The Epic “adventures of Jess” are on full flight this year and I got to experience another fantastic event called Bathurst 12Hr! I went up for the 4 days to help out one of the supporting categories – Improved Production with the Awesome Street Brothers, Peter & John!! I also had friends running Teams in the 12hr and John Walker was competing in the HQ category. The line up of races was going to be sensational with a bit of everything on display. Categories running on the mountain were Group N, HQ’s, Improved Production, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge (Dam!! They were nice), Saloon Cars and of course the 12hr Teams!!!

I drove up to Bathurst on the Thursday morning to help Peter Street sign all the IPRA entrants in and collect there paperwork. This was my first time experiencing an event at Mt Panorama and I was excited! I arrived on the mountain and started to take in the “wonder”. This place truly is magical and the facilities are second to none.
The IPRA had set up marquee garages in the paddock behind the main pits. Which came in much need with the incredible weather we were about to face for the 4 days! We had 37 Improved Production cars entered in the race and was so good to see all the different types of cars going head to head against each other. I was jealous that they got to try and conquer the mountain. But I got to cut many laps of the carpark going backwards and forwards from the Control Tower and Paddock. I got a workout that’s for sure but it’s the best way to bump into everyone and see it all. It was amazing to hear and see and smell the race cars going around the track from the infield. To me it felt like something out of “Days of Thunder” haha. The guys had practice and qualifying on Friday and races on Saturday and got one dry run. The HQ’s seems to be the best category to get the dry laps every time there went out. The IPRA guys did extremely well with the conditions and a lot of the entrants it was there first time on the mountain. There were a few thrills and spills with Evos coming off the track but mostly was some clean racing and great battles between the packs.

John Walker in the HQ was having some thrills and spills on the track and exchanged paint with a certain tyre wall and had a great story to tell when he came into the pits. John stayed mid packed through his races as the HQ was better downhill than up but he held his place through out the race and did very well fighting off a few of the HQs trying to claim is spot. His best time was a 3:11!
I was “wowed” by the level of professionalism this event had. The teams were all kitted out as if it was the V8 Supercars and I got to be part of the 12hr Walden, Walden & Auld Team as a data entry assistant for the event on the Sunday. This is to keep track of lap times and fuel consumption through out the race. I woke up at 4am to get ready and prepped for the 6:30am start. I have never seen a more glorified sight than that level of race cars gridding up at the crack of dawn on the start line. The Walden Team had to start from rear due to a discrepancy in Qualifying but Garth just carved up the field the minute the light went out to try and gain the places back. By 3rd lap he was back where he qualified in 12th position and fighting strong. There were unbelievable conditions out on the track going from wet to dry then steamy back to torrential rain. On the 68 lap the car was overheating and came in to the pits. To my devastation the car had blown a head gasket. I was quite upset as the Walden team was going so well and had a real chance to finish in the top 5. The 12hr is a battle of wills and the tables can turn so quickly with driver error and different styles with a team of 3 drivers in the cars. A lot of teams fell out of the competition due to mechanical malfunctions and the weather was so fierce the safety car was out on the track for at least 6 hours of the race and even took chequered flag at the end but before that at about 1pm a tree fell down on to the circuit at forest elbow and took about an hour to clear the cars where stuck up the top on skyline. I tell you what it all happens at Bathurst!

Alan East is a SSCC member and also had a 12hr team with his Mitsubishi Evo 9 GSR the team did very well with Wall, Wall & Symonds driving it. They did a total of 202 laps and best time of 2:31 which is seriously moving. They came 2nd behind Holt, Morris & Bowe and very impressive with Crompton, Seton & King coming in 3rd in there Evo 10.
Bathurst 12hr is definitely worth the trip up to experience I had the best time and couldn’t believe how much you got to see. You don’t get that close at the V8’s and it feels just the same. I learnt a lot with helping out the IPRA category and doing data entry and have been invited back to do it all again for 2011. I just hope I get to compete at the mighty mountain one day and see what its like from the other side of the fence.

Mt Buller Sprint is a Hill Climb that takes part over 3 days in the Victoria snow fields and is 16km of pure awesome road!!

I have waited for this moment ever since I started out as a navigator. I love Tarmac Rallies and was so happy to finally experience it. I received a phone call late Wednesday night at 10:30pm asking if I could navigate in a Porsche 964 at Mt Buller. Of course I leapt at the chance and got myself down to Victoria. This was the first time I was doing a pace noted event and was a bit nervous. I was happy that I had done the previous “road book rallies” with the dreaded “Terratrip” and that style is defiantly a lot harder to learn than pace notes. I was adding and adjusting notes to the notes (haha) and was giving Richard Fricker some tips on what to do to help him when he was on the road. It was his first time navigating for Craig Burgess in the Awesome Nissan Skyline R32 GTR.

