Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:43 pm
Dry Lakes Racers Australia
Salt Lakes Racing in Australia
http://www.dlra.org.au/forum/
Speed Week 2009
Page 7 of 12
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:28 am
Can any one tell me anything more about this truck ?
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:28 am
Gavin Lower | March 14, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE salt lake is blindingly white and flat for as far as the eye can see. This lonely spot in the South Australian desert is shimmering in the heat -- and shaking to the roar of dozens of revved-up car and motorbike engines.
Drivers and riders are waiting for their turn to race the clock on Lake Gairdner, 550km northwest of Adelaide, all-out in a straight line towards the empty horizon.
This is dry-lake racing, a sport that attracts enthusiasts from all over the country who feel a special need for speed.
They are from all walks of life: mechanics, students, the retired and semi-retired. Melbourne man Norman Bradshaw cheekily hopes his converted taxi will become the fastest in the world.
Bradshaw, who turns 61 tomorrow, bought the ageing AU Falcon with 500,000km on the clock just over two years ago and set about turning it into a speed machine. He is convinced its otherwise unfashionable lines are ideal for racing on the salt.
"I suppose it's an adrenalin thing," Bradshaw said of his speed obsession.
His run yesterday saw him clock 188 miles an hour
(322km/h). Speeds at the race are timed in miles because the equipment came from the US.
Drivers and motorbike riders have been turning up to Lake Gairdner since 1990 to race their machines against the clock.
The annual event -- unless rained out, which happened in 2007 and last year -- is run by Dry Lakes Racers Australia, a group formed by hotrod enthusiasts who liked what they saw when they visited the salt-lake racing at Bonneville, Utah.
The Lake Gairdner organisers estimated they had about 130 entries this year, with the crowd of about 1000 rounded out by support crew and a particularly hardy breed of spectator willing to drive for hours on the desert dirt to reach the isolated saltpan.
At the starting line, an orange rope laid across the salt, the drivers stare down a straight, six-mile (9.6km) course. Hand-made plastic markers are bolted into the lake bed. After a safety check by a race official, the word is given: the course is clear. An engine roars and the din hits you like a punch in the stomach as the next machine disappears into the distance in a blur of salt spray.
Some of the cars are everyday factory models with heavily modified engines and bolted-on spoilers; others, such as Alan Fountain's Hot Cargo Three, have been custom-built for racing on the salt. By yesterday morning, the 60-year-old retired TAFE teacher's cigar-shaped vehicle, built out of a US B52 bomber fuel tank with a few mates, was holding this year's record with a 225mph run. "The faster it went the smoother it got," Mr Fountain said.
He added it had the potential to reach more than 300mph.
Deb Dawson, the only Australian woman to clock more than 200mph at Lake Gairdner, said it was exhilarating to have been the mark in her Studebaker after several setbacks. In one, she was sprayed with petrol from a ruptured fuel line. Ms Dawson, from Emerald in Queensland, still gets goosebumps when she thinks about racing on the saltpan.
"It's a very magical feeling to be here," she said.
Rod Prickett, 50, a maintenance fitter from Melbourne, who came to the lake with mate and mechanic Darren Tyler, 42, swears by their go-kart as the cheapest way to race.
"We're a couple of seconds faster than a V8 supercar around a track," Mr Tyler said with relish.
Article from: The Australian
THE salt lake is blindingly white and flat for as far as the eye can see. This lonely spot in the South Australian desert is shimmering in the heat -- and shaking to the roar of dozens of revved-up car and motorbike engines.
Drivers and riders are waiting for their turn to race the clock on Lake Gairdner, 550km northwest of Adelaide, all-out in a straight line towards the empty horizon.
This is dry-lake racing, a sport that attracts enthusiasts from all over the country who feel a special need for speed.
They are from all walks of life: mechanics, students, the retired and semi-retired. Melbourne man Norman Bradshaw cheekily hopes his converted taxi will become the fastest in the world.
