Apologies yet again for not writing folks... But BOY O BOY have I got a tale to tell...
Lets start at the very beginning again, shall we???

Just so all new comers understand where I am coming from... I am a 2nd year Mech. Eng. Student living in college dorms in Wollongong... But only during the week...

Thursday 27th May, 2004
The day was bound to be a VERY packed one. I had 2 uni assessments(1 collaborative), 2 lectures and a presentation to get through, BEFORE I could go home, attend a masquerade ball, dress and pack and leave for Sydney on the 9:19pm train! I got the assignments in, sat through the mind numbingly boring lectures and presentations and made my way over to ADEL screen printers to pick up our newly made shirts!

By the time I get home, the masquerade ball decorations are well underway at my dorms and it's all anyone can talk about for the night... Me on the other hand, had about a million things on my mind... Mostly going along the lines of "Flat through 5 to 6 then downshift to 3rd, then upshift to 4th on top of the hill, flat then jump on the brakes for the U-turn..." I am not normal... at all!

Due to a late start, I had to go Cinderella style and leave the ball early. With my desert in a take-away container, I make a dash up to my dorm room, dress, pack and close up for the weekend. I bolt to the train station and finally pull into Warwick Farm at around 11:40pm-ish...

Friday 28th May, 2004
Godbless fathers! Dad had thankfully done all the prep and packing for the weekend the night before... So all I had to do in the morning was wake up, whack some Ugh boots on and trot down to Eastern Creek raceway for the start of our big weekend!!!

Things didn't start well though. We had 3 practice sessions before qualifying that afternoon and all was not well.
We couldn't get the car started to take it down to scrutineering for the preliminary stuff, so I had to dash around getting paper work in to start the ball rolling for the weekend while the guys clutch started my car.

After the 2nd practice, it was found that I couldn't select reverse or 1st gear... Not a great thing... not that I was hoping to use reverse too much, I still needed the others to get off the line for race 1 the next day... All symptoms pointed to a done clutch and we had to consequently sit through the 3rd practice and pot around for qualifying, completing our 3 mandatory laps...

We did qualify though, and were thankful that at least we hadn't condemned ourselves to a finished race weekend so early!

Saturday 29th May, 2004

Saturday promised a more positive start. After a reasonably late night on the pit crew's half (Thanks Dad!), the clutch was fixed with minimal difficulty, though maximum exhaustion.

The day's promise didn't hold true though. After setting a personal best time of 2:07.0969 in the 2nd last lap of the race, I had an off on the 5th corner and when trying to straighten up, span again and backed the car onto the wall in the same motion. This resulted in a bent trailing arm and a DNF due to the fact that I had to pit and was not shown the checked flag. A major disappointment in the race sense, but another long night seemed imminent in the car's sense.

Once back to pit, it was seen that apart from a busted axle boot and a bent trailing arm(Which we were lucky enough to have 4 of!), it would hopefully be an easy fix.

With an early race start due the next day, it was decided by the team that it would be best to fix the axle boot, cover the car up and come back early the next morning to replace the trailing arm. It meant an early night and an ease on resources and crew members.

Sunday 30th may, 2004

With the early start in motion by around 6am, the team were gone from HQ in Lansvale at around 6:30am with the new trailing arm and renewed enthusiasm to finish the weekend on a high note.

After the new trailing arm was installed and a quick wheel alignment and car setup was completed, it was decided that the next race, the early morning 9am one, would be taken easy, as it was unknown how the car would handle with the new setup...

Once out there, with everything going relatively fine, I settled into a reasonable rhythm with the car and was able to get it around the track, incident free until the last lap. As I entered the 2nd turn, a notorious one amongst all drivers, I was confronted by a spun car. The yellow flags were showing so I was already approaching with caution. Before I knew, I too was spinning. The culprit? Oil all over racing line AND the rest of the track too! As I awaited the marshals signal to re-enter the track, I motioned that there was oil on this part of the track and could he PLEASE hurry up and tell me if the track was clear to re-enter. Instead, I got one of the flaggies running towards me to ask me what I was waiting for and if everything was okay. I told him it was and that he should get the oil flags out, but could he PLEASE tell me when the track would be cleared. Instead he turned and walked back to his point as the leading pack passed me. I decided that it was time to take the situation into my own hands and re-enter the track. By now quite a period of time had passed... But my car was fine.

