For our team, Dennis, Jeremy, Mick and I, the lead up to Bathurst 2009 was pretty exciting, especially as none of us had been to the iconic Mount Panorama before, except for Dennis who'd been back in the days when Horse Power really meant "Horse" Power. The Bathurst visit represented a full on adventure for us starting with the obvious preparation of all our equipment including race car, spare parts, transporter/accommodation and then the planning and timing of the actual trip itself.
Due to the relatively hot weather, particularly in our home State of Victoria, the lack of air-conditioning in our 1965 Bedford Bus/Motorhome/Tow vehicle and the possibility of problems associated with said 1965 Bedford tow vehicle, we left Melbourne around lunchtime on the Wednesday, with the plan of taking a nice leisurely drive to Bathurst, with an overnight stop in Gundagai. On reaching Gundagai in pretty good time, plans went out the window and after fuel and food, we were back on the road. A phone call with John Wise and his crew created a revised plan to stop and meet up with them at Cootamundra. On reaching Cootamundra and a brief 5 second team meeting, this plan also went out the window and we roared through town, now in the pouring rain.
Eventually, both the Bus and crew ran out of steam and we pulled into a truck stop in Young to give everything a well earned rest. A few drinks, for the driver anyway, as the crew had been steadily partaking during the entire trip and watching some HQ in-car footage of Bathurst from a previous competitor (thanks Spud), and we were ready for bed.
Thanks to the sound of refrigeration motors on a closely parked semi-trailer which arrived at some stage through the night, we were woken at about 5:30 on Thursday morning. A quick coffee and we were back on the road, excited in the prospect we'd be arriving on hallowed ground that day. Looking for fuel for both the Bedford and ourselves, we finally found a breakfast stop in Blayney. After a couple of quick calls to Wisey, Stoopy and Co, for progress reports, we left Blayney and in no time, came across the "Mt Panorama" turn-off. We had arrived.
To arrive at Mt Panorama, the Australian mecca of Motorsport, for the first time was absolutely awe inspiring. The Goosebumps rose as we saw the "Mt Panorama" rock sign in the side of the mountain. Excitement soon changed to confusion though when we met Gary Collins and his crew who had been waiting for directions on where to pit for over 2 hours. Feeling safety in numbers, we decided to pit next to Gary and Chris's small and unobtrusive transporter, after all, we were in a hurry as we had a mountain to conquer, by foot!
Early in our trip planning, we'd committed to walking the track on our arrival. We should have been committed as the bloody walk nearly killed us in 30 odd degree heat. We all had 000 dialled into our phones as Dennis became quite red in the face and took more stoppages than the building workers union. The walk however opened our eyes to this phenomenal circuit. The steepness is never really appreciated when seen on TV, nor is the claustrophobic feeling when surrounded by concrete walls on what seemed to be a single lane road. A circuit that would prove to be extremely exhilarating and definitely punishing if you got it wrong.
Anyway, after our showers and a quick trip to the Motorsport Museum, which, by the way, is definitely worth a visit, we cooked a BBQ, had a few ales and relaxed whilst taking in the atmosphere and chatting to others who'd arrived during the course of the afternoon. To camp at the track, especially where you pit, is a fantastic experience and reminds me of years ago when together with Stoopy, Gav Ross and a few others, we raced Speedway around country Victoria and enjoyed many a weekend away camping at the circuits, racing during the day and talking copious amounts of drivel by the campfire at night.
Friday Practise and finally a chance to experience this iconic race track. Yes, the session was scheduled pretty early but I think most of us didn't need an alarm clock that morning. The first time around the circuit on a warm-up lap and I was hollering like Hawthorn had won the Grand Final all over again. To save myself some later embarrassment, particularly from my team mates, I erased the Video Camera footage from that session. As we know, unfortunately Rod Vervoort had a coming together with the concrete during the Practise session. Glad to see Rod was up and about during the weekend and hopefully with no long term injuries.
We all know the results during the course of the weekend but what I appreciated most was the respect between drivers especially when each and every one of us is trying damn hard to improve our position on a very unforgiving track. Many of the guys surrounding me on the track didn't know me from a bar of soap, yet they drove hard, fast and fair. They certainly weren't giving positions away but at the same time weren't going to put you into the wall if you got up along side. Correction on the last statement, all drivers apart from one hero (ex)V8 Super Car driver. Just quickly on that note, it's obvious this guy is above the law and plays by his own rules. I'm not sure if officials are afraid of him or think he's bigger than the game, but I do know one thing, we're not millionaires and we race on very limited budgets and know what it takes to repair our cars. We seem to respect each other because HQ's are what we love to race. This guy respects nothing except his own bruised ego. What I don't understand is, why do we let him race with us? Do we need the exposure he may bring to our category? We certainly don't need the damage he brings to our cars nor the agro he creates. Get rid of him!
Sorry, end of rant.
The feeling of being able to race hard and close to other guys, knowing you can trust them, is awesome.
As with anything and racing is no exception, luck can either be with you or against you. In our case it was definitely with us. During Race 2, our right rear brake shoes disintegrated and caused the wheel to lock up every time the brake pedal was pressed. Unbelievably, 2 corners after this happened, the Safety Car was deployed for several laps which left me only one lap to limp home once racing resumed. I lost a couple of positions on the track but certainly would have lost many more if the SC hadn't come out.
Race 3 was better again. The race went fantastically and we were extremely happy to finish our first Bathurst race meeting unscathed. Before putting the car on the trailer, we lifted the bonnet to change the air filter and there was the Alternator, sitting on a 20 degree angle in towards the block. The Bottom mount of the Alternator had broken completely away from the body and only the top adjusting bolt was holding the Alternator somewhere in position. How the Fan Belt didn't come off amazed us all.
Not everyone will have had great experiences at Bathurst this year. Guys like Stoopy who got punted by "the Moron" at the Dipper, Spud having a two dollar part ruin his chances (thanks AW), Longy who lucked out in Race 3 at the Chase, Carl who's engine threw a leg out of bed, Rod Vervoort and I'm sure the list goes on. Tracy and Ian need to buy a Tatts ticket as their luck must be overdue to change. Blowing an engine at Philip Island the weekend before Bathurst, blowing a Head Gasket on the spare engine during Bathurst and then blowing the Radiator apart in their Landcruiser on the way home.
For those who fortune didn't favour, I hope it hasn't dampened your enthusiasm to return to this awe inspiring place. Congratulations also to Gary Bonwick, Wisey, Spud and Greg King.
For me, the experience of Bathurst 2009 is right up there with some of the best in my life, not only for my own experience in racing on the hallowed track, but also sharing it together with friends, whether they were other competitors and their crews or my own excellent team mates. Bring on Bathurst 2010!!!