NOMINATIONS FOR THE BOARD OF SPEEDWAY NZ
ROLLCAGES: STOCKCARS/SUPERSTOCKS
2
TEAMS RACING SEMINAR
3
CRUSH RAILS
3
WHEELS: MODIFIEDS AND 3 OTHER CLASSES 3 TQ MIDGETS: FUEL RULE CHANGE
3
ALLOCATED TITLE DATES 2012/13
3
UPCOMING EVENTS
3
CONTACT SPEEDWAY NZ PO BOX 39-236, WELLINGTON MAIL CENTRE 5045 PHONE: 04 560 0317 FAX: 04 560 0400 EMAIL: CEO@SPEEDWAY.CO.NZ
Nominations have now closed for the election of Speedway NZ’s President and six Board members for the two year period from 2012 to 2014. The election will take place at the 2012 Annual General Meeting in Wellington on June 16-17. Incumbents are listed below in black, new nominees in green. President David Jones Lewis Dawson
Director Sandra Birdling Mel Hills Martin Jones
Ricky Boulton Willie Kay Colin Matthews
Lewis Dawson John McCallum
GENERAL BUSINESS AT THE 2012 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The deadline for submission of General Business to the 2012 Annual General Meeting has also now closed. The items received were as follows:Nomination of Myles Richardson for Life Membership of Speedway NZ – Willie Kay Lessons to be learnt from Ray Channing’s accident and death – Rotorua Proposed Merger with SPANZ – Motioned at the 2011 AGM CTRA’s request for use of the SNZ Rulebook – SNZ Board What my track does well – SNZ Board Teams Racing Seminar – SNZ Board Television - SNZ Board Fuel – SNZ Board More details on the Teams Racing Seminar can be found on page 3 of this Update. Formal notice of the above details will be circulated to tracks by May 7 (40 days prior to the 2012 Annual General Meeting). It is recommended that tracks hold a meeting of competitors to discuss these details prior to the AGM.
ROLLCAGES: IMPORTANT NEWS FOR STOCKCARS & SUPERSTOCKS A joint meeting of the Stockcar and Superstock Technical Committees was held in March, to analyse three rollcage failures during the season that luckily didn’t lead to serious injury. Pictures of these incidents are included below, as they are the only way to convey the gravity of the situations that the drivers found themselves in.
•
This was an unprecedented spate of failures, and has led to some strong recommendations from the joint Committee about how to avoid these issues in the future by altering the rollcage rules sooner rather than later.
•
Changing the rules immediately as a result of a safety issue is permitted under the constitution of the organisation, but the board of Directors has asked for feedback from Stockcar and Superstock competitors before any decisions are made. The Board has agreed to investigate the following changes, with a lead in time for existing cars to comply with the rules. New cars would possibly be required to comply from the start of the 2012/13 racing season, ie from 1 September 2012.
SPEEDWAY NZ UPDATE: APRIL 2012
• •
•
A higher minimum thickness standard for the base cage, using 3.68mm schedule 40 steel instead of the current 3.2mm black pipe. Gussets at the front of the cage where the downpipes meet the sideplates, to prevent cages shearing sideways. Cross braces to go from corner to corner, to prevent cages squeezing together. Back braces to be straight in section, i.e. no “hockey stick” curves at the top. Potential for chrome moly to be used in rollcage construction, if welded by a ticketed tig welder.
Feedback from all interested parties is welcomed, providing it reaches Speedway NZ by Monday May 14. As mentioned, the Board is investigating making these changes immediately using Rule C11K, as a safety issue has been identified. C11(k)
Responsibilities of the Directors Alter or add to the Regulations of SNZ and/or the Technical rules of any class if a safety issue has been identified which requires prompt resolution to ensure the ongoing safety of the sport.
PAGE 2
STOCKCARS/SUPERSTOCKS: TEAMS RACING SEMINAR Teams racing is always a popular attraction for both competitors and spectators in the Stockcar and Superstock classes. The Teams Racing Code of Ethics was instigated in 1996, and has proven its worth over many years, with hundreds of teams races and very few incidents. However it’s time for a review of the code, and this will occur at the 2012 Speedway NZ AGM in Wellington. Team managers from the 17 tracks that ran a team this season are invited to a Saturday afternoon session on June 16. They will be granted speaking rights to the AGM, and will be able to join with the delegates, board and officials in establishing some common ground for the future of teams racing.
WHEELS: MODIFIEDS, SUPER SALOONS, SALOONS AND SUPERSTOCKS An issue has been detected with a number of 6 pin right rear wheels failing. This is a major safety concern, so until further notice all cars running this configuration (6 pin right rear hubs) need to have their right rear wheel removed at scrutineering, and the pressure plate claws inspected for cracking. The problem could affect all four classes, but at this stage has been most prominent with Modifieds, where a wheel failure could have catastrophic results.
As the crush rail is the first and last contact point of the car, it is technically a bumper and must meet all the requirements of a bumper in the rulebook (e.g height, maximum distances etc).
SPEEDWAY NZ UPDATE: APRIL 2012
As mentioned last month, a contradiction in the rules around the fuels that can be used by watercooled TQ’s has been resolved after a period of consultation with competitors and tracks. The relevant clause has been amended to remove the reference to Rule E5-2-1 (which allowed methanol and avgas), and E85 has been confirmed as an approved fuel. Rule T10-2-4(k)(vi) now reads:Fuel 1) maximum 98 octane pump petrol 2) ethanol/petrol blended fuel containing up to 85% ethanol (E85)
2012/13 ALLOCATED TITLES: MORE APPROVED DATES
CRUSH RAILS It has been a long established practice to add a crush rail front and rear of a stockcar, with wood inside to lessen the impact of a hit. However, there has never been any formal rules around their use, and as usually happens in this kind of scenario, someone has pushed their usage to the limit. This has forced the Technical Committees and the Board into making an interpretation on their use.
TQ MIDGETS: RULE CHANGE FOR WATER-COOLED
The full list of submitted and approved title dates for next season is as follows, with new dates in pink.
UPCOMING EVENTS 19 May 14 June 15 June 16-17 June
Board Meeting Board Meeting SPANZ and Fidelity Fund AGM’s Speedway NZ AGM
Note that board meeting correspondence and agenda items close the Friday before the meeting.
3/4 Jan 2013 4/5 Jan 2013 5 Jan 2013 8/9 Jan 2013 11/12 Jan 2013 11/12 Jan 2013 17 Jan 2013 18/19 Jan 2013 25/26 Jan 2013 1/2 Feb 2013 2 Feb 2013 8/9 Feb 2013 16/17 Feb 2013
NZ Stockcars Woodford Glen NZ Streetstocks Dunedin NZ Sprintcars Western Springs Stockcar GP Greymouth NZ Superstocks Nelson NZ Sidecars Moore Park TQ Midget GP Ruapuna Superstock GP Woodford Glen NZ Midgets Ruapuna NZ Saloons Cromwell NZ TQ’s Western Springs Saloon GP Dunedin NZ SuperSaloons Woodford Glen
PAGE 3