Last Shot In The Dark @ Oran Park - IPRA U2L

I'd just like to say, congratulation to 82911 (Greg)
Though many on this forum only have a passing interest in IPRA racing,
Some members are actively involved & doing well waving the Honda flag.
(Many of our regular customers would have seen this car at the workshop)
For those who don’t know, yesterday Greg took out the win at the "Last Shot In The Dark @ Oran Park" IPRA round.
Competing in the U2L class, he qualified 2nd on the grid & opened the day by placing 2nd in race one,
This was followed up with a 1st place in the 2nd race,
1st place in the 3rd race & finally 1st place in the 4th & trophy race.
http://www.trentwallis.com/albums/09...9811.sized.jpg
(Photo - TRENT Wallis Photography http://www.trentwallis.com)
Driving his No.29 "MY JEWELLER" EK9 Civic Type R, he was up against some stiff competition from Bob Jowett in his K20A powered EK4.
(Background - Bob’s car is the ex-Lewis Chan EK K20A; still supported by Pro Concept)
The closeness of the racing can be gauged by the times on Natsoft & the in car footage from Geoff Fear’s 3rd place getting N14 Pulsar SR20VE. (See below links)
Though Bob was slightly quicker both qualifying & average race lap times, Greg still managed to hold him out.
Hat’s off to Greg… A truly top effort & a testament to a great driver IMO.
With 3 from 4, it’s a shame it wasn’t a points round.
Official Natsoft timing results can be seen here:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...1/08/2009.ORAN

Race 2 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26m56LJFa4
Race 4 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCvc9PwrbNI

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Greg’s comments below on the race were copied from the IPRA forums
http://www.ipraforum.com.au/viewtopi...4754&start=120

Re: Oran Park Day/Night 1/08/09

http://www.ipraforum.com.au/styles/p...ost_target.gifby 82911 » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:01 pm
That was by far the toughest race ever!
Huge thanks to everyone involved with putting on this event as I don't think anything can compare to racing at night...
What a blast!
A race report.....*Warning* might contain too much detail, as I'm still a little excited!!!! http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/razz.gif

My day started out VERY ordinary to say the least, with 2 massive spins in qualifying. The handling problems from Eastern creek were still with me and were in fact worse! I just could not get any rear grip. I took a punt on a spring rate change and the car was better for race 1 but still very twitchy (read.....SCARY http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/shock.gif ) .Bob Jowett seemed to be settling in to his new Civic and showing very good speed, so I really thought that i would be racing for 3rd with Geoff Fear in the Pulsar.
Race 2 and I was getting more confident with the ill handling civic and thanks to a good start was able to lead for a few laps before Bob got a better run onto the straight and passed for the lead. The next 2 laps were fantastic, with Bob going like buggery, and me trying to keep up. A missed gear by Bob out of T1 saw me give him the slightest Liberace! But that was enough for Geoff Fear to get a sniff and what ensued really cant be explained adequately here.. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/shock.gif http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/lol.gif (SEE VIDEO FROM GEOFF FEARS PULSAR IN VIDEO SECTION) http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/shock.gif http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/lol.gif Unfortunately (for Bob) he was called for a jump start, so served his drive thru and relieved the pressure from Geoff and myself.
Race 3, and a good start, by lap 4 Bob had lined me up and got down the inside at T1, But I dug in and held the outside line, so we went door handle to door handle through T1, 2 & 3 (without a touch)before just getting around him before suttons! I managed to hold onto the lead under Massive pressure from Bob.
Race 4, It was on........... From the lights out Bob was all over me like a fat kid on a lolly! he was left , he was right, he was everywhere you never expected him to be, man can that guy steer! I drove the absolute dinger out of the little civic to stay infront. I knew an attack would come,but buggered if I knew where? Then it came, around the outside down the front straight and across the front of me! I braked HARDER to hold a tight line and we went side by side the through T1 AGAIN! This time though, Bob was on the outside and the line was dirty from previous incidents, so he wasn't able to make it stick. From that point on the pressure from Bob was turned to maximum and I was bloody relieved when the chequers finally came out..... http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
I would like to publically congratulate Bob for his efforts as well as the sporting attitude and driving standards that he showed towards me. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif
The other thank you's...
Geoff Andrews... for making sure I'm ready and the car is ready. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif
Gridfillers....for support and encouragement always. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif
My Wife and Kids.... for braving the cold so Dad can go racing. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif
TODA performance Australia... for an AWESOME POWERPLANT. http://www.ipraforum.com.au/images/s.../eusa_clap.gif

Looking forward to wakefield Park...

