ProKart e-Magazine, Issue 3, 2010 by Ian McMah

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Issue 10: April 2010

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TORQUE IT UP: FROM THE EDITOR It’s not often that Motorsport presents genuine “feel“feel-good” moments, as the very nature of the sport is founded on competition; which the Encarta Dictionary defines as “the “the process of trying to win or do better than others “. It is particularly pleasing then when one of the more magnanimous and sportsmanlike teams breaks through for their maiden victory. Even more rewarding that this team is always the first to congratulate others who win— win—even on the many occasions they themselves have been well placed for victory well into the event. For the team from Bell Pipes, Round 3 of the NSW State Championships will always represent their first; but surely not their last race win… sincere congratulations to Chris, Matt, Dion and Alex from everyone at ProKart. When recognizing significant achievements it’s impossible to ignore another victory by the omnipresent Jets. Trent Warwick and his team remain the benchmark for our series and were victorious in the first round of the National Series— Series—getting their Australian Championship defense off to the best possible start. This was the last race for their dominant F1 chassis and the debut of it’s replacement at Windsor was not as successful. They’ll problems— —write them off at your peril… be back better and stronger than ever once they sort a few teething problems The next round of the series is at Toowoomba and should see a stronger field as teams move into Round 2 of to--bethe Queensland Series. With around 16 teams confirmed and a few more yet to be-confirmed, this should be a great event and remains a favourite with teams due to the 1 –hour Saturday ‘sprint’ and Sunday 66-hour race formats. See you there. Ian McMah

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Issue 10: April 2010

TORQUE’N TOUGH •

Just a reminder to all competitors that rain-lights are crucial and you will be brought in to repair or replace any nonoperational light(s). As a consequence, many teams have started installing 2 lights to ensure they have an immediate backup. Details of an option developed by Brian Jamieson of Prokart can be found on page 31.

•

DrDamage has developed an innovative solution to the overfuelling problem some teams have found in recent events. Full details are on the ProKart forums at http:// forums.prokart.com.au/ viewtopic.php?t=682

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Rumours abound that multiple NSW Formula Ford Championship round winner Kyle Wood may be making a guest appearance for a prominent Qld team in preparation for potentially joining the team’s assault on the ProKart 24 hour.

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The Queensland Series is now likely to retain and maintain their own “corporate’ kart for arrive-and-drive and promotional purposes. This is yet another srong statement by the ProKart team in their commitment to further improving the Queensland series.

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Don’t be surprised to see some prominent ProKart racers from a well-regarded and very successful NSW Central Coast team combining forces with another team for the 24 hour—in that team’s chassis.

Bell Pipes Racing has reached an in principle agreement with major online retailer Campstuff.com.au. While details are still being finalised the deal is expected to provide promotional opportunities to Campstuff.com.au as well as significant benefits to Bell Pipes Racing. "Campstuff are focused on supporting communitycommunity -based organisations and activities every day. After all, they are the backbone of our country." Chris Henry General Manager

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NEWS: CLIMATROL RETURN Returnin g to the ProKart series at Toowomba is the team from Climatrol Racing. After missing the first round of the 2010 Queensland ProKart Endurance Series, expectations are high that Climatrol will have lost none of their renown speed in the offoff-season. As one of the quickest teams in the series, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible, even likely that Climatrol will again be challenging for the win at next weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event.

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Issue 10: April 2010

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NEWS: RPM BACK ON TRACK Russell Pocock and his RPM Race team will be back on track at the 2nd round of the Queensland ProKart Series in Toowoomba on May 11- 2. The RPM team are wellwell-regarded in the ProKart paddock and their participation and competitive ness has been missed from this year’s series, after a number of setbacks beleaguered the team’s efforts to get back on track. Throughout 2009 the team continued to demonstrate consistent pace and were often frontfront-runners, a situation that only made the team’s run of bad luck in the second half of the year (on and off track) all the more disappointing. Keep an eye on the #84 Benson chassis at Toowoomba as they could surprise on their return to the series after a break of several months. There’s no doubt the kart has the potential, their drivers have the speed— speed—with a little good fotune they could again demonstrate the performance shown before their enforced sabbatical. ProKart wishes Russell and the team the very best for an enjoyable and competitive race meeting in Toowoomba!

