The last month has been a whirlwind and it really all started the week before Simon hit the track in the BA. The week leading up to the meet on the 16th of Feb was sheer lunacy and one only our fearless driver and owner of the BA could cope with. Simon and his team put on 24 hour days....yes some days they worked around the clock and they managed to get the BA ready. If you haven't watched the video then I urge you to head on over to - BA on Radials Episode 001 and give it a view....thumbs up like and perhaps even a share? There you will see the entire lead up to that event. At the event the BA went 7.51 @ 212MPH and while the day started out with an 11 second tyre smoking pass Simon and Brenton Baxter tuned in a mid seven second pass by 9.00pm that evening!
The good news is that since that meet they returned for the Westernationals and sharpened that up with a 7.06 @ 215MPH.....so 5/10ths just by adjusting his right foot!! I could elaborate but you should probably listen to Episode 051 of the Podcast and our subsequent Westernationals follow up Podcasts to understand what I am talking about. Needless to say we are really looking forward to the 23rd of March where we will hit the track once more.
Speaking of the Westernationals I was a mix of emotions in the lead up to that week. I haven't missed a Westernationals since 1995??? or around the mid 90's. However this year I made a commitment to attend Racewars in Albany the South Coast of Western Australia. I have known Jamie Paolucci of Racewars for a long time and have viewed their event from a distance but this year I decided it was important for the Podcast to attend the event and get some new content for our viewers/listeners. Sadly the event was marred by tragedy with an incident involving a young racer by the name of Brody Ford. The incident saw his vehicle run off the end of the track and sadly young Brody passed away from his injuries. Much has been said regarding the incident and although I was present, I did not view the crash as it was over the crest of the runway and out of view. The vast majority of attendees would not have seen the incident and to be respectful to Brody's family, most commentary should be left to those with credentials, officials of the track, the WA Police, the Coroner and most importantly those closest to Brody. The only thing I can add is that I pray for the family and friends of Brody as they navigate their way through this extremely difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Days after Racewars, further commentary was published in regards to safety and the perceived lack of sanctioning from CAMS. Once again most of this commentary should be left with those of notable authority, however I will add in my personal opinion I feel that safety was treated in the most highest order. I was there in an official media capacity and was given the mandate to attend the relevant Media briefing. Here it was very clear in regards to where we were able access the track, safety procedures and also required to have a complete understanding of our limitations in regards to where we could film and shoot from. Once again my experience was merely just that, my experience, but as a member of those with Media Credentials I felt that safety was of high priority and sincerely hope that this event continues on.
The event saw a coming together of Australia's hardest hitters in runway racing. Where else would you see Steve Jones/Anthony Scali, Jose Jardim, Willall Racing and Eddy Tassone at the same event? We should quantify this to a certain extent.....Jose Jardim went 338kph in the first VMax 1000mtr pass of the day/event. Yes first cab of the rank Sunday morning he runs 338kph (in a Toyota Supra.....not a cab). Not to be out done the Willall Racing team expedited some parts over night to Albany as they had turbo difficulties on the Saturday and threw everything at their Nissan GTR. It looked fast out of the hole and never looked compromised - 351kph. This blog may seem like a Youtube viewing generator but if you wish to see these passes go to our Racewars 2019 video. So the team at Willall Racing threw down their gauntlet and waited for Eddy Tassone to come to the line. Eddy had clocked 323kph in only 800mtrs the day before. The GTO looked angry the whole weekend and did not want to play the game....on two attempts on Sunday Eddy was battling the GTO to stay straight with repeated blips of the right foot. Sadly he was unable to get the car down the track in the Sunday morning VMax session. Unfortunately the event was called off by lunch time and he was unable to get a third run in. That said I have no doubt he will be back for 2020 bigger and better.
As some of you already know we started this Podcast / Media / Content provider / Website in April of 2017. Two years on and we have met the most awesome people. Last Thursday I was privileged enough to be invited to follow Podcasters The Pod Filter Podcast 10th Episode Special. Here we would go head to head with another WA Podcast Dept of Drift in a three way battle of WA Podcasts. I won't disclose the results as the Podcast has yet to hit the airwaves......or Icloud???....I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway, that said, we had an absolute blast and thanks to our under paid fellow contributor to the Torque n Power Podcast Todd Brinkworth. It was awesome having him on board and assisting with Drift, JDM and car culture questions. We should thank Adam Ward and Simon Fryer from The Pod Filter, Jarrod Maclean (JMac Media) and DJ Johannes of the Dept of Drift, Andy White our Quiz Master and Gem C de wind our official scorer.They made the evening one hell of a blast.
Anyway I think we are all caught up? We will be racing once again on the 23rd of March at the Motorplex. We hope to squeeze that 6 second pass out of the BA. Simon seems to be comfortable in the car again (just like the old days). We have a heap of Podcasts coming your way back to our normal format with Formula 1, MotoGP, Supercars and or course drag racing as well. If you are at the Motorplex make sure you pop in and say hello. Until then stay safe.
Regards
Nick Dicembre
info@torquenpower.net
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