|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
4 May 2013, 05:13 (Ref:3242474) | #276 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 920
|
Just got back today after our second handicap race finished. Heavy rain all the way home so goodness knows how the 1 hour Honda Cup race fared, especially with Andy Booth, Foggy and one or two other 'named' co drivers sharing the driving!
I cannot praise the driving standards of our guys too highly. Combining two speed groups (34 cars) could have been a recipe for disaster, with a differential of over 20 seconds a lap between fastest and slowest; one scratch race and two handicaps. Zero accidents and when I left, after about race 13, just one safety car, for the day, yet the track conditions varied from cool in the morning practice, to damp, to wet. |
||
__________________
I always did march to a different drumbeat - Peter Brock |
4 May 2013, 05:25 (Ref:3242479) | #277 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,593
|
Quote:
Didn't realise they'd pinned the barriers into the ground - they normally use big pins to locate the blocks together but they stop at ground level - would have needed to make all new, redesigned ones for this job if the pins go into the ground and it turns moving them into a much bigger job. MIGHT still be do-able though - once the pins are out it only needs a Franna or similar to move each block - it'll be the pins back down into the ground that'll enlarge the job. |
|||
__________________
“We’re far from having too much horsepower…[m]y definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear.” ― Mark Donohue |
4 May 2013, 05:29 (Ref:3242482) | #278 | ||
Rookie
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 73
|
Looks like the Honda Cup race was called off after about 30 mins. I've heard that Fogg and Lester came together on the opening lap, taking both cars out of the race.
Good to hear that your class didn't have any accidents. It really gets on my nerves when I hear people in the paddock talking about how dangerous the new track is, it just shows that it is only as dangerous as each driver makes it. Hopefully all drivers can actually think before diving down the inside and causing accidents. |
||
|
4 May 2013, 09:09 (Ref:3242529) | #279 | |
Racer
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 376
|
||
|
4 May 2013, 09:14 (Ref:3242531) | #280 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 376
|
Quote:
I only attended on Saturday and the Crowd didn't seem that big, from other V8SC rounds I went to there. |
||
|
4 May 2013, 10:06 (Ref:3242543) | #281 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 172
|
Quote:
|
||
|
4 May 2013, 22:13 (Ref:3242924) | #282 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 920
|
Although some of the drivers' side improvements are OK, now I have had time to think about it, these are my observations.
1) Siting the start finish podium flagpoint on the left, instead of the right, just as drivers are entering a right hand corner meant that on several occasions, drivers did not see the chequred flag, especially so when three abreast in the handicaps. This generally means they do an extra lap which slows the meeting. 2) The new office building is air-conditioned so timekeepers and those of us parked in there doing our handicap calculations etc were OK, BUT, due to the vagaries of the Pukekohe site, there are no toilet or basic kitchen facilities. 3) There used to be a two portakabin type toilet structures in the paddock. Now there is just one, with just one WC for the lads. No driver changing or shower facilities like Taupo. 4) Bearing in mind yesterday was a one day meeting, therefore less than half the number of cars for a larger two day meeting, the extended concrete apron appears to have less room than the old apron with a road and parking behind it, so trailer parking is going to be a major problem, especially as there is no tunnel or vehicular bridge. HD, Taupo & Manfeild are streaks ahead in that respect. 5) The pits Meccano structure still requires tents underneath it (they hadn't been removed from the V8s as at yesterday) and as far as I could tell, no power supply to each pit, but I could have overlooked that. 6) Practice can't even start until the dogmeat has finished cantering, so drivers used to a 9:00 start at HD were waiting until 10:21 to get started. That loss of 90 minutes equates to one extra grid - practice and three races, so reduces the income. 7) I didn't get the opportunity to wander up to the hairpin and the new back straight kink, but most drivers said that sighting it was tricky. 8) Lap times were much slower than I expected. Cars that normally lapped about 1:08 on the old track, for their cool but dry practice, were about 1:20, but the slower cars that normally lapped about 1:17, were down to 1:29 or 1:31, so at the moment, about ten seconds a lap or more slower once they are used to it and the weather is warmer. 