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News Archive ::
Newsletter
- 10/05/07 Well its been a while and lots has happened since the last report,
The car
has been going well and the team and I are
pleased with it. Easter time we
took
it to Rotorua and was happy to come away with 3rd overall in
the best
pairs, 4th in
the Ginge Hayward Memorial and 9th overall in individual
points.
Although the car
did suffer some extensive damage after a heat 1
incident
with another car, we managed
to get it back on track for the rest
of the night.
To
the off sesaon now, the days
are shorter and the working hours on the car
are too.
So far the car has been washed
and put in the shed with just a few
things missing
from it as we have been spending
some time on the trailer for
next season. It no longer
has just a tyre rack as I've
now fully enclosed the
front half on it to be able
to carry another wing and all spares
in the
trailer. BIG plans are in the pipeline for the car for next season but
thats for all
to see at the first Rotorua practice.
Till
then, take care, and I'll
keep doing a monthly update during the off season. Matt. Newsletter
- 18/03/07 Hi folks and what a couple
of weeks its been. First off I must
say a big
congrats to Keith Spanhake from Rotorua for finishing all 3
races in the
car
and not spinning out, not hitting anybody and
not getting lapped. Was a
great
night with some great prizes on offer in the clubrooms afterwards.
A huge
thanks
to Sonja and
the Rotorua club for a job well done. So to the second round of the Auckland modified champs on 17th
march. Well
what can I say, what a shambles, the first
heat saw us off the back and
that
was fine by me but the wing didn't want to play
the game and tried to fold
itself
downwards. A quick repair job and we are all go again. Heat
2 and
grid 6 saw us run
really well with the car doing everything it was suppose
to.
That's
when things
went pear shape for us, being called to race control I was
told
I was ruining the
show by not wheel packing, it certainly wasn't because
I
didn't want to, the car was
getting a bit hot and I wanted to get off
the track,
but no explanation was good enough
for Steve 'I'm always right'
Clout, so I was told
to put it on the trailer, this was
a huge
disappointment to the team and I. So we packed
the car up and headed home
straight
away. Unfortunately for those in Auckland, neither the car nor I will
reappear at
Waikacrapa park again. Next meeting is Easter in Rotorua, and we hope to see you all
there. Matt. Newsletter
- 08/03/07 Well folks, its been a while as things have been pretty busy.
The dirt cup
came and went and we finished, not sure where but finished
anyways.
The
car has been sitting at home on stands since then as I haven't
had the
time or the
energy to do anything with it.
But never fear, this Sat
night 10th march the car will see
the track again,
but not in my hands. That's right
the car will be in Rotorua in the
hands of
former nz stockcar champ Keith Spanhake (68R).
Its
about time this guy
got behind the wheel of a real racecar so I'm giving
him
the chance this weekend.
Kee p you posted on how he goes.
The following weekend is
the 2nd round of the Auckland
champs and then its
another break before Easter weekend
back in Rotorua.
So wherever
your taking in your dose of speedway this weekend, remember
to
leave the racing to
the track. Matt Newsletter
- 28/01/07 Well,
its been a long weekend and NZ has a new national champion,
congratulations
must go
to the new 1nz Allan Haigh, 2nz Scott Lane and 3nz
Jamie
Fox.
It was a long fought
battle for all those involved and at the end of the 2
nights
it was the best man who
won. For the 96h team things weren't so good, fri night saw only
the hot laps and
6 laps of heat one completed before
the car was put on the trailer
with no
spark, and going nowhere in a hurry.
So
it was up early sat morning and
it was found the bonnet had shorted some
wiring out
and melted some ignition wires.
A quick rewire and some tape to
stop it reoccurring,
and it was good to go again.
So to the repercharge we
went and it was a grid 15
start and needing to get passed
6 cars to qualify.
Passing the first 2 was easy but
the challange was on and then
cars started
to drop like flies, orange light was
on and I counted 8 cars in front
on me,
one more pass was to secure a spot in the final
20, but it wasnt to be, at
the
chequred flag it was 9th spot and missing out by 1.
But
the consolations saw a 7 car field
and a 4th in the first and a 3rd in
the second completed
a great nights racing. Next fri and sat sees us at the Super Dirt Cup, where we hope
to make the
final 20. See you there. Matt. Newsletter
- 24/01/07 Well speedway people, here we are in the new year and its time
for an
update.
Firstly I hope everyone had a great xmas and new
year. First meeting
for
2007 was the first round of the Auckland champs,
we were split into 2 groups
and
it was 9 cars per team. We didn't have a very good 2 heats
for the
qualifiying, so
a quick change of tyres and shocks and we were set for the
first
heat of the champs,
starting from grid 14 at the back of the field
made
it a challange from the beginning.
