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The Drivers |
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Check out Driver Profiles, regular Swift Cup Articles and round by round Driver Reports posted by the drivers themselves! |
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What can i say--at Ruapuna I thought same ol-2nd again and real tight in points-Chris Cox sure gave me a run for my money--good to race with cause dont have to be thinking when he going to late dive or get out of shape--hard competitor--That 30 lapper was so cool at Teretonga--wasnt impressed that Simon got Brad out ahead of me--then I kinda went to sleep--its harder being out front with no-one to tussle with-so when Chris caught up I was like ok time to go and it was so close.Good to win the weekend.Timaru ended up a bit of a gimme cause the rest of you must of been dreaming this time,falling off to make it easy for me. It was a bit of fun on the podium with Shaun and Andrew,man that wine smells foul--even tho we had to wait till 5pm,Trucks were fun to watch this week Two weeks into the New Year and it’s the first of the enduros. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting as I haven’t raced down the bottom of the south for 5 years or so and I’ve also never raced in an enduro. The car took a bit of a hiding like the rest of the field at Ruapuna however it’s back in shape and ready to go. Over the past weeks I’ve been doing a bit of research into car set-up and what I can do to try combat the issues we were having with left handers. This is going to be crucial due to Teretonga being predominantly left hand corners.
Fridays going to be full on as I’m going to have to get used to the track ASAP and get that car dialed in. I’m confident if we can get the car handling well we can grab some positive results down there. Fingers crossed the weather holds out and we can get a solid weekend of racing in. I’ve been keeping up my fitness work for the meeting and look forward to the challenge to run an error free enduro and weekend for that matter.
A huge thanks to Castrol, Winger Suzuki, Suzuki NZ, Chicane Racewear, Stripes & Signs, Computaleta, Dunlop, Pak n Save Pukekohe, New World Brookfield’s, and Family for providing support and the means to make it all happen.
Cheers!
Ruapuna – Round 2
Friday Testing & Qualifying
Friday was a frustrating day as in the first of the test session we broke an abs sensor which resulted in me going of the end of the front strait at a good rate of knots, and flat spotting my front left tyre. However a positive was getting some seat time in around Ruapuna in the Swift. Test session two we had further issues with the brakes which meant we never really got to test what set up we would run with. Essentially this lead to tweaking the set ups in both qualifying, and Races 1 & 2.
Race 1
I qualified 9th which wasn’t too pleasing however there wasn’t much in the times across the field of cars. I had a plan to make passes anywhere and everywhere I could which led to me gaining a spot early on in the race. However from there on all I could do was try and keep up with the group ahead as the car was going through left handers like a bed on wheels. I ended up 8th in the race and was one of a few cars who gained a position.
Race 2
Hoping the car was handling we went into race 2 positive we could gain a solid result due to the reverse grid and the ‘second’ a lap rob stows in the glove box. This wasn’t to be as the race was what you would describe as un-gentleman like which result in me being pushed onto the grass loosing position, which I then fought back a couple spots with no regard to the effects to the car. Then Joseph went over through the infield with help from a fellow swift driver, thankfully Joseph was all good!!
The restart was a bit of a mess which led to a nose to tail in front of me . . . .then helped by me (sorry A.J), then we were back into racing. I finished near the back of the grid due to a car who was two laps down deciding they would push me off the end of the strait because. . . . . well I don’t no. However due to un-gentleman like driving ahead of us we got moved up to 6th.
Race 3
Race 3 was the best of our weekend as the car was better than the previous two races but no quite where we wanted it. I had good pace through the race shown from being pushed wide (via grass) with a bit of work to do I caught back up to Rob and got past, however whilst we were dicing Jamie caught up to us which led to a battle between the three of us which in hindsight was the highlight of the meeting for me. Although I didn’t get the result I wanted I feel as though we can build on what we learnt from Ruapuna and work towards being up the business end of the field once we get the car sorted.
A huge thanks to Castrol, Winger Suzuki, Suzuki NZ, Chicane Racewear, Stripes & Signs, Computaleta, Dunlop, Pak n Save Pukekohe, New World Brookfield’s, and Family for providing support and the means to make it all happen.
Cheers!
So round 2 is upon us, and it couldn’t have come fast enough., feels like its been ages. My prep for the round hasn’t been all that different than the first however I now know what to expect and how competitive the racing is out there. Over the past week we have picked up another couple of supporters which is much appreciated, namely Grant, Owner of Pak n Save Pukekohe, and Dean, Owner of Brookfield New World in Tauranga.