I met up with Greg Muller my driver in the Porsche and I had the 1-10 pace note system. (To explain 1-10 notes the number represents the grades of the corners. So 1 being a hairpin and 10 being nearly a straight) Greg and I wanted to get some practice in before they closed the road Friday morning. We set off from the start line and I was way off the notes by the third corner and we were only doing 60km per hour…I started doing my usual self doubting, started thinking “What the hell am I doing, I cant do this!!” But I shook those thoughts out of my head and pressed on with going back to the start line and trying again. By the 4th time I started getting the hang of it and was getting used to what a “10 corner” looks like. So with practice in we headed up to the top of the mountain which is 16km of gorgeous tarmac twisting up through the lush forest!!
The view up the top was breath taking and couldn’t believe what I was taking in. We were at a ski lodge surrounded by trees and mountains and it was fantastic!

I was so happy to see that there were more Southern Sporting Car Club Members out to conquer the mountain. Patrick Bourke and John Woods in their 1992 Mazda RX7,
Chris and Anne-Maree Crowe in there 2004 Holden HSV GTS Coupe and Steve Spada and Christina Condon in there 1999 Mitsubishi Evo 6, David Murphy & Con Constantino in the 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and of course Craig Burgess and Richard Fricker in the 1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GTR.
Once we got the “hellos” out of the way we all attended driver briefing and was glad to find out that the organizers “Mountain Motorsport” were going to give us a taste of what we were in store for a prologue on the last part of the hill climb. This turned out to be my favorite part of the mountain and the part I remembered the most.
We all suited up and travelled down the hill to the service park which was situated ¾ the way up the mountain to get ready for our turn at the taste of tarmac. With 80 entrants in the sprint the array of cars was sensational. You had everything from the old classic mustang to a brand new Nissan Skyline R35 GTR. I had personal favorites which were the double trouble team of Corvette Z06’s and a Skelta which I had never seen before and looked like something out of a batman movie but it sure did haul arse up the hill (haha).

It was finally our turn in the Porsche and I got into my groove was ready for 5 lights to come on and go out. 5,4,3,2,1 GO!
We head out with a 3R followed by a 9L into 7L into 1L that went uphill followed by a 8R into a steep 1R into a 7L that tightens and opens into a 7R opens and tightens into 8L into a hard 4R and then Flying Finish. Was all over in a flash which felt like forever and was happy with the way I went. Greg thought I did ok and was good to get it out of the way. I like to know what to expect as funny as it sounds. It helps to calm my nerves and work out how I am going to tactical it from there on. I regrouped with the others to find out how they went. A lot of the SSCC members where after the Porsche as had faster car.

Richard Fricker went well for his first time navigating in the GTR and was such an eye opener for him sitting on the other side of the car for a change. So was Anne-Maree Crowe navigating Chris and the HSV up the twisty road and was lovely to see another female getting in the passenger seat. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and did an excellent job for her first time!! Their best time was a 9:07.63 on their 8th session up the hill.
The RX7 was having issues most of the weekend which was unfortunate as it’s a sight to see the “fast & furious” looking Mazda carving up the bitumen. Their best time was a 9:59.68 on their 5th session up the hill but the RX7 wasn’t at its full potential.

The mighty “TEXICO” Sierra put in a massive effort and scored a 9:27.53 on their 7th Session up the mountain. The boys were struggling for grip on most corners as the Sierra just kept lighting up the tyres!!!
Steve Spada & Christina Condon in the sensational Evo 6 did a 9:20.30 on their 8th Session and were having a great time after their experiences on the mountain in 2008. Fricker & Burgess did a 9:01.15 on their 3rd session in the GTR.

But there is a twist to this story!! Saturday morning Richard Fricker wasn’t feeling the best and with Burgess & Fricker being in the Top 10 line up they asked me to jump in. It was also a bit of an audition for me to see if I could handle navigating the Awesome GTR!! I jump in with Craig and due to having Friday’s runs up the hill I was on the ball! We managed a 8:53.79 for our first attempt together and I was having the best time navigating in my most favourite model of car. We were on a high from going 10th place down to 9th. Craig and I were on a mission to get better. We lined up again at the bottom of the hill…I love to countdown as sykes you up for the moment and better for the driver as only has to concentrate on the launch and the road in front..5,4,3,2,1….GO!! We were off and the GTR is an absolute bullet launching off the line it seriously puts you back in your seat. I was on my notes and so focused I didn’t stuff up once! The GTR sticks like nothing else and Craig’s driving is so smooth he really knows and understands his car well. We reached the top with an outstanding time of 8:51.67!!! We got 8th outright and first in class. The Mt Buller Hill climb is a fantastic event and is a real eye opener. I am so glad I made the dash down to Victoria to do it! I got to know the SSCC members a lot better over the weekend and was really nice to share the experience with them. If you ever want to try a hill climb this is one that shouldn’t be missed!

