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Race Team News Latest Professional Round Pictures can be viewed and purchased from http://www.osella.com.au/wayne/Morgan-Park-16-17-April-2005/Fvee/index.htm Race
Report - Scott Andrew - Formula Vee #10 16/17
April 2004 - Morgan Park Raceway Hello,
here is my post race report. Friday
Practice We
had a bit of smoke coming off the car in the corners, and so we tried to
seal up the rocker covers a bit better, to keep oil off the exhaust, but
only managed to crack the covers. Our speed was better than we thought.
We were within half a second of the contenders, so we hoped to qualify
well. Tyres are a bit old, but the last 13 races at Morgan Park had
given me 7 1st's in 1200cc, and 4 2nds in 1200cc, which was 11 out of 13
times in the points. I was hopeful. Lap times 1.13.4 Saturday
Qualifying Individual
Lap Sheets http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.Q3.I Our
strategy of doing 3 good laps, then spending the rest of the session
doing chaotic laps proved sensible. Lap 1 we began to smoke, by the end
of lap 3 our smoke obscured the track and we got black flagged. Although
we had not done a flying lap, we still qualified in 3rd place for
1200cc, which was 7th overall. (1.13.4252) We
drained some excess oil from our car, and bogged up the cracked rocker
cover, and waited for Race 1 Our
Car is 503kg, and our competition is cars down at 475-482kg. We need to
get rid of some more weight for next meeting, but its a testimony to the
horsepower John Alder builds into his engines that we can still compete
at the front. Race 1
(CAMS State Championship Race) Individual
Lap Sheets http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R3.I Lap
Chart http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R3.L We
had a good start. On lap 1 I went to the outside of turn 3 and I spun
the car. "Bugger!" covers it I think... After
letting the whole field go by I rejoined in 15th, only to spin again in
Turn 4. "What the...?" is what I'm thinking now. I
worked out after 3-4 laps that my grip came back, but it was unsettling
to spin so easily on cold tyres / or maybe oil getting on my tyres from
my repairs? On
Lap 4 I passed Steven Wilkins and pressed on. Lap 5 I passed David
Boulton, and pressed on. Lap 6 I passed David Harrison who was very
quick in sections. On
lap 9 I passed Bruce Acheson and stayed there in 10th overall, which was
5th in my class. 4th place, Robert Thompson was 12 seconds ahead of me
at the end. My thanks to the gentlemen drivers who let me pass cleanly. (Best
lap 1:13.8267) Race
2 (Scratch Race - only club points) Individual
Lap Sheets http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R12.I Lap
Chart http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R12.L With
only 4 laps, this was never going to be easy to make up places. Starting
in 10th, and using all the patience I could muster up, I passed Robert
Thompson on Lap 2 because of a spin, Bill Fry on lap 3, and Jason
Gomersall (1600) who was unfortunate to spin on lap 4. Ending up 6th
overall, 3rd in 1200's. I
felt this was a good reminder that a lot of driving is being patient,
taking the risks you should take, and keeping the goal of finishing my
main objective. (best lap 1:14.2269) Race
3 (CAMS State Championship race 2) Individual
Lap Sheets http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R16.I Lap
Chart http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R16.L Thanks
to Brisbane Channel 31 for covering this race on TV locally 10
Laps, starting in 10th because I finished Race 1 there. From
10th I was in 7th by the first corner. I was amazed by the start, and
was happy to stay in this position until the end of the race, but a lot
happens in 10 laps... It
was early, before 9am, so the track and tyres were cold, but I was in
3rd place (for 1200's) locked in a nose to tail duel with Warwick
Bromley, and Paul Manteit, with Bill Fry on my tail. I watched the two
ahead battle and concentrated on waiting, and blocking the ever
close Bill Fry on my tail. Matching them for speed, on Lap 3 Paul had
had enough and brake tested Warwick. Brake testing is a technique where
you brake when someone has noway to drive past you, and forces them to
brake hard and get out of rhythm. From the camera view you can see
Warwick slide coming out of the left hand turn 4 and find Paul slowing
suddenly. In the video, my Car is flicked up by Warwick rear wheel and I
drive up the back of him and up to his roll cage, and then my
braking allowed him to drive away, all in 2 frames of video (which is
about 0.08 seconds) As
I was in shock after this (my first racing collision) and wonder what
happened, Bill Fry came along side me, so I waved him through, and after
a quick check of the steering, I head on after them, nosecone twisted on
the front of the car, which disappeared off track later. As I came
around at turn 2 chasing these 3 drivers, the downforce change caused me
to understeer right off the track and hit the ripple strip, which
cracked my sump open. On Lap 6, still 4 car freight train, I tapped Bill
coming out of turn 4, not hurting him, but spinning myself, and I began
to drive sedately until the end of the race, losing one place to Bruce.
