Sim Racing NZ Rundown July 2012

SIMRACING NZ

MONTHLY SIM RACING PUBLICATION

ISSUE 4 - JULY 2012

F1FINALE CHAMPIONSHIP

PLUS :

SPRINT CARS + SUPERSTOCKS + V8 SUPERCARS

sim racing

nz

SHOOTOUT series

COMING SOON

CREDITS EDITOR

Bryce Harding

DESIGNER

Mitch Keys

WRITERS

Jamie Hall Matthew Pluck Mitch Keys Hayden Kirk

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jamie Hall Mitch Keys Hayden Kirk Sam Gray

SRNZ CREW CHIEFS

SRNZ PIT CREW

Daniel Huia Hayden Kirk Jamie Hall Mitch Keys Peter May Anton Bowen Ayrton Smith Matthew Pluck Tony Drake Nick Eichler Vaughn Hutton

CARS/TRACKS BY

Kiwi Dirt Sim Racing Dirt Late Model Sim Dirtshop Creations Inc Kiwi Sim Racing Boz Racing ORSM Image Space Incorporated

SUPPORTED BY

Castrol Edge Go Fast Energy Drink SkyDiveZone

WANT TO START RACING? SRNZ has a help section HERE You can register for free at: www.simracingnz.com Computer Lounge will build brand new PC’s to the recommended specifications of rFactor 2 for just $1429.00* *price may vary

SERIES SPOTLIGHT

CONTENTS 01 05 09 13 17 21 25 27 31 33 37 41 45 49 51

BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 Iconic Series Round 4

MONACO GRAND PRIX

Formula 1 Iconic Series Round 5

THE NICK BELL-MAY SHOW Royal Rampage Round 2

SUPERSTOCKS IN SCUNTHORPE Royal Rampage Round 3

MASON MASTERS DODWELL Royal Rampage Round 4

SMITHERS VICTORIOUS IN IPSWITCH Royal Rampage Round 5

WILLY’S RACING RIG That’s My Rig

TECH TALK

With Matthew “Bull” Pluck

GREAT BRITAIN VS METALLICARS Superstock Teams Shield Challenge

VOLUSIA RACEWAY PARK

Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown Round 1

34 RACEWAY

Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown Round 2

FARMER CITY SPEEDWAY

Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown Round 3

SRNZ ON THE ROAD

Racing events outside of SRNZ

DRIVER PROFILER

Get to know our drivers

SHOTS N’ SKINS

Screenshot + Skin of the month

B R I TI G RAND

S H PRIX

By Mit

ch Key

s

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

2

The penultimate round of the 2012 FIA SRNZ Formula 1 World Championship was to be held at the Silverstone Circuit. With the British Grand Prix, along with valuable points on the line, all the teams were working hard on their cars to get maximum performance at the high speed 5.9km circuit.

In early practice, it was apparent that Kyle George in the Marussia was the man to beat.

George was the quickest in free practice, however the Mercedes was yet to post a time on a low fuel qualifying run.

After 20 minutes of qualifying, Kyle George was once again on pole - for a remarkable 4th consecutive Grand Prix! Starting alongside George, would be Mitch Keys who posted a 1.33.871 - nearly 4 tenths slower than George.

Rounding out the top 5 in qualifying was ScottyMci, Gus Sanson and Jay Waugh.

The Mercedes showed once again they have great performance off the line, with Keys getting the early jump over Kyle George.

However the raw pace of the Marussia would pass Keys effortlessly and drive away.

As the cars up front settled into the race, there were many battles down the pack. Jamie Hall and Gus Sanson in the Toro Rosso’s were looking for another solid result, however Sanson succumbed to an unfortunate turn of events that led to the Toro Rosso being beached in the sand traps.

3

The two Ferrari’s of Khan Hema and Anton Bowen were both struggling for rear grip, as they slipped and slid across the track. Bowen would end up retiring from the race after an accident put him out of contention 13 laps in.

17 laps into the Grand Prix, and it was now Jay Waugh having problems. Waugh was stranded on the exit of turn 6, with apparent engine problems. Up front it was still Kyle George Dominating, with Mitch Keys pitting early to get fresh tyres to try and leap frog the Marussia.

Corey McCullagh was sitting comfortably in 3rd, with ScottyMci running a solid 4th. 4Finga was having a great run in 5th, who was also having a battle with the Red Bull of Nathan Clive.

As the flag fell after 27 laps, it was Kyle George picking up his first victory of the season. 15 seconds back was the Mercedes of Mitch Keys, then Corey McCullagh, ScottyMci and 4Finga rounding out the top 5.

Mitch Keys still holds onto the championship lead. With Kyle George earning 25 points for his win, he slightly closes in on Keys. ScottyMci has now taken over 3rd, as Callum failed to score points in Silverstone. Toro Rosso had a weekend to forget, with both cars failing to finish the Grand Prix. The final round of the championship to be held on the streets of Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix. All teams will be heading into Monaco with the hope and desire to etch their name into the history books.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

4

MONACO GRAND PRIX

By Mitch Keys

5

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

6

7

The streets of Monte Carlo was the scene for the 2012 FIA SRNZ Formula 1 Series. Making headlines heading into the weekend was the news that Marussia would not be making an appearance at Monaco. This meant Championship contender Kyle George would be trading his helmet for a microphone and would be calling the race from the booth.