Cheers Greg... #29 U2L Honda Civic.
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http://www.trentwallis.com/albums/09...0727.sized.jpg
(Photo - TRENT Wallis Photography http://www.trentwallis.com)
Pictures courtesy of Trent Wallis - http://www.trentwallis.com/
http://www.trentwallis.com/gallery/v...rk-OP01&page=1

Good stuff. IPR is an awesome national class, can't wait till the IPR national series visits W.A next year. Then I can see how my cars times stack up against the best in the country lol
IPR champion in W.A is a Honda also so looks like the IPR champs across australia under 2L are predominantly Hondas, sik.

Oh yeah! Honest to goodness door to door racing

Congrats Greg - Love your car - Good luck with the rest of the season!

Edit: Just watched the videos again - Looks like you drove the wheels off your car - on 3 wheels!

Congratz Greg... go the b16!!! always admired your car when it's at Toda.

Thanks guys...
Car will get faster yet, with more development time.
I come from a rear wheel drive domestic V8 background, so learning to get comfortable in an import FWD 4cyl has been a bit of a challenge. This challenge has been made a lot easier knowing that I have a FAST and RELIABLE car that will stand the beating that I hand it lap after lap.
Credit for the Speed and RELIABILITY of my car rests solely with TODA AUSTRALIA and the expert tuning skills that Adrian has provided.
If anyone is interested in getting a close up look at IPRA racing our next round of the state championship is at Wakefield Park on Sept 12/13. Please feel free to drop by and check out what it is all about, I would be happy to show any new comers just how easy it is to get involved and that we are quite a friendly bunch.
Nothing quite compares to door to door racing... anthing else is what we call.......QUALIFYING!;)

Cheers Greg..
NSW IPRA U2L #29

nice work mate

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TODA AU

From the lights out Bob was all over me like a fat kid on a lolly! he was left , he was right, he was everywhere you never expected him to be, man can that guy steer! I drove the absolute dinger out of the little civic to stay infront. I knew an attack would come,but buggered if I knew where? Then it came, around the outside down the front straight and across the front of me! I braked HARDER to hold a tight line and we went side by side the through T1 AGAIN! This time though, Bob was on the outside and the line was dirty from previous incidents, so he wasn't able to make it stick. From that point on the pressure from Bob was turned to maximum and I was bloody relieved when the chequers finally came out.....

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awesome write up, totally picturing it!

congrats on the great results!

reliability is so confidence inspiring, having a good tuner goes a long way :thumbsup:

awesome

are you the Greg who I sold the seat rail to

More pics from the day...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/...ddf409e5_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/...6e676330_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/...fb097f1e_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2648/...27a3df66_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/...3dab2413_o.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthew...7621795746151/

PWOAH!!!!!!! Night racing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! freaken sick!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Quote:

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awesome

are you the Greg who I sold the seat rail to

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yes Nelson, that would be me....:wave:

Cheers Greg..

Quote:

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PWOAH!!!!!!! Night racing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! freaken sick!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Your right there Flick!! Flying over the blind dogleg at night....surounded by a pack of cars..... well not much I have done really compares to that!:eek: Even the decent over skyline at Bathurst doesn't look as scary IMHO....
Just a shame that it is the last time this event will be run, it has been going for 25 years, and I've managed to win it twice. Nice to put something in the record books that can't ever be rubbed out.:thumbsup: As well as the 0-1600cc lap record for group C touring cars.
The way it is looking for the championship next year it will be "formula Honda" so if anyone is considering getting into IPRA racing, you will be among friends!:)

Cheers Greg..

Our last round of the NSWSS is at Oran Park South Day/Night as well. Should be a good awesome event to finish off the Championship.

So much more difficult to race in the dark. Prop's to you guys. I found some parts last year wasnt lit up properly, gotta use your own judgement how much you want to push in the dark.

Over the last 20 years I have driven OP so many times that you just know where the track goes... You just have to trust yourself and not worry that you can't see because it is quite dark.
The lighting for the SS round last year was the same as for our race round. A little too dark for most peoples liking. Me, I see it as an advantage, because of all the laps I have done there. Gotta take every advantage you can with so many quick cars these days.

Damn 20years experience! Im such a novice compared to you experience guys

From watching those clips, you guys like to use alot of ripple strips. Can you explain why you do that? Im abit more tentative when using ripple strips.

