Woodford Glen Speedway - 12th November 2010
Well our luck definately is NOT improving. In fact it's just got worse!
Tonight after a couple of attempted races the engine developed over heating problems which in turn caused an internal meltdown of one piston (see the workshop page for a picture of the damage).
This was a real shame as we finally had the engine both starting and running really well (we thought). The image to the right shows my great niece Charlotte fitting the transmitter to the car before we headed to the track and I gotta say the social aspect with the visiting relatives was the highlight of the weekend. Thanks team and I hope we can do it again soon but hopefully with a better result aye. Cheers for now ... Flash.

Woodford Glen Speedway - 30th October 2010
I had been looking forward to today's meeting and was real keen. So keen that I dragged Pam out to the workshop first thing in the morning to help load 811 onto the transporter. We were heading to Complete Tyres & Auto Services on Ferry Rd to put the car on display as they were sponsors of the nights Fireworks Extravaganza meeting. The display all went real well and was attended by heaps of people which I'm sure helped fill the stands at the track cos she was chocka.
Now there are two meetings each season which I real look forward to competing at ... the Fireworks & the Remebrance Champs. We unloaded the car at the track and went through the tradition of winding the engine over without ignition to obtain oil pressure. Now for some reason after changing the oil during the week the system decided to create an air lock. So we spent around an hour before managing to pressurise the oil tank with air to force oil from the tank through the pump & filter etc. Then to cap it all off the fuel pump which I overhauled two weeks ago decided to blow the main seal out and start pouring methanol all over the place. MAN am I starting to get "TICKED OFF" with the hassles this car is putting me through. So rather than become part of the fireworks display by torching the car we loaded it back onto the transporter then went and joined the spectators. DAMN!!!
Pam commented on the way to the track how we had an all women pit crew for the night ... Maybe that was bad luck I dunno but we better start getting our share of Good Luck soon.
Our next meeting is the Friday night of Show Weekend when I will have my nephew from Nelson helping out so "Fingers Crossed!"
Cheers ... Flash.

Woodford Glen Speedway - 23rd October 2010
Tonight was the annual Moller & Young Trophy Challenge as the opening night at the Glen. I was really looking forward to this all week and adding to the occasion was a visit from niece Antonia & her husband Lee. They have recently moved from England to Wellington so it was great to have them assisting us in the pits. Thanks Guy's!
It was pleasing to finally sort the starting/methanol problem during the week and the engine is running real nice now.
So as mentioned I was particularly looking forward to getting on the track. My main objective was to get the car to finish all three heats as reliability issues have plaqued us from day one with this car. However it looks like we are heading in the right direction now as mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned. We not only finished every race but also came away with 5th place trophy overall which was a huge bonus.
On the track I was definately driving a bit tentatively as I'm constantly intent on watching engine gauges at the moment. However it's "all good" and being at the rear enabled me to do some wheel stands, especially in the last heat which was fun. And thats exactly what our racing is about "FUN", in fact I find myself for the first time in years NOT worried about where we are in placings or points which is real awesome.
So with that first meeting out of the way we now look forward to the Fireworks Extravaganza on the 30th Oct ... See Ya's there !!! And we still need a couple of keen workers on the team so if you have mechanical experience and wanna be part of a fun team then fire off an email to Flash. The pay is crap (non-existent actually) but the fun and fanta's always make up for that. Race days and wednesday nights at the workshop are the nights so let us know if you're keen.
Cheers for now ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway - 2nd October 2010
Today we took 811 out to Woodford Glen's first practice. We had trouble firing her up as the fuel system ran erratically lean so we needed to make alterations to suit which means another problem has crept in. It's possible that this car is jinxed in our hands since she's the 13th race car that we have owned. Maybe a fitting name for the car would be "Lucy" as according to Google she is the Devil's Daughter.
We completed all three track sessions and considering we never had the car set-up for a slick track I had a ball. By all reports the car looked real good on-track plus performed very well. We still have a persistant oil leak which our engine man Mark Pawsey is gonna fix for us plus I'm gonna strip down and flush the fuel system and fit new seals so the fueling issue will be sorted before opening night on 23rd October.
Situations Vacant: We still need a couple of keen workers on the team so if you have mechanical experience and wanna be part of a fun team then fire off an email to Flash. The pay is crap but the fun and fanta's always make up for that. Race days and wednesday nights at the workshop is when we work on the car so contact us if you're keen. Cheers ... Flash