With the last round of MRA fast approaching I want to tell you about the current leader in the championship in combined sedans. I am very excited to see a female at the top of the point score. Melissa has a long background of motorsport and countless track days and super sprints under her belt but wanted MRA to be her first race series and is doing exceptionally well. With passing her CAMS course in her hot little hands and with buying and prepping a Mitsubishi Evo 7 to race. Melissa and Husband Shane looked at a few series on offer and chose MRA for it’s easy to enter formalities and variety of cars and times in the respectful categories on offer and ability to sign off her CAMS Provisional Licence.
Melissa has had her fair share of problems with the Mitsubishi Evo 7 as we all do. With her first round she had a problem with her clutch, which decided to die and Melissa had to retire early missing her last race at her dismay. She returned for round 2 of the series and had another problem go wrong with the car, Clutch master cylinder this time, so she limp it around the track as best she could to finish all her races. Round 3 was a lot more exciting for her and with all the problems ironed out this time got to finish all her races and came 3rd in her last race which she was ecstatic about. “Its not about being the fastest car out there it’s showing up to every meeting and doing your best and finishing your races and being consistent” Mellissa told me.
Melissa is a bit different to me where she does better times with another car behind her, trying to pass her on the track. She goes into persistent mode and will block and drive faster when being pushed from behind by another driver. In saying that she told me the funniest thing, she suffers from motion sickness and I commended her for still doing the sport with such an annoying problem to face every time you race. Melissa will take motion sickness tablets at certain tracks that affect her in the morning before her races start. I have also learned that she isn’t the only one with another girl that does rally suffers from this and a friend of mine gets it also but funny how it’s only when I drive him around!!.
Mellissa has found MRA entrants and personnel to be really supportive and helpful and she is excited to be apart of the MRA family. She would like to thank all organizers, volunteers and entrants that help make this series possible. With it being her first series to compete in she feels it is giving her great confidence and skills to tackle her future goals which is to one day race around Mt Panorama being a Bathurst girl at heart.
So if you see Melissa at the next round of MRA do go up and say Hi. Melissa is very down to earth and loves cars as much as the next bloke and I am very happy that I got to chat and find out about her as it is fantastic to see a girl doing so well and would be great to have more girls join this series!
Happy Racing and see you all on 25th of October for Round 4!
Jessica Nicholson

Attention: The Honourable Joseph Tripodi

Minister for Finance, Infrastructure,

Parliament House
Macquarie Street
Sydney 2000

Dear Mister Tripodi

RE: Funding V8 Super Cars at Homebush

I am writing to you as a concerned member of the public and as an active motor sport enthusiast regarding the proposed $30m funding of a temporary motor sport event in Homebush. I am requesting that prior to such funding; the NSW Government adequately considers the longer term needs of Sydney, and its motor racing fraternity.

Permanent motor racing circuits such as Eastern Creek Raceway host motor car and motorbike racing; cycling club racing; cross country and foot races; vintage and veteran car shows; provide driver training and launch products, cars and motor cycles. ECR will become Australia’s only remaining Internationally (FIA) recognised track and the only race track available to residents in the Sydney Basin with Oran Park closing in 2009/10. The recent proposal by the Australian Racing Driver’s Club to invest $93m in upgrading ECR, is in part, an effort by the ARDC to address the impacts of Oran Park’s closure, but this will do little to address Sydney’s growing professional and grass roots motor sport needs. As a relevant case study, please review the demise of Sydney’s Drag Racing scene between Castlereagh’s closure in 1984 to Western Sydney International Dragway’s opening in 2004. It seems that Sydney has once again decided to take the “back seat” as far as motor sport activities and Sydney’s long term economic prosperity.

The Sydney Metropolitan Strategy forecasts 40% of Sydney population growth to occur in Western Sydney over the next 25 years. In order to meet the western regions infrastructure and motor sport needs, the planning, design and construction of ECR and a second race track for the Sydney basin needs to be accelerated ahead of short term options such as street racing at Homebush. The motor racing fraternity and the people of Sydney want permanent motor racing infrastructure, which in contrast to annual races at Homebush will deliver far reaching, long term benefits for Sydney.

Excluding television viewers, there are over 500 thousand active motor sport participants in NSW , a majority of these in western Sydney. Grass roots motor sport provides the entry level for driver training and awareness; economic benefits for National and International businesses; sporting ambassadors such as Jack Branham, Allan Jones and Mark Weber and healthy social and sporting activities for Greater Sydney. By funding V8 Super Cars, the NSW Government would be choosing to support an affluent corporation over the delivery of Sydney’s long term infrastructure needs. With the threat to the Sydney Metro rail link and Sydney’s expansion in the north and south west growth areas, the NSW Government proposes that the greater motor sport contingent of Sydney will be satisfied commuting and spectating at Homebush once a year. The NSW Government needs to consider Sydney’s motor sport needs for the other 364 days of each year. Both Sydney race circuits are currently fully booked in advance and as a consequence Eastern Creek is now loosing business (such as car launches) to Melbourne . Imagine the impact on Motorsport and local businesses when Oran Park finally closes its doors?