I've tried taking the left ripple strip on the dog leg over the last 2 years but it didn't net faster times for me.

That photo actually looks like the last turn onto the straight. The dog leg has a big cement extension beyond the ripple strip

Damn! That looks like stupid amounts of fun!
Was funny watching old mate in the white EK try to keep it straight.

Awesome driving, nice work and congratulations!

go the ek.........

nice cars,,that proconcept car looks like it s going to end up in the wall,,scary to race with people like that

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dart

nice cars,,that proconcept car looks like it s going to end up in the wall,,scary to race with people like that

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Its like that when you're pushing...and especially scary when you're in the car...thats what makes it fun.

If you're pushing hard through the last turn, you'd come very very close to the outside wall on exit - the echo of the exhaust and engine noise will then hit you especially if your windows are down. Everynow and then, as I approach the wall, my rear will just step out, you just keep the accelerator buried and....Woah! What a ride! LOL.

Awesome driving mate on this vid at Bathurst. You car really shines up the top of the mountain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIGZ-rcWHkg
Let your driving do the talking I say, not your fingers like so many people on this forum hehe
Everyone watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIGZ-rcWHkg

Cooker,
Bathurst is awesome! If you can make it @easter it is well worth the travel. NOTHING compares to the mountain it is the craziest roller coaster ride you'll ever take!:eek:
Glad you enjoyed the vid. I'm going back there in 2010 with more grunt so i'm planning on scaring a few over 2L cars.....:p

Quote:

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If you're pushing hard through the last turn, you'd come very very close to the outside wall on exit

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Leonard,
I used to regularly scrape the rear view mirror on my Torana along the wall on a "hot lap" I'm a little more cautious with the Civic as i'm still not comfortable with the cars handling.

Quote:

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nice cars,,that proconcept car looks like it s going to end up in the wall,,scary to race with people like that

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Dart,
Yeah, it looks a bit like that hey!!!;)
But the guy driving the white Proconcept Civic is a multiple NSW and national championship winner.... I rate him VERY HIGHLY as a driver.;) The reason his car looks so unstable is that it was his first outing in a FWD car and by his own admition was struggling with getting his head around the way they swing the tail around like a dog.Was funny watching him struggle with it for a bit...

Quote:

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From watching those clips, you guys like to use alot of ripple strips. Can you explain why you do that? Im abit more tentative when using ripple strips.

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Benson,
I use the ripple strips because they are there and I can!:) But really... Often the line we use in a race is far from the optimum "fast" line, this depends on weather you are defending/attacking or perhaps even side by side racing with someone. There is a fair bit of give and take in a lap when you race door to door.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

Cooker,
Bathurst is awesome! If you can make it @easter it is well worth the travel. NOTHING compares to the mountain it is the craziest roller coaster ride you'll ever take!:eek:

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Yer I'll come, anyone wana sponsor me to come from W.A :(?????
Doesn't look like it unfortunately :o To poor haha

I know that there is a few racers coming across the sandpit for next year so maybe you could catch a ride with someone? Also there is often some of the saloon car guys that will book a transporter for the trip,might be a space avaliable on there??? Then catch a cheap flight and you're away!
Still not cheap, I know, but hell...... It's Bathurst!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cooker

Awesome driving mate on this vid at Bathurst. You car really shines up the top of the mountain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIGZ-rcWHkg
Let your driving do the talking I say, not your fingers like so many people on this forum hehe
Everyone watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIGZ-rcWHkg

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Just awesome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

I know that there is a few racers coming across the sandpit for next year so maybe you could catch a ride with someone? Also there is often some of the saloon car guys that will book a transporter for the trip,might be a space avaliable on there??? Then catch a cheap flight and you're away!
Still not cheap, I know, but hell...... It's Bathurst!!!!

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Good point, will look into it.

Always wanted a drive at Bathurst. How do i get in?

The Bathurst @ easter race is organised by FOSC. You will need a CC licence as a minimum and be off your P plates (3 meetings and a flag day).
Your car will have to be 3J legal in every way, and you will need to have a current 3J logbook for the car.
Your best bet would be to get your licence soon, and borrow Phill's car if the offer still stands?
DO IT....you won't regret it.
If your serious, come to an IPRA round and we'll talk..:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

The Bathurst @ easter race is organised by FOSC. You will need a CC licence as a minimum and be off your P plates (3 meetings and a flag day).
Your car will have to be 3J legal in every way, and you will need to have a current 3J logbook for the car.
Your best bet would be to get your licence soon, and borrow Phill's car if the offer still stands?
DO IT....you won't regret it.
If your serious, come to an IPRA round and we'll talk..:)

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Oh it needs to be IPRA certified and logbooked. My car is a daily driven street registered car lol don't have a full cage in it yet, sorting out a weld in half cage atm so doesn't look like my car even meets the criteria.

