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How cool is this entertainment!!
Watch this type of action and more in the comfort of your home 20 kms away or 20,000 kms away. Drag Racing, Hot Rodding, Boats, Speedway and more. Sportingscribe.com travels the width and breadth of Australia filming drag racing events with the occasional hot rodding and speedway event thrown in, all packaged up in video edits usually within a week of the event finishing. Scheduling and growth of the industry has made it difficult to find the editing time to process all the action in a reasonable time frame. My quest here at sportingscribe.com is to set up a live streaming service that will deliver the same content to my viewers, live as it happens. All the action from the Australian National Drag Racing Association Summit Sportsman Series plus selected marquee events including hot-rodding from around Australia delivered live right onto your device. Get us close and personal with drivers, pit action and all the drama that go hand in hand with competition. Be there to celebrate the highs of motorsport achievement with victory speeches, interviews and pit parties. Catch all the cool guys and gals in the ever growing hot-rod scene with live vision of the coolest rides on the road, the girls in their rock a billy gear and the finest featured hot-rodding live music.
Sounds entertaining you say! I agree and want to bring it to you live free of charge onto your device, yes free of charge, no pay per view charges, but I need your help.
To give you all this supercharged cool action I have set up a fund to help raise capital for the purchase of live streaming equipment. I have a regular job and currently cover drag racing and motorsport events free of charge and not for profit. Your support and assistance with this campaign will kickstart my journey into live streaming, bringing all the men and women of motorsport right onto your device. Let's get this campaign rolling and see what we can do with a little bit of support. I thank you in advance.
Mark Humphrey
Click here to support my campaign.
Norman Goes European With The R/T Marine Prepared BMW
By Mark Humphrey
Adelaide, SA/Aus. 16th June 2017. 2015 Australian Super Stock champion Steve Norman will debut his new ride this weekend at the Adelaide Drag Race Promotion’s Sunday Funday at Adelaide International Raceway. Having been out of the racing seat for the past 15 months, Norman is itching to get some seat time in the R/T Marine built BMW coupe which had been in the pipeline for about 5 years.
I dropped a line to Steve to find out a bit more on the vision he had with the BMW, “Well I noticed the BMW sitting in the Perth Motorplex pits at a Westernationals 5 years ago and straight away thought about debuting a Super Stock version” he said. Norman went on to say “I got the boys (Ryan & Reg Lee) to measure it up and here we are 5 years later with an unbelievable version of European motoring”. Norman added, “we embarked on the project less than 2 years ago with Ryan Lee from R/T Marine responsible for making it happen. Along with his father Reg and the help of others, the team has put together a race car that is as good as anything I’ve had in the past” he said. Norman went on to say “the attention to detail is simply unbelievable and I cannot fault any part of the build at all. I had enormous trust in the boys to get the job done and they certainly haven’t let me down” he said.
The history of the car is quite chequered with the car originally part of a divorce settlement in the USA. Legend has it that the ex-wife snatched the BMW, poured acid over the boot and then proceeded to drive the car into a dam. The Norman camp found the car at a salvage yard via a friend in the USA and the rest is history.
The guy responsible for the unique transformation was Ryan Lee who owns and operates R/T Marine SA, a business that had its roots in boat repairs but has now expanded into fibreglass auto products, vehicle modifications and of course complete race car builds. I caught up with Ryan and his father Reg to find out more on this simply stunning build and started by asking Ryan his thoughts on the BMW build “absolutely over the moon. The team has done a fantastic job on the car with the end result being an amazing BMW Super Stock car”. Ryan added “ we took possession of the car from the US and completely gutted the car in order to get it ready for the build. Originally, we looked at a Jaguar but because it had an aluminium body it was going to be too expensive to put chrome moly bar work through the car. It then come down to transforming either a Mercedes or BMW car into a MP Super Stock car. We measured up a BMW in the pits at the Perth Motorplex and found that everything would fit and the rest is history” he said.
After being stripped back to a bare shell the car was sent to interstate chassis builder John Lang to get the bar work installed along with some tin work. Ben Seal was then called in to complete the tin work which included all the necessary bracketry, front end and 4 link suspension points. Ben worked solid for 3 straight weeks and then dropped in after hours on more than half a dozen occasions to complete any alterations that were required. Also helping out on the tin and aluminium work was Doug Elsworthy from Elsworthy’s Chassis Shop.
The running gear was fitted up to see what alterations if any were required. The running gear for this project come out of the championship winning Chevy Cobalt and consists of a 312ci Bob Book small block coupled to a 3 speed Pro Flight transmission.
