With
cranked-up tyre pressures, helmet, non-synthetic clothing and some cool
drinks in hand, we made our way to Willowbank for a morning's general practice
session. Campbell plus several cameras, and Leon plus stop-watch and pen
and paper, also turned up as spectators.
The cars and bikes took turns at 1/2 hour sessions on the full track. For the first two sessions the ladies outnumbered the gentlemen by two to one. Well, there were only three of us in all - Michele, Shane and a lady with a racing Gemini! The track is quite long at 2.8km and so at times it felt like you had the track all to yourself!
During
the first session Shane's CRX did lap my Civic twice, but as I got more
comfortable with the track and the car, he had a much tougher job to catch
me. As you can see from the map, the track is a double horseshoe. The first
corner from pit lane is nearly a long corner into the next, Titan Corner.
The speedo can reach 110- 120kph through these corners. The back straight
is the fastest, reaching speeds of about 150kph.
At
the next corner the brakes need to be applied hard to bring the speed down
to negotiate the 180 degree Konica Corner. The next corner is about a 110
degree left-hand turn - a very tight corner that creeps up on you. The
next corner comes up quickly with a quick change into 3rd gear. Then a
quick sprint up to the last long 180 degree corner into pit straight. At
the end of the straight you can be doing 130-150kph. For most of the corners
you need 2nd gear, except fot the first corner out of pit straight. Being
only the second time I've been on a race-track, I found the experience
quite exhilarating.
Campbell walked several
kilometres to get some close up action shots from the other side of the
track. Leon positioned himself up on one of the viewing mounds and noted
down section and laps times for Shane and Me. Shane's times were around
96 seconds, while mine were consistently about 12 seconds slower - not
suprising given the grunt under the bonnet of the CRX!
Oh, but it was sooooooo hard to stick to the speed limit on the way
back home! until I saw the police van and accompanying speed camera! It
was just outside Ipswich - a known speed trap area. We all met back at
Shane's place along with some of his mates. The guys all watched the Grand
Prix while I went for a swim and most of the other ladies talked about
their purchases from the previous night.
The
GP finished and then Shane fired up the BBQ to cook a few snags and onions
for a bite to eat. Campbell did a quick run to fill the gas bottle half
way through cooking the food. The sausages hardly got cool before the full
bottle was returned and the cooking was complete. Thanks for the
tucker and hospitality, Shane!!
Leon also took the opportunity to find out exactly what was wrong with
the interior fan in My Civic (and A/C). It's been intermittent, then non-existent
for the past month or two. Turned out the commutator was worn badly with
the bushes almost non-existent! Thanks to Leon for quickly finding a used
one and fitting it after the club meeting.
