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The
MSCA 6 Hour held this year on the weekend of September 9 and 10 proved
convincingly (if that was indeed necessary) that the faith shown by the
MSCA in club level motorsport by reintroducing this event in 1997
following a few years absence from the motorsport calendar, was not only
justified, but indeed was well placed.
The 2000 MSCA 6 Hour succeeded in attracting a record 37 teams to
the grid in this years event. Not
only was the event well supported it was (once again) professionally
administered and conducted inspiring confidence and enthusiasm for the
2001 event. Having
finished a close second to the Mini Car Club in the 1999 event we felt the
Maserati Club might be able to go one better this year with the experience
gained in recent years. Achieving
a spot on the podium in this event however is a difficult ask. Nonetheless we were in there trying!
So
we approached this years 6 Hour with a little trepidation.
Thanks go to the quick work of Jack Klaver who managed to
accelerate a rebuild on the Ferrari 308GTB to just finish on the day prior
to the event. Jack replaced
Colin Goundrey in the original team who had experienced last minute
problems with his Alfa. Despite
his disappointment Colin came anyway and helped out as an official. Although
less dramatic than in 1999 there were nonetheless strong similarities with
the weather for the free-practice day on the Friday. In keeping with the appalling weather experienced on this day
in 1999, the weather this year was just as bad, if not worse.
The heavy and consistent rain meant that Winton was awash for most
of the day and it wasnt until later in the day that anyone managed to
get any decent track time - even then, the dry-line, such as it was,
didnt last long between rain squalls which cascaded across the track
for most of the day. Those
who made it to Winton for these sessions probably felt initially they had
wasted their time until they realised that the forecast for the weekend
was not promising much improvement. The
Friday night team dinner was once again held at the popular Tatong Hotel.
Located in the small township of Tatong (dont blink or
youre past it) some 25 kms east of Benalla, the friendly atmosphere
of the hotel and the open fireplace in the dining room provided some
inviting warmth and a fitting end to what had been a somewhat chilly and
very wet day. Fortunately
this year the Tatong road wasnt flooded on the return trip as it had
been in 1999, yet I could not help but think on the way back whether some
of the members of the club team, who had elected to stay at the hotel, may not end up being stranded on their way to the track on
the next morning. The
rain we had experienced on the Friday had continued overnight and Saturday
morning at the track in broad daylight produced a flooded landscape little
changed from the previous afternoon.
Fortunately the Tatong road had remained open and everyone managed
to make it to the track. One
glance at the circuit and the prevailing conditions were sufficient for
everyone to realise that the big challenge for the day was to ensure cars
were kept on the black stuff. Any
unplanned exit from the track meant a potentially difficult recovery and
worse, the danger of the car sinking out of sight in the sea of mud
now inhabiting the infield at Winton. It
was fairly clear by the commencement of qualifying that conditions were
unlikely to get better during the day.
The rain squalls whilst not as heavy, nor as frequent, as on the
Friday were nonetheless sufficient to keep the track wet and to eliminate
the emerging dry-line just after it had begun to appear.
To some extent qualifying was more about picking the time you were
out on the track. Nonetheless
the conditions were the same for all the teams. Following
a great lunch prepared by Club Caterer Peter OBrien and daughter Sarah
the weather started to improve. This
lead to some concerns about qualifying times.
The times in the two earlier qualifying sessions had been
relatively slow due to the weather conditions and cars were clocking up
lap times some 10 to 15 seconds off their usual dry times.
Now into the third and final session of the day, the weather had
abated somewhat and the sun was peeking intermittently through the dense
cloud cover, between the now less frequent rain squalls.
The dry-line which had been present somewhat fleetingly in the
earlier sessions now seemed to be better established and lasting longer
with lap times beginning to fall accordingly.
Although the qualifying time was set at a generous 130%, many cars
which had been struggling to get much below 2 minutes were now getting
into the 1:50's and into the mid 1:40's with one car squeaking in a 1:39.
Just to make sure we were well and truly covered those who had run
times slightly above 2 minutes (which was a good time in the first
session) put in a few extra laps, just in case. By
the time the third and final qualifying session had been completed the
track was bathed in a version of spring sunshine.