Bradshaw, who turns 61 tomorrow, bought the ageing AU Falcon with 500,000km on the clock just over two years ago and set about turning it into a speed machine. He is convinced its otherwise unfashionable lines are ideal for racing on the salt.
"I suppose it's an adrenalin thing," Bradshaw said of his speed obsession.
His run yesterday saw him clock 188 miles an hour
(322km/h). Speeds at the race are timed in miles because the equipment came from the US.
Drivers and motorbike riders have been turning up to Lake Gairdner since 1990 to race their machines against the clock.
The annual event -- unless rained out, which happened in 2007 and last year -- is run by Dry Lakes Racers Australia, a group formed by hotrod enthusiasts who liked what they saw when they visited the salt-lake racing at Bonneville, Utah.
The Lake Gairdner organisers estimated they had about 130 entries this year, with the crowd of about 1000 rounded out by support crew and a particularly hardy breed of spectator willing to drive for hours on the desert dirt to reach the isolated saltpan.
At the starting line, an orange rope laid across the salt, the drivers stare down a straight, six-mile (9.6km) course. Hand-made plastic markers are bolted into the lake bed. After a safety check by a race official, the word is given: the course is clear. An engine roars and the din hits you like a punch in the stomach as the next machine disappears into the distance in a blur of salt spray.
Some of the cars are everyday factory models with heavily modified engines and bolted-on spoilers; others, such as Alan Fountain's Hot Cargo Three, have been custom-built for racing on the salt. By yesterday morning, the 60-year-old retired TAFE teacher's cigar-shaped vehicle, built out of a US B52 bomber fuel tank with a few mates, was holding this year's record with a 225mph run. "The faster it went the smoother it got," Mr Fountain said.
He added it had the potential to reach more than 300mph.
Deb Dawson, the only Australian woman to clock more than 200mph at Lake Gairdner, said it was exhilarating to have been the mark in her Studebaker after several setbacks. In one, she was sprayed with petrol from a ruptured fuel line. Ms Dawson, from Emerald in Queensland, still gets goosebumps when she thinks about racing on the saltpan.
"It's a very magical feeling to be here," she said.
Rod Prickett, 50, a maintenance fitter from Melbourne, who came to the lake with mate and mechanic Darren Tyler, 42, swears by their go-kart as the cheapest way to race.
"We're a couple of seconds faster than a V8 supercar around a track," Mr Tyler said with relish.
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:28 pm
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:06 pm
DLRA 112 wrote:Can any one tell me anything more about this truck ?
'37 Dodge I believe, running a Val 245. It belonged to the Silverton pub boys who were almost as funny sober as they were on the turps!
Got home an hour or so ago, the road was well dried out yesterday but some of the washouts were so bad as to have been marked with red flags. As is usual in Australia, other sections were chronic bulldust and had to detour into the scrub to get around the worst one. Apparently the black Mainline got stuck and had to be pulled out.
I hope the Commodore station wagon with the tree imprint wasn't one of our lot. It wasn't pretty and I wouldn't like to have been the passenger.
Top speed of the meet was Alan Fountain with the blue tank pictured earlier, he ran 227 odd mph due to the shorter track and poor traction. Chris Hanlon ran a 169 pass with the tacho telling him it was closer to 205.
Thanks to Paul and Pat Penny for helping Don and myself out with camping gear and their hospitality last night and this am.
Thanks to Chris and Kath Hanlon for allowing me to crew some, it made the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Special thanks to Don for not running too many of those classical CDs through the machine on the drive.
Cheers,
Rob
I'll post pics and get some footage onto You Tube, possibly tomorrow.
