matespace
05-10-2011, 12:36 PM
To the uninitiated drag racing 40 year old VWs would be like racing tortoises. In reality you realise the racing is serious. When asking Rod Penrose how he got the scratches on the front fender of his VW bug he says “I came out of the burnout pad in third gear with the nitrous on” at 9,000 rpm and that’s when it go out of shape. His bright yellow 1974 L Bug flew out of the burnout pad billowing tyre smoke. It passed the staging lights sideways before clipping the wall, going on to two wheels, spinning around and ending up facing the wrong way millimetres from the wall in the other lane. He waved to the crowd and drove back to his pit garage to survey the damage and kiss the ground.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/RodPenrosenearmiss.jpg
The car is Rod Penrose’s circuit racing car. He converted it to his drag car because his drag car wasn’t ready for the event. It has a 2443cc engine with 200 HP shot of nitrous. See the bottle on the left of the picture below. This engine has almost 400 HP at the wheels.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/RodPenroseNitrousEngine.jpg
The VW Warwick weekend held at Morgan Park’s 1/8 mile drag strip. The event attracts VW enthusiasts from around Australia. While most try to better their times from the previous year the real competition is the bracket racing. That means you have to run as close to your nominated dial-in time as possible. The experts at this are Queensland's Dave Butler in the white 1960s beetle, who ran a 7.03@ 96.3 mph (with his ¼ mile gearbox), and Sydney's Henry Spicak in his yellow oval window VW. Henry won this particular race.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/HenrySpicakvsDaveButler.jpg
Of the 80 something competitors the furthest travelled was David O’Connor from Adelaide with his beautiful car “Shrapnel”. It runs a 7.0 second time.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/ShrapnelandBradsGhia.jpg
If you’re ever around Picton in south western Sydney and you see this VW at the traffic lights DON’T RACE IT. Keith Hausler’s bog stock looking 1500 factory automatic beetle packs a surprise under its raised engine cover. It has a 1600cc beetle engine enlarged to 2332cc running 48 IDA webers. With a stout 189 rear wheel horsepower it’s good for wheelies and a 7.80 pass at 89 MPH.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/KeithHauslerAuto1500.jpg
The weather at Warwick this year was a talking point. Normally around 30 degrees in past events it was usually less than 10 degrees. Saturday morning was fine for the street parade in the Warwick town centre. But Saturday afternoon and evening was cold, wet and windy testing the water proof properties of the campers tents and swags. Most competitors camp at the track to spend time catching up with friends and bench racing. Thankfully the Gods of speed were smiling on us and Sunday began with clear skies and racing was uninterrupted.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Warwickcampsite.jpg
A recently opened workshop that specializes in top notch VW restorations and customs is Das Resto Haus. They brought along a customer’s split window Kombi which is a work of art. It sports the best of everything including a supercharger, air conditioning, leather upholstery, 17 inch Porsche Fuchs style rims and Yokohama S.drive (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53276) high performance tyres. When have you ever seen the side of a 50 year old kombi that straight and that shiny?
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/DasAutohausKombi.jpg
In the past few years Warwick has been invaded by Mexicans. The contingent from Victoria call themselves the El Gringos. Here’s one of their cars which runs methanol fuel.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/ElGringoredcar.jpg
Here’s the 1956 of Andrew Ermel on the burnout pad. It is super fast, super competitive and super noisy.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/AndrewErmals56.jpg
Mick Motor’s LHD American Drag bug sporting a high mount turbo drawing through a Holley Carby feeding a monster VW engine. A rat racer bug in the background.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/MickMotorsandRatRacer.jpg
In the photo below is a Nude Bug (in bare metal) from Newcastle and a beautiful example of a California Look Bug from Brisbane.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/CallookandNudeBug.jpg
This neat and fast street car with stunning white interior is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This 2.3 litre injected beetle engine was seriously hi-tech. It also sported Yokohama C.drive (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53275) tyres. Instead of the usual finned cast iron cylinders this car has special billet aluminium ones plated with Nikasil to improve cooling and reduce weight. Unfortunately the cooling fan on the engine exploded taking out some fins which is a real shame.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Redinjectedbug.jpg
Wayne Penrose VW brought a stunning range of cars from their Wollongong workshop. They actually filled a car transporter. Here is their sports sedan hillclimb car against their supercharged drag car.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/WPVWsportssedanandsuperchargeddragcar.jpg
Wayne’s turbo oval lifting the wheels.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/WaynePenrosetubooval.jpg
This oval was in the show and shine. Look at the quality of the presentation. This isn’t unusual for the top VW drag cars.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Dragovalinshowandshine.jpg
Why have we got a picture of a formula Vee here? This is the man that makes the VW Warwick weekend happen, Craig Hughes from VW Magazine Australia. Thanks for putting on another fantastic event.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/CraigHughesVWMagazineAust.jpg
For More information on Yokohama C. Drive Tyre featured on the red 2.3L Beetle Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53275)
