News

GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS

It was ordered at court, last Monday, that the case against SORRA be discontinued. Our court battle is over.

Now all we need to do is settle our debts and look to the future.

Enormous thanks to those who have contributed so far. SORRA has been able to remain in existence as a result of member's support.

To date, approximately 15 donations have contributed over $3,000.00 towards SORRA's financial shortfall.

So if you've been thinking about helping but have hesitated because of SORRA's uncertain future then please, hesitate no more, our future looks great, provided we can settle our existing debts.

Anything you can contribute will help enormously.

For details on how phone Laurence on 0404 162 997 or Jeff on 0422 210 701.

About five or six people came up to COLO PARK on Saturday just gone to prepare a little for our upcoming Working Bee.here is some pics of progress on the Club's new driver training/Stewards/First Aid room.

If you haven't got your copy of the DVD from the State round at COLO PARK yet, this is a gentle reminder. The link to WEB Productions is on the SORRA front page & also in the forum.
We need everybody that was at our meeting to purchase the DVD so the Webs can at least break even on their investment of time and effort to make the trip down & put together a great DVD. All the comments We have had back on this DVD have been very positive. Unreal,great footage of my car, so many different camera spots ,I think all the cars were on the DVD, were just some of them.

Following days of showers Saturday dawned sunny. Unfortunately driving to Colo the weather alternated from showers to sunny periods, which continued all day. The track was heavy and slippery in parts, but driveable.
Reconnaissance, two OLT’s and the first group of Race 1 were conducted without rain but the heavens opened once again whilst the second group were racing and the rain became quite heavy and dark. It was decided to abandon the second race due to the conditions.
At this time Wayne Horsfall with Ned as his navigator were leading the way, but Wayne said his tyres were not suitable for the conditions and decided to call it a day. This left the Pro-Lite buggy of Gordon Tardrew to start Sunday as race leader. Anthony Lia and Glen Spizzo had not arrived in time to take part in Race 1 because they had been bogged at home.
That left us with 9 starters for Sunday with the double entry of 236 by Simon Lennox and Phillip Voult. The weather on Sunday did not look promising with heavy showers greeting us first thing. A slight delay to the start of 10 minutes whilst an area of the track that was underwater was carried out. By the time racing commenced the shower had virtually stopped and although light showers/drizzle occurred during the morning, the day was mainly sunny. Mick Tori and the Del-Santos experienced problems as did Gordon Tardrew but he was lucky and completed each race and fixed in between races. Jimbo Kearle had problems and did not finish Race 1. He fixed on Saturday night and completed race 2,3 and 4. Unfortunately Race 5 had to be abandoned as the 114 slid into a tree on the track beyond the toilet block and completely blocked the track. First aid was called as both Jimbo and Nicole required assistance. Jimbo was shaken and bruised but said he would be right for work on Monday. Nicole had to be carried from the track as she had injured her knee. On examination it did not appear to be broken but Shelley was concerned that she may have torn a tendon behind the knee and advised attending a Medical Centre for X-Ray.
With the abandonment of Race 5 the results stood as on completion of Race 4 giving the outright win and 1st in Pro-Lite to Gordon Tardrew. 2^nd Outright and 1^st in Super 1650 was Dick Allport and Kristy Page and 3^rd Outright and 2^nd in Pro Lite went to Steve Taylor and Steve Brown. 220 Anthony Lia and Glen Spizzo took out 2^nd in Super 1650 and 114 Jimbo Kearle and Nicole Biggar took out 3^rd in Pro Lite.

Thank you to the SORRA members, who were not racing this weekend, but came up to assist with recovery. Wayne Caines and family, and Jeff, Laurence and Alexander Cripps.

As a result of the accident to Jimbo and Nicole, the need for a First Aid room in which to examine and treat injured people was highlighted. Nicole had to be carried to the ladies toilet, which is not an ideal location. We have received funding for the purpose of constructing a multi-use facility, Driver training/stewards room/first aid and have the material to do this. What we need is MANPOWER and or WOMANPOWER. The weekend of 4^th & 5^th July, which is already set down as a working bee has been nominated for this construction. If you can give us either of both days you will be welcomed. Please contact Ian Irons is you can assist as he will need to organise food and drink to keep you going. Also anyone with tools, let him know what you can bring. Please mark it on your calendars.

Word from Colo is that there has been enough rain to pat the ground down around any recent trackworks, not torrential rain so far, clearing showers forecast for tomorrow, should be great racing with NO dust! See you there!