Club Animal Racing Report
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:54 pm
Reporting from lovely Ouyen, the Club Animal party bus is still full swing after Animal has smashed the existing D/GL record of 125MPH with an amazing 201.062MPH! Driving the Terry O'connell pensioner special, Animal was only on a 175 chute pass, he was heard to say from the run off area to his pit crew, "I was at 6000RPM in top gear and I missed the 4 mile marker so pressed on to the 5th" only to go on and set the record
Brian Nicholson, DLRA Chief Scrutineer severly repremanded the repentant Animal for his indescritetion but after a long deliberation decided to let the record stand. This was epecially considerate as Brian and Animal had hotly contested the C/PRO class for many years.
The 68 year old Terry along with wife Liz, son Nat and friend Darren along with engine builder Des were over the moon after having achieved this amazing milestone on just the second run of the lakester. It has taken Terry 12 years to contruct the record breaking lakster, starting with a wooden representation of the chassis and forming all the highly polished body panels in his own back yard. All to see the vehicle have remarked as to the build and detail that has been achieved. A credit to all involved.
Plans and preparation are already underway to defend the record next year and to aim for the WORLD RECORD which currently stands at around 230MPH (we think).
Brian Nicholson, DLRA Chief Scrutineer severly repremanded the repentant Animal for his indescritetion but after a long deliberation decided to let the record stand. This was epecially considerate as Brian and Animal had hotly contested the C/PRO class for many years.
The 68 year old Terry along with wife Liz, son Nat and friend Darren along with engine builder Des were over the moon after having achieved this amazing milestone on just the second run of the lakester. It has taken Terry 12 years to contruct the record breaking lakster, starting with a wooden representation of the chassis and forming all the highly polished body panels in his own back yard. All to see the vehicle have remarked as to the build and detail that has been achieved. A credit to all involved.
Plans and preparation are already underway to defend the record next year and to aim for the WORLD RECORD which currently stands at around 230MPH (we think).
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:40 am
Rob wrote:
'37 Dodge I believe, running a Val 245. It belonged to the Silverton pub boys who were almost as funny sober as they were on the turps!
I'll post pics and get some footage onto You Tube, possibly tomorrow.
Thank you. Please make sure you post the You Tube links.
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:53 pm
Some great Pics. Many thanks
Can any one give me any info about the Pale Blue E Type Jag #594 & #642?
What class, time, engine specs etc?
A big effort to make it over from WA
Congrats to everyone who competed and particularly the officials who made it happen
GH
Can any one give me any info about the Pale Blue E Type Jag #594 & #642?
What class, time, engine specs etc?
A big effort to make it over from WA
Congrats to everyone who competed and particularly the officials who made it happen
GH
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:10 pm
Graeme H wrote:Some great Pics. Many thanks
Can any one give me any info about the Pale Blue E Type Jag #594 & #642?
What class, time, engine specs etc?
A big effort to make it over from WA
Congrats to everyone who competed and particularly the officials who made it happen
GH
Was chatting to the owner of E type . It has a lot of racing history . Has a 3.8 ltr motor that the early E types had . Not sure of exact speeds but around 140 + mph , rings a bell . The owner has quiet a collection of Jaguars , about 10 I think .
E types were my dream car when growing up as a teenager in the 60s .
Had never even touched one .I was workin on the start line doing the safety checks and sending them on their way , and got to fondle the E type 3 times in one day , ah life is good .
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:26 pm
Thanks Don
A word of warning - Be carful what you wish for!!
I had the same dream and am now afflicted with a series 1 1/2 4.2ltr E Type. 5 speed getrag, triple webers 320BHP motore etc and a 64 roadster I am yet to finish
Bloody good fun though!
Thanks for the info - sorry i did not make it.
Graeme
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:10 pm
Good evening viewers....
Finally got home about 5pm today, just completed the first up date of the site for the 2009 SPEED WEEK. Many more updates to come, keep watching or use the RSS feed from the home page.
Welcome stories and photos to use on the site.
I'm tired now.
Just 346 days to go!!