Test Day Oxford Speedway - 28th August 2010
Today we hired Oxford Speedway for the afternoon so we could give 811's new engine a good run and generally check that everything was okay. The car peformed well (once we sorted the fuel pump drive issue) and apart from a few things to sort, the car is basically ready for the season to get underway.
We also used this opportunity to give the crew and our business partners a drive. YES ... A new engine and we just let everyone have a drive. Stu from the Crossing Bar & Cafe, Ray from Bairds Collision Centre, crew member Djared plus BRT mechanic Brendon (it's him driving in the video), Casey, Shannon and even Pam had a drive. We thought afterwards that an opportunity like that wouldn't happen too often.
Then we all spent that evening at the Crossing Bar & Cafe with a thank you dinner for everyone who has helped out over the last year. It turned out to be a great, fun day!

Kaikoura Stock Car Club - 5-6 June 2010
36th Northern Zone Champs / Queens Birthday Weekend:
We just love this meeting as it's such a great social occasion for everyone involved. This year we even built up a Prelude solely for use at this event.
We entered the car into both the A Grade and B Grade classes (Roger in A's & Brendon from BRT in B's) plus Casey entered the Ladies Championship (video below). In the A Grades the car proved to be very competitive, even against the V8's and by the end of the first day we had taken 2nd place overall. Yeehaa !!!
Brendon wasn't as lucky in B Grade because he missed a couple of heats due to a couple of running repairs we were needing to carry out on the car. Casey made good ground passing a handful of cars after starting from the rear in her first race.
On the second day Brendon had a ball making up for missed races (video below) and Casey had another good run too. In total the car started (and finished) eleven races for the weekend which is awesome for a car that just got completed that week.
Thanks to BRT for loaning us the big transporter and Stu from the Crossing Bar & Cafe for loaning us the tow vehicle.
A huge thanks to Djared, Amanda and Dave for all the hard work (and the great BBQ's).
Thanks Kaikoura Club for another successful weekend and sorry Pam (maybe next year we can get you back into the drivers seat).
If you are keen on getting into a cheap race car for yourself, we now have this Prelude available for purchase so check out the for sale page.

Island Park Motor Speedway - Dunedin - 12th & 13th March 2010
A bit of role reversal going on here this weekend with the opportunity to pit-crew for Djared for a change. He was venturing down to Dunedin with a stockcar to race in the support classes of the NZ Super Saloon GP.
It was a great weekend with twins Amanda and Emily plus Pam & I crewing for Djared. The weather was below average with showers on the friday night holding up the racing somewhat but this changed to dusty and very windy on the saturday night.
Only a handful of stockcars fronted resulting in minimal contact or damage so this meant there wasn't a heck of pit crew work required. Apart from Djared shredding a tyre we didn't need to do much but I think the team definately enjoyed the change of scenery plus the social side of course.
We plan to expand on this social type of family involved racing at the Northern Zone champs in Kaikoura on Queens Birthday weekend so "watch this space" Yeehaa !!!

Woodford Glen Speedway - 23rd January 2010
Tonight did not go well:
During the week we ran the engine at the workshop after carrying out leak down tests and resetting the injection (I'm learning heaps flat-out). It all appeared to be fine and running nicely. Even at the track tonight she started well and drove fine through scrutineering - all good one would assume!
Then I went to fire her up before the first race and the engine had hydrauliced. First thought was a gut full of methanol but when we removed the spark plugs we were surprised to have water run out.
So I immediately decided that was it for the night because we really can't afford to risk wreaking the gear.
We watched a handful of races and then loaded up and spent the rest of the night at the Crossing Bar & Cafe
So now it's off to the workshop to diagnose the latest engine problem and see if we can get her repaired in time for the South Island Super Saloon Championships on 13th February.
It was great to have Djared put the car on display at Oil Changers for a couple of days during the week so at least the cars being seen somewhere even though it's not on the track.

