Brad,

I am in Bulimba in Brisbane. Very hip neighbourhood, befitting an Alfa, where cafe culture is an integral part of one's life and the only thing more important than a well-lit make-up mirror is cup holders. However, I grew up in the housing commission badlands of Woodridge and Kingston - where we drove rusty old, mostly stolen, holdens. I'd definitely be in danger if I drove through the old neighbourhood in one of my Alfas. Aah, I'm a traitor to my roots. The shame of it.

Brent

Hey Brad,

I've also recently purchased a gorgeous little 156 Ti and just had the belts done at 45,000km. Strangely enough my car also has a couple of odd bubbly spots on the roof, which, living in Qld I attributed to bat crap being left on the paint for too long without being washed. The bats up here are massive and that fruity gear they drop as they fly over my neighbourhood is acidic. Anyway, I'm about to have it attended too (the paint that is, not the bats) but thought it a strange coincidence that another 156 ti owner had a similar situation.

I can also empathise with you on the $1200 service bill. My wife flashed me the raised eyebrow when I told her the cost...it's bad enough the bloody car doesn't have cup holders!

Cheers,

Brent

Darren,

A good mate of mine runs a customs brokerage and freight forwarding company here in Australia and has had a lot of experience with importing cars. His email address is adam@sunstatecustoms.com.au

Adam tremendous bloke and will be only too happy to help you out.

Good luck with it,

Brent

I am nothing, if not persistent about profiling this event.

Just had to get this one to the front page again, as it is an important notice to Qld members.

Enter the Regularity Bernard. No cage required and you will have a blast!

Hi there folks, sorry for the drip-fed information on this event but it started out as a simple race category and has steamrolled into a sensational weekend of racing, regularity and car display. Please find below the definitive outline of the weekend, including the 2 for 1 entry deal for club members wanting to spectate. Sunday will be the best day for spectators, with the display taking place that day. Gates open at 8.30am.

Cheers,

Brent

THE 2008 ITALIAN CHALLENGE

Calling all Alfa Romeo owners


Last year we had an absolute ball at the East Coast Challenge Alfa race.  With this in mind we are inviting all Italian machines to this year’s event. It will be amazing fun.

                           


THE RACE

On the weekend of 5th & 6th, July, 2008, AROCA Qld will host the 2008 Italian Challenge.  Run as part of Queensland Raceway’s Queensland Racing Drivers Championship, the 2008 Italian Challenge is open to all AROCA club members and an invitation is also extended to the Fiat, Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomaso, Lamborghini and Lancia owner’s clubs.

Qualifying and racing will take place over the Saturday and Sunday

So if you are an Alfa fanatic or just a keen Italian car enthusiast, mark down the weekend of July 5th & 6th in your diary, for the 2008 Italian Challenge.


THE ITALIAN CAR DISPLAY

In addition to the racing program there will be a display area allocated to Italian Marque automobiles.  So if you do not intend to race, you can still be a part of the action and display your pride and joy with all the other Italian thoroughbreds.  The display will be held on Sunday, July 6th, between 10am and 3pm. Prizes, sponsored by Shannons, will be awarded for different classes of cars on display.

Please email Bob Whitehouse, solidspace@bigpond.net.au if you wish to participate so we can keep a space for you.

AND THE REGULARITY

The 2008 Italian Challenge has just become a whole lot more exciting with the announcement of a Regularity Event to coincide with the Italian Challenge race and Italian Car Display.

As previously advised, the 2008 Italian Challenge will take place at Queensland Raceway, Willowbank, on the weekend of Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6. The race category already has a full capacity field of 32 entrants and the Sunday car display is shaping up as a sensational addition to the Italian auto atmosphere.
Now the opportunity has arisen for Alfa club members to participate in a Regularity Category as well as the race, which will open up the excitement of the day to even more Italian car owners.
 
This Regularity Event is strictly for Italian cars and can be run in your road car. The event will consist of a scheduled 15 minute qualifying run and one regularity round of six timed laps on Saturday, followed by two rounds of six timed laps on Sunday.
The idea of the Regularity Event is to nominate your lap time based on your qualifying session, then attempt to drive as consistently close to that nominated lap time as possible in each timed round. You are driving for consistency rather than track position but this certainly doesn’t mean you can’t drive flat out if you so desire.
The cost is a mere $125 for the early bird entry, which needs to be in prior to Friday, June 20, or $150 if you pay between June 21 and Friday, July 4.

You will require a AASA Clubman licence, which will set you back $55 for twelve months. That is amazing value for a weekend of racetrack thrills and the camaraderie of trading tales with fellow lovers of Italian machinery.

On the safety front, you will need a helmet that meets or exceeds AS1698 – these can be hired from QR on the day – long cotton pants, a long sleeved cotton shirt, cotton socks and closed-in shoes (leather sneakers make reasonable driving boots). Your car must have a fire extinguisher installed, the battery terminals taped and the headlights taped with clear tape (clear packing tape over the entire light is the new standard, rather than the old cross hatch of electrical tape).
 
If your car is road registered it will need to be in good road-going condition, with no obvious oil leaks, working brake lights, caps on the tire valves and with the hub caps or alloy wheel centre caps removed.

An entry form is available from the QR website. If you are keen for a run, simply download the entry, fill it out, return it with your payment details and you are in business.