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Issue 10: April 2010

Driver Profile: Team: Age: Career: First racing memory:

First Race attended: First race competed in: First car: Racing Idol: Favourite tracks (that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve visited): Favourite music? My Favourite things... Drink: Colour: Number: Food: Ice Cream: Movie: Race Car:

Team5150R (drive Kart 51) 33 Mechanic As a 5yr old watching Dick Johnson beat Peter Brock by 0.6 of a second at the final round of the ATCC at Lakeside in 1981 to win his first of five titles. I can still remember the sights and sounds of Tru-Blu and the MHDT Commodore coming onto pit straight on full noise drowning out 25,000 excited fans and the place erupting when DJ crossed the line first. Great memories. Lakeside 1980 ATCC Round. Clubman Light at Ipswich in 1999. 1071 Mk 1 Ford Escort It is hard to just have one, but four drivers standout for me. Ayrton Senna, Sir Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark and Greg Moore Lakeside, Phillip Island, Hampton Downs and Mt. Panorama Most types, but i do like anything from James Brown.

A bit partial to a red wine every now and then Black. 99 - Greg Moore used this in Champcar, it just looked right on the Players Forsythe Cars Anything cooked on a BBQ goes down well As long as Chocolate is involved Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in Any of the Friday Series, John Witherspoon is hilarious Once again hard to just have one, but i could not knock back a Ford GT-40, McLaren M8-B Low Wing and a Lola T-332 Formula 5000.

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Photo: Chris van Rensburg

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Issue 10: April 2010

RACE REPORT: NSW Round 3: WINDSOR

Photo by Kevin Mikilewicz

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Issue 10: April 2010

RACE REPORT: NSW Round 3: WINDSOR Overjoyed was the best word Bell Pipes Racing team owner/manager Chris Mosse-Robinson could use to describe his team’s breakthrough victory in the ‘Windsor 6 Hour’ recently at the Indy 800 Kart Track, near Windsor (Hawkesbury, NSW). The ‘Windsor 6 Hour’ was the third round of the Powered by Honda ProKart Australia NSW Endurance Kart Championship and provided the maiden victory for the #23 Bell Pipes Racing team of of Matthew and Alex Mosse-Robinson and also Dion Scott, after two and a half years of competing with their own team in the ProKart Championship series. “We were absolutely thrilled to get up for our first win and the whole team was simply overjoyed once we crossed the finish line and there were plenty of emotional scenes,” said Chris Mosse-Robinson team owner/manager Bell Pipes Racing. “It was only towards the last half of the race that we learnt that we were right up there in contention for the win and that is when it starting to get a bit nerve wracking. All three of our drivers did a tremendous job throughout the race meeting and thoroughly earned the victory.” What made the victory even more special for the #23 Kart of Bell Pipes Racing was the fact that they were able to bounce back from the disappointment of the previous round of the NSW Championship series at Eastern Creek, when they fell out of winning contention due to throttle problems. “Saying that we were disappointed with how the last round turned would be a large understatement and we were determined to make sure it didn’t happen again,” explained Mosse-Robinson. “In between rounds, one of our drivers Dion Scott totally redesigned the throttle system and it worked a treat. We went into the Windsor 6 Hour looking to bounce back, but we didn’t really have any expectations of winning as we just wanted a strong result and in the end we ended up getting the best possible result.”

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At the completion of the ‘Windsor 6 Hour’ the winning #23 kart of Bell Pipes Racing completed a total of 418 laps, with the #21 of Walkos Racing (417 laps) and pole sitters Horsepower Racing (416 laps) in their #777 chassis. in second and third place on the podium. Finishing just off the podium in fourth place were the #57 Streamline Motorsport entry (416 laps), followed by the #71 KBC Racing Team (416 laps), #66 Team Kaos (414 laps), #46 Starkey Motorsport (414 laps), #212 CJ Racing (410 laps), #888 Horsepower Racing 2 (410 laps) and rounding out the top 10 finishers was the #2 kart of S.C.R. (410 laps). The #666 Kaos Karting ‘Kids’ team made their first appearance in ProKart Australia competition and performed strongly to finish out of harm’s way in a respectable 13th place, completing a total of 404 laps. Opening NSW Championship round winners and current Australian champions Jets Motorsport had a forgettable race meeting and finished down the order in 14th place, their loss ending a winning streak which extended from the 2009 season.. Despite showing front running speed the defending National and NSW Champions experienced several technical challenges that saw them lose valuable track time and ultimately resulting with the team recording their worst ever ProKart Australia result. Another team that suffered misfortunes during the ‘Windsor 6 Hour’ was the #82 Kart of Team SPR. After qualifying strongly in third place, they were unable to duplicate their performance from 12 months ago at the Indy 800 Kart Track and placed back in a disappointing 26th (217 laps) due to an unlucky run. The fourth round of the NSW Championship is set down for the weekend of May 15 and 16 at Fairbairn Park Kart Track (Canberra, A.C.T) for the ‘Canberra 7 Hour’ event.