Because of Robert Thompson's steering issues and subsequent DNF, I was
still a finisher in 10th overall, 5th in 1200s, No nosecone, bent Dorian
timer bracket (Dorian still attached TG) Best Lap 1:13.5244 At
the end of the race, the Scrutineers waved me into their shed. They
changed their mind as I was filling up the shed with oil. They told me
to come back when I had stopped streaming oil out the bottom of the
car. In
my garage, John Alder who prepares my car looked at me, and I realised
the day was done. We could have risked it all and worked to get it out
there, but I thought the car had performed well and deserved to rest... Race
4 (Scratch Race) Individual
Lap Sheets http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG.R26.I I
put my in car camera onto Matt MacKelden's (sponsored by Grove Fruit
Juices/Reddy Hire/Dirty Dog/others) Formula Vee, and helped Matt (sponsored
by Grove Fruit Juices/Reddy Hire/Dirty Dog/others) attach sponsors names
onto his helmet to be seen by the in car camera. I went to watch the
race from the hill for a change. Finishing in 2nd place, in what I
believe is Matt's (sponsored by Grove Fruit Juices/Reddy Hire/Dirty
Dog/others) best 1600 result, he set a fastest lap for the
race. I think Matt aka "Hollywood" (sponsored by Grove Fruit
Juices/Reddy Hire/Dirty Dog/others) just performed better for the
Camera/Sponsors. Did I mention he is the king of sponsoring, sponsored
by Grove Fruit Juices/Reddy Hire/Dirty Dog/others (:P) I
really enjoyed seeing the racing from the fence. Its great to see what
your friends are up to. When you are racing, you think too much about
your own position, and to see them having that enjoyment racing was
excellent. Overall Morgan
Park Results http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?17/04/2005.MORG Brisbane
31 TV coverage (See Monday nights 7:30pm "The REDZONE") is a
great thing for us, and maybe a sponsor can help us remove some weight
from our car, and take us back to the front with some new tyres. I
learned a lot about racing, especially patience and knowing limits. We
also learned some more things about preparing the car, and this will
help us in the future. I
hope the repairs to the car will not be expensive, or difficult. I
still feel lucky to have the opportunity to go racing, to be supported
by my wife, my Dad as pit crew, my family and friends. I'd love to thank
a sponsor, but I don't have one, so I'll thank John Alder for putting
his heart and soul into building excellent Formula Vees for every one of
his customers, and being there to keep them running. Even if drivers do
break things like me. See
you on the Telly. Tell me if you want to see a DVD of the in car racing. Scott Race Report - Morgan Park Raceway February 2005 To summarize the weekend, the car went onto the trailer with all parts intact, so objective no.1 achieved. Battled with oil smoke though, slow drip onto the exhaust when turning left and under heavy downhill braking. Will sort this out by next round. 19 entries, 18 starters. In Motorsport this is a healthy number of competitors. Formula Vee is running two classes this year. 5 cars in 1600cc class. The 1600's have lots of torque to pull out of corners, must watch exit power to control wheel spin. 13 cars left are 1200cc. The 1200's have a higher top speed which only helps on long straights like Queensland Raceway, not at Morgan Park which is a 3rd gear track for 70% of the time. 1200's have adequate horsepower, but must keep speed up in the corners and exit well. Shane Hart could keep up with the 1600s last year in a 1200 so it is possible, but he was not racing this weekend. QUALIFYING I qualified my old 1984 1200cc 30kg overweight Spectre in 4th. Out qualified by Gomersal and Loudon's 1600s and out qualified by a rookie, Paul Manteit, with karting experience, in a 1200cc like me. Kind of a worry for the season to see that sort of time out of new guy. 1.13.8404 was faster than my 1.14.0904, but the qualifying sheets showed fastest in lap 3, then his new tyres couldn't carry him faster. My tyres are very old, so more consistent, best in lap 7, and overall less grip. So maybe not to worry for now. Three 