I haven’t raced at Ruapuna for a number of years so it’ll be good to do some more laps and see how the Swift handles it. Also looking forward to showing my friends and family who are coming along to support the Castrol Edge Swift.
So overall theirs not much to report, just going to give it all I got and try to improve on our 5th position from Pukekohe. Moreover try and get that car up the business end of the field to give the sponsors as much coverage as possible.
Cheers to
Castrol, Winger Suzuki, Suzuki NZ, Chicane Racewear, Stripes & Signs, Computaleta, Dunlop, Pak n Save Pukekohe, and New World Brookfields for providing the means and support to make it possible. Qualifying - Saturday
Qualifying was a rather messy session as it was extremely difficult to get in a clean lap as the majority of laps we were two or three wide going into the hairpin. Qualifying gave me my first taste of drafting in the swifts which was quite similar to my old Mini 7. I had a goal of Qualifying in the top 5 which I just managed, and with roughly three tenths covering the top 5 it was looking to be close racing.
Race 1 - Saturday
I was all set for a nice dry race and then it starts to rain whilst we are lined up on the dummy grid. This wasn’t ideal as my first race on the fastest track in NZ was to be a wet one. I managed to get a good start, however the mistakes pretty much came straight away. I went wide into the sweeper which isn’t a good option in the wet which cost me a position, then left the door open down the back straight which cost me another, maybe even two. From there I kept the gate shut and raced with caution as I wasn’t prepared to take unnecessary risks in race 1 round 1 which meant I ended up 8th.
Race 2 – Sunday
Race two I had a better idea of what to expect and had a strategy to try make my way to the front. However I didn’t get the best launch off the start and found myself batting for position mid pack where I had started. Due to some close racing I ended up with my left rear guard rubbing on the wheel which made me loose round 6kmph by the end of the straight which was extremely frustrating. I ended up 7th (with help from Sam) which I was pretty pleased with considering.
Race 3 – Sunday
Race three was our wettest race of the weekend, and after a 6 car incident over the hill in the V8’s I found my self a little nervous. For the first couple of laps I was trailing behind the pack, however after one of the fellas at the front of the pack lost it over the hill and the rest got on the brakes, there was a good enough gap just to keep gummy up it and weave on through which took me from around 9th to 4th. From there I kept a tight line where ever I could which led to my bumper taking a bit of a hammering from Rob, who got past me with a couple to go. However I managed to get him back on the last lap where he’d passed me in a previous race, which led to my best result of the weekend, 4th.
Puke was a big learning curve for me and the way I’ve been racing, it’s fair to say having two years off had made me a little rusty, and all the drivers out there pounce on any opportunity, and don’t give an inch more than they need to. This came as quite a shock as I haven’t really experienced that type of racing since my karting days. So although I wasn’t completely happy with the weekend I had a goal of top five which we just managed to make so I’ll take it. Cheers Rob for having the car mint for each race and keeping me informed on what was going on, for asking what was happening with the car and suggesting what you thought we could do to make it better. Hopefully we can get a bit further up the grid at Ruapuna as I want it, and I know u’d especially like to grab P1 there. Cheers Paul, Aaron, Daren, and Rob for a bit of banter, making it an easy transition as I was a bit anxious coming into the meeting.
Last but not least a huge thanks to Castrol, Winger Suzuki, Suzuki NZ, Chicane Racewear, Stripes & Signs, Computaleta and Dunlop, for providing the means and support to make it happen. Moreover the support over the weekend from Malinda, Dad, Mum, Russell, and Linda was great.
See ya’s at Ruapuna!
Regards
Kent Yarrall What a great way to kick off the 2011/12 Swift Sport Cup. After our 2010/11 Season didn't quite go to plan, we came to Pukekohe with some goals in mind and a plan on how to optimize the best from the car and driver.