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Photo by Kevin Mikilewicz

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Issue 10: April 2010

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Photo by Kevin Mikilewicz

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Issue 10: April 2010

Race Report: WINdSOR Following the great pace the team showed at Eastern Creek we were all excited about the next round of the championship. Our excitement though quickly evaporated after our times during testing were not very encouraging. Given our throttle issues experienced at the previous round both Dion and Chris had put considerable effort into reengineering our throttle assembly and it was going to be tested in the Windsor 6 hour. Practice & Qualifying: Practice showed that our fears from testing were justified, with the team trying several different setups but only managing to clock the 10th best time. As a team we were disappointed and realised that in order to get a result in the race we were going to have to be smart on strategy and just drive consistently. I was sent out in Qualifying and we were satisfied with achieving 5th on the grid. Race: The team experienced dramas even before the start of the race with one of our engines cutting out on the parade lap forcing me to stop the kart and restart it. We managed to catch the field and take up our grid position. Once the race started we settled into a good rhythm consistently sitting in the top 5. For each of the first four hours the field was incredibly close with 8 teams having a realistic chance of finishing on the podium. However half an hour later several teams experienced issues and this meant that we advanced to second position behind Horsepower racing and just ahead of Walkos. Just before the 5 hour mark Horsepower stripped a clutch and we inherited the lead. Once we took the lead we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look back and managed to maintain our advantage until the chequered flag was dropped. The team were ecstatic to record their first win and there was an outpouring of emotion that had built up over a number of years of disappointment. The victory was celebrated very late into the night and will be talked about for years to come. Credit must go to all of the drivers who stayed out of trouble and drove consistently quickly. Chris and Dionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mechanical work was spot on with the team not needing to pick up a spanner for the whole event. The team are hoping to take this momentum into our next race in Canberra. The team can approach Canberra with confidence considering the team set the fastest lap of the race there last year. Thankyou once again to all of our partners, Kartbay, oz-e-buy.com and Campstuff.com.au.

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Windsor 6 hour: April 18, 2010 The Killer Report: Sometimes to go forward you need to go backwards. Let me explain. We tried some things at Eastern Creek that just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work but it gave us a direction to go and so we spent many late nights in the shed going over the kart and returning the chassis to what we know it likes with some refinements and improvements. Race morning was foggy and my daughter was living out horror movie scenes on the way to the track. What if we walked down that foggy track in that field etc etc. We had not been to Windsor before and I personally love going to new tracks. We where feeling good about the kart preparation and with 30 karts on the grid we knew we where in for a very competitive days racing. The drivers briefing included mention of a recent karting death, the presence of Saint John to attend to our injuries and warnings of exclusions for any contact. Tony was trying to tell us something!!! Qualifying time and with 30 karts on track it was very difficult to get a clean lap. The time passed very quickly with the nett result being Horsepower on pole with last years winners and Windsor specialists, Streamline, alongside. We where quite pleased to be within 0.2 sec of these guys but this was still only good enough for 6th place. At the time of writing this I am yet to see the mylaps data to confirm the timing but it was clear that things where close. Race Time: With 30 karts and the promise of blood being spilt most where waiting for something to happen. The race start was however nice and clean but the pace was very solid indeed. Streamline where flying and seemed to have an advantage over the field, Horsepower where also very quick having tested the previous day and found a nice set up. The other front runners, including eventual winners Bells Pipes, slipped under the radar a little but where obviously there all day. Unfortunately the wireless network went down after qualifying and it made it very hard to follow the race progress. Prokart issued a print out every hour or so but it was so delayed that it was only a guide to the overall race positions. This makes it hard for me to report how and when Bells Pipes took control of the race but nevertherless they did and it is a very deserved and popular result. The Jets had a difficult race debuting a new chassis and the having brake issues and a stripped sprocket. They will be back. We had a good race with no mechanical issues, a kart that was a lot of fun to drive and a solid trouble free day. All of the drivers did a very good job and drove the kart as hard as it would go and the support crew also did a great job. The numerous pace cars would have had an effect on the outcome of the positions up and down the field depending on whether or not you got waved past the leader or stayed behind. Sometimes these things will go your way and others times they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. The pace car interventions where not terribly kind to us this time but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s racing. Thank you to all of the other competitors who drove very very well to give room on a track that can be hard to pass on and congratulations to all of the place getters. That was a very tight and hard fought motor race and one that we will remember. End result for us was a 5th place which we are happy with given how tough the racing is and given that we have not been to this track before. Our backwards step has helped us go forward. See you all at Canberra.