Regularity entry form
http://www.qldraceways.com.au/Administration/pdf/entry_forms/QRDC%20Italian%20Regularity%20EntryForm%205%206%2007%2008.pdf

For further information on either the Regularity Event or the Italian Car Display please contact either Bob Whitehouse at solidspc@bigpond.net.au or Brent Hampstead at bhampstead@live.com.au

This will, without doubt, be one of the most exciting weekends of Italian auto action in Queensland’s history - with a race category, a regularity category and a car display. So take a punt, be part of it and tell your friends to come along and soak up the atmosphere.

For those members who would like to come and view the spectacle of Italian car fun, if you show your club membership card at the gate, you will receive a  2 for 1 price break on the entry fee of $10.00

PS: We are in need of a couple of volunteers to act as secretaries/ runners to collect information from the control tower and pass it onto the drivers. This is for both days or could be a one day deal.
If any one is interested please contact Bob Whitehouse @ 3265-2375 or
Email: solidspace@iprimus.com.au

Yeah, he is in the 75, but I just heard that three Ferraris have entered the Regularity, so the cheeky bugger will have his work cut out.

There are also five Ferraris entered in the race category, so all of the Alfas are going to have to be at their best to get on the podium!

Good news on the Regularity front. The entry form is up on the QR website.

My youngest brother Chris downloaded it today and faxed in his entry. Although the aim of the game is to drive consistently rather than quickly, Chris is never shy of a challenge and has thrown down the gauntlet that he will be the fastest driver in the Regularity section. Aah the unbridled bravado of youth... I think someone should take him up on the challenge.

Brent

Further to this post, the Regularity entry form has not yet been posted on the QR website. We are chasing this up and it will hopefully be available before Monday.

Happy motoring,

Brent

The 2008 Italian Challenge has just become a whole lot more exciting with the announcement of a Regularity Event to coincide with the Italian Challenge race and Italian Car Display.
As previously advised, the 2008 Italian Challenge will take place at Queensland Raceway, Willowbank, on the weekend of Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6. The race category already has a near capacity field of 31 entrants and the Sunday car display is shaping up as a sensational addition to the Italian auto atmosphere.
Now the opportunity has arisen for a Regularity Category as well as the race, which will open up the excitement of the day to even more Italian car owners. This Regularity Event is strictly for Italian cars and will be scheduled with a 15 minute qualifying run and one regularity round of six timed laps on Saturday, followed by two rounds of six timed laps on Sunday.
The idea of the Regularity Event is to nominate your lap time based on your qualifying session, then attempt to drive as consistently close to that nominated lap time as possible in each timed round. You are driving for consistency rather than track position but this certainly doesn’t mean you can’t drive flat out if you so desire.
The cost is a mere $125 for the early bird entry, which needs to be in prior to Friday, June 20, or $150 if you pay between June 21 and Friday, July 4. You will require a AASA Clubman licence, which will set you back $55 for twelve months. That is amazing value for a weekend of racetrack thrills and the camaraderie of trading tales with fellow lovers of Italian machinery.
On the safety front, you will need a helmet that meets or exceeds AS1698 – these can be hired from QR on the day – long cotton pants, a long sleeved cotton shirt, cotton socks and closed-in shoes (leather sneakers make reasonable driving boots). Your car must have a fire extinguisher installed, the battery terminals taped and the headlights taped with clear tape (clear packing tape over the entire light is the new standard, rather than the old cross hatch of electrical tape).
If your car is road registered it will need to be in good road-going condition, with no obvious oil leaks, working brake lights, caps on the tire valves and with the hub caps or alloy wheel centre caps removed.
A new entry form is being drafted by QR for this category and will be up on their website by Wednesday, June 11. If you are keen for a run, simply download the entry, fill it out, return it with your payment details and you are in business.
For further information on either the Regularity Event or the Italian Car Display (which will take place in the QR car park on Sunday, July 6 from 10am to 3pm) please contact either Bob Whitehouse at solidspc@bigpond.net.au or Brent Hampstead at bhampstead@live.com.au
This will, without doubt, be one of the most exciting weekends of Italian auto action in Queensland’s history - with a race category, a regularity category and a car display. So take a punt, be part of it and tell your friends to come along and soak up the atmosphere.

Cameron,

There should be a healthy field of Alfas out at QR for the Top Gear sprints as a lot of guys want to get some time in the seat before the Italian Challenge the following weekend.

The road cars and race cars will definitely all be in together and if we have enough Alfas entered for the sprints we will have our own group. We are definitely making a request to QR to put us all in together - although there are no guarantees if we don't get a group of 15 or more. I know of six Alfas off the top of my head that will be running and we are encouraging as many entrants as possible to have a crack at the Top Gear sprints.

You may also be interested in the Italian Challenge Regularity that we are about to announce. I am about to load up the info onto the forum so check it out when it comes up. We have a field of 31 cars in the Italian Challenge race and now have the opportunity to put together a regularity field.

See you at the sprints. I'll be having my first sprint in a hot little Guilietta I picked up from Jim Nielsen in Victoria.

Cheers,

Brent

Hi there,

If these are still available, I'll take them. Please email me at bhampstead@live.com.au to let me know your preferred method of payment.

Cheers,

Brent

You roaches are on shaky ground this year Duk. Us toads have been putting in the hard yards and hard-earned cash in an effort to take home some silverware. We've been living with the shame of being pantsed on our home turf for nearly twelve months.

Let's get ready to rumble!

So how did the sprints go boys? Give us an update. I was stuck in Townsville lamenting the fact that Alfas were humming their glorious tune some 1400km to the south - without me.