posted Nov 27, 2011 5:14 AM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
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updated Nov 27, 2011 5:14 AM
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posted Nov 27, 2011 5:09 AM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
By David Christy
Twelve members of the Westfield Club put their lives on the line as competitors at the 16th running of the Leyburn Sprints over the weekend of 27 and 28 August. It wasn’t that the racing was dangerous; it was just the chance of being either drowned in floodwaters or buried in mud. The rain bucketed down all Saturday which made the track a little treacherous for those on slicks and hardly any better for those with treaded tyres. Luckily the weather on Sunday was perfect, clear and warm, which allowed the slick shod cars to make good time after the nerve wracking conditions of the previous day.
The upside of the wet weather was that temperature at night didn’t sink to the levels of a penguin’s posterior as is normally the case at Leyburn. Even though it was not as cold as usual, the wet conditions made it less than pleasant. Fortunately Jim Esson came to the rescue, as usual, with his welcome contribution of 4 tonnes of firewood, a 44 gallon drum fireplace and 20 litres of moonshine. Your contributions are always greatly appreciated, Jim.
The Westfield club set up camp in a different spot from last year having been located in four different campsites in almost as many years. In fact, the club has become like the lost tribe of Israel seeking a new location for its synagogue, as bad habits, such as trimming things and selling the off cuts as calamari rings, make them unpopular amongst the locals. Not that Westfield folk indulge in such cruel and sinister practices; their bad habits are much more insidious than that.
Our new location this year was over near the school corner in close proximity to a semi trailer that housed, what the sign writing said, were toilets and showers. The first part of the description was accurate, but unless one enjoyed a golden shower, and a survey indicates that not too many of our members do, no showers were to be seen. For that activity a long walk to the showers behind the tennis courts was required.
Whilst not too badly located if the weather is fine, with the downpour on Saturday, the camp site’s cow paddock location became a mud wrestler’s paradise, and, as also revealed in the survey mentioned earlier, it is not a pastime pursued by many of our members (probably the same people as those with those quaint shower habits). As a consequence, getting cars to the starting grid became a difficult chore that persisted all the next day in spite of the return of fine weather. Fortunately there was a large puddle just near the start that allowed competitors to drive through and wash off the mud, wet tyres being preferred to wet and muddy.
This year, the RSL was the venue for great meals and a well stocked bar at very reasonable prices. Not only that, service was provided by people who actually seemed to be pleased to be doing their job. This was in stark contrast to the pub which, in the last few years, has taken to overcharging and providing lousy and less than civil service. The evidence that it wasn’t just the Westfield group who thought that, was the lack of numbers at the pub on Friday and Saturday nights. I suppose we shouldn’t be too scathing about the pub, the poor folk running it are obviously still in recovery mode after their charisma by-pass operations.
In addition to the competitors, the social side of things was enhanced by the attendance of the usual upholders of the high standards of the Westfield morals in the form of Eric Blythe, looking down condescendingly upon his followers from the lofty heights of his hydraulic back porch, Gary Chisholm, Jim Esson, John O’Reilly with the record number of kilometres on his car’s odometer , and Jeanette and Peter Triggell. James and Dominic were also there to add their Shakespearean eloquence to that of the other well spoken folk from within the Westfield group. Other visitors were Ron Roduner’s mate Brad from the table tennis fraternity and Will’s Victorian mate Rob. These poor blokes will have gone home from the weekend with a considerably altered view of what constitutes acceptable behaviour of allegedly mature gentlemen. Bread was broken, wine goblets brimmed and the munificence of the individual tables was generously shared like a good church gathering though made up of drunks totally lacking most social graces.
Will Charlton had some battery problems with his diesel 4WD when he connected an inverter to it to power his 240V medical appliance overnight. With a flat battery and high compression diesel motor to crank, it was another unwanted chore for Will to confront each morning. At least he was still alive to carry out that job.
On the competition, as you can see from the following table, the Westfield club had a very successful event again, with seven out of twelve on the podium in the various classes. As usual, Ray Vandersee was outstanding with a second place overall out of some 215 competitors in his road registered Skelta G Force, only 1.8 seconds behind a turbocharged 2.6litre Van Diemen open-wheeler racing car on slicks.
The pleasing thing about the Westfield club is its lack of racial prejudice. We are happy to have anyone who wishes to join us no matter what type of car they drive, because we believe it is the social aspect of aiming to enjoy ourselves that is important. It doesn’t matter if you drive a 5hitbox clubman made by a bunch of drunken Kiwis, an unreliable, oil dripping refugee from the final days of British Leyland, a malformed locost or a pack of badly assembled nuts and bolts from the state that can’t win a State of Origin Rugby League match. Those who drive the Aryan pure Westfields are happy to have you on board even if it is only to provide a hapless target for tasteless jokes when the sun goes down.