Killer 21

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Issue 10: April 2010

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thanks the following partners for their continued support

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Issue 10: April 2010

PROFILE: BELL PIPES RACING

ProKart ProKart Magazine The Bell Pipes Racing team: (L to R): Dion Scott, Matt Mosse-Robinson, Chris Mosse-Robinson and Alex Mosse-Robinson

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Issue 10: April 2010

Who are Bell Pipes Racing? Formed at the end of 2007 from what was then BAS Racing, Bell Pipes Racing are essentially a family team managed by Chris MosseMosse-Robinson. Having competed with success over the last few seasons in the New South Wales and Australian ProKart Endurance Championship series, Bell Pipes have shown plenty of speed and racecraft yet until recently were unlucky on many occasions and a win eluded them. As you’ll read elsewhere, that all changed at the recent Windsor 6 hour, where Bell Pipes took their maiden race victory. There’s no doubt this was a popular victory, as the team from Bell Pipes Racing are held in high regard by ProKart competitors and officials alike. Read on to learn more about who’s who in this remarkable team…

CHRIS Mosse-Robinson (pictured RIGHT) Chris retired from running his own precast concrete company, Bell Pipes, in 2007. He immediately took over the running of the Bell Pipes Racing team. He has been instrumental behind the development of the team and deserves much of the credit for the teams charge towards the top half of the field. Job within the team: Team Manager and Engineer.

ProKart ProKart Magazine Photo by Ian McMah

Photo by Ian McMah

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Issue 10: April 2010

Alex Mosse-Robinson Alex MosseMosse -Robinson: Alex started his Kart racing career with BAS Racing in 2007. He is a currently completing a Civil Engineering Degree at UTS in Sydney. A very capable mechanic, Alex is always quick. Job within the team: Mechanic. Test Driver and Race Driver.

DION SCOTT Dion joined the team for the 2010 season. Dion has an extensive background in racing both sprint and endurance karts. He is fantastic at chassis design and setup, following significant experience in Endurance kart development. He is constantly designing new parts for the kart and recently completely redesigned our throttle assembly between the Eastern Creek and Windsor rounds. Job within the team: Chief Engineer and Race Driver.

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MARK WILKINSON Mark joined the team in 2008 and was on the pace straight away despite not having race karts for more than 10 years. Mark has fit into the team extremely well as he always keeps out of trouble and laps consistently quickly. Job within the team: Race Driver

MATT MOSSE-ROBINSON Matt started endurance racing with BAS Racing in 2006. BAS Racing provided the perfect environment at which to climb the very steep karting learning curve. At the end of 2007, Matt purchased the team off Allan and Simon and renamed it Bell Pipes Racing. Matt was awarded Most Improved Driver award for 2009 and counts among his highlights setting the fastest lap of the race at Canberra in 2009. Job within the team: Test and Race Driver, Promotions

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Issue 10: April 2010

Call CURT BOND...

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TECH TORQue!: Simple to Build Kart Light - or Buy it Ready To Go In response to some concerns raised recently about the durability of bicycle lights as kart tail lights and the possibility of being black flagged for a faulty light, Prokarts Brian Jamieson has developed a simple and reliable light suitable for use on karts. It has no moving parts and a battery life proven to be in excess of a week and likely to be much much longer. It consists of a strip of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and a battery. It can be easily enclosed in a hobby box. The LED strips Brian has used can generate red, blue or green light. By combining all three you also get a white light. All components were bought from Jaycar. The photos show how simple the device is. To build your own simply solder the battery leads to the LED strip and plug in a battery. You can then either attach it to your kart as is (series debutant team SCR did the that on their way to 6th place at the opening round of the NSW series) or put it in the enclosure of your choice. It is that simple. If you don't want to build your own, Brian will have ready built lights for sale at race meetings throughout the year, including the first round of the Qld championship in Gympie. Cost will be $20 for the a light with an enclosure, $16 for the bare light and battery cap. A battery is included will all lights. 9 lights are currently on order for various karts and Brian will be experimenting with other applications for them on his TwoDogs kart. Maybe even brake lights??? Although they run successfully on any voltage from 9 volts to 32 volts, they are listed as 12 volt items. This means that if you run a 12 volt battery on your kart (for radios etc) you can provide power to the light directly from that battery. Brian will happily work with you to build a unit specifically for your needs. Watch future newsletters to see when the test light - currently running 24 hours a day 7 days a week - eventually manages to flatten the battery. Brian reckons early May.