But we fared well and although the
track dusted up
and I had a spin, after passing
15R, I managed to get past
him again to finish
9th overall. So all in all the
meeting finished better
than it started. This week we are off to Auckland again but this time its for
the 2007 NZ
Modified Champs. As it sits today I am
in the BLUE group to qualify, but
with
only the top 4 from each group going through, its going to
be a tough
call, but with
2 lots of repercharges, I may just have 1 last shot at
it.
Hope to see you all there,
and don't forget the TAB has this championship so
you
can bet on your pick of the
weekend.
Fridays results will be here sat sometime. Matt. Newsletter
- 04/12/06 Well, Sat 02/12 brought us the Waikato Champs in Huntly and
10 cars rolled into the
place prior to the meeting starting. It was bound to be a
great
night with 3 cars from Huntly,
Stratford and
Auckland with one sole Rotorua
car.
Heat one and it was grid 1 for me, unfortunatly without me
knowing, I
had a
right rear tyre deflating on me and I was getting nowhere fast.
So a
disappointing
first heat, but not as disappointing as it was for 66H Chris
Picknell,
he was unfortunate
enough to end up in the fence with majour
chassis
damage, let's hope he can return
to see the end of the season. Heat
two brought grid
6 and that was where we were to
stay, wrong tyre pressures
and the car was trying
to turn inside out. Race three and
by this stage the
track was as bad as it was going
to get, grid 10 for me and that
was once
again where I was going to finish. A great
battle with Matt H 97H for a few
laps
kept me going but the track was in very poor condition and
in the end
it meant we
sustained a bit of expensive damage to the car.
We were
hoping to venture to Rotoruas club
night this fri 08/12 but due to
the damage the car
will now not be run till the new
year. So keep watching, and I'll keep you all posted as time goes
on. Matt. Newsletter
- 28/11/06 Sat 25th Nov saw us attend the BOP Modified champs in Rotorua,
great track
and a great night.
7 cars were in attendance for the title
and I
was all go from the drop of
the green.
Race one
saw us on grid 5 and the car was
not quite set up right, but we
finished in 4th place.
Race
two and we were off
the front on 2, outta the turn and I was gone before
I
had a chance to think about
it, leading the field into the first turn and
down
the back straight, only to be swamped
by 77s,19r and 55s. So it was
another 4th place, leaving
me in 3rd overall after 2
heats.
Race three and it was grid 5 again, needing to finish
in front of 15r and
18r
was going to prove tough, and so it was a 6th place in the
final which
saw us slip
back to finishing 5th overall.
A great nights racing, apart
from a small officials decision,
we came away
with no damage and able to put it in
the garage with a quick wash.
This
sat night is still undecided, it is the Waikato Modified Champs
but due
to prior arrangements,
means we may not be able to attend. Stay posted, to see if we make it. Happy racing. Matt. NB: Note from Webmaster - Photos of the car have been
added to the Photos page!
Newsletter
- 21/11/06 Well folks, it happened, we made it to the track on Sunday
at
Huntly
Speedway. We were very lucky that Sat night was called off
and the decision
to
race on Sunday was made, as we finished the car at 9:30am Sunday.
We got
the car through
greensheeting without any problems at all and got to get out
on
the track in time
to do 2 wheelpack laps before the meeting started. Race
one
was just the beginning
of a great day, I started from the rear and the
car
took off at the green and I chased
down the pack. I made up a lot of
ground but nothing
too spectacular as I didn't want
to push the new engine too
much. Race two was even
better and passed a few cars to
be up there in the
placings. Race three and it was
dry and slick, I got on the gas
and never
let up till the end, almost passing the
56a car on the last lap. Was a great
day
for all, just a few teething problems to sort. Next stop is
Rotorua for
the BOP champs
Sat 25th nov. Hope to see you there. Matt. Newsletter
- 08/11/06 Well things didn't go to plan for the team as we didn't get
the
pistons back
from the reco man, and so opening night at Rotorua was spent
crewing
for Dad
on the 16R car. The chassis went away to Trevor
at Raceworks on Sunday, and
had
some alterations to it, and is now safely back in the shed
awaiting to be
put together.
We hope that things will go to plan and possibly we may go
for
a run at the practice
Waikaraka Park is having on Sat 11th.
The team is proud
to announce a new sponsor that has
come on board, LCL
Panel N Paint Hamilton. That's my lot for now, keep watching for more updates in the
future, thanks
for taking the time to check out the
site. Matt. Newsletter - 29/10/06 Well
the next week ahead is going to be full on for the team
and I as we
attempt to rebuild the engine for the 96h car ready for the
4th Nov at
Rotorua's
opening night.
The car has been pulled down and checked,
body and bonnet painted and is
ready
to go to the signwriters next week. We hope to have the engine
in and
fired up by
Thursday next week.
Many thanks must go to Ian from Franklin
Balancing in Pukekohe for helping
out
with the engine as well as Dad for doing the rebuild.
More
to come as we go. Hope to see you
in Rotorua on the 4th. Matt.
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