9) However, when it was damp (not wet) and having been warned about the track surface, lap times were out to 1:30 for the fastest car and 1:45 or so for many of the slower cars. 10) The final race was wet and just about all times were faster than the damp (all cars are on Dot rated road tyres). Fastest lap was 1:23 - he finished 21st! Many of the fastest laps were on laps 7 & 8 so I suspect most drivers were sensible enough to treat the track with respect and take it steady. The MSNZ steward appreciated our series driver's briefing. "If you panel damage your car on your own, you must see me. If there are two of you involved in a panel damage incident, then you must both report to me!" Just one driver came to see me having grazed a concrete block somehere, so other than that. Zero panel damage is possible, even with a massive grid, poor weather and a handicap system that tries to get all drivers across the line at the same time. Apart from a runaway winner in the last handicap, as a driver presumably resolved earlier issues and won by 15 seconds(!), the remainder of the field all bar two stragglers, was across the line within 25 seconds. A good end to the season for us, but the jury is still out on Pukekohe, as more of that 6.6 million needed investing in coping for the larger entry meetings where 250 cars are the norm - and permanent touilet and changing facilities. The Aussie V8s and supporting races has nowhere near that number of competitors and so the logistics of parking half the field outside the main paddock complicate the smooth running of those meetings noted for getting through a crowded programme. |
||
__________________
I always did march to a different drumbeat - Peter Brock |
4 May 2013, 22:50 (Ref:3242934) | #283 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 456
|
Just picked up this message from a competitor who has raced in the wet at both HD and Puke in recent weeks :
"They were so lucky with the Aussie V8's that it didn't rain. Drainage at the new section is non existent, and the whole track is so slippery. I raced at HD a couple of weeks ago and there was good grip in the wet, Puke is diabolical" |
||
|
4 May 2013, 23:01 (Ref:3242936) | #284 | |
Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 665
|
A freshly laid track surface is always very slippery in the wet, give it time to weather then see what happens.
|
|
|
5 May 2013, 07:43 (Ref:3242989) | #285 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
What he said. There'll still be oils from the bitumen compound that are working their way to the surface, that should tail off after a while hopefully.
|
||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
5 May 2013, 08:05 (Ref:3242998) | #286 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 456
|
Unfortunately it won't fix the standing water problems where they have put in new kerbs without adequate drainage. Hopefully they have some of the $6.6m left to do remedial work.
|
||
|
5 May 2013, 08:23 (Ref:3243006) | #287 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
|||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
5 May 2013, 21:50 (Ref:3243265) | #288 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 920
|
From a trusted source...
"The police estimated the crowd at 10,000 on Friday, 25,000 Saturday and 30,000 on Sunday. I bet the ‘official’ numbers will be 110,000. Difficult when the total stands only hold about 12,500!" |
||
__________________
I always did march to a different drumbeat - Peter Brock |
5 May 2013, 21:54 (Ref:3243266) | #289 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
Gosh that's not that good is it? My uncle went along and reckoned it was better than previous years though as it wasn't too crowded - only took them about 15 minutes to get out instead of the normal 45 minutes of old...
|
||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
5 May 2013, 23:42 (Ref:3243293) | #290 | |||
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 456
|
Quote:
It appears that Bill's prophecy of attendance figure "massaging" may be in play here as the Council "official" figures are about double the Police estimate. There was a huge push by Council to get spectators to travel to Pukekohe by train or bus but over the three days only 7339 people travelled by train and 1753 by bus. Council targeted 25% of spectators travelling by public transport but in reality only 7.7% did. Auckland Council have refused to release how much it cost them to put on the free public transport. Whichever way you look at it the figures used by ATEED to justify the "investment" by ratepayers seem to be way short of what actually happened. |
|||
|
5 May 2013, 23:50 (Ref:3243295) | #291 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 456
|
Thinking about it a bit more - if the Police estimate is accurate to the extent of the percentage split for each day, then the Council figures on that same split seem hardly credible :
Friday 18,000 Saturday 45,000 Sunday 54,000 If as Ray says, the stands hold 12,500, then on the Sunday there must have been 41,500 people wandering around with nowhere to sit .......... |
||
|
6 May 2013, 00:04 (Ref:3243298) | #292 | ||
Racer
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 172
|
Quote:
Really the only relivent figure for a promotor. |
||
|
6 May 2013, 00:04 (Ref:3243299) | #293 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
Quote:
Anyone who was there like to comment on how crowded it was on the Sunday? In the past if you didn't get there early you would not get a seat on the hill. |
|||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
6 May 2013, 04:35 (Ref:3243343) | #294 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 920
|
If anyone has decent photographs of the various stands, for each day, you can make an educated guess by counting a section of each area and multiplying out.