Power is transferred down to the JRI sprung titanium housed diff via a carbo fibre tail shaft. Lamb front struts work nicely with Lamb carbon fibre disc brakes to provide plenty of stopping power.
Next it was the job of brother Bryce with help from good friend Matt to prep the body and bar work for paint. Bryce spent a solid 3 weeks straightening the panels alone before prepping the car for paint which in the end was coated with Electric Orange. I asked Ryan what the most difficult part of the build was and he mentioned choosing the paint color. “I first suggested orange to Steve but that was rejected with a pearl white looking like the color. I liked black but in the end, it was Steve’s decision and after some deliberation Steve decided that it would be Electric Orange” he said. Ryan added “I think the color choice was spot on as it certainly showcases the car”.
Once the car was painted it was time to fit out the car and that’s when Reg took over. The car was completely re-wired starting from a bare shell and color coded to MSD color codes. Every wire was color matched to components with all original hinges used. The boot retains its electric opening operation keeping some originality with the car.
The interior was completely re-trimmed by Vicki in the color of their choice still incorporating the woodgrain in the dash and door trims. The attention to detail with the trim is unsurpassed with Steve Norman noting how the interior trim was altered to incorporate bar work encroaching into the door armrests. The choice of trim color certainly adds to the build and compliments the vision the boys had when they first set out to build the car. 
Asked what the most pleasing part of the build was, they both responded simultaneous with “today”. “Having the car 100% finished with nothing to do but turn the key is definitely the most pleasing part of the build” said Ryan. The car is built to 25.5 C SFI specification as a MP car and will initially be running in Gas.
Now that the car is 100% completed the next thing to do is get some laps into the car. As noted, the team will head out this weekend to Adelaide International Raceway to put down an installation pass testing out things like brakes, tracking, parachute and the like. They hope to get at least a second pass in which with all things being equal will be under full noise. The fact that they are using the running gear out of the Cobalt, takes away the uncertainty of how the drivetrain will go and leaves the team with one less thing to worry about. The team hope to run a private test next weekend and provided they meet all parameters will debut the car for competition in round 3 of the ANDRA Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series at Sunset Strip Mildura in late September.
Obviously to put together this masterpiece the team relied on some outstanding help with Steve Norman thanking Ryan and Reg for their commitment with this build. With regards to the workshop activities Ryan and Reg would like to thank Bryce and Matt for the paint, Ben Seal for the fabrication, Doug Elsworthy for additional fabrication, John Lang for bar work, Vicky from Vicki’s Trimming Shop, Motorsport Connections, Craig at RCE, BMW Adelaide and Brett Henley from Henley Chassis for all his advice.
For race fans, keep an eye on the ANDRA website for details on the 2017/18 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series dates which will feature the likes of Steve Norman, Competition champ Craig Geddes, Super Stock champ Jamie Chaisty among others duking it out in Super Stock/Comp.
Click on the link for more details http://andra.com.au/
All images supplied by Reg Lee
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2017 is here and with a full slate of ANDRA Championship Drag Racing coming up, The Accommodation Brokers are here to help ANDRA members save on their travel plans.
Adelaide Chrysler Festival
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Cast from resin, this accurately detailed
Swan Hill Opener A Mixed Bag.
By Mark Humphrey
Swan Hill, Vic/Aus. 27th November 2016. The grand opening of Australia’s newest ¼ mile drag racing complex the Swan Hill Dragway didn’t go exactly to plan thanks to a very dubious racing surface that was passed off by ANDRA as late as last weekend.
With the initial grand opening having to be re-scheduled due to persistent rains leading up to the event the decision was made to re-schedule the event on the weekend of November 26-27 which coincidently happen to fall between 2 round of the ANDRA Summit Sportsman Series. There is no doubt that this decision to re-schedule between two ANDRA rounds contributed to the entry list falling from the original 166 entries to just under 100 for the re-scheduled event. So instead of having a pit choc a block with race teams the Swan Hill public was treated to just over half the race teams that had originally entered. As an example, the Wild Bunch originally had 18 entries for the event which along with the Supercharged Outlaws that had entered totalled close to 30 blown machines ready to treat the locals. The count this weekend was 7 Wild Bunch and 3 Supercharged Outlaws of which 1 Wild Bunch car and 2 Outlaws failed to roll out on the Sunday. This was definitely not putting on the greatest show possible for the uninitiated motorsport fan. Did we miss an opportunity to send the public home with memories of the sport entrenched in their minds? I guess time will tell on that matter. There were obviously reasons why the decision was made to run the event smack bang in the middle of 2 ANDRA rounds which in the end didn’t work but in reality, the event should never have been given the green light to go ahead in the first place.