Until I passed the next turn where I again lost it in the oil which was covering the track. By now it was WAY tooooo late. Both main packs had passed me and the checked flag had already been shown to them. Since Eastern Creek had decided to use their rear entry to call all drivers back into pit, I too was called in and failed to reach the finish line, and was again classified as a DNF. By this stage I was just a tad upset, but once I got into the pits and looked up at Dad, it was all too much. All his effort, my want to JUST finish a damn race that weekend... It pushed me over the line. I started to sob. Dad hugged me and told me to go have a chat with the race secretary. So I tried pulling myself together long enough to ask why I had been cheated out of a finish.

After explaining my story to the race secretary, and much deliberation between him and his 2nd in charge, he decided he would not lift the DNF, even though it was not through car trouble, an accident or anything else which had stopped me from crossing the finish line, only time and a mis-understading between flag marshals and myself. I wonder what would have happened if I had legitimately been that far behind the leading pack and had not yet made it to the finish line... would it have changed my situation any???

After this, I was determined to finish the final race to at least get SOME points and recognition out of the weekend!

Dad and I took a new attitude. A "Who cares if you bend it!" attitude. After all our discussions for the last race where our decision was to just keep it in one piece, we decided that we should just do what we came there to do in the first place. RACE!

The day was drawing to a close and I felt more determined than ever to just finish, and finish well... So with that in mind, I took my car out, even stuck with a few other cars and by the end of the 3rd lap, I had set a PB of 2:06.5352. But the race was pretty much over here as about 3 cars did engines and a couple more went off in what I am told were spectacular offs! The safety car was deployed and after a few VERY sedate laps I was FINALLLLLLLY Shown the checked flag... The relief I felt can not be described! So, as I waved Michael Schumacher style to my Dad in the stands, I thanked God that he had gotten me thus far... To a finish!

Back in the pits, the atmosphere was great. Along with our state guys, a Few SA, QLD and a few other guys had come over to race... and it was just GREAT!!!

I'm in love... and his name is Formula Vee!!!




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Wow!
It has been sooooo long since I last wrote, not that much has happened in that time...
Whilist the team is experiencing some financial difficulties, thanks to my great ol' dad I am ready to hit the track this weekend with the big boys!

Some mates and I did go down to the local club to go watch the cable show, Inside Speed to see if we could see me, but there was really no chance, even with all my spins at the last round of formula vees at Eastern Creek, they only stuck with the top half of the pack... my name wasn't even seen!!! AND I WAS ONLY IN THE 20's!!!!!
How sad...

Anyways,
this weekend is hoped to have better results than our last weekend at the Creek. Though we did miss the only practice day that was inbetween the last round and this one, we do feel confident that car setup will help us immensly.

We are still waiting to find out what is going on with the control manifold situation so that we can do some REAL tunning on the car!

I am starting to get thos sickening butterflies in the pit of my stomach again as I think of all the assignments and thinbgs that I have to get done before this weekend... and the fact that I let my mum take my computer so that I wouldn't play with it while studying... I am starting to think that was a major mistake! Arugh!

Anywyas...
Will write again when the butterflies get worse...

Luv Kirst
xxx
oo

PS... Good on the Wollongong FSAE boys who are in the states at the moment and are/were competing to defend their title at the FSAE over there... Win, loose, Draw boys, good on yas for having a crack... Go also the other Aussie team over there... Western Australia Uni!!!!



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What a weekend!
Sorry it took so long for me to write again, but it has been a long process for me to process all that has happened to me in this last few days!!!

Well, if I thought the nerves I had before the weekend were bad, they only got SOOOOOOO much worse once I got to the race meeting... Lets take a quick look at what happened!

Friday:
After a late night in arriving home on Thursday night (Thanks guys for giving me a lift!!!), I was all ready to get out to the track already. It was only a drive day but gave us the opportunity to get a prime spot in the pit next to Steve Butcher and the Dunlop Tyres guys. It was here that our rollercoaster of working with the front end handling of our car started. After about 30 laps around the creek, we called it a day and went home for a long earned nap!