1600s behind us, so keep an eye on the mirror. A bit of understeer from my car makes the front tyres go off faster. Times are nearly a second off the lap record though. Without the lap record holder, Shane Hart, racing with us, we all are unsure of where we stand as the track was good, but not super quick. As Gomersal's 1600 was about the same as Shane's 1200 last year, we can only go off his times. So we have a bit of improvement. Times as a guide for most of the weekend Bromley and Loudon were very fast on their own all weekend in 1600cc's doing 1:12's in races, 1:13s qualifying About the next 12 or so cars in the 1:13's in races, in 1:14s and 1:15's in qualifying (including a stunning 1:13.8 from Paul Manteit and a 1:14.0 from me.) The whole field is very close. 2005 will have some great racing I am certain. The times being around a second off Bromley indicate possible improvement from these other drivers who have cars that aren't 30kg heavy like me. I'd love to have to add ballast like these other guys. I hope to have a new chassis for 2006, and perhaps upgrade to 1600 at the same time. RACE ONE (Championship Round 1) First race for 2005 and I jumped the start. DOH! Bit too excited. Foot just unconsciously lifted. Didn't think about it. I stopped it about 1-2 meters from my grid position and waited for the actual start. They used the usual red light for a 5 second warning, and then another red light to signal start. They warned us about the change, but my subconscious seemed to forget what I was told. As Shane said, I shouldn't have stopped when I realised my error, and just kept going, but you hope they'll forgive me and see if there was any advantage. Deliberately lost the start to show no advantage won. Mackelden passed at the start in his 1600 only to be turned around by Paul Manteit in turn 3. Paul is a fast rookie, and under a lot of pressure front back and sides, so Matt Mackelden forgave him readily. Karma got Paul when his nosecone fell off and his bodywork began to lift, so he DNFed by choice. Came around to see a Black flag - #10 on lap 3 Came through drive through penalty (sounds like forcing someone to go to MacDonald's...) Came out and everyone I could see was spinning on oil. Every corner had a wide oil slick. I was passing them all! Thought, I can catch up here. Drive careful scott. Carefully scott... Bugger, spin. Bugger another spin. Just suddenly snapped around. Sure is slippery. Finished in 12th behind all of the good drivers I needed to be in front of, including the 5 1600's, so 7th in 1200's Nick Hereford told me I passed him under yellows. Honestly didn't think I did. There were yellows for spinning cars and oil flags as well, and you would go 3 marshal points from a yellow without being sure you saw a green flag. So without anything to indicate a problem, you just kept going. Nick said others were passing him too. Nick may be a rookie in Vees but apparently came from FHolden, so got better flags there probably. Warwick volunteer marshals are very much appreciated. A good drive by Rookies Damian Ormston and Warwick Bromley in Bruce Mackenzie's car. (Its just not the same without you Bruce!) William Fry won the 1200's class. Great result for him. Bad luck for Cameron Green, who seems to get the mechanical gremlins from time to time. We are lapping 7 seconds a lap faster than HQ racing, so very fast Vees on this track. On Sunday Morning I saw our Technical Director, Shane coming down to see me, and I was nervous because he looked so serious. Shane walked into my pit garage very seriously and told me I was disqualified for passing under yellows on Saturday I was devastated as he could see. So then he said "gotcha!" and I couldn't believe I fell for it. He said Nick was driving slowly, so everyone was passing him, perhaps thinking he was damaged. and so everything is okay between Shane and me right now. RACE TWO (2nd championship round) I didn't get a good start. I was fairly careful not to jump it again. In only 10 laps, from 12th, got through the 1200's and some 1600s to finish 4th, behind 1600's of Gomersal, Loudon, and Mackelden Jr. This meant I got 1st place in the 1200's! It