Photo by Brian Jamieson

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Issue 10: April 2010

ProKart ProKart Magazine 2010 will continue to bring ongoing development across many aspects of our series, all designed to take ProKart Endurance karting to a level never seen before in Australia and potentially surpassing any karting series in the country for promotion, participation, value, exposure and enjoyment. We already have all race and qualifying sessions broadcast live via the internet and shortly this will be available in FULL HD via a satellite link, enabling full resolution images to be streamed via the internet. We also continue to evaluate and develop; • • • • •

New Bodywork Lighting packages for karts Television packages to increase series exposure and promotion New mufflers to increase performance and durability whilst improving sound quality More durable and cost effective clutches, chains and sprockets

Given the series will have what essentially amounts to

a TV broadcast package online (details of which will be announced shortly), in the midmid-term it is likely we will adopt fullfull-bodywork to ensure the karts are readily visible (and your sponsors are gaining appropriate exposure) from each camera angle during the broadcast. One of the exciting opportunities presented by full bodywork is the addition of headlights and tail lights, to enhance the broadcast experience— experience— particularly in low light or at night when traditional bodywork is difficult to see. When this bodywork is introduced it will likely be introduced as an “Elite” class. Rest assured all ProKart competitors will receive advance notice with plenty of lead time should a change be implemented. ProKart are currently investigating and testing a package of measures including new chains and sprockets to compliment a more durable and affordable clutch, different mufflers which are no more expensive than the ones currently in use but are more durable, offer increased performance (reportedly already around 0.5s per lap at Wollongong) and sound dramatically better. As exciting as these developments are; most importantly ProKart are aware that changes cannot be introduced in an adad-hoc or poorly timed manner and will keep competitors regularly updated as developments continue. ProKart has never had a brighter or more exciting future!

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Issue 10: April 2010

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RACE REPORT: NATIONALS Round 1: EASTERN CREEK Round 1 of the Powered by Honda ProKart Austrlaian Championship series was set to be a showshow-down between the very best teams from NSW and QLD. At the chequered flag, 2009 National Champions JETS Motorsport were victorious, their only genuine challenges coming from local NSW teams and the much anticipated threat from several QLD teams never eventuating despite promising form in practice...

Photography: Brendan Cassell 35

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Issue 10: April 2010

REPORT: EASTERN CREEK Jets Motorsport Win Again, but Damage Bros Nearly Steal the Show: Although the # 1 Jets Motorsport team recorded yet another victory in 2010, it was the # 66 Damage Bros Racing team that was the talk of the recently concluded ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ at Eastern Creek Interna)onal Kart Raceway that incorporated both the opening round of the Powered By Honda ProKart Australia Na)onal Endurance Kart Championship and the second round of the NSW Endurance Kart Championship. In what was without a doubt their best drive of their )me compe)ng in ProKart Australia events, the # 66 Damage Bros Racing team did plenty of damage to many of their rival team’s reputa)ons by showing plenty of speed throughout the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’. The speed of the Damage Bros Racing team kept them up at the pointy end of the field throughout the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ and in winning conten)on all the way through to the fall of the chequered flag. At the comple)on of the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ Damage Bros Racing finished in second place behind winners # 1 Jets Motorsport and their result was both the highlight and surprise packet performance of the en)re round. Despite receiving a stop / go penalty during the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ for contact with another team, # 1 Jets Motorsport were able to rack up yet another victory and it was certainly one that they had to earn as they had to sustain plenty of pressure from rival teams from start to finish. For the Jets Motorsport team this was back-to-back wins in the two rounds of this year’s NSW Championship and also opened up their winning account in the Na)onal Championship. These wins are certainly the perfect start to their defence of both the Na)onal and NSW Championship. In their first appearance of the year in ProKart Australia compe))on, the # 5 Random #@&# Racing team finished a lap down on the leaders with 356 completed laps in third place to complete what was a very compe))ve ou)ng.

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The # 2 SCR team finished just off the podium in fourth with 355 laps and they were followed home by # 21 Walkos Racing, # 6 Team Kaos, and the first Queensland based team to finish # 51 Team5150R in seventh and all of them finished on the same lap. The # 777 Horsepower Racing team, along with # 661 PDS Grand Prix and # 14 Two Dogs Racing completed the Top 10 finishes. The hard luck story of the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ was that of the # 23 Bell Pipes Racing team. They had started the round in the strongest of fashion by qualifying on pole posi)on and were right up there in winning conten)on up un)l the four hour mark when they suffered throCle cable issues that robbed them of a chance of taking out the winning spoils. ADer losing a lot of laps on the leaders in the pits, the Bell Pipes Racing team fought on and finished down in a disappoin)ng 18th place. Another team that was right up there in winning conten)on was the # 46 Starkey Motorsport. They had paced the field on a number of occasions during the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ only to suffer some setbacks and finish well down the order in 23rd place. Upcoming ProKart Australia events are going to see the third round of the NSW Championship held at Indy 800 Kart Raceway on Sunday, April 18, while the second round of the Na)onal Championship is going to be fought out at the Ipswich Kart Track (Ipswich, QLD) over the June Long Weekend (June 13 and 14). The second round of the Queensland Championship is scheduled down for the weekend of May 1 and 2 at Greer Park Kart Raceway (Toowoomba, QLD). For further informa)on about the ‘Eastern Creek 6 Hour’ visit the official ProKart Australia website: prokart.racertv.com.au DANIEL POWELL

