KiwiSean

Wow... Shame Auckland can't seem to make that kind of progress.

There's already good demand in Queenstown from tyre, car testing and ad dollars... I'll bet that alone will cover costs. Nice thinking to cater to those guys.

Look forward to tearing it up in March.

Kiwi Carguy

A close up of the track with the bridge. Going over the bridge at speed is quite un-nerving.

gt38088

Now that's going to be some road trip. Cars going to have to go in for some TLC before hand for sure. Will also need a few back up vehicles. I only 1 set of tyres probably run the track tyres on the road like targa.

Penguinracer

Macca, Highlands looks stunning. Prior to HD I don't know when was the last time a track was built in NZ, but the sector has been crying out for investment & it's great to see the odd benefactor like Tony meeting this need.

I've opted for the full Elephant Racing Polybronze & sphericals set-up for the 952 - these are weather shielded & like the Alta control arms on the Mini have teflon sleeves over the ball in the heim joint to minimise ingress of road grime/detritus. NVH on the Mini isn't oo bad. It was unacceptable when we had the Cooper Challenge Race struts - which we looked at revalving but in the end sold on fleabay. The challenge race cars aren't rose-jointed & don't run on 35 profile tyres so that combo was a step too far.

Guys on the 951 board using Elpehant Racing polybronze & sphericals report acceptable NVH & have observed that the spring rate has more influence on ride quality than the rose-joints.

I'll keep a full interior & no cage as that's where I draw the line for a dual purpose car with a track bias.

Macca

We have 10 booked and paid deposits for September Track Tour as of tonight. Anyone know how to get hold of Doug Hanna (986 boxster)? Hes the only one left to pay then we can lock in Taupo so we dont loose it....

Macca

Im considering same. I dont like the complexity of constantly change out stuff. If it works on a 6 day Targa why not for Sth Island tour.

Yes some preparation especially for 20 year old cars will be necessary. It would surprising if every car made it home under its own steam! This is where knowing your car inside out becomes an asset but still anything can happen...

John McM

I imagine my wife will come with me on the South Island tour. It may well work best to hire a campervan given we aren't going to be in tourist places for much of the tour.

Macca

Yeah. There are alot of logistics to consider here. My wife will (hopefully) be attending but doesn't want to get caught at a motorpark all day while we are on the track. The trade off is she gets to pick this years offshore travelling destination (again!). I guess we can work through logistics closer to the time when we know how many from the Rennsport Gruppe will be going. Im hoping we can rustle up at lease 6-7 as we ideally want to run a separate group on the day and have insurance cover...so far I thin 4 of us (includes Steve R and Sean) have expressed interest. Petes usually a starter for an adventure so he may be considering it too....

John McM

There is a lot to consider but I reason that this is likely a once in a life time opportunity. I'm not the kind of person who gets up in the morning and decides to drive 3,300 km for the heck of it. This allows me to plan leave and other logistics and not endlessly put it off. Plus I imagine that you can't just rock up to these tracks and have a go.

Macca

I agree. It may be the only time I ever get to drive these tracks. Once we have a group confirmed Im sure we can manage logistics. Tony is still working through the fine details. Hes waiting for one track to confirm and looking into transporter options for those with race cars wanting to send them down in advance (will not be cheap I shouldnt imagine). There will certainly be a support truck leaving Auckland for the event that Im sure some spare tyres/wheels could be stashed on if needed. Im trying to convince my wife we make it a 2 week trip departing 15 returning 30 so we can stop at friends on the way down the NI and have a few days in nelson and do some tourist stuff before the first meet. Given we are starting at the southern most point (Invercargill) I estimating well need 5 days to get from Auckland to that point (its 1650km but by the time you throw in some detour it will be more like 1900-2000km). My guess is including track kms (800-900km) we will be talking a 5,000km+ tour once all is said and done. If the old girls can get through that without letting us down it will be worth celebrating!

Obsessed

I've flicked Doug an e-mail about this. (I don't think he's a Rennlist user but I'm sure we can get him to see the light...)

kiwi 911

Macca, just pull the trigger mate - between us, we can underwrite the 11th spot.

Macca

Thanks buddy. I sent a PM through the Europacific blog site just now too so hopefully he gets one or both of our messages. No dramas is hes had a change of heart, just as long as we know so we can get on with it. I expect we may actually pick up more members to Rennsport Gruppe between now and September so we may get a few more joining us on the day...

Macca

Thanks Paul. I agree.

I will let Tony know to book the track on Monday.

If truth be told I already have him a personal guarantee at the beginning that I would underwrite any shortfall on the non refundable Taupo track deposit if we couldn't get enough to the table to cover it. We are only by $110 to cover the Taupo deposit with 10 so if by Monday Doug hasnt paid Ill pony up to cover that and we can sort it all out later....

gt38088

just a long term thought on SI tour. might want to plan on finishing at Highlands so that anyone that wants to can chill out in Qtown for a few days afterwards without much detour or back tracking the route?