Sup Regs for the 23/24th May round are now available here ....with 6 races over two days and an entry fee of only $61 it's value for money racing on a great track.... I've also hear rumours on the grapevine that a couple of new cars may be there for testing! Well worth a look.
Saturday Arvo/ Sunday Need all the starters & helpers we can get, come on bring your toys out and have a play. Canteen will be happening all weekend & of course the Saturday evening Dinner.
Good for shake down run, get the bugs out and be ready for Wittitrin, or Fink. If you aren't racing ,come up & give a hand. If you have or know of someone with a 4WD ,we need all the recovery we can get (sometimes) , bring it up. It will be most appreciated!

And A HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY to Laurence Cripps

DaleChadburn in his return to racing took 1st Outright at Crookwell andPhil Page was 2nd Outright. Bradley & Kylie Bishop in theirSportsman Buggy took 3rd Outright.

Bradley& Kylie Bishop competed at Donald and came in 1st in SportsmanClass. They came 1st in class at Crookwell which means thatcurrently they are leading Sportsman Class Championship in two states i.e. NSW& Vic. They are planning on competing at Sea Lakeon the long weekend. David Nikiforoff and Scott Manual came in 4th inPro-Lite Class at Donald and will also compete at Sea Lake.

Next working BEE is happening on the weekend after CROOKWELL State rnd
SUNDAY 26th April at COLO PARK. Need lots of hands to do fencing, part of
our lease includes having the property perimeter fenced. National Parks
has provided & paid for the materials to do the job, now its up to us as
a Club to do the work. I told them we would have it done within 6 weeks
of the delivery of the fencing materials.
So if any body is able to lend a hand on SUNDAY the 26th April 2009,Come
on up, the more hands the easier it is on everybody!

At the February meeting of the NSW Off Road Advisory Panel the following motion was passed;
“NSW ORAP proposes a ‘PRO Buggy Single Seat Class’ for comment from competitors with a view to incorporating it in 2010 NSW Off Road Championship.”
In order for this proposal to proceed it requires comment and feedback from all within the NSW Off Road Racing fraternity to gauge whether there is support for the proposal or not.
The NSW Off Road Panel has no wish to impose new rules upon our sport that have no favour or support but the result of the class re-structure, within the NSW Off Road Championship, has been a disproportionate number of vehicles, both two seat and single seat, ending up in Pro Buggy class at each event.
Creating a Pro Buggy Single Seat Class would go a long way towards even out the numbers of entrants in each of the buggy classes, at State Championship events.
Please return your comments, replies, suggestions or other to;
NSW ORAP

The DVD of the Lenlord Pink Ribbon Challenge is now available from www.webbvideo.com.au
If you have any questions regarding the DVD you can phone Simon or Leanne on 0417 284 054

The Oakville Fire Brigade Fun Day is on again on the 15th of March more details here

The first round of the SORRA Club Championship for 2009 was held at Colo Park on Sunday 1^st February.

The day was hot and dusty but relieved by a breeze that kept the heat from being oppressive. 10 Competitors took the field but problems ensued from the start.
Dale Chadburn, trialling his new Pro Class only managed to complete 1 lap, and problems beset 236 which was double entered by Phillip Voutt and Simon Lennox. Despite numerous problems they managed to hand in to the end though recording a couple of DNF’s.
It was great to see the return of Adam Barnacoat and Matt Martin with their offspring as navigators. Nataysia Barnacoat and Kerri Martin join Dan Horsfall to make three club members with junior navigators. Adam and Nataysia scoring a class and outright win on their first race together. Unusually Wayne and Dan Horsfall had problems and only managed to pick up third in class.
Matt Martin had accelerator cable problems and retired from exhaustion. Too long between races.
Jeff Thomas and Daneen Horsfall also retired before the last heat. Alex Powe and Jes Jonkmans were early casualties, as were Wayne and Ron Caines in 536. Steve Taylor drove his usual reliable race and took out the Prolite class and 2^nd outright.
Thank you to all the officials and volunteers especially Karen and Jodie Barnacoat for their assistance.

This is for all age groups, drivers & learners, juniors & even if you just want to play in the dirt. It is not to train people to race, but to teach and show drivers what, how & why things happen the way they do on dirt.

Our Club received a Grant from CAMS for our junior driver training, /Stewards room. This room will be used for lectures for the driver training and during race meeting will double as the Stewards room. Part of the funds received will purchase a computer, software and aids for the driver training. This Driver Training Day is a direct result of the CAMS Grant and during the 2009 year we are introducing more of this type of event to enable more younger people the chance to widen their driver experiences & maybe introduce them to our sport of Off Road Racing.

You don’t need a race car to participate, just your normal every day street car will be fine. The training will help in your normal (what’s that) every day driving as well as those times when you venture onto dirt. It is a very practical introduction to driving on dirt but it is still a lot of fun to do, even for the guys & girls that already have licenses’, CAMS or street!