The car felt great straight away, even running on old rubber, setting the 2nd fastest time in the friday afternoon test session we where happy with how everything was going. We decided to run new rubber in the saturday morning qualifying, this proving the right thing to do, with having the 2nd fastest time until the final few minutes of the session we where unfortunately bumped down to 4th. Still we where very pleased with this as its our best qualifying result to date. With the weather proving un predictable approaching the first race we decided to go for an intermediate setup to try and have a balanced car, this proved to be ideal as the rain soon came, but with only a short heavy shower the track soon started to show a dry line mid race, we battled with Simon Evans & Chris Cox, changing places several times, once the flag dropped we crossed the line 4th. Sunday dawned fine and our 2nd race of the weekend was dry, with it being a reverse grid race, based on the finishing order of race 1 we started from grid 10. We had a great start off the line, jumping up a few spots, working my way forward picking off cars where i could, eventually passing Andrew Vincent around the outside into turn 1 on lap 5 to take the lead. Mark Gibson was soon hot on my tail and we worked the draught together to build a gap on the feild and battle it out for the lead, a simple missed gear change coming onto the back straight resulted in Mark, getting through, although i tried a couple spots to get by he proved to strong and we finished 2nd. Race 3 was going to be a wet one so we set the car up and started from grid 2, i got the jump on Mark and lead the first few laps before he managed to get by for the lead, with the conditions deteriorating, we set into our own groove, AJ Lauder caught us after i slide wide through turn one, eventually getting by in the draught, i didnt quite have the pace he did, so i decided to bring the car home in third spot and take the valuable championship points on offer. After a successful weekend finishing 3rd overall, we are itching to get back in the car for round 2 in Christchurch.
Thanks to Liquorland, Opus, Biz Tech, Voyager Trailers & Winger Suzuki First and foremost I need to say a huge thanks to Castrol, Winger Suzuki, Suzuki NZ, Chicane Racewear, Stripes & Signs, Computaleta and Dunlop for who the scholarships made viable to continue. Moreover to all the judges and people whether directly or associated behind the scenes who made the day run like clockwork. I cannot speak highly enough of how well the day was run and all the competitors who attended as you were all top fella’s and made for an extremely competitive (and nerve filled) day.
Pre Pukekohe test day
Prior to the test day I have been involved in a number of activities. Firstly an interview on Fujitsu Motorsport with Barge, and interviewer Clint Brown which was a new but awesome experience. I’ve made a couple of visits down to see Shane at Chicane Racewear (Unit K Cain Park, 27B Cain Rd Penrose) who has sorted me out with some sweet gears for the season. Namely gloves, boots, socks, balaclava, helmet, custom made overalls, and a gear bag to put it all in. Whilst offering some friendly advice on gear which I’ve picked up along the way – cheers Shane! Last but not least I spent an afternoon with Jayne and Cassey at Castrol learning about the products which quite frankly have un-real abilities in performance & endurance, the direction the launch of Castrol Edge – Titanium fluid strength technology is heading in, and a bit of technical background. Thanks Jayne and Cassey for being so welcoming and nice to deal with.
Pukekohe Test Day – Wednesday 19th October 2011
Arrived at the track via train from downtown Auckland to Puke, and helped by a nice lady who offered me a ride from the petrol station to the track. The weather was pretty rubbish all day. However in hindsight it was probably the best thing I could’ve wished for as I learnt a great deal about how the car reacts in regards to braking, turning in, high speed handling and the slippery areas of the wet track, which I found out in a big way round turn 1 via a puddle then mud! It was good to get pads and rotas bedded in and meet a few more faces whilst catching up with Jamie who I’m teamed up with this year. The look of the car is what I expected and more! Like an angry little swift in its Custom Hamilton Stripes & Signs and Computaleta wrap.
Pre Pukekohe Race day 4th-6th November 2011 – Round 1
One week out and I’m getting pretty excited, however trying to put it to the back of my mind till Monday due to exams! Prep is all done, I’m feeling confident in the car and the guys around me and just want to get onto the track and do some racing - it’s been too long! Look forward to seeing everyone in a week’s time and soaking up information, meeting new faces, and doing my bit for the sponsors.
P.S I haven’t yet filled all the spots on the car, and I’m extremely interested in anyone who could be keen. If so give me a buzz on my details below and I’ll send through a copy of my Proposal.
Regards
Kent Yarrall
E-mail: Kent.yarrall@gmail.com
Cell #: 021 261 6048
Address: Parnell, Auckland
Me,Sam and AJ got together and won our class in the 12 hour race at Hampton Downs.So fun Yea,right,AJ---you gotta get past me first!
I am really looking forward to this season.Last year I was pretty dumb sometimes,but I guess you have to start somewhere---wish we had done a bit of Karting as those kids have a bit of an advantage.
Pleased to see a lot of new guys that arent old guys--bit fairer.
With the new rules there wont be so much bashing and crashing cause we wont want to do drive thrus all the time.Think the hardest bit will be keeping all four wheels on the track at all times.Bring on Puke! Decided to give it one more go.
This year I am serious---want to WIN!!!
Our cars are going to look the same as last year and are looking shiny and straight.
Cant wait for Puke |
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