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Photography: Brendan Cassell

Issue 10: April 2010

ProKart ProKart Magazine

Issue 10: April 2010

The Killer Report L to R: Ian ( Two Dads ) and Killer

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EASTERN CREEK: MARCH, 2010 The Killer Report: Race day. It’s hot, damn hot. There is the smell of Avgas in the air and young German tourists are progressively removing clothing clothing before our very eyes. Doesn’t sound like your average Prokart race meeting so far because for our team this was anything but a normal day. Dave, our race manager was turning 40 and had organised a day long shin dig long before the race calender was up and the inevitable clash clash of dates occurred. Why the Avgas? Well Dave decided that it would be a great bonding experience if we started the day by jumping out of an aeroplan aeroplane lan e from 14000 feet (picture on the left) so who am I to say no to something like that? So the race team was now missing Dave, myself myself and Two Dads and with Gary also looking after Prokart duties it is fair to say the remaining team where pushing you know what up you know where. The race, its hot and our chassis is never great when its hot. The boys tried to dial it in but never found the sweet spot so they th ey qualified well down the order. A steady and conservative race was all we were looking for and the boys did a great job in keeping the th e kart in one piece. The kart ran reliably all day but was just off the pace. We where running some new bits on the chassis and a revis revised vised rear end set up which worked in testing at the Gong but just didn’t work at the Creek. The hot weather would have made it worse. The boys also got caught out with a Safety Kart coming out right on the fuel window. Laurance shut down one of the engines to conconserve fuel but when the remaining engine coughed he was forced to pit for fuel while the safety kart was still out on track. This This resulted in a drive through penalty and a further loss of time. racing ing and The overall race sounded like it was full of drama and incident including a red flag stoppage, some typically hard fought rac a few knocks and bumps. Gary reported that someone was giving him a Morse code message for a few laps but he just didn’t understand the code. Eastern Creek can be a hard track to pass on if you are quite evenly matched and the passing areas are pretty high high speed so it usually results in a bit of rubbing. Sound like this happened again at this round but I don’t believe that much of of it it is intentional but rather a consequence of the tight racing and the track. I was very impressed at how close the overall result was and it just shows how competitive our series is now. The Damage Bros have have done a great job to get within 20 seconds of a victory and the top 8 karts where covered by only 3 laps. That equates to a 0.4 0.4 second second per lap difference over the race distance. Hard luck to Mossie and the Bell Pipes crew. It is always cruel when you are in a position position to get a good result and get struck down with small but crucial mechanical issues but once again you have to give credit to the Jets. Jets. Solid consistent pace, a reliable kart, good pit strategy and the reward is victory. We know how they do it but, as the rest of us are finding out, it is quite difficult to emulate. Thanks to my boys and to our newest driver Corey for giving it a solid go. We’ll be back. See you all at the Butterfly Farm.

Killer

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Issue 10: April 2010

Race Report Team Name:

Bell Pipes Racing

Kart Number:

23 DSR Predator Matt Mosse-Robinson Alex Mosse-Robinson

Dion Scott

Chassis Manufacturer: Team Drivers (for this event): 1.

Team report Race preparation:

After a pretty solid hit in the following race we were very thankful that we hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bent our chassis. After signing a new sponsor for the team our new all white colour scheme was completed and debuted at Eastern Creek (as per the image on the right). Qualifying:

Dion took the kart out for qualifying and we were ecstatic with his performance, putting the kart on pole. This was our first pole position and good indicator of the speed that was in the Bell Pipes Racing machine. Race report:

The race started well, with Dion getting overtaken off the start but quickly regaining the lead before stopping on the 2nd lap for a drive through. Dion then set about climbing back through the field. Both Alex and myself enjoyed our stints in the kart, and held the lead for most of the first 4 hours before a throttle cable snapped and then a Z piece broke before another part of the accelerator assembly broke. It was extremely disappointing as we felt we should have won the race as we were leading by over a lap. General:

One rumour circulating the paddock in regards to Bell Pipes Racing is that they will not score a podium until they change their race number and that they are considering a number change to 13.