Competitor | Car | Class | Best Time | Class place | Westfield Club place | Overall place | | Will Charlton | 2006 Fraser - 1,848 cc | Grp 2B Marque Sports up to 2L | 58.6730sec | 3rd | 7th | 85th | | David Christy | 2000 Westfield - 1,588 cc | Grp 2B Marque Sports up to 2L | 55.1237sec | 1st | 2nd | 29th | | Steve Donka | 2004 Lotus Elise S - 1,798 cc | Modern Sports 1.5L-2L | 60.2883sec | 5th | 9th | 113th | | Rod Gibb | 1998 Westfield - 1,587 cc | Modern Clubman | 57.9891sec | 3rd | 6th | 74th | | Stephen Foss | 2008 Westfield XTR2 - 1,298 cc | Modern Clubman | 57.8766sec | 2nd | 5th | 67th | | Noel Paterson | 1975 Triumph TR6 - 2,498 cc | Pre- 1979 Sports
2L-3L | 65.1252sec | 5th | 12th | 170th | | Stuart Paterson | 1995 Westfield - 1,800 cc | Grp 2B Marque Sports up to 2L | 55.5766 | 2nd | 3rd | 30th | | Brian Pettit | 1995 Westfield - 1,600 cc | Grp 2B Marque Sports up to 2L | 58.7193sec | 4th | 8th | 86th | | Ron Roduner | 2008 Skelta - 1,998 cc | Modern Sports 1.5L-2L | 63.7221 | 7th | 10th | 156th | | Brian Tedman | 2000 Westfield - 1,600 cc | Modern Clubman | 64.4392 | 5th | 11th | 168th | | Ray Vandersee | 2009 Skelta - 1,997 cc s/c | Modern Sports >2L | 49.4597sec | 1st | 1st | 2nd | | John Webster | 2005 Westfield - 1,589 cc turbo | Modern Clubman | 56.9071 | 1st | 4th | 48th |
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posted Aug 13, 2011 6:09 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
COMPETITION CORNER.....The inside line
Round One ..it can be honestly said that there were no losers, or all that who took to The Track to challenge themselves were the winners. After the first session the banter in pit lane was the usual, who could catch who, who was holding up who, what are your tyre pressures....how many clicks
Here is a brief run down on the day.
New Members
David Cromie, A new baby and a new car (Westfield SEI Black top ) a man who has his priorities right, for the family’s first track day was satisfying as times dropped at every session... the next family addition may be a tyre gauge ?
Steven & Kim Donka, Welcome back to Lakeside, this time with a Lotus Elise, complete with a spin at Karussell, Kim hope you caught that on film
Special Mentions
Fraser Clarke, Much to his father’s delight entered his own new car, a very rapid MX5, Fraser if a length of armco is worth $200 a panel , what’s the cost of a cubic metre of gravel ?....Mr Sandman ........106.33 sec for first time out, a great effort
The Usual Suspects
Tony Niven, A series One veteran, The Bluebird was able without drama or so it seemed, was able to lower his time to a PB......106.32 SEC
Mr. Fitzgerald, The rapid red rocket ship, Houston we have a problem, a minor electrical problem (we hope ) saw the rocket dropping cylinders before refusing the next round......Yet started without a problem at home later that night....They always hurt the ones they love
Frank ”Fangio” Liu , The return of the Yellow Peril, as is written, the long journey starts with the first lap & as Arnie quotes ...I will be back...
David ”Corpus” Christy, please replace divots on the following corners......Hungry, Easton Loop, The Kink, Karussell and The Bridge. Andrew we suggest your father (DNA check may be considered ) drive in daylight hours and local areas...eg..Gatton, Leyburn, etc
Bruce ”The Bronzed Aussie” Chamberlain, How many cars do l own ?, pulled a blinder in the last session in the last last lap to produce a PB ...103.71
Ross ”TT” Rundle, Apex, what’s an apex, is it like Rotary or Lions ( which males have on average sex five times a day ....thats real lions ).......I am confused.....Eric Blythe...please ...provide...counselling
Stuart Patterson, Mr 19x19, The quickest on track, the best news that the oil leak was on external liners and not internal
Until next track day, keep in the zone, Ross “TT” Rundle
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posted Jun 24, 2011 11:01 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
The 19th June 2011 saw the club’s AGM held at Lakeside Park and from memory this was one of our largest attendance at an AGM ever with 42 members and guests. Some started the day with a social drive via the mail mans route meeting the rest at Lakeside. The formal part of the meeting went smoothly and the new committee was elected. A full review will be included in the meeting minutes that will be sent all club members shortly. Following the meeting everyone was invited to partake in a social drive around the Lakeside Track. This was a great opportunity for members to have a look at the track without having to enter a sprint meeting. Afterwards, lunch was served. The Lakeside catering staff put on a great spread which was enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for everyone who attended and made it a great day. Based on everyone’s response I think we have already found a location for the 2012 AGM.