Please re consider the long term benefits that could be delivered through re investing the $30m proposed for Homebush into a second long term race track in Sydney’s west. Such action will fulfil the long term needs of Sydney’s motor racing fraternity; deliver long term tourism opportunities and a much needed boost to Sydney’s economic development.

Yours Sincerely
Jessica Nicholson

The day started off with Brad, Jay and I getting up at 5:30am to head down to Wakefield Park for the HSV Super Sprint. Got down there and signed on and got scrutineered. Brads favourite scrutineer was on duty which always good for a laugh for me and Jay, as the questions he asks Brad have happen every sprint so far and good for a bit of a giggle. Jay also received his race number which is now, No # 450 and he doesn’t have magnetic ones yet so proceeded to duct tape them on and you could not of missed them as they took up the whole door width on either side, All the entrants proceeded to let him know that his numbers would of been able to be read from MARS. But we were all excited and ready for a big day and to tackle our times and hopefully beat our Personal Best from the previous Track day.
The track was damp and it was extremely cold down in Goulburn, it was 8 degrees all day. We all got out having our first session and were Brad’s first time out at Wakie on full slicks so he wanted to get out before the rain as it wasn’t looking very good in the morning with the dark clouds looming over head. The track was very slippery and took a few sessions to get used too. I found for me that it was most slippery after the fishhook and that didn’t change all day, had lots of trouble putting the power down after that turn. Plus nearly every session for blue group we got a light drizzle, John Street and I we were thinking the gods were against us as quite uncanny how it was our session (blue group) that kept copping the rain.
But all in all was a very enjoyable day, Brad loved the slicks and they worked well for him and he did a 1:07, Jay was having a few off’s as he found he couldn’t pull up the car on the last session for the day and he did a 1:13 and I was very happy with myself as my car ran excellent all day and the fresh engine loved going around the track and didn’t miss a beat all day and I just made it into the (11’s) with a 1:11:89.
We had 24 SSCC members entered in the sprint, Warren Weldon put down the fastest time for the club in his Evo 9 with a 1:06 and Steve Berry and John Street were very happy on the day as Steve did a 1:14 and John got his 1:11. HSV car club put on a great day and was happy how smooth the day ran.

Introduction:
To start the story off I think I need to tell you some background information. I have wanted to get into Rallying for a few years now ever since I brought my first GTR. I like the “Targa Tasmania” event and this is the ultimate goal for me to achieve while I am alive! So to do that sort of event you need to either drive or navigate! I decided on navigating as would be too much work for me to build a “Targa” car on my own and I can handle sitting in a passenger seat while yelling things at a driver. I have had boyfriends that are just as car mad as me so a bit of a pro…So thought navigating would be the perfect role for me.
So with selling my GTR (I do miss her) I thought to myself this is the perfect opportunity to start my rally career. I started putting the feelers out and it’s not an easy task trying to find someone willing to take you on and teach you to be a co driver/navigator especially as I am coming from a circuit racing background and don’t know any rally guys here in NSW. I didn’t want to spend $1600 on a co-driving course either. Cause the vital thing I have learnt is. That it all comes down to the driver and how he/she wants the notes read. So I started emailing around to rally organisation and motorsport group that I could think of and found on Google to see if anyone would take me on and I found one. Mark Butcher from Driver Skills Australia was happy to help me out and teach me the ropes.
So now my story begins!!
Now most people think I am either completely crazy or a pretty brave female as the Rally Series I am doing is held in Tasmania. So to fly over to Tassie and meet complete strangers and then get in a Rally car with the complete strangers and go driving through a forest at warped speed having no idea what to do would be classed as fun? Well I think so and I love adventure!!