Another team who failed to show in Monaco, was Toro Rosso. After both cars failed to finish in Silverstone, the team principle decided to pull out of the teams title and focus their efforts towards next season. This gave Mercedes the teams championship by default, and with George failing to make the grid, Mitch Keys took out the drivers championship.

With the championships being decided before the cars even hit the track in Monaco, this meant all teams and drivers would be going all out to claim the prestigious title of being the Monaco winner.

Free practice was dominated by Mercedes, who had also made a change leading into Monaco. They had signed Aaron Hodgson to drive the sister car to Mitch Keys. Corey McCullagh was also very strong in his Red Bull Renault.

There were no surprises in qualifying, with Mercedes locking out the front row. Hodgson laying down a blistering 1.16.553 early in the session which would eclipse Keys who set a 1.17.039 and McCullagh who set a 1.17.229.

ScottyMci locked out 4th and Ginns went 5th.

Both Mercedes got off the line great, with Hodgson getting through turn 1 first, with Keys 2nd and McCullagh hot on their heels in 3rd. Down the back there was some contact, but all cars managed to get through relatively unscathed.

Up front it was an absolute dogfight between Hodgson, Keys and McCullagh. Swapping the lead on a number of occasions, and putting on one of the best shows ever seen on the streets of Monaco.

Dayne Powell and Jason Roach were early retirees, both being involved in serious incidents putting them out of the race. 4Finga was having engine troubles all race long untill the Lotus finally let go on lap 12.

Going into pit stops it was Corey Mccullagh with a slight lead over Mitch Keys, with Hodgson back in 5th after spinning a few laps prior.

As McCullagh and Keys darted into the pits, McCullagh made a huge error and missed his pit stall running over a number of crew members and in turn ending his race. After Hodgson’s early call to pit after spinning, he had made a ton of ground up on fresh tyres and had leaped Keys as he came out of the pits.

As Keys began to reel Hodgson in for the lead, the officials made a huge call and deemed Keys’ car to be unsafe and pulled him off the track. This would give a comfortable lead back to Hodgson, however his tyres were dropping at a rapid rate. A small mistake from Hodgson would see him stopped on the track as Scotty Mci blew past and took over the lead.

ScottyMci would go on to take his first F1 Grand Prix victory, Hodgson would get the car fired again and finish 2nd - 47 seconds behind Scotty. Khan Hema took the final spot on the podium, with Anton Bowen and Mitch Keys rounding out the top 5.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

8

9

THE NICK BELL-MAY SHOW Words: Jamie Hall

Photography: Jamie Hall

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

10

SUPERSTOCKS

11

691a Nick Bell-May was victorious for a second straight week as he won the Royal Rampage round 2 final at Bradford from grid six. Starting a row back on grid seven was runner-up 711g Shaun Kingi who qualified through his group’s repechage and assisted in Gisborne again topping the club points.

The final grid was set out a little different to the previous week. The format was highest on points, to the rear. Top on heat points was driver 9w Jacob “9saldana” Gate. Gate then chose the driver for grid two and that driver chose grid three and so on so forth all the way through the 24 car field.

146h Azza Humble was into the lead from grid two off the start and held off Bell-May until lap 14. Bell-May led from there for the remainder of the race.

Bell-May’s win increased his series lead over defending champion 64gb Ayrton “Smithers 164” Smith who placed fourth in the final.

Smith successfully held onto his Belle Vue lap record the previous week but failed to do so with his Bradford lap record despite setting fastest laps in his heats. 9h Kyle George shaved .0067 off the lap record when he set a time of 12.8726 seconds in his second heat.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

12

SUPERSTOCKS IN 13

IN SCUNTHORPE Words: Jamie Hall

Photography: Jamie Hall

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

14

The Kiwi Superstocks continued their UK tour as Scunthorpe hosted round 3 of the Royal Rampage. Scunthorpe provided an uneven surface with treacherous loose dirt forming the surface of the top half of the corners along with large tractor tyres lining the edge of the infield.

Instead of a single 32 lap final like the previous two rounds, there were two 17 lap finals with half the normal points on offer for each. Once the group heats and repêchages determined the 24 qualifiers for the finals, the first final had its grids in order of drivers top on points at the front. The second final was a reverse of the first finals grids.

91c Harley Robb won the first final once he jumped into an unstoppable lead from a grid two start. A spun 7g Liam “Racing_Hart” Clayton

15

on turn 1 of the opening lap caused two-time final winner 691a Nick Bell-May to turn in to a veering 17usa Cole Lucas which caused BellMay to drop back to 17th after having started on grid 10.

146h Azza Humble led the second and last final from grid one until lap eight when he was taken to the wall by 38r Keegan Levien. 2nz Cameron “Stockie Nz” Ginns was close behind and took the lead, holding on to the position for the remainder of the race despite multiple blockers and heavy traffic. Bell-May started off grid 15 and was in to the top five in as many laps. Important late race passes on defending champion 64gb Ayrton “Smithers 164” Smith and Robb saw Bell-May place second to retain the series lead.

SUPERSTOCKS

WWW.GOFASTSPORTS.CO.NZ

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

16

MASON MASTERS DODWELL Words: Jamie Hall

17

Photography: Sam Gray

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

18

New to both the Royal Rampage and rFactor itself, Dodwell joined the series as one of three autograss tracks with the others being York and Pennine. Dodwell’s much larger corners allowed there to be a single group of 32 drivers for qualifying, a first for the series.

