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Watch this type of action and more in the comfort of your home 20 kms away or 20,000 kms away. Drag Racing, Hot Rodding, Boats, Speedway and more. Sportingscribe.com travels the width and breadth of Australia filming drag racing events with the occasional hot rodding and speedway event thrown in, all packaged up in video edits usually within a week of the event finishing. Scheduling and growth of the industry has made it difficult to find the editing time to process all the action in a reasonable time frame. My quest here at sportingscribe.com is to set up a live streaming service that will deliver the same content to my viewers, live as it happens. All the action from the Australian National Drag Racing Association Summit Sportsman Series plus selected marquee events including hot-rodding from around Australia delivered live right onto your device. Get us close and personal with drivers, pit action and all the drama that go hand in hand with competition. Be there to celebrate the highs of motorsport achievement with victory speeches, interviews and pit parties. Catch all the cool guys and gals in the ever growing hot-rod scene with live vision of the coolest rides on the road, the girls in their rock a billy gear and the finest featured hot-rodding live music.
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Norman Goes European With The R/T Marine Prepared BMW
By Mark Humphrey
Adelaide, SA/Aus. 16th June 2017. 2015 Australian Super Stock champion Steve Norman will debut his new ride this weekend at the Adelaide Drag Race Promotion’s Sunday Funday at Adelaide International Raceway. Having been out of the racing seat for the past 15 months, Norman is itching to get some seat time in the R/T Marine built BMW coupe which had been in the pipeline for about 5 years.
I dropped a line to Steve to find out a bit more on the vision he had with the BMW, “Well I noticed the BMW sitting in the Perth Motorplex pits at a Westernationals 5 years ago and straight away thought about debuting a Super Stock version” he said. Norman went on to say “I got the boys (Ryan & Reg Lee) to measure it up and here we are 5 years later with an unbelievable version of European motoring”. Norman added, “we embarked on the project less than 2 years ago with Ryan Lee from R/T Marine responsible for making it happen. Along with his father Reg and the help of others, the team has put together a race car that is as good as anything I’ve had in the past” he said. Norman went on to say “the attention to detail is simply unbelievable and I cannot fault any part of the build at all. I had enormous trust in the boys to get the job done and they certainly haven’t let me down” he said.
The history of the car is quite chequered with the car originally part of a divorce settlement in the USA. Legend has it that the ex-wife snatched the BMW, poured acid over the boot and then proceeded to drive the car into a dam. The Norman camp found the car at a salvage yard via a friend in the USA and the rest is history.
The guy responsible for the unique transformation was Ryan Lee who owns and operates R/T Marine SA, a business that had its roots in boat repairs but has now expanded into fibreglass auto products, vehicle modifications and of course complete race car builds. I caught up with Ryan and his father Reg to find out more on this simply stunning build and started by asking Ryan his thoughts on the BMW build “absolutely over the moon. The team has done a fantastic job on the car with the end result being an amazing BMW Super Stock car”. Ryan added “ we took possession of the car from the US and completely gutted the car in order to get it ready for the build. Originally, we looked at a Jaguar but because it had an aluminium body it was going to be too expensive to put chrome moly bar work through the car. It then come down to transforming either a Mercedes or BMW car into a MP Super Stock car. We measured up a BMW in the pits at the Perth Motorplex and found that everything would fit and the rest is history” he said.
After being stripped back to a bare shell the car was sent to interstate chassis builder John Lang to get the bar work installed along with some tin work. Ben Seal was then called in to complete the tin work which included all the necessary bracketry, front end and 4 link suspension points. Ben worked solid for 3 straight weeks and then dropped in after hours on more than half a dozen occasions to complete any alterations that were required. Also helping out on the tin and aluminium work was Doug Elsworthy from Elsworthy’s Chassis Shop.
The running gear was fitted up to see what alterations if any were required. The running gear for this project come out of the championship winning Chevy Cobalt and consists of a 312ci Bob Book small block coupled to a 3 speed Pro Flight transmission.
Power is transferred down to the JRI sprung titanium housed diff via a carbo fibre tail shaft. Lamb front struts work nicely with Lamb carbon fibre disc brakes to provide plenty of stopping power.
Next it was the job of brother Bryce with help from good friend Matt to prep the body and bar work for paint. Bryce spent a solid 3 weeks straightening the panels alone before prepping the car for paint which in the end was coated with Electric Orange. I asked Ryan what the most difficult part of the build was and he mentioned choosing the paint color. “I first suggested orange to Steve but that was rejected with a pearl white looking like the color. I liked black but in the end, it was Steve’s decision and after some deliberation Steve decided that it would be Electric Orange” he said. Ryan added “I think the color choice was spot on as it certainly showcases the car”.