4 weeks ago, a decision was made by Street Machine to shift the Portland round of their Drag Challenge to Swan Hill after South Coast Raceway informed Street Machine their facility was water affected. Whilst the Swan Hill round was completed successfully there were some grumblings coming out of the round that Australia’s newest drag racing track was very bumpy in selected areas. The Swan Hill Dragway committee were notified that some racers had complained about the surface and immediately went to work to try and rectify the issue. It seemed a touch disappointing at the time to learn about the short comings of the Swan Hill surface but like the past 10 years, the club simply rolled up their sleeves and got on with the work. Talking to Lucas Woodburn yesterday at the facility, Lucas confirmed that they got instruction on how to rectify the problem and carried out the rectification works as they were instructed. On completion of the works ANDRA would send up a representative to inspect the surface prior to signing off on the facility.
Last Sunday after overseeing round 4 of the Summit Sportsman Series at Calder Park Drag Racing, ANDRA sent both Ray Treasure and their Competition Manager in Brett Stephens over to Swan Hill to inspect the rectification works with the intent of signing off the track ready for use. I have seen firsthand the commitment Ray Treasure has given to preparing or overseeing racing surfaces all around Australia and can confidently say that he has always taken safety first before anything else which is why he carries such a high reputation when it comes to track management. So, what went wrong here and why did ANDRA’s Competition Manager in Brett Stephens also sign off on a substandard and dangerous racing surface?
To give you an idea of what the racers thought, the Wild Bunch called it early before a single pass had gone down the track electing to run 1/8 mile after inspecting the track. This proved to be the correct decision as even the Super Street racers were faced with dangerous conditions especially in the left lane. By mid-morning of day 1 some of the brackets were given the option of dropping back to the 1/8th mile distance which they all accepted. The Modified Bike boys also had their issues trying to overcome the bumps with some electing to run down the left-hand wall to try and avoid the bumps.
The exhibition classes which included Top Alcohol, Pro Stock and Top Sportsman all buttoned off barely 100 metres down the track with the odd attempt at a full pass. Surprisingly Supercharged Outlaw runner Nicky Ellis seemed to navigate the full distance in both lanes without too much trouble posting a best of 7.0 at 185mph but he did have Melbourne legend Tommy Easton turning the spanners on the car.
There were a couple of incidents which the track conditions may or may not have had a role in but the only reason cars were not destroyed was purely on the safety-first option employed by the drivers. Many many passes were aborted by the drivers when the vehicles became unsettled which was the correct thing to do but the negative was that the sport was not being showcased to a brand-new audience as it should have been. Wild Bunch legend Benny Gatt joked about the fact that his helmet kept hitting the roof of his XA as he went over the bumps.
There is talk that the club and ANDRA’s Brett Stephens are taking up the issue of the track surface with the local council which has to be done but the initial concern of why this racing surface was deemed fit for use and signed off by ANDRA remains as the most puzzling decision.
On a positive note, man has this place got potential! It is clear that the club is hard working and prepared to go the distance with making this project one of the best in Australia. There were smiles all round over the weekend with the ever-optimistic Allan Ward putting a positive spin on every situation that arose. The club sold 1500 passes at the gate on Saturday and had a healthy crowd roll in on the Sunday up until the time I left. The crowd was ever changing with people coming and going throughout the weekend. It will be interesting to see how many of the race fans will be back on a regular basis. Every fan I talked to suggested they would be back which is so important for the club moving forward. It was clear over the weekend that the locals are prepared to support the venue which in this day and age is so important. Not many times over the past number of years have I seen a primarily sportsman based event attract so many spectators. The spectator mound is a fantastic viewing point for race fans and encourages interaction with the racers which once again is something you only find at regional tracks. The place will be first class once the track conditions are sorted and the ensuing infrastructure items are completed. This place would go off with a dozen Top Doorslammers rolling into town.
Unfortunately, finals day had to be abandoned due to a software issue with the club’s brand new timing system. Drop the flag grudge racing administered by starter Craig Plummer kept the locals entertained although a number of race teams had decided to pack up after day 1. The Wild Bunch stayed on to entertain the crowd with a couple of rounds on finals day and decided to split the prizemoney among all the drivers.