711G Shaun Kingi topped heat points and led the field as it circled the track in the formation laps of the final. He was off and away from the pack on the race start and it wasn’t until lap 17 that his lead and any hope of collecting finals points was brought to an abrupt halt as 74p Mitchell “Superstocknut21” Roydhouse bounced Kingi off the fence. In consolation, Kingi set the first ever official lap record of 14.9343 for Dodwell.

19

41s Jonathan Mason, a grade c driver, was on the front row with Kingi and took over the lead after Kingi’s crash, having kept up over the first 17 laps. 2nz Cameron “Stockie Nz” Ginns put an end to Mason’s lead with two laps remaining, allowing 9w Jacob “9saldana” Gate and 18r Mitch Keys to pass.

However, half a lap later, 4n Matt “Bull” Pluck blocked Gate and Keys which allowed Mason to retake the lead. Another blocking attempt by Ginns was not enough to rob Mason of the win as he crossed the line 0.776 seconds ahead of Keys.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

20

21

SMITHERS VICTORIOUS IN IPSWITCH Words: Jamie Hall

Photography: Sam Gray

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

22

The Royal Rampage travelled from Evesham autograss track in Dodwell to Foxhall Stadium in Ipswich, passing through the city hosting the 70 lapper finale in 6 weeks time, Coventry.

Competitors entered Foxhall Stadium in a more familiar environment; the 410 metre length track left just 4 car widths of spacing between the pole line and armco fencing.

2011 Royal Rampage champion 64gb Ayrton “Smithers 164” Smith finally clinched his first final win of the series, the win propelling him up the table and into second overall behind 691a Nick Bell-May. Many champions led the pack through the turns as the race progressed with lap leads shared amongst 11 drivers. It was Smith in the lead with 32 of 34 laps completed. 3nz Jamie “The Game” Hall was right behind him and 1nz Bryce “Harding Jr” Harding rapidly approached the third spot from further down the home straight with various spun cars laying in between. A right

23

turn by 4n Matt “Bull” Pluck on Smith allowed Hall to emerge into the lead on turn 3 and head in to the final lap as the race leader.

Smith briefly regained the lead as he went down the inside of Hall on turn 1 before Hall took it back out of turn 2. The back straight was clear of cars but resting at the beginning of the final corner was a handful of cars going not going anywhere any time soon. The pair aimed for this gap. However, as they arrived, former 2nz 15t Hayden Kirk moved out from the wall which propelled Hall into one of the tractor tyres that lined the pole line. This allowed Smith to squeeze through for the lead. By then, Harding had caught up and piled into Hall causing the latter to fly into the armco fence.

Smith crossed the line for gold ahead of 18r Mitch Keys second for the second week and Harding recovering for a fourth placing. Hall was unable to finish, his missing tyre managing to travel further. Bell-May’s eighth allowed him to retain the series lead.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

24

THIS MONTH WE FEATURE THE RACING RIG OF WILLY MCCLUNE. WILLY HAS RECENTLY GOT BACK INTO SIM RACING, AND HAS AQUIRED A VERY NICE RACING RIG!

SPECIFICATIONS RIG - OBUTTO RACE COCKPIT (VERY COMFY!) WITH MY WHEEL AND PEDDLES BOLTED IN PLACE. WHEEL - LOGITECH G27, FORCE FEEDBACK ON 70% WITH G27 SHIFTER AND PEDDLES. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE - LOGITECH WIRELESS WITH LCD SCREEN ON KEYBOARD. MONITOR - SAMSUNG 43” PLASMA PC - HP PAVILLION DV6 LAPTOP 2.8GHZ WITH 4GB RAM, RADEON HD6770 GRAPHICS CARD AND A 500GB HARDDRIVE. RFACTOR ON FULL GRAPHICS 120FPS IN FULL FIELD.

25

OBUTTO RACE COCKPI

43” PLASMA TV

LOGITECH G27 WHEEL

IT

KEYBOARD

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

26

W

elcome to the newest addition here in the Rundown. This section will be a monthly addition focusing on giving an insight into the cars and disciplines we race here and around the world. The main aim of this is to help introduce people into a new class, and to give out tips and help people on improving themselves in that class.

Each month’s issue will focus on a different class.

This issue we are covering arguably the premier speedway class raced here in New Zealand, the Kiwi Superstocks. The Superstocks are not only a very popular class, they are also very unique to any other class out there.

For those unfamiliar with the Kiwi Superstocks, they are purpose built, ~1500kg space frame race cars with the focus of hitting and strength just as prominent as outright speed. They are limited to a 248ci purpose built race engine that generally produce around ~450bhp. The class was born many moons ago in New Zealand, and has since grown to be one of the biggest drawcards in Motorsport.

Racing can be categorised into two distinct disciplines - Individual Racing and Teams Racing. Individual racing is as the name says, all about yourself. Every driver on the track is out there to win for themselves, but with the rules allowing contact how you go about winning can vary greatly between drivers. Some drivers may be out to destroy the opposition, whereas others are out there to out drive their opponents.

Strategies and alliances can form and diminish at events, with no one ever knowing for 100% certain who they can and cannot trust on the race track.

The other discipline, teams racing, is quite self explanatory in itself as well. Typically, two teams of four or five drivers will take part in a race against each other. The aim of the race is to get one of your team’s drivers over the finish line first, while stopping or immobilising the other team. Teams racing is often seen as the grand stage of Superstock racing, with teams champions going down in history as the best of the best. As a spectacle teams racing bring the biggest crashes and carnage, and as a competitor, is the true test of all aspects of your driving ability.