For More information on Yokohama S. Drive Tyre featured on the split window Kombi Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53276)
For information on the rest of Yokohama's tyre range including the ADVAN Neova AD08 Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53277)
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/RodPenrosenearmiss.jpg
The car is Rod Penrose’s circuit racing car. He converted it to his drag car because his drag car wasn’t ready for the event. It has a 2443cc engine with 200 HP shot of nitrous. See the bottle on the left of the picture below. This engine has almost 400 HP at the wheels.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/RodPenroseNitrousEngine.jpg
The VW Warwick weekend held at Morgan Park’s 1/8 mile drag strip. The event attracts VW enthusiasts from around Australia. While most try to better their times from the previous year the real competition is the bracket racing. That means you have to run as close to your nominated dial-in time as possible. The experts at this are Queensland's Dave Butler in the white 1960s beetle, who ran a 7.03@ 96.3 mph (with his ¼ mile gearbox), and Sydney's Henry Spicak in his yellow oval window VW. Henry won this particular race.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/HenrySpicakvsDaveButler.jpg
Of the 80 something competitors the furthest travelled was David O’Connor from Adelaide with his beautiful car “Shrapnel”. It runs a 7.0 second time.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/ShrapnelandBradsGhia.jpg
If you’re ever around Picton in south western Sydney and you see this VW at the traffic lights DON’T RACE IT. Keith Hausler’s bog stock looking 1500 factory automatic beetle packs a surprise under its raised engine cover. It has a 1600cc beetle engine enlarged to 2332cc running 48 IDA webers. With a stout 189 rear wheel horsepower it’s good for wheelies and a 7.80 pass at 89 MPH.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/KeithHauslerAuto1500.jpg
The weather at Warwick this year was a talking point. Normally around 30 degrees in past events it was usually less than 10 degrees. Saturday morning was fine for the street parade in the Warwick town centre. But Saturday afternoon and evening was cold, wet and windy testing the water proof properties of the campers tents and swags. Most competitors camp at the track to spend time catching up with friends and bench racing. Thankfully the Gods of speed were smiling on us and Sunday began with clear skies and racing was uninterrupted.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Warwickcampsite.jpg
A recently opened workshop that specializes in top notch VW restorations and customs is Das Resto Haus. They brought along a customer’s split window Kombi which is a work of art. It sports the best of everything including a supercharger, air conditioning, leather upholstery, 17 inch Porsche Fuchs style rims and Yokohama S.drive (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53276) high performance tyres. When have you ever seen the side of a 50 year old kombi that straight and that shiny?
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/DasAutohausKombi.jpg
In the past few years Warwick has been invaded by Mexicans. The contingent from Victoria call themselves the El Gringos. Here’s one of their cars which runs methanol fuel.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/ElGringoredcar.jpg
Here’s the 1956 of Andrew Ermel on the burnout pad. It is super fast, super competitive and super noisy.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/AndrewErmals56.jpg
Mick Motor’s LHD American Drag bug sporting a high mount turbo drawing through a Holley Carby feeding a monster VW engine. A rat racer bug in the background.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/MickMotorsandRatRacer.jpg
In the photo below is a Nude Bug (in bare metal) from Newcastle and a beautiful example of a California Look Bug from Brisbane.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/CallookandNudeBug.jpg
This neat and fast street car with stunning white interior is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This 2.3 litre injected beetle engine was seriously hi-tech. It also sported Yokohama C.drive (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53275) tyres. Instead of the usual finned cast iron cylinders this car has special billet aluminium ones plated with Nikasil to improve cooling and reduce weight. Unfortunately the cooling fan on the engine exploded taking out some fins which is a real shame.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Redinjectedbug.jpg
Wayne Penrose VW brought a stunning range of cars from their Wollongong workshop. They actually filled a car transporter. Here is their sports sedan hillclimb car against their supercharged drag car.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/WPVWsportssedanandsuperchargeddragcar.jpg
Wayne’s turbo oval lifting the wheels.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/WaynePenrosetubooval.jpg
This oval was in the show and shine. Look at the quality of the presentation. This isn’t unusual for the top VW drag cars.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/Dragovalinshowandshine.jpg
Why have we got a picture of a formula Vee here? This is the man that makes the VW Warwick weekend happen, Craig Hughes from VW Magazine Australia. Thanks for putting on another fantastic event.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n609/Advanaustralia/VW%20Warwick%20Weekend%202011/CraigHughesVWMagazineAust.jpg
For More information on Yokohama C. Drive Tyre featured on the red 2.3L Beetle Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53275)
For More information on Yokohama S. Drive Tyre featured on the split window Kombi Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53276)
For information on the rest of Yokohama's tyre range including the ADVAN Neova AD08 Click Here (http://clixtrac.com/goto/?53277)