Woodford Glen Speedway - 2nd January 2010
Happy New Year everyone. The annual Spencer Park Gala is another event we have regularly put a race car on display so this year we took along 811. It's also a great opportunity to relax for the day.
However there wasn't much relaxing at the track on saturday night. I was really pleased in the first race to discover that we had cured the engine misfire and the car started to perform really well. But this was short lived with the oil pressure dropping suddenly so I pulled infield. I initially thought the worst but upon investigation it appeared to be repairable and we spent some time sorting the oil problem so missed race 2.
Race 3 we finally started to show a decent turn of speed too. I was driving a little too aggresively though which meant I eventually spun myself in turn four. But it sure is promising to see we are heading in the right direction. I'm hopeful but not convinced if the engine survived the oil problem tonight so "fingers crossed" till we do more diagnosis in the workshop this week.
We still have lots to learn in regards to getting the set-ups closer to match the track conditions each race but "man" its a lotta fun right now (as shown by the last two images). Plus Brendon's also had a bit of fun putting together another video for us here

Woodford Glen Speedway
Remembrance Championships - 26th December 2009
The annual Remembrance Championships are held every boxing day at Woodford Glen Speedway. This meeting has always been special and all classes were on the programme tonight.
Heat 1 ... and I had the grid 1 starting position. This race had 3 goes at getting underway due to lap 1 incidents (not caused by me thankfully) and I was pleased to be still holding onto 3rd after around 7 laps but a touch of wheels as I was overtaken into turn 3 resulted in a r/f puncture on 811 so it was off to the infield. Bit of a bummer as I would have been interested to see if I'd have been able to hold onto a reasonable position by the end of race.
Heat 2 ... Inside start within the middle of the pack and the track was slicking off quickly. The car was getting quite loose in the turns but having said that I was pleased to be able to make a pass on 881 Bruce Boulton who later said he was struggling with a tight car. Still ... a pass is a pass and one that gives me a bit more confidence plus I finished 9th. Yeehaa !!!
Final Heat ... And this was my start from the rear of the grid and the car felt really loose. I was that busy trying to handle the conditions that I even forgot to try my onboard adjuster. Even though I stayed at the rear at least the car finished another race.
Later in the pits I realised we had forgotten to change one of the tyres so we were always going to struggle with the slick track ... haha still learning and we are starting to write everything in a race set-up book now so hopefully we can remember to get these tasks completed at the correct times.
Overall I was very pleased with our nights racing and it's great to see all the team enjoying it too, especially the socialising at the end of the night. It's just what we have all been needing.
We will have the car on display at the annual Spencer park Gala on New Years Day and then we race again at the Glen on the 2nd so hope to see ya's then.
Cheers ... Flash