Day 1: Wednesday 10th June
I flew over to Tasmania before my event to meet up with my team and start trying to get the feel for navigating. I flew from Sydney to Melbourne then Melbourne to Devonport as Qantas only fly’s there and Hobart. Amy met me at the airport and before I had even set foot on Tasmania soil I had put my foot in it hehe. I thought and have no reason why that Amy was Marks daughter (think cause she looked young in a photo I saw of her). So I told her this and she came back with the response “No, I am his wife!” Well I felt horrible and thought to myself what a brilliant start Jess…Well done! She thought it was quite funny and took it as a compliment. Mark wasn’t too impressed when Amy told him because that was basically telling him I thought he was old. So I didn’t live that comment down all weekend! Never assume anything or if you do, don’t open your mouth and tell them ha-ha. With my bags in tow we headed off from Devonport to a quaint little town on the North side of Tassie called Burnie. I got to the workshop to finally see firsthand the rally car that I would be navigating for! Very excitedly I looked it over intensely. It is a Black Subaru WRX Imprezer, 2000 model the bug eye looking ones and has the awesome mud flaps that rally cars have to have. It has just been overhauled with fresh engine internals, new bigger turbo and 3inch exhaust. The gearbox and diffs had been freshened up also. Mark told me to jump in the Rally Car and would take me the rest of the way to their place in style. The WRX is road registered so was cool driving along in the quiet town in the race seat and harness and you could hear the car coming a mile away with the exhaust on it. I was starting to realise exactly what I was getting myself in for and thought this is fantastic!
Reached my final destination Mark and Amy’s house and after going through some twisty roads. I was starting to see that Tassie scenery is all lovely rolling hills, bush and nice twisty roads that don’t have massive pot holes in them. At this point is when I found out that Tasmania has limited phone reception especially with Vodafone so I was cut off from the world for most of the day in Sisters Beach until we went out into town. I found this hard to deal with as wanted to share my excitement with friends and family. But like everyone tells me “Harden up Princess”. I will say one thing I am so glad I packed warm cause it was bloody freezing. It got down to some ridiculous temperature at night had 2 heaters plus an open fire going just to keep the house toasty warm and a electric blanket on the bed only just warms up the sheets on the highest setting so I slept in my clothes most nights plus the covers but I was “hardening up” so dealt with it.

Day 2: Thursday 11th June
Next day Mark took me out for some Navigating Training. This was the first time I laid eyes on a Rally road book and a TERRATRIP! Why am I yelling about the TERRATRIP because I have a love/ hate relationship with this new machine and will take me awhile to like it and get use to it! I can see where the “TERRA” part comes in to it. That machine definitely makes you feel that way at times. I found out there and then that the Rally I would be doing on Saturday was not what I had hoped. This Rally series is not done with pace notes as such. More a road book with safety notes that you read out to the driver and the TERRATRIP assists you with the completing of KMs of the stage and then gives you another number which is the distance to your next call but the tricky part is the TERRATRIP counts up and you need to count down in your head how many meters are left to your next note/call. That’s the confusing part because this is all happening so fast 100 meters is gone in less than a second. So Mark tells me it’s really easy and you need to just be ok with Maths and we will be great! Well I started to panic a bit and I got pins and needles throughout my body and started to go a bit numb from the shock of all this information. Started thinking “What have I got myself into, I am not sure if I can do this after all” I tend to be a bit of a stressor and second guess myself constantly, again need to “harden up”. So we set off on a Tarmac stage of the rally road book that was close to his house so I could get some practice in. We only got up to 60km an hour and I wasn’t doing too well as it’s a lot of information to take in and the roles of a navigator in the car can be quite a lot. You need to set the TERRATRIP at the start of each stage. Relay the first pace note to the driver then work out in your brain when you need to give the driver the countdown of the remaining meters and then reset the TERRATRIP when you’re just on the corner or that note. You also need to be thinking about the next note that needs to be said as some can be only 100 meter apart. Due to all this information I have found my weakness which is resetting that bloody TERRATRIP so what do you think my Tasmanian nick name is now “RESET”!!!!! So we took a break after doing two stages in the road book. At this point I was not feeling my body at all had pins and needles all over and starting to clam up and felt a bit nausea. I jump out of the car to try and stretch myself out and shake off the horrible feeling of dread. I told Mark that “I was afraid of letting him down and this is all completely new for me so taking a bit to adjust.” He was understanding and wasn’t expecting me to pick it up over night. So we jumped back in the car and I was feeling a bit better after my stretch and Mark thought it was a good idea to take me off road and show me what the car is built for. Going fast on dirt! Found a dirt forest road and we were off. This is all at night by the way and there are animals out and surrounded by forests and farm land. First time off road in a Rally car and it was insane. The car loves to go sideways and jumping over crests and considering the ordeal I had just been through I was enjoying the thrashing through the forest at night with tree branches wiping past us. It’s a hard feeling to describe unless you have tried it. It feels like you are out of control constantly but you’re in control of the car “most” of the time. So with my feeling of dread a distant memory we went back home for a well deserved dinner and a few too many beverages to calm my nerves.

