ADGP – Saturdays Driver Blog

Its been a pretty full on couple of weeks. Managing my time between preparing the Hilux and the 180SX for Calders ADGP event has been a full time job after my actuall full time job. Want to know how my weekend played out? Well read on.

Saturday started at 4 am, i had to travel to the track, unload the hilux off the trailer, set up the ETS stand and then prepare myself and my 180SX for battle. Im very fortunate that my parents, sister and friends can help out with everything otherwise id be running around not knowing what to do first.

After drivers briefing it was time to suit up and get pumped to take on the track. Practice would be brief so i new i needed to get in the groove right away. We all knew what the judges wanted to see but heading out on a track that no one had driven is always a little daunting.

The track layout was tight and fairly short, the start line was a fight for grip, the starter would wave you off and it would be a drag race into 3rd gear. The length was perfect as there was no backing off. 1st gear wheelspin, second gear wheelspin, 3rd gear hook up, keep it pinned steer slightly left and then throw it right.

The aim on the entry was to be on the wall with as much angle as possible for as long as possible. My first lap out was fairly conservative, i knew conservative wasn’t going to impress the judges one bit so the second lap i decided to step things up.

Theres no better way to push the boundries than to feel where they are, i now knew where the wall was and how hard to flick the entry in. This wouldnt be the last tap for the weekend but it was the one that did the most damage. I was glad with the decision to not rush fitting up the Origin kit as there wouldnt be much left after this event.

My good friend Lukey Luke had his Triumph out and put on a great show, he finished off this brand new tyre for the enjoyment of the crowd.

Into the afternoons qualifying sessions i was at one with the track, i had the entry, angle, throttle and smoke dialed but i still needed to push the car higher on the bank. The judges marked me down for being a few centimeters away on the wall clip and i ended the day in 13th. I was disappointed in this as a lot of people told me i did an excellent job. Some of the drivers seemed to care more for the technical clip points rather than the angle, and overall throttle input. Ive always been a firm believer that the throttle input should be judged as it adds a lot to the overall look of the run. Stay tuned for sundays action.