Finally, a big thanks needs to go out to the Swan Hill Dragway and especially Mark and Lia Kuhn and the Whyalla Steel City Drags club for a fantastic effort in putting together the event. There were so many positives to come out of the event including the positive assistance of all club members when required which no doubt will go to making the February Summit round at Swan Hill a very memorable round. The club has 3 months to get the racing surface rectified for the event and trust me when I say that this venue has the potential to be the premium regional drag racing facility in Australia. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to start preparing for the February round at Swan Hill early. My tip is it’s going to be massive.
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PRESS RELEASE, 21/11/2016 |
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Massive weekend for maiden drags at Swan Hill |
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Swan Hill Rural City Council: Australia’s newest drag strip will have its much-anticipated maiden run this weekend as Swan Hill Drag Racing Club hosts the Race for Pride. The new strip is one of only four major quarter mile tracks in Australia, with the longest concrete racing surface in the country and the only one with an in-built cooling system. It will be launched in an awesome fashion this weekend, with some of Australia's fastest supercharged outlaws on track, plus the return of the Wild Bunch class. Swan Hill Drag Racing Club President Gary Rovere said this weekend’s opening would be a celebration and chance to thank those who made the track possible. “Our members have put in countless hours of volunteer work over more than six years to get to this point – lots of late nights, early mornings and weekends spent planning, advocating for funding and later fencing, mowing, painting. The list goes on,” he said. “The Swan Hill community has done more than its fair share, donating in excess of $1 million worth of goods and services, the State Government and Council gave us the funding we needed, and the wider drag racing community has been so supportive. “Now we want to encourage everyone to come along on 26 and 27 November to help make this first event a huge success.” Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Les McPhee will officially open the track at 12pm on Saturday, 26 November. “This track really cements our city’s place as Victoria’s motorsport mecca. It is an enormous feat for a rural city like Swan Hill, and testament to the persistence and hard work of the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club and the local community,” Cr McPhee said. More than 110 entries have been received from across Australia for this weekend’s Race for Pride. Gates open at 9am each day with racing from 10am until 5.30pm. Saturday will be qualifying rounds, while eliminations will be on Sunday. Tickets are available at the gate - $25 adults, $15 children 12-15, children under 12 free when accompanied by an adult, $60 for family (2 adults and 2 children). Two-day passes are available. This will be an alcohol free event, with strictly no BYO. Catering will be available on-site. The drag strip is located at Chisholm Reserve Motorsport Complex, Sea Lake-Swan Hill Road, Swan Hill. For more information visit Swan Hill Dragway on Facebook. |
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| PRESS RELEASE, 08/04/2016 For Immediate Release |
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Swan Hill Dragway to be ANDRA sanctioned |
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Swan Hill Dragway, Australia’s newest quarter mile drag strip has announced today the facility will be ANDRA sanctioned. In a statement released via social media, the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club located in rural Victoria confirmed their commitment to ANDRA, opening the door for ANDRA Championship Drag Racing events in the future. “The Swan Hill Drag Racing Club wish to advise that when racing commences at our newly built facility it will do so under Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) Sanctioning,” read the statement. “Swan Hill Dragway was built to benefit Drag Racing, its racers and our community. We started this whole process with ANDRA and they have been there through every step of the way and we look forward to finishing the job and working together to get everyone out there racing. “Our focus as it was before is to get our facility completed, with handover of the construction site to the club to be finalised in the coming weeks – all members will be busy. With this decision now being made we invite all racers, groups and individuals who want this track ready to race on for the upcoming season to please get in contact with the club as to how to do so.” ANDRA CEO Grant Goodall said he was delighted with the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club’s decision and welcomed the world-class strip to the roster of ANDRA sanctioned venues. “Swan Hill Dragway is shaping up to be one of the best tracks in the country,” he said. “The track surface, laced with heating and cooling temperature control tubing, is set to be one of the best in the country and once the rest of the venue is completed it will be a fantastic facility. “Congratulations to the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club, volunteers and the local community on what they have achieved so far and we look forward to bringing ANDRA Championship Drag Racing to the region.” The drag strip features the longest concrete racing surface in Australia and has been constructed thanks to a $2 million contribution from the Victorian Government, $450,000 from Council and $220,000 worth of in-kind support from the Swan Hill Drag Racing Club. Swan Hill businesses have also donated or offered goods and services at cost price. Swan Hill Drag Racing Club also recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for timing systems, the control tower and equipment. For more information or to contribute, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/upugys4s |