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posted Jun 5, 2011 3:45 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
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updated Jun 5, 2011 3:59 PM
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The weekend saw the running of the 2011 Queensland Hillclimb Championship at Mount Cotton. Club members Ainsley Fitzgerald and Ross Rundle were entered and both acheived very good results.
Ainsley campained his westfield in the Marque Sports Cars 1301-1600cc and won the class with a best time of 46.82sec.
Ross campained the Elfin Malmark in Group V and while he was the only entrant in this class he managed to break the previous lap record of 54.19, five times before acheiving his best time of 52.22sec on his final run.
Well done to both Ainsley and Ross.
More info available on the MG Car Club Page here.
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posted Jun 1, 2011 3:32 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
Details for the 2011 Clubman Sprint Series have now been finalised.
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posted Jun 1, 2011 3:14 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
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updated Jun 1, 2011 3:15 PM
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After a difficult start to the year everyone and everything seems to be getting back on track. To make up for the missed club meetings earlier this year due to our previous venue being flooded we are going all out for the AGM.
This year the AGM will be held at Lakeside Raceway on Sunday 19th June 2011. The day will include formal club meeting (including the election of a committee), approximatley 30mins of track time (road speed, no helmets and passengers allowed), a BBQ lunch and for anyone who's up for it, an early morning drive to lakeside (route to be confirmed... anyone got any suggestions??).
10:45am - Meet at track
11:00am - Formal club meeting starts
12:15pm - Drivers briefing for anyone going out on track
12:30pm - Track time (road speed, no helmets and passengers allowed)
1:00pm - Lunch (Selection of Bread Rolls, Rump Steak, Chipolatas, Sauteed Mushrooms, Garlic potato bake, Tossed Salad, Coleslaw, Cold Drink (Water or Soft Drink)
Before and after the formal events everyone is welcome to stay around and spectate as the Top Gear round will be on.
To make this as cost effective as possible for club members the club will be subsidising part of the cost so that members will only need to pay $20 per head. That's right $20 will get you lunch and up to 30mins track time. Anyone that has not renewed their membership prior to the 6th June 2011 will not receive the club subsidy for the day and will need to pay full price.
Following this email i will send out a calendar invite for the day. Please respond to this to make it easier to keep track of numbers.
RSVP must be required by 6th June 2011 so catering numbers can be confirmed.
Regards
Damian Reardon
President - Westfield Car Club Inc QLD
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Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far.
John O'Reilly has kindly provided a short drive to lakeside for anyone who is interested. Meeting place is the at shops on Woodhill Road, Ferny Hills at 9:30am, as for the route please click here for map. We are currently working out a route for the south / gold coast members to take to get to Ferny Hills.
Additionally anyone who would like to bring family or friends they are more than welcome, cost for the lunch and happy laps for non members is $30. Please send your numbers to me if you have any extra people.
As a reminder, all rsvp's must be received by 6th June to confirm catering numbers.
Regards
Damian Reardon
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posted Jun 1, 2011 3:08 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
Hi Everyone, Unfortunately i only received this news post the event. One of our club member Ross Rundle was featured in The Westerner prior to the 50 Years of Lakeside - Formula Cars on the weekend just gone. Please follow this link to view the story http://www.thewesterner.com.au/pages/blogs.aspx?ID=3843 However, with post event news I do know the results. Ross placed first in the Regularity Event, Congratulations Ross. With the amount to time Ross spends on track between the Westfield and Formul Vee, i cant think of a better competition coordinator. |
posted Apr 27, 2011 3:27 PM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
posted Dec 6, 2010 12:40 AM by President - Westfield Car Club Qld
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updated Dec 6, 2010 1:22 AM
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For anyone who missed saturdays courier mail, club members Ainsley Fitzgerald and Ross Rundle were featured just prior to the final round of Mount Cotton Hill Climb. Click here for article.
Ainsley and Ross were closely matched going into the last round for the Hill Climb series. After an eventfull weekend including heavy rain, both were tied on points which meant the winner was decided based on a countback of fastest time which went to Ainsley.
Congratulations to both Ainsley and Ross for your great efforts. |
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