Day 3: Friday 12th June
Woke up to a freezing cold morning if I haven’t already explained Tasmania is bloody freezing this time of year. I had anticipated that it would be, but couldn’t believe how cold it really was and next time won’t be listening to my flat mate about packing too many clothes. I was right and was kicking myself half way through my stay when I was running low on warm clothes. But this story isn’t going to turn girly and I have learnt my lesson. So we went into town with car cause he drives it everywhere which is just so cool and I finally got sms coming through of being wished well for my event the next day and it made me feel a lot better to have that support cause its hard doing this on your own first time around but I have made some excellent friends and my Rally Team have made me feel so welcome I can’t fault them! We rushed around Friday morning getting last minute parts and wheel alignment and spare tyres all to be ready to leave for Hobart at 3pm. On the map of Tassie from top to bottom doesn’t seem like a great distant but it is. Hobart was about 400km away from us so we were in for a long trip. I kept razzing my team mates up asking how far away all the towns where. Thought it was funny how it’s just a big island surrounded by water but I find simple thing amusing. Mark and I went out for some last minute training again on the same stages we did the night before and my dreaded pins and needles where back. Don’t know why I stress so much but think it’s to do with someone else being involved and if I get the notes wrong can be very costly and painful to both of us, enough of the dismal stuff though. I went better in this practice run and I was improving with every time we went out so all positive. Got back to pick up the rest of the team and we headed off to Hobart. I was a little bit disappointed that it was dark and wouldn’t get to see the country side on the way to Hobart but there is always next time. I was just trying to relax and not send myself into a spin with what was going to happen the next day. The one thing I found I love about Tassie was they have my favourite drink Farmers Union Iced Coffee!! This stuff is liquid gold and tastes so good. The lady was surprised how excited I got over seeing it lined up on the shelf in the fridge (for all that don’t know me I am originally from South Australia and this drink is very popular and SA made). I told her the story that it’s very hard to find in Sydney and I got the funny look from her” like it’s just milk lady”. We finally got into Hobart and unpacked. Turned the electric blanket on in my bed to try and warm it up and I had a few beverages to calm my nerves before jumping into bed and try and get some sleep for my massive day ahead.

Day 4: Saturday 13th June
Woke up to my alarm at 5:30am with sense of excitement and nerviness of my big day ahead. I got showered and dressed in my thermals, racing suit and boots and was ready to take on the challenge of first time navigating. I had brought a Balaclava for the event and a new open face helmet that I think I look hilarious in. I attached my intercom and was trying to keep busy so I didn’t have to think of what was about to unfold. We found the Rally base for the Styx Valley Rally and got unpacked and ready to roll. I went to suss out the other cars and was so happy to see a Mazda RX3 there in all its glory with the big spot lights on the front. There were Rally cars from all over Tasmania and one came over on the boat from Melbourne .You could tell the most popular choice of car was the Subaru’s. There were 5 of them that I saw and an Evo and a few other interesting choices of cars. So it was time to go over and gather my road book and sign on and see what I was in store for. I got too met up with a friend that I know off a car forum and he tried to give me some tip about navigating he was in a Toyota Sprinter. I took a glance at the roadbook and couldn’t believe how thick it was. But they put a lot of information that you don’t actually use for the rally. I started to glance through and everything is abbreviated. R.G.R and R.G.L and R.G.V.H.R and so on. So I scribbled franticly through the book for the first 3 stages putting in exactly what the abbreviations where. Which are Road Goes Right, Road Goes Left, Road Goes Very Hard Right. There is so much information to take in you can be very overwhelmed. We had the drivers briefing and noting serious points in the book and the extreme cautions. This is when my pins and needles set in again. I fumbled around and got my balaclava and helmet on. Locked myself in nice and tight in the 5 point harness and for a girl with my assets can be a little difficult (hehe) I made a joke of it to Mark and he said you won’t be laughing if we hit something and those straps are loose. I plugged myself into the intercom system and we waited for our call up to the start point. The dirt rallies are run with such organisation and all about time. Mark didn’t want to bombard me straight away with all of the navigating duties so he took on the timecards for the first half of the day. Basically you have a time card and they give you the time you start the stage/transport section and you have a time limit you need to get to the next section in. If you are early you get penalties if you are late you get penalties so you need to be very precise within reason throughout the rally. We headed off and I started navigating my way to the first stage. Mark was reminding me about resetting the terratrip and I learnt another weakness I have driving to the first stage. In the road book they will have points which are called “straight on” they are not are not a corner obviously but corners are easy to find and understand, Staight- ons can be a sign on the side of the road or a road connecting to your road but I found these hard to find and reset my terratrip when going full pelt through the forest and got told off a few times about it cause was just resetting for the hell of it and that’s how you lose your notes and have to drive blind until you find yourself in the book again! We got to the first stage and lined up behind the other cars the dread started to set in of what was about to happen. The dirt rallies have a procedure I have never seen before. All set by time and penalties we lines up at the time control sign and waited for the car in front to get his countdown and launch off the line. We then moved into our spot gave the timecard at the right time for out start time so I wouldn’t get a penalty. I then had to jump back in the car and strap up and plug myself in and get ready for the biggest ride of my life. We moved up to the start line and got the 1 minute board. The pins and needles in my body where going crazy and my nerves where in my throat. We got the 30 seconds board and I told Mark I apologise now for all my mistakes and I gave him the first call “300 meters road goers right”. He said “Stop stressing and hold ON!” with a big grin on his face. We got the countdown 5,4,3,2,1 – GO! And we were off I couldn’t believe how loose the car felt and how I wasn’t really worried about it. I was so focus on calling the notes and resetting the trip meter that I didn’t have time to look out the windscreen for the first half of the day. When you are going that speed and have no sighting laps of the stage it’s hard to know where you are in the book. As the book is only “safety notes” I was astounded that some of the corners where not in the book but if they all where I would be reading from a book that was as thick as the whitepages. The terratrip is not always accurate to the decimal point either. I was feeling the G- Forces pushing me around in my seat and the car sideways and loose but the ride was fantastic. The first stage was over in 20 minutes and was so relieved at the end to still be in one piece and the pins and needles had subsided a bit by the end. Mark looked over at me and said what do you think. I told him that was “incredible” I can see how you all love it so much but this navigating business is a whole nother level! He told me I did “ok and remember this is supposed to be fun!” We then had to navigate our way to the next stage. The rest of the day went well with no major breakage except a sensor in the engine bay having a “moment” but plugged it back in tighter and then was right for rest of the day and not hitting anything i.e trees,banks,logs though we came close a few times due to slippery conditions. Navigating is the most challenging thing I have ever taken on and the rewards are outstanding. For me to sit in the passenger seat of the most exciting ride I have ever been on is a massive achievement and can only get better from here. Mark said that I improved throughout the day and it all takes practice. He had to pull the mic away from my face as couldn’t handle me yelling the notes as I get a bit excited in the car. So I need to work on reading notes calmer and clearer. I am learning one of the harder style of navigating “roadbook & Terratrip” compared to pace notes which is interesting to say the least. We came 6th outright at the end of the day which inst to bad for a team with a new navigator. I have made some fantastic new friends as the rally guys are as crazy as me! I will be going over to Tassie again on the 18th July for Round 2 so wish me luck!!! I Can’t Wait!!!!!!