Saturday:
We arrive for day one early enough. Scruiteneering started at 10:20am and was a great first experience. The scruiteneers were THE nicest people and let us get through pretty quickly. ROCK ON GUYS!!!
After scruiteneering there was a driver briefing in which I got quiet a scare when all Formula Vee drivers were asked to stick around. It turned out to be just due to a glitch with the Dorian timing systems and the ability for them to be picked up at the timing tower.
Next up was qualifying, in which I didn't qualify last (But was well off the pace all the same...), followed by my first race. It was here the nerves started to creep in. I feel a little queasy just remembering!!! I had been thinking about this moment for most of my life. The day I would nail the start and get off the line in a blaze of light and smoke... But that wasn't exactly how it started... By ANYONE'S standards, it was a pretty poor effort... But I got off the line all the same and WITHOUT spin was able to complete my first race and NOT COME LAST!!! (Because some people didn't finish, but shhhhhhhhh... I finished!!!)
Then after some mucking about, we packed up and went home for another well earned sleep!!!

Sunday:
Whoa! If I thought the nerves were bad yesterday, I should have thought better! The nerves hit me in waves of worry, hesitation and nausea. The last time I felt like this I needed a bucket and had to change my clothes afterwards!!! I try my best to keep the worries at bay, mainly by sitting in my car for long periods of time to assure that I was where I had to be on time. Whilist in my car on the dummy grid, amongst the worst of the waves of worry, I used an ingenious way to get rid of the worries... Mainly by smacking myself in the head with my helmet on!

Race 2 comes and I am able to break my so far best time of 2:13 by 1 second!!! I might have been able to do a bit better, but had 2 spins due to oil (but more likely driver error), but was still able to finish.
After the race though, all of us were called into the scrutineering bays to have some random check done on our weight and ride height. I failed the ride height test and many other failed for this and/or their lack of weight. Consequently, we were handed charge sheets that threatened us that we could be charged up to $16500 for our mishaps!!! This also meant possible loss of license. I was a little freaked out to say the least! My first race weekend and all that had to happen was for me to crash and die, win and drive in the rain and I would have experienced EVERY facet of racing!!!
Race 3 was getting increasingly close as we sat waiting for the panel to convene and decide a few things before we each had our trial. Eventually, they let us go race in race 3. What a blessing, because I was able to sort out what it was that I would say to the stewards...

Race 3 comes and after some problems with the lights, we are sent out for another warm up lap. Poor me though, I am up the back and can't read the signs or even see what colour the flag is! So, seeing the guys in front of me take off down the main straight, dodging those sitting on the line, I think GREAT!!! Heres my chance to get in amongst it!!! But it was only another warm up lap and I did have to let everyone over take me so I could get my position back. After we re-lined up on the grid, I revved the BUTT of my engine and went for it!!! Though I was swamped, again, as with all my starts, I was at least able to keep up for a little while!!! As I came into lap 2 or 3 on the straight though, I was greeted by a less that nice sight! Someone's engine had blown and there was oil and smoke EVERYWHERE!!! Oil flags took a little in coming out, but thankfully were accompanied by the nice flaggies telling me where on the track the oil was...
But all in all, half the track was now covered in oil. With my past experience with the handling errors and things, I was quiet willing to go slow for it though! Thank GOD that Bruce Collbey had taken the time to talk me through the second half of the track where there wasn't any oil, and I was able to set some respectable times...

After Race 3 though, my weekend wasn't over, as this only signaled the start of my hearing in the steward's room. As I already had my statement written out, I just went through it over and over and fixed it up a bit... The guys in the waiting room must have thought I was nuts, but this was my first time, I didn't want to say anything wrong! So I pled my case once my turn came around... The stewards didn't let on the whole time as to whether I was in the wrong or not and when I was asked to wait outside whilist they deliberated, I still had no idea where I would be once I walked back into the room. Would I have to sell my car? Would I have my license taken off me??? What would be my punishment??? Though, as soon as the door opened, the lady steward smiled at me and I knew that either she was either really sadistic or reallllly nice. Thank God it turned out to be the latter. I was excused from all charges and hopped, skipped and jumped back to the trailer where Dad was waiting for me to take me home!!!

Monday:
9:30am was my first class, but I didn't pay any attention... Could you blame me??? I was on SUCH a high from my weekend! So... How was your weekend???

Hehehehe...
GBA!
Luv Kirst
xxx
ooo




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