Finally got home about 5pm today, just completed the first up date of the site for the 2009 SPEED WEEK. Many more updates to come, keep watching or use the RSS feed from the home page.
Welcome stories and photos to use on the site.
I'm tired now.
Just 346 days to go!!
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:31 am
Just got back last night, what a trip!
Nice to meet so many new people and we had a ball. Got to say though that drive along the dirt section to the track drags on a bit.
Congrats to Dr Googles and Rev Headgash with some successful runs on the board with the little V6 Bellytank. Inspiring stuff.
Nice to meet so many new people and we had a ball. Got to say though that drive along the dirt section to the track drags on a bit.
Congrats to Dr Googles and Rev Headgash with some successful runs on the board with the little V6 Bellytank. Inspiring stuff.
Re: Club Animal Racing Report
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:40 pm
DLRA wrote:Reporting from lovely Ouyen, the Club Animal party bus is still full swing after Animal has smashed the existing D/GL record of 125MPH with an amazing 201.062MPH! Driving the Terry O'connell pensioner special, Animal was only on a 175 chute pass, he was heard to say from the run off area to his pit crew, "I was at 6000RPM in top gear and I missed the 4 mile marker so pressed on to the 5th" only to go on and set the record
Brian Nicholson, DLRA Chief Scrutineer severly repremanded the repentant Animal for his indescritetion but after a long deliberation decided to let the record stand. This was epecially considerate as Brian and Animal had hotly contested the C/PRO class for many years.
The 68 year old Terry along with wife Liz, son Nat and friend Darren along with engine builder Des were over the moon after having achieved this amazing milestone on just the second run of the lakester. It has taken Terry 12 years to contruct the record breaking lakster, starting with a wooden representation of the chassis and forming all the highly polished body panels in his own back yard. All to see the vehicle have remarked as to the build and detail that has been achieved. A credit to all involved.
Plans and preparation are already underway to defend the record next year and to aim for the WORLD RECORD which currently stands at around 254.685MPH (we think).
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:44 pm
Holey HECK!!
Don't tell me Animal knows how to use a computer
Well done
I wish I'd been there to see it.
Don't tell me Animal knows how to use a computer
Well done
I wish I'd been there to see it.
The Trip Home.
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:36 am
.
We made it out on the "Swamp Track" OK.Very close to getting bogged in one spot.Hard to believe how wet the road was.got into the Big 4 at P.A. , had beer & pizza , a good shower and snooze.Up Sat morning , fuel up,and headed north.
We stopped at the Wilmington toy museum for a look,on to Broken Hill,missed out on getting into the train museum (we were too late),headed out to Little Topar,where we always stay on the way home.No accomadation due to no water.So we headed off to Cobar (should be there about 8.30) Not so.Coming out of Wilcania,we get a call on ch40 from a passing truckie.There is a couple broken down,he was unable to help,could we help? Sure,worked on their little old Postie van (an ex Austpost Transit 4 cyl Diesel) for ages ,lift pump had stuffed itself.
Started calling truckies to get a message relayed back to Wilcania for help,nothing came of that scheme,a southbound coach called us up (was dark by now and we didn't want to leave these people stranded),and said he would contact SES or police for us.Along came the cavelry,two of the nicest cops any of us had met.The couple (from the Checz Republic) ,were put at ease,we pushed their van off the road and the cops were going to have help there at 8.00 AM.
Then Chris Hanlon shows up.Man did he get a shock.He saw our bus with the hazard flashers,but not the police Troopy.We set up the police to give it to Chris,as he pulls up on the wrong side of the road."Good evening Sir,Random Breath Test",The look on Chris' face was priceless.We all had a good laugh.Thanked the police,and headed on our way north again.
Got to Cobar about 1.15AM,got fuel and a feed,and kept going.Swapping drivers regularly,we kept on truckin' till we got home at 6.00PM sun.The bus ran as good as ever with no troubles at all.
Can't wait till next years adventure!!