Well I wanted to tell my story as we talk about driving our cars but there is more to motorsport than just that. I want to tell my story of how much fun it is being involved with the other part of motorsport which is helping run an event.
My first experience as a Race Controller was May the 2nd at the MRA day. I got thrown into the deep end by David Curry (Thank you DC) as he thought I would be perfect for the job. Being my first time in this sort of scenario I was a little nervous. It is a bit intimidating up in the Control Box with all the noise and people around that are a lot more experienced in this than you and you are nervous cause you want to do well and it’s not exactly good to stuff up as you’re the” ONE” telling everybody what to do! Plus this day was a step up from the regular super sprints as MRA is a Grid race and there is more involved in running the day. I met David the Clerk of Course and we hit it off from the start. I take orders from him and relay them over the radio to the various people. I was on Channel 1 which was in charge of Marshalling, Starter, Flaggies and Scrutineers. I had to communicate with these people throughout the day and it wasn’t a dull one. We had debry flying off cars, Cars and Karts coming off the track and a Mini rolling over which was very unfortunate and the driver was ok but messy to clean up as all fluids go everywhere. I learnt a lot from that day and was more confident by the end of it. The best part about Race Control is you have one of the prime viewing positions for the day’s events. As I went so well with the MRA day. David (Clerk of Course) asked me to be a Race Controller for the Super Trucks event at Oran Park on 14th and 15th of May. I said “YES” Immediately as love the Super Trucks and to see them first hand at OP I leaped at the chance..
I rocked up early Saturday morning and was very surprised at the level of seriousness this event was going to be. I thought it would be just like MRA but I was wrong. There was 4x Race Controllers instead of the two at MRA (which was me Channel 1 and then channel 2 for Fire/Rescue, Recovery and Medical) so you had Channel 1 doing Flaggies/Marshalling, Starter and Scrutineer. Channel 2 was Medical. Channel 3 was Fire/Rescue and Channel 4 was Recovery. Some of the controller where listening to 2 channels as well..I don’t know how they think with a person talking in each ear plus having to talk to each other in the room. Would feel like you’re crazy!!!!
I was very excited to be there and be part of a national level meeting. I was taught the ropes in the morning by an experience Controller and was on PA rounding up the next race groups for Marshalling all tough job as you want to make the day run as smooth as possible. After lunch it was my turn to get on Channel 1.. I was a little nervous again as it had been 2 weeks since doing MRA and this was a more serious event again but David (Clerk of Course) was there guiding me and telling me what to do. It came around to the 2nd to last Truck race and it was all happening. We had a Truck with a flat tyre going around the track with the rubber hitting and flapping and starting to shred the guard and I swear those guys don’t feel a thing when driving the trucks because he kept on going around lap after lap as if he hadn’t even noticed. Plus while this was happening I had another truck rear brakes catch on fire and he was going around the track lap after lap and not even notice the ploom of smoke behind him. I asked Start/Finish flaggies to put the “meatball flag” (Funny word for mechanical flag which I am still learning all the correct flags) out to call in the two trucks but only had a lap to go. I had Flaggies coming in every 1 minute with reports and when this sort of scenario is happening it can get pretty hectic in the Control box with everyone giving orders and Flaggies and other positions coming in on the radio in your ear so you definitely need a cool head to combat the task and prioritise what needs to happen. But in the end the trucks came in and the fire was put out and the tyre changed and was handled well. Was great watching and good to have this sort of thing happen as you learn a lot about yourself and the way you handle things and the way you handle others.
For a role that I have sort of fell into I can’t fault it. I love it and really do hope it continues for me and the doors keep opening which has surprised me a lot. You get to meet some great people have prime view of some awesome racing and feel achieved in helping out and being a part of something that wouldn’t work without people that are willing to put in the effort! Thank you to all the people that help run motorsport events.
I strongly urge anyone to try out different roles at motorsport events cause you might be pleasantly surprised like I was .I didn’t think I could have as much fun helping out at a motorsport event as driving in one plus you get treated pretty dam well and it’s nice getting a FREE lunch. My days are not over behind the wheel, more been put on hold as taking a passenger seat navigating in a Rally Car for the second half of this year in Tasmania and will be involved with the NSW Rally Australia round in September if all goes well and now with my love for “Race Control” just doesn’t get much better than this! (Unless Greg lets me drive the S15 again) hehe!!

