I went along today to the Broadford race track, and what a great little track it is, i don't know why we haven't been there before, about 15 years ago, when i was the M.S.C.A. delegate, we were trying to arrange a sprint there, but it turned to the brown stuff, but it was good to see, the Alfa Romeo club pulled it off, i was actually lucky enough to do 2 very slow safety check laps and the track looked a real blast, it would be awesome in a great handling car like a Sud or Sprint or 33, all the drivers seemed to be having a great time, the weather was glorious, it was an hour drive up from Melbourne, the pit and general facilities looked well layed out, Ella came along for a look, and her lunch was 1st class and very tasty, [take that Winton], a good day was had by all, make sure you don't miss the next one, Colin.
Epic sentence is epic.
Yes, ditto that, so what can I add, huge thanks to all those dedicated club members who ran the day while I did some sightseeing. What a great team we have going.
Those to dob in and embarrass are: Alan Hopla, Stuart Thomson, Bruno Colautti, Giancarlo Ingrisciano, Joe Ardi, Ross Flood, Barry Edmunds, Paul Byrne, Frank Musco, Matt Francis, John Marras, Joe Falcone and of course there are more and those who I have forgotten.
The track was fantastic in excellent condition, set against a scenic undulating green backdrop. The first hour in the morning was a bit damp with a light drizzle and low grip which kept everyone on their toes and keeping safe but no incidents because everyone adhere to the warning at drivers' briefing. Day improved significantly by mid morning and continued to do so by lunchtime and into the afternoon, PERFECT conditions and lap times showed it.
By all reports from those who came to the inaugural AROCA Broadford sprint, it was fantastic, relaxed, most enjoyable and lots of fun. The track was technically challenging and not a lot of power was needed, ideally suited for both Alfa's and MX5's. The smiles on everyone's face were remarkable along with all the comments and compliments.
Something not to be missed if there is another opportunity. Not sure as the pecking order for track date allocation is pretty low for car clubs, given that it is a motorcycle track.
Anyway, we had a great time, something to remember and something to look forward to again.
Regards
Neil
Thanks Neil and team, most exciting track i have been on. There doesnt seem to be time to look at guages or anything, as you are too busy driving. Everyone i spoke to loved it as well, a real drivers track. Only complaint - i didnt come first. Derek seemed to pull out 15 seconds on only one lap :-\... Look forward to going again. And it is a killer on the brakes with the available grip from the uphill braking areas. Brakes were cooked from lunch time. And we got lots of great video.
Seeing as the day went without any dramas, the next Broadford aroca sprint day should be welcomed.
As a spectator, it was a very enjoyable and scenic day. Agree with Colin, the egg and bacon rolls were lovely! Only 1 hour or so from Melbourne. All good. Well done Neil and volunteers - You did it again.
"a great handling car like a Sud or Sprint or 33"....you on a different planet Colin?! ;D
But good also to see the two Sud Sprints parted next to each other. Reminds us of how pretty they are in original form.
Picture of the track attached.
The Alfasud was designed by Austrian Engineer, DR. Rudolph Hruska, he figured that the boxer motor would achieve minimum overhang, low centre of gravity and good space usage, long suspension arms for minimum camber change, inboard disc brakes for minimum unsprung weight, which meant according to Tiff Needal from 5th gear, the best handling front wheel drive in the world, that Rudi knew his stuff, Colin.
An awesome day, a minor shame my car didn't last the day, but realistically it did far better than I was expecting!
Dad took quite a few photos, most of them pretty good. If anyones after some of themselves send me a pm with your email address and I'll see what we've got.
Thanks Neil!
Col the sud might be a good handling car, but mine had a poor qaulity driver
Matt that 90 doesn't look bad. The headlights look better than expected. Well at least they haven't made the car look worse...
Haha, thanks Evan. The inside of the car is really nice (current dashboard excepted), and that's the only part of it that I see when driving it!
I'll just have to learn to navigate car parks with my eyes closed :)
Makes it look a bit like a series 2 Alfa Six.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Alf6wiki.jpg)
But it also means you can't be in my Alfa 90 club, sorry. Membership still stands at 1.
Quote from: Evan Bottcher on July 23, 2012, 10:26:30 PM
Matt that 90 doesn't look bad.
Whoops - I meant 82.5. ::)
Is it mandatory for 90's to have several different shapes of battleship grey. Or is Matt just emulating Sheldon.
Quote from: Neil Choi on July 23, 2012, 11:19:15 PM
Is it mandatory for 90's to have several different shapes of battleship grey. Or is Matt just emulating Sheldon.
LOL...spot on, Matt just wants to be like Sheldon.
Quote from: Sheldon McIntosh on July 23, 2012, 10:56:35 PM
But it also means you can't be in my Alfa 90 club, sorry. Membership still stands at 1.
What about Dehne ? Isn't he a member ? What about an Alfetta GCL ? A 90 under concession ?
Matt - 82.5's looking sharp, can you hear that noise ?, it's the head of Centro Stile spinning in his grave at 7500 rpm
Ohh by the way question about Broadford, speaking to Vince (Sartor) last week he was thinking that the track direction was the opposite to the bikes, is this true ?
Looks like a lot of fun by the way, with little margin for error. Good stuff guys
I was lucky enough to do some laps on a sidecar outfit at the big Easter meeting and all sessions ran clockwise.
Seems ideal for a club sprint!
Quotehe was thinking that the track direction was the opposite to the bikes, is this true ?
That would make the runoff road on the entry to the main straight not at the end of the main straight. I don't think so.
Fair enough just a thought from Vince in a discussion we were having - Flame proof pants on