was very difficult but satisfying drive. I fried the tyres by lap 4 doing braking duels, even had another Rookie Warwick come back under me again in turn 3. If John Alder had not prepared such an excellent engine, I would not have been able to drive past these cars. I still have handling issues in turn 1 leaving me unable to enter it as fast as others, which translates to problems in turn 2 and over the hill into 3. This may be a driving issue as I have spun there many times in practice, and never feel confident of the cars handling there. From pure luck, Paul Manteit got locked out on the inside in a bunch of cars, (or is it gaggle, or herd, scrum or a crash of cars? Suggestions?) and I was able to pass him and 2 cars on the outside of turn 3, then William Fry who was the first 1200 in race one was a hard man to pass, and finally he locked his brakes into turn 3 with me on the outside, forcing me to run wide, but it allowed me past. Fry in 5th, Paul Manteit in 6th, Warwick in 6th, Robbo in 7th. Racing is more fun than winning, because you can push yourself to the limit. But its good when you are the first 1200 home. Unfortunately, my in car camera vibrated and by lap 2 was out of focus. Just ghost images unfortunately. RACE THREE The next race was 7 laps and counted for club points, and I stayed in 4th place, couldn't catch the 1600s So I was first in 1200 class from Paul Manteit, Robbo, Warwick, Paul Kellaway, Fry, Harrison. Ian Mackelden and Paul Kellaway went home early. RACE FOUR Next race was 5 laps and counted for club points, and I sort of kept up with the 1600s for most of it, because I didn't have to spare the tyres. Last lap had to ease off, starting to understeer, and understeering into concrete not a good idea. 4th again (1st in 1200s) from a closing Robbo, Warwick, Paul Manteit, Russell(1600), Gomersal (1600), Fry, Ormston, and Harrison. Nick Hereford will be a force to recon with when he sorts out his Jacer gearbox. Enjoyed meeting him. SUMMARY I was really happy about the racing in race 2 though. Best fun, safe clean racing. So apart from one race, I got all the 1st place trophies (well it is a plaque - John called it a bread board) 1x 1st state championship, 2 x 1st in class (scratch/club races) If I wasn't over the moon about that someone should slap me. It was absolutely fantastic, and Johns engineering was what did it for me. By the last race I was getting down to 1:13.2 so much quicker as races went on 1:12.3 was the fastest 1600 time by Bromley. I was really impressed by the standard of racing, and the quality of the drivers. Season 2005 will be a great one to watch out for. Really miss Bruce, and wish the Greens had had a better weekend. Gomersal had a bad run in his 1600 but it will come good for him I am sure. David Boulton did fine in Gomersals old car. Keep an eye out for a sponsor or two for me please! I need to be able to get through this season without anything major financially going wrong. Scott Queensland Raceway - November 2004 meeting Post Race Hello Everyone Great news, when most of the field hit a patch of oil on turn one at Queensland Raceway at 160kph and there was the big pile up of Formula Vees with wreaked cars everywhere; I WASN'T INVOLVED! This was because my car had an engine failure on Friday during practice. Whilst I am completely gutted by this disappointment, I know I would have been in that group of cars, and have to thank God no-one was hurt. Next year we plan to have a spare engine at every race meeting. Although this will cost money, we will be able to replace an engine rather than fix it if something goes wrong. As a result of my engine failing, I was unable to get points this weekend. The championship results will show instead of going from 3rd to 2nd place which was likely, I went from third out of 18 drivers, and fell back to 5th overall. This was considering out of the 5 race meetings this year, I missed one for the birth of Jemma, and missed the last one due to engine failure. To get 5th only racing 3 out of 5 meetings is fairly good. Next year the State championship includes the larger engined 1600cc engines, so I will be unable to win the