Once the car was painted it was time to fit out the car and that’s when Reg took over. The car was completely re-wired starting from a bare shell and color coded to MSD color codes. Every wire was color matched to components with all original hinges used. The boot retains its electric opening operation keeping some originality with the car.
The interior was completely re-trimmed by Vicki in the color of their choice still incorporating the woodgrain in the dash and door trims. The attention to detail with the trim is unsurpassed with Steve Norman noting how the interior trim was altered to incorporate bar work encroaching into the door armrests. The choice of trim color certainly adds to the build and compliments the vision the boys had when they first set out to build the car. 
Asked what the most pleasing part of the build was, they both responded simultaneous with “today”. “Having the car 100% finished with nothing to do but turn the key is definitely the most pleasing part of the build” said Ryan. The car is built to 25.5 C SFI specification as a MP car and will initially be running in Gas.
Now that the car is 100% completed the next thing to do is get some laps into the car. As noted, the team will head out this weekend to Adelaide International Raceway to put down an installation pass testing out things like brakes, tracking, parachute and the like. They hope to get at least a second pass in which with all things being equal will be under full noise. The fact that they are using the running gear out of the Cobalt, takes away the uncertainty of how the drivetrain will go and leaves the team with one less thing to worry about. The team hope to run a private test next weekend and provided they meet all parameters will debut the car for competition in round 3 of the ANDRA Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series at Sunset Strip Mildura in late September.
Obviously to put together this masterpiece the team relied on some outstanding help with Steve Norman thanking Ryan and Reg for their commitment with this build. With regards to the workshop activities Ryan and Reg would like to thank Bryce and Matt for the paint, Ben Seal for the fabrication, Doug Elsworthy for additional fabrication, John Lang for bar work, Vicky from Vicki’s Trimming Shop, Motorsport Connections, Craig at RCE, BMW Adelaide and Brett Henley from Henley Chassis for all his advice.
For race fans, keep an eye on the ANDRA website for details on the 2017/18 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series dates which will feature the likes of Steve Norman, Competition champ Craig Geddes, Super Stock champ Jamie Chaisty among others duking it out in Super Stock/Comp.
Click on the link for more details http://andra.com.au/
All images supplied by Reg Lee
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The ANDRA Rulebook is a frequently referenced guide to all technical elements in the sport of ANDRA drag racing and an ideal way to reach your core market.
2017 is here and with a full slate of ANDRA Championship Drag Racing coming up, The Accommodation Brokers are here to help ANDRA members save on their travel plans.
Adelaide Chrysler Festival
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Cast from resin, this accurately detailed
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APSA Test N Tune Benaraby Raceway
By Mark Humphrey
Benaraby,Qld/Aus. 31st August 2015. The APSA boys were mixing it with the locals getting ready for round 4 of the APSA Pro Shootout Series. Benaraby Raceway had prepped a killer track for the event with plenty of PBS' getting put away during the session.
Outlaw Radial runner Steve Bezzina driving his super quick XY GT Falcon recorded his quickest ever 60 ft time during the Friday night session highlighting the excellent work done by the Benaraby track crew.
Test Session 1
Test Session 2
Luppino King Of The Heap.
By Mark Humphrey
Benaraby, Qld/Aus. 23rd August 2015. Dom Luppino was last night the toast of the APSA drag racing fraternity after picking up the win in the prestigious Outlaw Radial bracket. Once considered the underwrite to the Outlaw 10.5 bracket, the Outlaw Radial bracket has taken on a cult like following featuring the cream of Australia’s Pro Street racers .
Things looked grim for round 4 of the series when the official start time had to be pushed back several hours due to persistent rain in the area. With an 11am scheduled start, APSA promoter Peter Pisalidis in consultation with his race director Ray Treasure elected to sit it out and wait for the forecasted wind shift before making any firm decisions. Finally at 2pm the weather had abated enough for track staff to have a go at getting the track ready for what promised to be an exciting day of Pro Street drag racing. The Benaraby track staff went to work on drying out the track while race teams unpack their trailers prepping cars for the hectic day of racing ahead. Finally racing got under way at 3.31pm with organisers dropping 2 of the 3 qualifying runs in order to complete the meeting. Drivers were faced with one qualifying run before battling it out in a Chicago Shootout format giving both the drivers and fans plenty of racing throughout the afternoon and into the night. The decision by APSA to hold off paid off in the end for all concerned as the racing was nothing short of spectacular. Wheel standing starts were the order of the day with some massive launches keeping the fans well entertained throughout the night. Nathan Peirano was there testing his Outlaw Nitro Funny Car and posted the day’s quickest and fastest pass with a 4.23. at 173.75 mph over the 1/8 mile.