This was an action packed day for me! The president of SSCC had allowed me to drive his S15 and I couldn’t wait! It didn’t get off to the best start for me though due to Greg and I being totally different heights and the driver’s seat fixed into a position suited for Greg only so I add to adjust that. I then discovered that I needed to adjust the harness strap’s which looked easy enough (NOT). First I needed to untangle the window net from the fire extinguisher and I was doing all of this sitting in the driver’s seat to get to the one of the waist straps. A felloe SSCC Member Benny saw that I was struggling with it so came over to give me a hand. Well we got the window net out of the way but the fire extinguisher was proving a hard object to move (all this to adjust a strap mind you). So as Benny and I were struggling with the fire extinguisher the pin accidentally slipped out of its hole that keeps the extinguisher lock and I went to grab the extinguisher to pull it out of its holder finally and I accidentally set it off on Benny A puff of white powder came screaming out. Well he jumped a million miles up into the air and I had the biggest shocked look on my face cause of what I had just done! Benny was a “little” white and shocked and I apologised but he was scared to come near me after that. But setting off the extinguisher had worked and it was finally out of the car so I could get to the strap to adjust it!! YAY!! I then had to tell Greg what had happened he thought it was hilarious and I now need to buy him an extinguisher. Fire Extinguisher – 1 Jessica – 0 (Greg still thinks it’s hilarious that I let the extinguisher off)
So with that ordeal over I strapped myself in finally with my pillows and was ready to rock! I was so excited to be driving the S15 it’s always been a “quick” car but being so used to driving GTR’s not sure how I was going to adapt to driving a RWD car fast…I lined up to the pit lane and was awaiting my signal to go out on the track when Brenton came over to me and asked if I could jump in with his girlfriend and give her some pointers as it was her first time on the race track with her car. I introduced myself and Erin seemed relieved to have another person in the car. I was stocked to be out there with another girl. So I gave Erin some advice before we left and she went very well for her first time around the track. I was very encouraging and she soon picked up what she needed to do to go fast!
It soon rocked around to being my turn to go out in the S15 I adjusted all the straps again found my pillow and jumper and was ready to hit the track. Got out there and the car felt insane! Was the first time I got to drive a car with a big single turbo on it as well and the thing was so loud and when it came onto boost was crazy..I was loving it lap after lap and soon found my routine of gears and where to brake as Greg’s car was so much different to the GTR I used to own. I was firing the ABS coming into the fishhook as was braking hard and late (like I am used) and Greg told me to brake earlier and squeeze the peddle on cause the systems in the S15 was so good and worked great. I went out on Full Slicks and Semi’s and the car didn’t lose grip I was amazed with it. So for my first time out in somebody else car it started off a little worrying but by the end of the day I was buggered and so happy. It was a fantastic day and Erin got a trophy for most improved driver which I was ecstatic about cause I had given her a helping hand! The day might of costed me a little extra with buying Greg a new extinguisher but was well worth it. Big Thanks to Autosports and TGS for putting on the day, Greg for letting me drive the S15 and all helpers involved with making the day run so smoothly!!!