In contrast to our last visit to Oran Park, Saturday morning was crisp and clear for Day 1 of the Festival of Sporting Cars winter classic invitational. The Improved Production entry list was long, and once again there were over 25 cars on a single grid.
Qualifying
Grid Position: 19th
Lap Time: 1:26.35
Out onto the track for qualifying and Dave was easing himself back into the car and track, not having raced the Corona there before. The first few laps went well, until the session was red flagged with a competitor into the sand trap at the end of the main straight. When the session was restarted, the Corona wouldn’t. The battery was dead. Suspecting further problems with the alternator bracket, Dave found the bottom pivot bolt to be snapped clean in half.
A trip was made into Narellan to find a replacement, and all was fixed (many thanks to Ashley Birks) and ready for race 1. A quick jump start, and we were ready to go.
For qualifying results, click here.
Race 1 – Saturday
Finishing Position: 16th
Fastest Lap: 1:24.59
After making a great start Dave lost one position on the opening lap to a slow qualifying Honda Civic before the race settled down into a great battle with Garth Duffy in a BMW 323. He in turn was pressuring a Falcon, who was behind an XU1 Torana. The four cars engaged in a riveting battle. The Torana had too much grunt for everyone on the straight, but was weak around the back of the circuit. Garth made a great move on the Falcon coming into turn 4, which left Dave to put some pressure on the Falcon. That’s the way the positions remained to the chequered flag.
For full results click here
Race 2 – Saturday
Finishing Position: 15th
Fastest Lap: 1:24.64
After race 1, Dave checked to see if the car would start on its own battery, and found it wouldn’t. The battery, it seemed, was completely dead. Pit crew Andrew made another trip into Narellan to source a new battery for the final race of the day. Battery installed, we were ready to go.
Dave made another great start (really starting to get the best out of the car on the starts now) and was pressuring Tim Button through the first few corners. Tim finally worked his way past the Torana, and the rest of the race was spent dicing very closely with Garth in the BMW and the Torana. Again, Dave and Garth would race side by side through corner after corner and never had a touch. At the end of the race, there was less than half a second between the 3 cars. Awesome fun racing and a great experience.
For full results, click here.
Click here for all the action from Sunday’s racing, including an in-car video of Dave’s first ever wet race!
Race 3 – Sunday
Finishing Position: 16th 
Fastest Lap: 1:24.06
Another good start by Dave was ruined by hesitation after the yellow flags were shown. That momentary hesitation was enough for the good work to be undone and Dave to find himself behind the Falcon again. And that’s pretty much where he stayed for the rest of the race. Pressuring the Falcon, but not often in a position to make a passing move. He was probably close enough between 3 and 4 once, but decided that there were still another 2 races on the day and would probably do well to make sure the car came home in one piece.
For full results, click here.
Race 4 – Sunday
Finishing Position: 12th
Fastest Lap: 1:24.11
Finally Dave makes a good start AND makes the most of it through the first few corners to pick up a couple of places at the start. He found himself racing closely again with Tim Button in the Datto 1600. Tim made a pass on Dave… only to have Dave get a great ‘tow’ from him along the straight a couple of laps later, to pass under brakes into turn 1.
Dave then was able to put some pressure on Peter Street for the last couple of laps, who in turn was all over Parsons in the Civic. At the end of the race there was less than half a second between 10th and 12th positions.
For full results, click here.
Race 5 – Sunday – WET RACE
Finishing Position: 9th
Fastest Lap: 1:41.50
Not long after race 4, the heavens opened over Oran Park and it became clear that our last race of the weekend was going to be more suitable for ducks and all wheel drive vehicles! Fortunately the rain itself had stopped by the time the race started, however the track was still very wet with some puddles in places, and a grip coefficient somewhere near that of ice. Yes, it was slippery! On the warm up lap, 2 competitors found out exactly how slippery by spinning their cars. Any throttle application was made with the delicacy of a brain surgeon as everyone tried in vain to get the power to the road.
The start saw a number of drivers either stall, or sit on the one spot with masses of wheel-spin. Those who got it right (including one who demonstrated the Audi ‘Quattro’ system to great effect), found themselves on tippy toes into turn 1 and 2. Dave passed a number of cars off the start, and once things settled down decided to let a fast recovering Peter Foote (who had spun on the warm up lap) through before turn 2.
Given this was Dave’s first ever wet race, he had made a conscious decision not to do anything silly, or try too hard, but just to be consistent and make it to the end of the race. Expecting Footie to pull away easily, Dave was pleasantly surprised to find him holding the gap constant, and indeed, even being a bit stronger through a few sections of the track.
For the rest of the race Dave was able to slowly close down the gap, but never really have a go at getting past. While the temptation of making a successful pass on a strong O2L competitor was high, the possibility of coming out of it with egg on the face was just as high!
A great fun race though, and Dave’s best result of the weekend. Bring on the next wet event we say!!
For full results, click here.
For some awesome photos from the event, shot by Michael Vettas, click here.