Despite the apparently improved weather conditions, track
conditions were still wet with the surface remaining treacherously
slippery. In the top
10' shootout there was not one time below 1:40 with the quickest time
going to Ken Jarrett in his Porsche GT3 with a time of 1:40.6822 which was
nearly 3 seconds quicker than the next best. Setting
the Nominated Lap Times
Given
the circumstances where qualifying had been wet, what times should be
nominated for drivers given that the race was to take place commencing at
10.00 am the next day and continuing for 6 hours until 4.00 pm? What was the weather going to be like? Would the rain continue, or would the sun shine and the track
dry-out? Needless to
say in the half-hour before 5.00 pm there were a lot of calls placed with
the Melbourne weather bureau and many requests for forecasts for the
Benalla region - only general information was unfortunately available. Not to be outdone, Ojars Balodis our resident pilot did
the right thing and got on to the local airfield, to get a more exact
picture. The local forecast
was for clearing showers in the morning with an overcast but dry day with
a cold front coming in later in the afternoon.
We elected to nominate dry times, which in some cases was a bit of
guesswork as no one had the chance to drive on a dry circuit since our
arrival on Friday. With
the hard work done we retired to a quiet, but enjoyable evening with
dinner at Georginas Restaurant in Benalla.
Pleasant night or not, when leaving the restaurant later that
evening the rain had returned and appeared to be coming down as hard as
ever. Leaving
Benalla for the track on Sunday morning we were greeted with a red sky,
but no rain. With local radio
reporting flooding in the area we were naturally interested to see what
the track conditions were going to be.
By the time we had got through Scrutineering for the morning and
the drivers briefing it was evident the track was still damp but drying
fast. One team of pessimists
had nominated lap times of 1:57.00 for each of their cars (all Ford
Mustangs) and the race officials believing (somewhat generously I must
add) that they must have misunderstood the regulations gave them the
opportunity to recast their times. With three teams in the event and with an improving weather situation we were looking forward to the commencement of the event.
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What
happened?
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Team 19 - Maserati Red - Well placed at fifth on the grid with Ojars Balodis in the Porsche 944 Turbo and with Len Cattlin in the Ford Mustang, Steve Phillips in the Honda Integra R and Jeff Beaumont in the Porsche 944S2 to follow, Team 19, Maserati Red looked to have a good chance. 30 minutes later and two-thirds of the way through his opening 45 minute session Ojars struck turbo problems sufficient to sideline the car for the balance of the event. Poor Ojars! Three starts, three DNFs. With some re-organisation we could make up 30 minutes of the gap created by Ojars with no penalty, but were left with 30 minutes which would be subject to a penalty. (In a four car team each driver can spend 90 minutes on the track with a further 10 minute allowance. Any driver spending more than 100 minutes receives a penalty equivalent to 23% of the laps achieved in the additional time) With each driver doing their full time of 100 minutes, Jeff Beaumont was asked to put in the extra time of about 30 minutes. It was a challenge he (and the car) graciously accepted. In keeping with the teams fortunes Jeff was no sooner on the track than he was off it again some 5 minutes later - black flagged by the Clerk of Course. The problem was a faulty fuel cap which necessitated pumping some fuel from the tank and resubmitting it again to scrutineering before getting the all-clear to get back on the track. As it transpired it was a somewhat novel way to overcome the penalty time - Jeff lost 15 minutes off the track which was about 8 to 9 laps which would have resulted in a penalty of 3 laps, so we were 5 to 6 laps worse off. Team Red incurred a one lap penalty for a lap completed too quickly relative to the drivers nominated lap time and a 3 lap penalty for the extra fifteen minutes Jeff spent on the track. Result: Maserati Red finished 24th out of 37 teams
with 197 laps. Not bad when you consider the car was off the circuit for
15 minutes and three minutes were lost when Ojars turbo disintegrated.
Based on my calculations the team would have finished well within the top
10 if each driver had been able to complete his required time on the
track. I guess theres always next year!