The prestigious Outlaw Radial bracket on paper looked to be a battle between long-time rivals Steve Bezzina and Perry Bullivant with several other drivers in the mix for an upset win. Scott Cortina in a HG Holden was one car that has loads of potential but was still deep in a R&D program with the team looking for some consistency in the car. Dom Luppino was also in this category with his awesome looking Mustang having stacks of potential but like Cortina found it difficult for the stars to align on any given run. Talking to Luppino on the way up from Melbourne, the Mustang driver was looking to drop into the 4.90’s or with a bit of luck into the 80’s. The car which was imported by Luppino from the US last year has the potential to be the fastest pro street car in Australia and a 4.80 pass was certainly achievable with the team looking to go even faster. Things had been tough in recent times for Luppino who had talked about walking away from the car due to the lack of consistency in the car. The team had urged Luppino to take a deep breath and just be patient with the development of the car which in the end was the right call.
The Chicago shootout format produced familiar results in round 1 with Bullivant taking the win over Luppino, Bezzina over Cortina and Cross over Horan. Round 2 saw Luppino pull out a big win over Bezzina with a 4.60 @168mph. Cortina got the job done on Horan while Bullivant picked up the win over Cross. Round 3 had Luppino dropping into the 60’s again with a 4.65 @ 167mph good enough to get the job done on Cortina with Bullivant making it 3 from 3 with a win over Horan. Bezzina found the going tough against Cross with Cross posting his 2nd win of the format. Bezzina had posted times in the low 4.90’s all day but in somewhat of a surprise finished the day with just 1 win beside his name. The final looked to be a cracker with the ever consistent Bullivant up against the man of the moment in Luppino. Both guys got away clean with just the smallest of margins separating the two at the 60 foot mark. Side by side the pair duelled down the 1/8 with Luppino getting the nod with a 4.83 @ 159mph to Bullivant’s 4.94 @ 148mph. Awesome racing by two class drivers who managed to take over the whole event with side by side racing. So happy was Luppino with his win he drove straight past his pickup crew and proceeded back to the pits with both chutes dragging behind the car. A couple of victory pumps on the throttle indicated how happy Luppino was with the win and I suspect with finally getting some consistency in the car. With the team looking like they have finally got some consistency in the car, fans can now expect to see the Mustang at the pointy end of Outlaw Radial racing as the APSA circus makes its way around Australia.
In another of the marquee APSA brackets being Pro Street Blown, Craig Hewitt went through undefeated to take the win over Queenslander Dave Knightley. Hewitt looked untouchable throughout the event in his blown hemi powered Monaro and posted his best pass of the day in the final after Knightly pulled a big cherry trying to get the edge on Hewitt. Hewitt rolled out an impressive 4.487 @ 166.05mph to easily stamp his authority on the bracket. Like all blown monsters this car is a big head turner and definitely a crowd pleaser where ever he goes.
The motorcycle category boasted the cream of Queensland drag racing with Jason Ellem easily top qualifying with a 7.495 @ 177.31mph. Ellem was the stand out performer of the bracket but found the going tough late in the day. A shifting error during round 1 had Blair Pennington rolling over the top of Ellem to take the win. Ellem was back in stride easily taking his next 2 rounds while Pennington was faultless with 3 from 3. The final between Pennington and Ellem shaped up as being an interesting event with Ellem clearly having the faster bike but losing to Pennington in round 1. Ellem was left on the line by Pennington who powered through the final posting an 8.29 @ 159mph to easily take the win from a rolling Ellem.
Other wins for the day were as follows.
Junior Dragster -Keenan Bugden over Tayla Kelly
True Street – Tony O’Connor over Goodingham
X275 - Terry Seng over Douglas Day
Pro Street Unblown – Chris Stevermue over Daniel List
Modified Street Blown – Ash Mason over Matt McCarthy
Outlaw 10.5 – Drew Pearce
DYO Pro – Clive Olive over Nathan Rose
DYO Street – Acrista Hamilton over George Burton
Extreme – Neil Maxwell over John Findlater.
In the end both fans and officials would have been presently surprised by the show the racers put on. Benaraby track staff had prepared a cracker of a racing surface that resulted in loads of pb’s for the day, plenty of side by side racing and that familiar trade mark of APSA, spectacular wheel standing launches.
Round 5 of the series heads to Willowbank Raceway on the 2nd of October. For more details go to http://www.austprostassc.com.au/
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RACE RESULTS courtesy APSA