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Issue 10: April 2010

Race Report: E CREEEK

Team Name: Team SPR

Chassis Manufacturer: F1

Kart Number:82 Team Drivers (for this event):

1. Scott Rowe 2. Paul Hunter 3. Rod Evans 4. Peter Francis

Race preparation (It was a great preparation for EC. After our 3rd at Wollongong we replaced the parts that had fatigued ie wheel bearings, axle bearings, sprockets etc, and performed extensive checking of all mechanical parts on the kart. Unfortunately we did not perform any pre race testing at EC so we went with the same set up as Wollongong. Qualifying: Before Qualifying even started our pace in practice was terrible. Hot temps and no grip! This was evident in Qualifying where Scott could only manage 9th. It was quickly evident that our kart was not suited to the fast open nature of EC. Which is no surprise to us as we only qualified 8th at EC last year. And without being allowed to test at EC we really had no chance of improving the set up. Race report: What a bad day at the office! We started from 9th and ran with the leaders for the first 30 mins prior to the problem with the safety car. We thought we had made the perfect call pitting Scott the lap before the safety car came out however it was not so. They decided to restart the race 1 full lap prior to the safety car meaning we had effectively lost a stop on the whole field! As such we had to make 2 stops in quick succession. This pulled us out of second and dropped us to about 14th. We soldiered on for the next few hours making our way up to 6th or 7th before a sticking throttle caused us to make our first unscheduled stop. Unfortunately this also caused us to speed in pit lane and cop a drive through. Our second problem was to do with the Nassau panel. The lower mount down near the crash bar came loose causing the Nassau panel to fall from left to right. We decided to bring the kart in and tape it as best we could. So for 2 or so hours we had to deal with the Nassau panel falling on top of our feet sometimes making it difficult to lift off the throttle. Our next problem was due to the official race time. Because of the stoppage in the race we weren’t quite in sync with our pit stops. The rule states you must make 1 driver change in the last hour of the race. Unfortunately we stopped 2mins earlier than we should have and as such needed to make another driver change at the end. Unfortunately an engine stalled on us and was only noticed once out on the track. We couldn’t restart the engine on the circuit so we had to make another stop. I think we made 14 pit stops in all costing us any chance of a decent result. General: We have a sponsor! JC Diesel are on board to offer financial support. They specialize in mechanical repairs and are located in Narellan. Our kart had livery on the side pods for EC promoting their involvement with our team. JC Diesel have also purchased their own F1 chassis and will join Team SPR to create a 2 kart team. We are not sure when they will roll out onto the grid however it should be around the middle of the year – bring on Windsor where we hope to back up our 3rd place from last year!

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Mosse-Robinsonâ&#x20AC;Ś Mark Webber seeks some tips from Matt (left) and Alex Mosse Looking at Alexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left hand one can only assume he was a good boy that day!

Issue 10: April 2010

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Issue 10: April 2010

Driver Profile: “

”

Real name: Michael Henry Farrell Age: 40 Lives: Sackville NSW Occupation: Landscaper Wife: Jane Kids: Kyro, Dahli, Miki Nicknames: Mikey, Midnight, Black Mick Favourite Drink: Whatever you’re drinking Favourite Food: Big Mac Favourite Music: Deep Purple Likes: Footy, Watching the kids race Dislikes: Bad Sports Racing Heroes: Steve Kinser, Dick Briton

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Mikey was fostered into the Briton family at age 2 making him the youngest of 5 brothers with 3 sisters thrown in for good measure. He grew up in a competitive environment with all the siblings engaging in various sports, all keen fans of dad, 5 times Aust sprintcar champion, Dick Briton. Along with brother Brook and sister Tiffany, he dabbled in BMX for a time and, well…. he crashed a lot. Mick honed his driving skills while working in a mate’s hire kart centre for a few years. Prokarters will be familiar with the “divebomb” pass that he uses with devastating effect, developed in the indoor centre environment. Turning to speedway karts for a time he managed a state title and club championship in only 2 seasons of racing before being diverted by other interests, including becoming a dad. Mick was lured into Prokart in 2004 by Lex Gammie to drive in the Gnome team along with current team mates Brian, Bryce and Pieman. The team purchased their own Benson kart the following year. This infectious personality is often found in other team’s pit area offering help and advice, or just spinning one of his legendary yarns. He is often hard to find when it’s his turn to drive. Performance on the racetrack speaks for itself, when it’s time to charge, put in the blackfella!

Photo: Ian McMah)

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Issue 10: April 2010

RACE Preview: QLD Round 2: TOOWOOMBA

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The ProKart Championship finally takes to the track for Round 2 of the Queensland Championships next weekend at Toowoombaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greer Park Raceway. With 2 months between the first 2 rounds, teams face this coming weekend with a great deal of anticipation.