8th December 2009
Casey & I made the trip down south for the Dunedin and Cromwell rounds of the ELF Super Cup over the weekend.
I'm race director for this series and Casey was maintaining the points & grid draws for the 18 car series.
I gotta say this is one awesome event so make sure you don't miss the remaining three rounds later in the season (more info at www.supersaloons.co.nz).
While away Casey grabbed the latest NZ Racer Magazine which features an article about us. Thanks heaps for the great write-up Professor.
Also while we were down south Wentworth Carrying dressed-up 811 and took her into the Kaiapoi Xmas parade. Thanks heaps Brett & Allan. I always like to have our race cars support these types of events as it's a great opportunity to get maximum exposure for our generous partners and supporters.
We also hope to have 811 at the annual Spencerville Gala over New Years but this will be dependant on the amount of work we have to do adfter the Remebrance Championship meeting on Boxing Day.
Meantime NEES Racing wish all our supporters & fans a safe very Merry Christmas. See ya's at the Glen on boxing day.
Cheers ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway
21st November 2009
Tonight was our Canterbury Championships and this was always going to be very competitive with many out of towners joining the locals.
Now I'm not usually superstitious but 15 cars entered this event and I drew marble #13 - go figure!
We were short several pit crew tonight so sponsors Alan & Brett of Wentworth Carrying called in to help out. This was much appreciated as I don't think we would of managed without them. Thanks heaps Guys!
Now onto the racing ...
I never expected to be competitive and just as well otherwise I would have been disappointed. We started the first heat and the car instantly had a slight misfire however I pressed on only to have the car virtually stall in the corners. I had no choice but to park it on the infield cos the engine just wouldn't keep running. Later in the pits it was discovered we'd forgotten to fill the fuel tank up when the car left the workshop earlier during the week to go on display - DOH! It was however a relief to realise the engine wasn't at fault especially after all the rebuild work that had been done over the last two weeks.
So after filling her up we headed out for heat two where we started from the outside of row three. The track went real slick very quickly and I attempted making in-car adjustments while trying not to get in anyones way. Basically I just stayed wide and let the freight train through on the inside. The adjustments I was making were making the car considerably worse and by the end of the race I real was starting to think the car was quite a pig. It wasn't till we got back to the pits and we all realised I had been adjusting the car completely the wrong way making it even worse - DOH again!
Then to the third and final heat and we were off from the inside row in the middle of the pack somewhere and by now the track was as slick as I've seen it in ages. I'd adjusted the car accordingly but with my in-experience of both the car combined with such a dry track I just drove to the finish basically trying to ensure I stayed out of peoples way and didn't spin out.
It just goes to show how much work we have to do and how much learning there is to be done (especially by me). Although we finished 15th overall (last) I was however very pleased to have finally finished a couple of races plus not have any damage or major engine rebuild work on my plate before xmas. Yeeehaaa!!!
It was great to have everyone on the team tonight enjoy themselves which is my main priority for the season. The new posters went down a treat as did the kids chalkboard area we have incorporated into the bonnet of the car. So kids make sure you come and see us in the pits before and after each meeting so you can write your name on the 811 Super Saloon.
Meantime we will try to track down the engine misfire (probably flush the fuel system for starters since I ran it dry) and make sure she's all set for her next meeting. This won't be till boxing day cos I'm race director for the ELF Super Cup which I'm really looking forward to as well so cheers for now and have a great xmas everyone.
Yours in Racing ... Flash

Woodford Glen Speedway
19th September 2009
We got the new car onto the track for our first practice today and before I get into the details on how we went there's a bunch of people I need to thank. It was a huge effort at the workshop this week which didn't finish till 2 am this morning. Big thanks go to Djared for his tireless efforts on the car. Josh, Bruce and Brendon of BRT all unexpectedly and without prompting ended up working on the car all night too which is most appreciated. Johnny and Amanda have been helpin' out heaps along with the rest of the BRT crew so thanks very much to all you guys.
So ... how did we go? Well the car went awesome but the driver needs heaps more laps and fine tuning. The track conditions were not helpful for my first time driving the car. Until I got to the track I hadn't even sat in the car with it running let alone driven it anywhere. So I guess I was thrown in the deep end somewhat but Josh's advice and set-up skills soon got us improving throughout the day. By the last run I was feeling a lot more confident and had the car going very well at times accordingy to the team.
The car felt extremely powerful and apart from my early excursions towards the wall (and even clipping it at one stage) it ran trouble free for the entire practice session. This is extremely pleasing as I was expecting to have some teething problems but they never eventuated.
So now apart from some finishing duties such as fixing a couple of fluid leaks and improving body panel fixings, the car should be all set for it's race debut on 31st Oct when we return from Aussie. Hopefully while Pam and I are away the crew along with BRT will get some graphics sorted and make the car look as cool as it is to drive.
Thanks again to everyone involved and for a bunch of pics of how the last 24 hours have gone click here
Yours in Holidaying ... Cheers Flash