Do they have any open days or Sprints day at Bathurst?

Cooker.... well that changes things a bit, doesn't it!!!:(
BLCC runs sprints, but they only use 1/2 the track, so you miss out on the full experience...
Go on have a go... you have a car avaliable to you and the rest is not hard to organise....Best fun you can have with your pants on!;)

Bathurst *drools* wow it would be an experience. Not really much room for error there is there, so many walls

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Benson

Do they have any open days or Sprints day at Bathurst?

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the bathurst speed weekend is on in december i hope, JSCC will be heading up for sure!

the hillclimb starts at the top of conrod and goes up to the top of skyline!

i won my class there in 2003 in my '83 B16A prelude, class 3A :cool:

your civic would love it!

EDIT: keep the 5th and 6th of December free ;)

What sort of spring rates do these cars run? They all look very loose but (the camera car at least) seem to have strong understeer under power.

16-20K i guess?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by string

What sort of spring rates do these cars run? They all look very loose but (the camera car at least) seem to have strong understeer under power.

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I can't comment on the Pulsar (camera car) but the Civic's generally run rates from 16K to 20K as Tinks said.
That's approx 800lbs to 1100lbs for the old schoolers.
Greg's car was running Fightex N1's for the Oran Park night round & HKS Ghymkhana dampers for the others.
For more info on the Pulsar, call Jeff @ SSS Automotive

have you tried running it softer front spring rate and harder rear ? like 16k F and 20K R?

I'm actually going to run the opposite... 20K front 16K rear.
I need more rear grip.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fatboyz39

have you tried running it softer front spring rate and harder rear ? like 16k F and 20K R?

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Dunno why you'd want to do that in a car that has weight bias more to the front.

At the most simple level it means you can get on the power earlier since the steady state balance is more towards oversteer which is countered by FWD's power-understeer. Same (except in reverse) reason the V8's have such low rear spring rates compared to the front (understeer), so they can get on the power straight after turn-in.

Watch some videos of USA road racing series' such as NASA's Honda Challenge; they corner with a more nose-in attitude compared to the cars in the first video and don't suffer from the front washing out when they step on it - a result of virtually the entire field running stiffer rear springs than front.

At the end of the day though the only setup that matters is yours so if 20kg/16kg is fast for you then it doesn't matter what any equations say.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

... 20K front 16K rear.
I need more rear grip.

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:eek:

i guess sway bar size would influence it was well, it is not just how high your spring rate is... they are interrelated.

As String says, whatever works for you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

The reason his car looks so unstable is that it was his first outing in a FWD car and ...

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Not quite true, Greg. Bob bought my EG6 Civic and drove it at least once either late last year or early this year. It was his first drive in THAT car!

Peter

Congratz on the result today Greg :thumbsup:

Results:

Race 1:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...9/2009.WAKE.R7
Race 2:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re.../2009.WAKE.R17
Trophy Race:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re.../2009.WAKE.R26

Congratulations Greg, top effort! :)

Thanks guys!:thumbsup:
1:08.7 is getting kinda fast for a B16 hey!
Think I'm starting to get the hang of these FWD cars now.... :)
I might post some incar if I can sort out the editing..........

Cheers Greg..

ummmm , yeah! 1.08 is kinda fast for anything with out a turbo and 4wd...

good work!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

Thanks guys!:thumbsup:
1:08.7 is getting kinda fast for a B16 hey!
Think I'm starting to get the hang of these FWD cars now.... :)
I might post some incar if I can sort out the editing..........

Cheers Greg..

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Do post! I'd love to see. :)

an amazing effort mate!!

a lap of wakefield.......
enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0KbO0JP-M

For those who don't yet know, Greg won both the races on Sunday. Impressive effort.

Greg runs the MFactory 2nd gen close ratio gearset and rollcentre adjusters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

a lap of wakefield.......
enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0KbO0JP-M

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Awesome,

Were you using the toda or hks coilovers this round, Greg?

Toda N1s

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 82911

a lap of wakefield.......
enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0KbO0JP-M

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i see u leading your class and graham cox leading his class... well done..

very fast laptime !