Photo: Ian McMah

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Issue 10: April 2010

RACE Preview: QLD Round 2: TOOWOOMBA ** ProKart Press Release ** The second round of the Powered by Honda ProKart Australia Queensland Endurance Kart Championship is to be fought out this weekend (May 1 and 2) at Toowoomba’s Greer Park Raceway. After the opening round of the Queensland Championship was taken out in impressive fashion by the #50 kart of Team5150R, they head into this weekend’s event as prepre-race favourites and are eager to extend their series lead. Although Team5150R have winning form on their side, there are a host of teams that have set their sights on challenging for the round win in this weekend’s event. With close to 20 teams entered there are a number of potential winners, including the #27 MS Kart of Resisales.com Racing, the #661 Phoenix chassis of PDS Grand Prix and the #22 Azzurro of BF Racing. All eyes however will likely be on the team from Climatrol in their #5 BRM kart, as they return to the series after missing the first round of this year’s Championship. Having won the 11-hour ‘sprint’ race at the Toowoomba round last year, Climatrol have proven frontfront-running pace and a determination to achieve their breakbreak-through victory after leading several events last year. Endurance Karting is one of the most exciting and tactical forms of Motorsport and it’s often said that “to finish first, first you need to finish”. With last year’s Toowoomba round winners completing over 400 laps of Greer Park Raceway during the 66-hour race distance, anything can happen over the duration of the event. The unpredictability of not only the onon-track racing and strategic elements, but variables including reliability and weather can and usually will impact on the race, adding an exciting dimension to the event with pace cars, weather changes and pitstops for driver changes and refuelling. Each team contesting the ‘Toowoomba 6 Hour’ has between two to four drivers per team and at a minimum they must make a driver change once per hour, and refuel once every 2 hours of the event. Practice and qualifying sessions, along with a special 11-hour ‘sprint’ race will be held on Saturday, with the 11hour race commencing at 3pm. On Sunday, the ‘Toowoomba 6 Hour’ race is scheduled to begin at 9am and will conclude at 3pm. Greer Park Raceway is located at Snellings Road, Helidon, which is just East of Toowoomba. For more information about the ‘Toowoomba 6 Hour’ visit the official ProKart Australia website: www.prokart.com.au or contact Ian McMah on 0404 199 850.

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Next event...

go to www.prokart.com.au for details... Photo: Josh Townsend 59

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Issue 10: April 2010

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Did you know… Did you know Tourette Syndrome (TS) affects 1 in 100 boys and 1 in 300 girls? TS is now recognised to be relatively common but under recognised, and a major cause of hidden disability. TS is a Neurological disorder characterised by rapid, repetitive and involuntary muscle movements and vocalisations called “tics”, and often involves behavioural difficulties. Tics tend to come in bursts or "bouts". These periods are called waxing and waning cycles. In essence the brain is over stimulated with an excess of neurotransmitters that bypass the filters in the brain which would normally be used to control one’s movement, thoughts, emotions and actions. TS is NOT degenerative, and people with TS can expect to live a normal life span. It most often begins between the ages of 2 and 21, and lasts throughout life in varying degrees of severity. TS is considered incurable, but treatable. TS symptoms may range from mere aggravation to severe debilitation. The aim of the TSAA is to spread knowledge of what Tourettes is, as well as ask for understanding and acceptance in the community and to undo the social stigma created by misinformation. Recent studies have found that Tourettes affects 1% of the population, where it was once thought to be a rare condition. This is not due to any increase of TS but to the fact more people are being recognised and diagnosed as having TS. Many medical professionals still know very little about TS. Correct diagnosis is important to children with TS so they can access the right management strategies to help them reach their full potential in life. TSAA offers telephone and email support, as well as resource materials to assist families, doctors and educators. Educators do not need to be experts, but a certain level of familiarity with the most common difficulties is essential, so as part of our Education Awareness Program we are offering every school in Australia a FREE DVD called ’What is Tourette Syndrome?.’ Contact TSAA and one will be sent FREE! We have a wealth of materials available as well as personal experience with TS. 61

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L to R: Killer, Ian (Two Dads) & Dave go Sky Diving. They survived!!

Issue 10: April 2010

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Issue 10: April 2010

Proudly supporting PDS Grand Prix

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2010

In our next issue... •

Features: RacerTV ( finally! )

•

Race Reviews: Toowoomba, Nanango, Canberra

•

Driver Profile: Mark JOHNSON

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All the latest ProKart news and much more…

imcmah05@gmail.com 65