So, now you have a bit of background on the Superstock class, and you’re ready to go racing. The next section we cover is a general look at the Cars general make-up and what does what in the garage to get the optimum performance out of the car.

27

The Superstocks feature a fully customisable front end suspension arrangement, and a solid rear end beam axle diff with fully adjustable shock and spring settings. They feature a quick change diff, as well as 2 speed gear box that is built for power and the forces that are applied in a contact sport.

The first thing you might realise when you get into the garage is that there is a lot of stuff you can adjust, and it is all just as important as each other. We’ll start off with the first screen in your garage, and move onto the second and third screens shortly thereafter.

So first up is your gear ratio - quite self explanatory really. You will find that most tracks will have 2 or 3 gear ratios that you can use that will have similar results, and really comes down to how you race and which you prefer. A higher gear ratio will make the car more stable in the corners and promote rear tyre longevity, at the sacrifice of overall speed, whereas a lower gear ratio will promote wheelspin and less tyre life, but has the reward of more overall speed.

Next up is your brake bias, steering lock, rev limit and brake pressures. These are all pretty self explanatory and are universal between different classes. The next important part on this page is your weight distribution and the Wedge. The first thing you need to realise when setting up a car, is that all the suspension components, primarily, are simply altering the centre of gravity and weight distribution & transfer on the car while going around a track.

So setting up your weight to start with is very important. Generally in a speedway class you want your weight as far left and to the rear as possible, and these, for the most part, are the same.

Now the Wedge is quite an interesting talking point, that a lot of people talk about without really knowing for certain what it does. Wedge is quite literally a wedge that they put in between the top of the spring and the chassis - Why? Think of a table. Put a wedge under the L/R leg. Now the table will pivot between the L/F and R/R, with the L/R and R/F solidly on the ground and supporting the majority if the weight. This is what wedge does to your car. Now in real life racing they are able to WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

28

add wedge to each corner of your car, but here in rFactor you simply get a Positive or Negative value to play around with. Put simply, Negative is adding to the L/R - which promotes turning left and traction when turning left, while positive is adding to the R/R - which promotes turning right and traction when turning right. So why run positive on a car that only turns left? Quite simply, you shouldn’t. However on rFactor the game struggles to correctly simulate ‘sledging’, and running a positive wedge can make the car feel tighter and give a false sense of having more grip then it does. It is of course possible to run too much negative wedge as well, which will cause oversteer. Generally speaking, the more banking the track has the higher negative wedge you can run.

Now the next screen, this is the screen you will spend most of the time in. I don’t need to go over every value as they are same universally throughout the car, but will rather give recommendation’s on what to change to achieve different results.

If you are having troubles with understeering - car goes straight ahead, you can try softening the front anti roll bar, softening front springs and lowering the front shock “Bump” settings. You can also try raising rear anti roll bar, stiffening the rear springs and increasing the rear shock “Rebound” settings.

If you are having troubles with oversteering rear of the car wants to overtake the front - you basically do the opposite to the above. You can also try lowering the rear shock “Bump” settings and raising the front shock “Rebound” settings.

The final screen has your wheel alignment’s and track bar settings. These are again relatively universal between mods, but a couple of things to note for these and particularly speedway classes in general - Camber should be Negative on the right side of the car, and Positive on the left side of the car. Toe Out gives more turn in at the trade off of speed and tyre wear, while Toe In gives tyre life and slightly more straight speed. Caster affects several things, including you’re braking, camber at different locks etc, but the interesting thing in speedway is that you can inadvertently change the wheelbase of each side of the vehicle. Running a high caster on one side and a low caster on the the other can cause the car to “Pull” to one side while driving and braking. Using this you can assist with the car turning left, or choose to have the caster help straighten you up when you start getting to sideways.

Now that you have an overview on how to make these cars tick, you may be wandering, how do you get faster?

29

Everyone drives differently, and there is no definitive answer here. However, the trick with getting these cars to go quick around the track relies on a few different elements.

Gearing is of course important, as the wrong gearing can see you not achieve maximum speed or take too long to get up to speed.

Traction and smoothness however are the two main points on getting these fast around the track. You want to carry as much momentum through the corners as possible without scrubbing off speed due to aggressive steering, wheelspinning or scrubbing the tyres. While being on the limiter and full lock sideways may feel fast, it normally isn’t. Generally speaking, the straighter and more traction you get, the more power that goes through the wheels and onto the track which rewards you with fast speed. The problem though being that the corners are too tight to take straight at a high speed, it is purely a case of practise and trial and error to find the right balance of being sideways and wheelspin to get around the corner, versus traction and turning power into going forwards. Many drivers will tell you that the brake and accelerator is just as critical to steering these around the corner as the steering wheel itself.

Once you find this balance, your lap times will start dropping quickly and you will find yourself getting into a groove and able to just about do the same lap, every lap, without fault, and you will be winning races in no time!

This rounds up the first Tech Talk section here on the Rundown, and hope to continue this on in the future. I hope you have learned something or can take something from this article and be able to apply it to your racing to improve.

If you have an suggestions on other classes to cover in the future issues, or other details you wish to see covered here in the Tech Talk, feel free to contact me at rcsbull@gmail.com.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

30

GREAT BRITAIN VS METALLICARS I June has seen a lot of quality racing throughout its length, but something out of the normal was the Shield Challenge matches between Great Britain and The Metallicars. Teams racing itself isn’t unusual, but this is the first instance for as long as can be remembered where a shield challenge match has taken part outside of a Teams League. There was two challenges this month, the initial challenge and then the rematch just six days later, not leaving much time for both teams to repair damage and get ready for another hard fought encounter.