Team 20 - Maserati White: Capably managed by Greg Aimers who also managed the successful club team which finished second in 1999, Greg once again got his team to the podium. However it was not without problems. Tony Moodie got the team off the grid in his BMW 635CSi and was followed by Jack Klaver in the Ferrari 308GTB, Andrew Gregory in the Maserati Ghibli Open Cup and Peter Washington in the Toyota MR2. Thanks to Peter Washington the team took advantage of some pit to car radio communications which enabled direct communication with each driver. Selwyn Hall has decided this is a secret weapon worth pursuing. On the outside it appeared to be a faultless display by Team White, but there was some drama when Peter Washington ran out of brakes. With a little bit of management however the problem, whilst not overcome, was minimised to some degree though Peter was anxiously looking to an early finish to the event as he drove the last session without brakes. Result: Maserati White finished 3rd out of 37 teams
with 210 laps after the deduction of 2 penalty laps for being too quick.
Congratulations - a great result!
Team 21 - Maserati Blue: Better known for his role as Clerk of Course for such events as Targa Tasmania and the Australian Safari, on this weekend Tom took on the role of Team Manager for Maserati Blue. Andrew Ogg in his Escort Twin Cam got the team off the grid followed by James Moodie in another Escort Twin Cam, Barry Finlay in his Lotus Super 7 and Mark Connolly in the Fiat 124 AC. Maserati Blue had a trouble-free weekend. Whether it was the smooth management skills of Tom Snooks, the superior driving skills of the team or just the keen competitive spirit of the combination this under 2 litre team matched the Maserati White team closely. Result: Maserati Blue finished 5th out of 37 teams
with 210 laps (the same number as Maserati White) after also suffering a
deduction of 2 penalty laps for being too quick. Importantly Maserati Blue
won the Under 2 Litre award. Congratulations! There were of course a number of club members participating in this event for other clubs and teams. Club Committee member David Floyd was helping out in an official capacity again but this year as Assistant Event Secretary after having occupied the role of Event Secretary for the previous three years. Club members having a drive with other teams were:
The top 10 places in terms of outright laps after the inclusion of handicap laps were as follows:
Judging by the resurgence of interest in the 6 Hour there can be absolutely no doubt that the event has become firmly anchored in the Victorian race calendar for the foreseeable future. Apart from the obvious enthusiasm competitors have for the event, the plaudits for the re-establishment of the event undoubtedly remain with the Marque Sports Car Association. It was the MSCA whose efforts got the event off the ground (again) in 1997 and despite losing money in that year had sufficient faith in the event to continue its support. Indeed it is the support of the MSCA and its nine member clubs that guarantees the future of the event by enabling the MSCA to draw upon the considerable resource of its member clubs. This is certainly one case where the old adage of strength in numbers certainly applies. Perhaps one of the more interesting sidelights to this years event
was the representation of Porsche. In the first event conducted under the
stewardship of the MSCA in 1997 in which just 13 teams were represented,
the Maserati Club was represented by one team of which 3 of the 4 drivers
were in a Porsche - the only Porsche present in the event. This year the
club once again had Porsche represented in its numbers as did one or two
other clubs. The significant change was there were six teams of Porsche -
3 representing the Porsche Club of Victoria and supported by Porsche
Australia and 3 under the banner of Weltmeister Motorsport a well known
Melbourne Porsche specialist. These teams succeeded in raising the bar at
the event this year - not for their performance, but for their commitment
to the event. The effort put into the event by Porsche Australia and by
Weltmeister are to be commended and it is to be hoped it continues into
2001. One of the big questions for 2001 will not be whether the event will be held, but WHERE it will be held. We understand there is some consideration being given to moving the location of the event. A prime candidate appears to be Phillip Island. With the 2001 V8 Supercar calendar having been set (see elsewhere in this issue) and with the dates for other motor racing series soon to be determined, the decision on the date and venue for the 2001 event cant be too far away. Watch this space, we will keep you advised. On a final note, many thanks to Peter and Sarah OBrien for their catering over the weekend which once again proved to be invaluable. Thanks also to those driving in the event for your commendable efforts and congratulations on your success. The largest congratulations are of course due to those who worked as officials over the weekend. The Six Hour really is a TEAM event and without your participation the clubs involvement in this event would not have been possible. Thank you.
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