championship with a 1200cc car. Upgrading to 1600cc will cost $12,000 so I cannot afford it. I hope in 2005 to win the 1200cc class, but there will not be a trophy or recognition as many of the competitive drivers have sponsors enabling them to upgrade. Without the best drivers, they won't consider 1200cc class very competitive and the class will be an unofficial championship only. Speaking to my Formula Vee Engineer, he will be building a new type of Vee for 2006, so I may be involved in the process, and might be able to buy a new 1600cc Vee for around $30,000 during 2005. My goal is to keep my existing 1200cc Vee and give Darryn Montgomery a start in 2005/2006 races while racing a 1600 to a state championship. I may have to learn to get sponsors to be able to achieve this. Thanks for your prayers, finger crossing, best wishes and thoughts. John developed a great engine for me, there is just the need for a spare engine to ensure we win next year. I will get over this, and appreciate the support people show me. Have a great Christmas Scott Queensland Raceway - November 2004 meeting Pre Race Hello all. Scott Andrew goes Racing this weekend for the last round of the Formula Vee Championship. Its been a busy week/month/year and with little 5 month old Jemma at home it has been tiring. We have a new engine and are headed to run it in on Wednesday, Dyno it Thursday, and go to Queensland Raceway on Friday and work on it. Saturday we have Scrutineering in the morning, Qualifying at around 10am, then the racing program starts from 1pm. Our race being later in the day but significant; it is Round 1 of the championship Saturday Afternoon. Sunday Morning will host Round 2 and will finish up the QLD championship, and I will end up with the possibilities of (numerically) between 2nd and 5th in my rookie year of Racing. Later on Sunday we have a non-championship race by ourselves, and then another race with the Formula Fords in a staggered start. For me work has been incredibly busy, and apart from Fatherhood, I have taken on way too much this year. Kind of like my racing, I always go out too hard, and find out when I go too far, rather than falling short. I would like to take this final weekend and put it all out there, and get runner-up in the championship. I especially want to do this since out of 5 race meetings that counted for points, I made the decision to miss the June racing meeting for the birth of Jemma. I can tell you it was well worth it, because despite how much I love motor racing, I actually forgot I missed it until it was nearly over. So I missed out on points because of this decision, and any position we achieve near the top of the championship will be well earned. The main reason I am near the top has to be that John Alder of Volks Engineering has engineered what must be the fastest Formula Vee in the country, and I hope to put the car near the top for his sake, and have fun doing it. To be able to forget about work and stuff, to just go out and do what I love is going to be fantastic. Living your dream is such an important part of life. No matter what, you must do it. If I had never raced, I would be less than I am. Never chasing a dream would be a tragedy. Last race meeting was a non-championship meeting, which was a pity after getting 1st, 1st, 1st, 6th and 2nd in the races (1st overall) That would have been a nice points haul. I hope that the new motor will improve my car, and no problems develop. Check out www.scottandrew.com.au/art for a picture of our current livery. If you are coming to the track this weekend, please let me know so I can make sure we catch up with you. Please wish us luck, or say a prayer. Keep the rain away - I drive an open wheeler remember! I'll get wet. I believe I am the luckiest/most blessed man alive. Scott May 2004 Eastern Creek Race report including pictures
Can you go to www.fvee.org.au and see the FVee News, and see how inexpensive the Vees for sale are in Classifieds. From $6000 - come on... Its better than a boat, and you don't have to take the wife and kids. Less frustrating than Golf! Come and Join us. - Scott
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