After the Metallicars claimed the shield from the Nelson Tigers at Scunthorpe, Great Britain challenged them no later then 30 minutes after their last race against Nelson - which the Metallicars accepted. Even though they had two drivers out due to damage, they still felt confident they could defend against a confident and strong Great Britain team, that had just come off the bye with fresh cars.

The Challenge was agreed to be contested over 3x races at Scunthorpe with the best of three being crowned champion. After a quick practise session it was time to roll onto the first race. As the cars gridded up and the countdown started, tactics being changed last minute and all the drivers ready, the flag dropped and the challenge was underway.

Great Britain made an early attempt at the race, but the experience the Metallicars held from just competing at the track earlier showed its value with it all becoming one way traffic. Metallicars romped home comfortably in this race, putting a damper on Great Britain’s challenge.

Race 2 was gridding up and with the Metallicars feeling confident it was up to Great Britain to pull something out of the bag. The racing was

31

tight up front between the runners and rough at the back between the blockers, but it soon came down to a two horse race - Ayrton Smith from Great Britain and Matthew Pluck from the Metallicars. Having already raced tonight, the Metallicars started showing signs of damage and fatigue with the blockers sustaining damage, allowing Great Britain to take the lead and hold out the Metallicars and claim the second race, and re-ignite the challenge fight.

Race 3 and the Metallicars were shook up and Great Britain felt they had a chance. The deciding race was soon underway and both teams fought hard early for track position, and the lead. Despite an early attempt and hope from the Metallicars, Great Britain showed great resolve to make the crucial moves required and got them into the lead. Metallicars tried to fight back, but with damage and limping around the track, the freshness of the Great Britain cars and drivers showed to much getting them over comfortably in the third and deciding race, taking the shield off the Metallicars less than an hour after they claimed it.

As a part of the Challenge agreement, the Metallicars had a rematch clause written in which they took, but time was ticking with Great Britain scheduled to defend the shield on the following round of the teams league, meaning the rematch needed to take place beforehand.

Score: Great Britain 2 - 1 Metallicars Lineups: Great Britain - Ayrton Smith, Dan Huia, Mitch Keys, Hayden Kirk.

Metallicars - Matthew Pluck, Bryce Harding, Dan Corrin, Kieren Johansen.

GREAT BRITAIN VS METALLICARS II Despite the short turn around, the Metallicars managed to get all their cars repaired and freshened up and fielded a full team for the rematch event at Gisborne Speedway. The Rematch was agreed to take place over 5x races.

As the drivers lined up for their first race, Great Britain could feel confident whilst the Metallicars were out for redemption. The first race was soon underway, with the lead changing several times through the race, with both teams sharing the lead. It soon came down to two drivers to battle it out, and with laps soon running out, it was time to make a move. The finish was close, with not much seperating the two teams, but Metallicars again started off well with Kieren Johansen claiming the first race.

As Race 2 rolled around, Metallicars were hoping to continue their form whilst being wary that Great Britain came back from behind last time they met. The race again started off hard fought and tight at the front, with both teams trading blows early on. Metallicars had Bryce Harding roll early on after a botched attempt at taking out Great Britains lead car Mitch Keys, leaving just Pluck, Corrin and McClune to fight it out.

With the lead narrowing at the front, Pluck had a narrow lead over Ayrton Smith, and 3 Great Britain cars waiting for him with just over a lap to go. Pluck fought his way through however, and Corrin and McClune cleared a path and held Smith out for the Metallicars to claim the second race, just one step away from reclaiming the shield.

Both teams decided to run out the final two races though, and a chance for Great Britain to regain some reputation and practise heading into the next round of teams. Unfortunately for them, Metallicars never switched off and with the pressure of the shield challenge off their shoulders, they took it to a new level. In both races a lot of carnage was dealt to both teams with some of the biggest hits the Gisborne crowd had ever seen. Metallicars proved to strong however, in both races all but finishing off Great Britain leaving merely a couple of mobile cars that looked very second hand, making it a complete whitewash to the Metallicars.

Score: Metallicars 5 - 0 Great Britain Lineups: Metallicars - Matthew Pluck, Bryce Harding, Daniel Corrin, Kieren Johansen, Shaun Kingi, William McClune Great Britain - Ayrton Smith, Daniel Huia, Mitch Keys, Hayden Kirk The shield challenge proved to provide some great racing outside of the scheduled teams series, and proved to be a great spectacle to those who witnessed. Hopefully in the future we will see more challenges take place with defending teams more interested in racing and showing their worth, rather then defending as minimal as possible.

It was time for Race 3, and there was still a feeling in the air that Great Britain could pull something out and defend the shield. The race started off much similar to the previous races with the lead being hard fought and interchanging between teams, but Smith made his intent clear that he was in to win making a mockery of Harding’s blocking ability getting around the outside of him twice and taking a command of the lead.

Metallicars lead cars Shaun Kingi and Pluck weren’t far behind though, and after seeing Harding’s shortcomings took matters into their own hands and dealt a deadly blow to Smith in turn 1, bending the rear of his car like a banana.