I know from a claim made elsewhere about another event that photographic evidence was never submitted to support their claim about crowd numbers - especially relevant when independent photographs of the same area showed the claims to be about 800% wrong! Cameras never lie - but that was before Photoshop appeared... Without proper turnstiles, it is all guesswork, much of it uneducated too. We also know that 1,000s of people at these events haven't paid a cent either, be they guests of drivers, sponsors, teams, corporates, councils etc. Just about the only figures I would trust 100% would be the number of volunteers from the Motorsport Club. |
||
__________________
I always did march to a different drumbeat - Peter Brock |
6 May 2013, 05:01 (Ref:3243347) | #295 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
In the end, it's all about how much profit was made, if any. Too hard to get numbers for all those reasons.
|
||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
6 May 2013, 05:22 (Ref:3243352) | #296 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,667
|
one of the mods need to change this section from New Zealand Motor Racing to New Zealand Conspiracy Theories
|
||
|
6 May 2013, 08:07 (Ref:3243410) | #297 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 849
|
Quote:
i would be more concerned with how many of the crowd were from the host city, as it is well known they don't like travelling, and they are the ratepayers footing the bill. apart from drainage issues and the concrete wall being too close for some , i reckon the costs are close to being justified. and if they didn't fund and upgrade, then Auckland ratepaying motorsport enthusiats would end up having to travel to Hampton downs as Pukekohe's facilities would deem it inadequate. |
||
__________________
despite all my rage, i'm still just a rat in a cage |
6 May 2013, 08:59 (Ref:3243421) | #298 | ||
Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 920
|
Hampton Downs is exactly the same distance from Auckland as Pukekohe...
At the moment, I would say that Pukekohe with the Aussie V8 set up is slightly better for spectators, but HD is better for drivers/teams. Once HD is finished, with the proposed village alongside the proposed bottom straight etc., I suspect the balance will swing more towards HD, but I am not sure what, if any, covered grandstands are proposed at the end of the new extension and across the current sweeper, which would appear to be the most logical long term plan. |
||
__________________
I always did march to a different drumbeat - Peter Brock |
6 May 2013, 10:23 (Ref:3243463) | #299 | |||
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 456
|
Quote:
We know Puke needed some work but it appears it has been too focused on just suiting the AV8s and the other domestic users on the other 51 weeks could have got more benefit from a spend of $6.6m. The fact is that there are drainage problems, that there are barrier problems that have at least driven the bikes away, that there are still toilet problems, that there is a lack of competitor pit space on the inside of the track etc, etc. Its unfortunate that this has happened when a little more attention on all track users could have resulted in a much better facility to suit a wider user base. |
|||
|
6 May 2013, 10:54 (Ref:3243479) | #300 | |||
Veteran
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,491
|
Quote:
You are referring to a post made by Mark Petch, I suspect, where he said it was more financially viable to stay in the top half of the North Island - well when the three most developed tracks (not incl. Highlands now) are all up there along with more than half of the population, it makes a of of sense, even if that is not what actually happens. |
|||
__________________
Nice one, Centurion! |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
No more cars at Pukekohe | flyingduck | Australasian Touring Cars. | 5 | 5 May 2005 12:03 |
Did anyone else at Pukekohe notice that.. | tanalised | Australasian Touring Cars. | 9 | 21 Apr 2005 09:07 |
Pukekohe - who cocked up. | sizzle | Australasian Touring Cars. | 34 | 15 Apr 2004 03:05 |
is there any news from pukekohe??? | promax | Australasian Touring Cars. | 4 | 8 Nov 2003 05:06 |
PUKEKOHE: Practice 1 | Dazz | Australasian Touring Cars. | 12 | 7 Nov 2003 01:22 |