can be fully appreciated. No responsibility is accepted for error occurring in the printing of material which is incorrectly supplied. The editor reserves the right to reject any advertising material deemed inappropriate for the Rex Driver publication.
WRXSA Club Partners
Support the partners that support WRXSA!
PLATINUM PARTNERs
WRXSA Club Partners Page GOLD PARTNERs
Support the partners that support WRXSA!
Upcoming Events Don’t forget to mark these dates in your calendar, and check the club website for the full details: www.wrxsa.com
WRXSA Hills ‘n’ Vine Cruise Sunday 19th July Were pulling out a pre-loved cruise this time around as Brendan our cruise master will only be getting back in the country the night before. We will be heading up the freeway then to chuck a right and follow the hills down through the Southern Vales to finish up at Clarendon. For those who want to stick around, we can have a quiet drink and possible pub meal at the Hotel. It will be a nice drive so please come along and enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon winter cruise.
S&J Automotive Club Championship Round 8: Collingrove Hillclimb & Cruise SUNDAY 2nd August If you aren’t up to competing in the hillclimb the club has also organised a cruise out to the event so that we can all go along and support the WRXSA Team. Looking forward to a bit turnout!
2015 WRXSA Go Kart Challenge Round Round Round Round
1: 2: 3: 4:
Winner Matt Knighton Wednesday 22nd of July Wednesday 2nd of September Enduro Final Wednesday 4th November
S&J Automotive Club Championship Round 6: OZGymkhana Sun 26th July—Tailem Bend Due to dropping the Round 6 motorkhana from the club championship calendar, we are now rescheduling Round 6 for the 26th July at Tailem Bend Motorsport Park for a round of GYMKHANA!
WRXSA Club Meetings Every 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Astor Hotel 437 Pultney Street Everyone is encouraged to come along to our monthly club meetings and catch up with your fellow club members. We kick things off with dinner at 6pm followed by the meeting at 7pm, usually finishing up around 8:30. Upcoming Dates: 14th July 11th August 8th September
Danny Phillips at Southside Tyrepower 159 Main South Road, Morphett Vale 5162 (08) 8186 0622 or 0401 311 320
Matt Stanton at Kensington Park Tyrepower 382 Magill Road, Kensington Park 5068 (08) 8431 5856