Great Britains remaining drivers, Hayden Kirk, Dan Huia and Mitch Keys still fought on hard, but the strike had already landed and the race was all but lost. Metallicars ran home comfortably to take out the Shield Rematch.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

32

33

SPRINT SHOWDOWN - ROUND 1

VOLUSIA RACEWAY PARK

By Mitch Keys

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

34

The Inaugural 2012 Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown kicked off at the Volusia Raceway Park, located near Barberville, Florida. 30 410 Winged Sprint Cars filed in the pits the for the nights action.

The lightning fast 1/2 mile track was prepared to perfection with multiple grooves for the drivers to navigate. Plenty of moisture was worked in the surface, to ensure the track would hold up for twin features at the end of the night.

In time trials, Corey McCullagh out of Warrnambool, Victoria set fast time over Western Australian Mitch Harris. Third quick was Smithers, and then Aaron Hodgson and Jay Waugh rounded out the top 5. The cars were split into 3 heat races, which would line up the nights first main event.

McCullagh would go on to win his heat and then the dash to put him off pole for the 30 lap main event. Starting alongside McCullagh was fellow Aussie Mitch Harris. It seemed these two drivers had the class of the field dominating the early portion of the evening.

The flag fell jumped out Mitch Harris immediately

35

on all 24 cars, and McCullagh to an immediate lead, with following suit. Hodgson would engage in a fierce battle with

Mitch Keys, who was solid all night, but was not quite in the same class as the two Aussies out front. AS the race wound down, there were no major incidents up front, and the biggest over was Patrick Jeffries who had charged from 23rd all the way to 8th.

First across the line was McCullagh, then Smithers, Mitch Harris, Jay Waugh and Nick Bell-May rounding the top 5. Mitch Keys who ran in 2nd for the majority of the race ran out of fuel with 2 laps to go and fell down the order.

Feature 2 was led around by Matthew Pluck and Jonathan Mason. They got on the hammer and led the field through turns 1 and 2. As the cars fanned out over the racetrack, there were a number of clashes. In the first 10 laps, over 10 cars went on the hook! After battling through a bunch of adversity, Aaron Hodgson would eventually take the feature win over Mitch Keys and Josh Humble filling the podium.

The next track on the schedule is 34 Raceway.

This venue is typically very dry and slick, which will be polar opposites to Volusia. Expect some drivers who struggled tonight, to thrive at 34.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

36

SPRINT SHOWDOWN - ROUND 2

34 RACEWAY

By Mitch Keys

37

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

38

34 Raceway was the setting for Round 2 of the 2012 Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown. Heading into the meeting, track conditions were dry slick, with next to no grip over the whole surface. 27 sprint cars signed into the pit area for time trials, with only the top 20 making the main event.

Time trials was headed with Corey McCullagh setting quick time over Aaron Hodgson, Mitch Keys, Beau Breunig and Smithers. All 27 cars were split into 3 heats, with the top 6 from each heat going though to the Amain, along with 2 BMain transfers.

Beau Breunig took pole for the first of two 30 lap main events. He jumped out to an early lead, while Keys and Smithers were charging through the field after having shocking heat races. The race was plagued with crashes, with Smithers eventually taking the win over Michael Bulliman and Corey McCullagh.

AMain 2 was lead to the green by Liam Wire and Khan Hema. With the fast drivers off the rear, the race was exciting and was full off action. Corey McCullagh was able to thread the needle the best, and took the win over Mitch Harris, Liam Wire and Khan Hema. The next track on the schedule is Farmer City. The track should be fast and will provide great racing all over the track!

39

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

40

41

SPRINT SHOWDOWN - ROUND 3

FARMER CITY RACEWAY

By Mitch Keys

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

42

43

Round 3 of the 2012 Castrol EDGE Sprint Showdown was held at Farmer City Speedway on the 24th of June. 28 cars signed into the pit area for the nights action, with a number of international stars who were sure to mix it up.

Time trials was capped with TJ Hartman setting quick time over Mitch Keys, Corey McCullagh, Nick Ringo and Mitch Harris rounding out the top 5. The field was then split into three heat races, with the fastest cars off the front and the top 6 from each heat going through to the amain.

After the heats, the top 2 from each heat went to a dash, in which Corey McCullagh won from Smithers, Aaron Hodgson, Mitch Keys, Mitch Harris and Jay Waugh. This would in turn line up the grid for the first 30 lap main event.

Corey quickly got out to an early lead, breaking away from the 20 car field. The lead cars quickly got into the groove and started to fan out, while a number of battles were heating up further down the field.

Juts as Corey had pulled away to a straightaway lead over the field, a lap car went over the dirt bank in turn 1, and then rejoined the track directly in the path of McCullagh. This would all but put an end to his bid for the race win.

Mitch Harris would then in turn inherit the lead, with Mitch Keys hot on his heels reeling him in. The pair would race side by side until Keys would get the upper hand through lap traffic.

At the checkers it was Mitch Keys taking his first win of the series, followed by Mitch Harris, Matthew Greeks, Josh Humble and Michael Bulliman round out the top 5.

The second A-Main was lined up from the finishing order of A-Main 1. This would put Keys and Harris off the back, and gift Corey McCullagh a start near the front after striking misfortune in the first A-Main.

The field took the green, and Hayden Kirk immediately took the lead. Kirk would lead the first 16 laps, before Cameron Ginns would take over and lead for a further 10 laps. Mitch Keys was the biggest mover coming from 16th to 2nd, after getting into an absolute dogfight with Tim Redpath, exchanging sliders at each end of the race track.

With 4 laps to go Dale Grother took the lead from Ginns, and then ran away to take the victory. Grother was followed home by Smithers, Keys, A. Humble and Redpath. The next stop for the series is the Perth Motorplex, down under in Western Australia!

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

44

SRNZ ROAD ON THE

By Hayden Kirk & Matthew Pluck

TTR’S TOURING CAR LEGENDS LEAGUE - ROUND 3

Sunday evening was the day drivers brought out their collectors items from the garage seeing Mustangs, BMW’s, Alfa’s and Commodore’s alike take to the challenging track of Manfield raceway for the third round of TTR’s Touring Car Legends League. Hayden Kirk made the trip over for the meet with his Mustang to try and mix it up with the other Legends.

Kirk put in a solid qualifying lap as drivers had the opportunity to post their start time which would determing their starting grids for both races, Kirk started from grid 4.

Mozza in the BMW and Berlsy in the VK Commodore took the front row grids followed by the only driver registered to the Alfa Romeo, Webber starting alongside Kirk in Row 2 in the 14 car field.

The green flag flew for the opening race as the top 3 were established early as Webber struggled to get what power the Alfa Romeo had to the tarmac.

45

The BMW and the Mustang traded postions in the opening few laps and the Commodore began to pull away but the battle was short lived as Kirk was too loose on entry and lost grip but managed to save it from completley spinning but losing lots of ground in the process and was now under threat from the Rover being piloted by fellow New Zealander Growler.

The Rover had a big advantage in the middle sector through the windy part of the circuit but what advantage Growler had would be undone by the Mustangs straight line speed.

The midway point fast approached and Kirk’s tyres were wearing fast inducing another mistake running off the end of the final corner dropping back to 8th.

Kirk managed to salvage a 7th place with Berlsy in the VK Commodore leading from start to finish.

Drivers assumed their same grid positions for the double length second race. Kirk was locked in a battle with the other VK Commodore entrant of Shano but it was Mozza in the BMW that got

the best of the starts and was making the most of it pulling away early. Slight contact between Shano & Hayden allowed racer69 through. Kirk battled back through the field and ran 4th for the majority of the race until the closing stages

of the race striking a bit of luck, Webber spinning out allowing Kirk to cross under the chequered flag in 3rd with Mozza driving away untouched to take the win.

TTR V8’S - ROUND 2 V8 SUPERCAR SERIES

A 22 car feild made up of Fords & Holdens including SRNZ competitors Dayne Powell & Hayden Kirk took to Sky City’s Hidden Valley Raceway for TTR’s round two of the V8 Factor Unleashed Tour.

Kirk qualifying 6th, Powell 18th gridded up and set off to fly the SRNZ flag.Kirk locked in a battle with EAO_MANZ for 5th set the tone early for what would be an entertaining race. Kirk opting to start on soft tires seemed to be paying off as he battled on through the field as Kirk caught up with form driver M1N1K0B3 but had used all of what the soft tyres had left spinning out on the exit of the final corner was a good signal to make a trip into pitlane.

Switching to intermediate tyres Kirk got back into the groove to settle for the remainder of the long stint of the race rejoining in 10th spot.

Dayne Powell struggled with setup issues for the majority of the night had slipped back to 21st spot. Kirk made a late dive into T1 to overtake MOZZA for 4th, Kirk made one more pass to move into 3rd but was later overtaken by

IcemanForbes who had some great late race pace shuffled Kirk out of a podium position settling for 4th.

Race 2 got under way as drivers took their grids determined by race 1’s finishing order, Kirk tried a different approach to push as early as possible to get into clean air from the start and use the soft tyres to their full potential. Kirk was content with sitting behind M1N1 in second place not having enough pace to make a pass without slowing both cars as the two started to pull away from the pack.

Kirk took an early pitstop again happy with his intermediate’s tyre conservation rejoined the race in 17th with 25% of the race gone. Hayden got into a confortable groove pedalling hard making a rare error free drive to come through the feild up to 5th spot but again on the last lap was shuffled back one spot by POD253.

Kirk happy with how his night went booked his trans tasman flight ahead of schedule for the 3rd round of the TTR series.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

46

INSPIRE.NET KIWISIMRACING V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 6 Round 6 of the InSPire.net Kiwisimracing V8 Supercar league saw the teams and drivers head to the “Paperclip”, Queensland. A Fast flowing track with hairpins and plenty of opportunity can always provide excitement for the spectators, and it didn’t disappoint.

After a good practise session and the track ready for qualifying, it was another all SRNZ Representatives dominating the front 2 rows, this time with the inclusion of Mitch Keys into the round. Also Kieren Johansen and Hayden Kirk had strong qualifying results and looked promising to get a good result.

With everyone gridded up and the grid girls off the track, the lights went out and Race 1 was underway. The early battle at the front was between George and Harding, with Pluck and Keys in behind, until Pluck made a bad braking error at the end of the back straight which saw him fall down the order. George showed his pace getting a small gap on Harding, with Keys showing persistance and putting pressure on and eventually passing Harding for second.

Top KSR Drivers Hunton and Jarse pushed hard and got a good result, with Jarse closing the gap for second overall points on Pluck after his early error. Johansen was going well before having a troubles, while Kirk held it together to finish respectively.

47

The final race at Queensland was nothing short of exciting. George again got off to an early lead, with Harding and Pluck chasing hard after Pluck got a good start making up for his poor race 1. Keys outbraked himself similar to Pluck in Race 1, and went on to retire with further problems in his car. George looked to have it under control, until having a bit of brain fade resulting in a half spin, and then literally blocking all across the track in attempt to stop Harding and Pluck getting ahead. It proved fruitless though as both got ahead.

Pitstops mixed it up a little with Pluck getting the jump on Harding, while George had work to do. Meanwhile, Hunton and Jarse again proved to be the crop of the KSR Drivers at the front, with McKinlay also on the pace and keeping them honest. George eventually got past both Harding and Pluck with a couple of taps of the bumper, and with Plucks tyres toast threw away 2nd place and fell off with a little over a lap left. Harding took a comfortable second, with Jarse and Hunton able to leapfrog ahead of Pluck and again close the gap on overall points. Kirk got a league high finish after a consistent showing, while Johansen again had a couple of problems but needless to say still enjoyed the racing.

INSPIRE.NET KIWISIMRACING V8 SUPERCAR SERIES ROUND 7

With only two rounds remaining in the InSPire.net V8 Supercar series, the top of the leaderboard is starting to hot up in the race to fill the podium. Everyone headed down to the track in Sandown, for what promised to be a tightly fought battle to gain ground on those above in the points, or to extend their buffer.

As usual, the hotlaps were tightly contested, and after qualifying an all too common sight of SRNZ Rep Drivers, Kyle George, Matthew Pluck and Bryce Harding fill the top 3 positions. Kieren Johansen had one of his worst qualifying issues yet struggling to get to grips with the track which saw him start down the order.

The first of two races was soon underway and after a mistake on the launch from George, Pluck and Harding got the jump to the lead, however on the dirty side of the track Pluck fell over the curb, only to be sent out towards the wall by Harding on the exit of T1 sending him down the order. George made up for his lapse at the start to get back up behind Harding, with Jarse, Hunton and Team Green of Gordon and Garry Cousins also up the order. George made his move early on Harding to leap ahead and get a commandable lead over him. At the back of the pack, Johansen continued to struggle with the track and rounded up the rear of the field. Pluck had a hard fought battle with Hunton and Jarse making it as hard as possible to get ahead, knowing how close the points were between them. Pluck eventually got through with nice clean moves, whilst Harding made an error sending him back to fifth. George stormed home in a comfortable

win, with Pluck and second, and Harding, Jarse and Hunton following over after a few last ditch moves at the end of the race.

With the teams and drivers having talked and decided on their strategies, it was time to roll into race 2. Johansen suffered an engine issue as he finished race 1 which proved to be irrepairable and put him out of Race 2, however fellow SRNZ Racer Mitch Keys had finally arrived at the track to start off the back. As the flag dropped, George got off to a strong start with Pluck trying to stick with him, while Harding, Jarse and Hunton followed in behind. George proved to have too much pace for Pluck, with Pluck pulling out a last ditch attempt to get ahead while still in proximity, resulting in a spin putting him in behind the battle for 3rd. After Jarse fell off the track on T1, Hunton put up his best fight to hold off Pluck but Pluck made short work of Hunton getting past easily. Harding was cruising in second before his R/F Shock collapsed on T1, resulting in him steering into the wall and having to limp home for a rather long pitstop. Keys started making his way up through the field, and after a good pit strategy was in a battle with the likes of McKinlay, Jarse and Hunton, before having steering issues seeing him retire from the race. Meanwhile up front, George cruised home for a comfortable victory to all but seal up the series, with Pluck in second, Hunton, Jarse and Cousins rounding out the 5. Harding battled back for a 9th place, which looked to set up a tight battle from 2nd through to 6th overall at the last round.

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

48

DRIVER PROFILER

SCOTTYMCI NAME: SCOTT MCINTOSH NICKNAME: TROUT DATE OF BIRTH: 1991 LOCATION: PALMERSTON NORTH STARTED RACING: KARTS 2006 ONLINE NOVEMBER 2011 FAVOURITE CAR/CLASS: V8 SUPERCARS FAVOURITE DISCIPLINE: ANY TARMAC CIRCUIT RACING. REAL LIFE CAR: SUBARU IMPREZA MOST RESPECTED RIVAL/S: ANYONE THAT HAS A GO MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: WINNING MONACO ACHIEVEMENTS: 3RD ICONIC F1 SERIES

NICK BELL-MAY NAME: NICK BELL-MAY NICKNAME: COCAINE DATE OF BIRTH: 1992 LOCATION: AUCKLAND STARTED RACING: ONLINE 3 YEARS AGO FAVOURITE CAR/CLASS: 19C/SUPERSTOCKS FAVOURITE DISCIPLINE: DIRT OVAL REAL LIFE CAR: MOST RESPECTED RIVAL/S: SHAUN KINGI & KIEREN JOHANSEN MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: ALMOST WINNING 3NZ AT KSR ACHIEVEMENTS: 2ND KSR 2011 TEAMS

49

www.electricdesigns.co.nz

DAYNE POWELL NAME: DAYNE POWELL NICKNAME: DAYNO DATE OF BIRTH: 1997 LOCATION: HUNTLY STARTED RACING: ONLINE 1 YEAR AGO FAVOURITE CAR/CLASS: NASCAR FAVOURITE DISCIPLINE: TARMAC REAL LIFE CAR: MOST RESPECTED RIVAL/S: STOCKIE NZ MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: WINNING MY FIRST RACE IN IRACING WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

50

S C R E E N S H OT O F T H E M O N T H

KIEREN JOHANSEN AT VOLUSIA RACEWAY PARK

SKIN OF THE MONTH

SAM GRAY’S 15X LATE MODEL

51

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

52

53