Sydney Off Road Racing would like to thank Hills District Tyres & Mechanical for all their help over the many years of our association. Ian & his company have decided to close the doors at the end of 2008 when the current lease runs out. They have, over many years, let our Club & all the other Clubs use his establishment for scrutineering, for Club, State and National Rounds (for regional scrutineering) and more times than not, Ian’s Dad Jack was there tending the Bar-B-Q & keeping the tea & coffee happening. Ian, as well as scrutineering, was always there to help! The convenience of this venue will be missed.

Ian’s place was also a drop in centre for those who needed info. His experience in all things mechanical, from building race cars to machining specialist bits, welding, inventing, diagnosing car problems ,the best tyre solutions for your car in any situation ,sport or otherwise ect, ect.

Come to think of it, some one asked me? Where are we gunna get tyres from now?

Ian will still be around, but not doing the Mechanical workshop or the tyres.

Boyd Motor Sport Products will still be serving you as they do now. Just click on to the web site or ring the mobile.

Aaron’s Grandfather & his brother started this institution way back. Aaron & his brother are the third generation in this company & will be staying on with the new owners.

Our Club, Sydney Off Road Racing would like to thank McClintock Brothers Printing for all their help over the years to produce the Club Calendars, Programs and all sorts of other assorted printing, usually at very short notice.

Aaron, his brother, his Father & their uncle, Bruce McClintock have all been motor sport enthusiasts and we’ve been lucky that Aaron chose Off Road Racing as his preferred genre so we could use his printing expertise to make us look good.

A great night was had by all at the SORRA Presentation night..... I hope Buddy gets what he wished for for Christmas!

Yep, another year is almost over, so rather than filling your email inbox with messages have a look at the links below:

The December 2008 hightlights and gossip can be found in the December 2008 Newsletter - Click Here

To have a look at the 2009 Off Road Calendar & also the 2008 Presentation, Dinner & Christmas Party information slip - Click Here
Importantly give Ian Irons a ring or email him with the numbers attending the 2008 Presentation Dinner.

Finally it's membership time, so fill out the 2009 Membership Renewal Form & post it, or bring it along to the 2008 Presentation Dinner and fix it up there - Click Here

From 'The Editors', all the best for the Christmas season & have a great New Year!

After Fridays hot & humid weather, the small showers of rain over the weekend kept the temperature and the dust down, to make it a top weekends racing. Thirty eight Cars fronted the lights at the start

The new parts of the track were fairly tight and twisty & near the end broke up a bit (some people tell me that’s an understatement) and bought the bigger horsepower & wider track cars back to the field, which, at the end of the day is what a good days racing is all about.

The Classes were interesting. The second and third places in the NSW Championship in 3 classes were still being fought out in the last race, amazing! A few hard luck stories with Simon Lennox replacing the oil seal in the gearbox on Friday evening, then on Saturday the clutch cable gave up but after all that he managed to get some pretty creditable times in the races he completed. Ian Cotton in the Nissan 4WD had his class won for the year and was still giving it his all when a tree grabbed a rear corner of the car & broke some bits off. Another with a tree fetish was the 190 car of David Nikiforoff who removed some of his car to place him in did not finish category early on Saturday.

Buddy Crowe in his 6ltr Chevy Jimco Buggy No 4 took the honours in the prologue with a 1min 43sec .86, followed by Jeff Thomas in 1300cc turboed No 51 with a 1.43.97 time, next was Darren Stocks with a 1.44.57. When the fun began in the real stuff Buddy and Jeff swapped fastest heat times between them in the 1^st & 3^rd heats. In the 2^nd the 212 car of Scott & Michell McNiel had the fast time with Phil Page (148) Kelvin Hill (109) Brad & Kylie Bishop (317) Michael Latimore (136) Jeff Cripps (17) Darren Stocks (913) & (95) Aaron McClintock nipping at their heels. Garry Simpson, Paul Tuck-Lee, Gary Hyde, Jimbo Kearle, Shane McIntosh, Anthony Lia, and Billy Standing were out of the competition at Saturdays end with problems of some putting paid to their weekend.

A little more rain to settle the dust and back into some really good close racing. The racing for the NSW Championship points was still very close and Buddy Crowe (who was not in the running for these points) retired his car to allow the real combatants to fight it out. Buddy’s Navs, Kerry & Alisa graciously stepped out of the seat to allow Top Gear reporter Mike Butler an experience in the Navigators seat. Mike & the Top Gear Photographer, Chris Benny also went for runs in Kelvin Hills, Greg Campbell’s & Simon Lennox’s machines. A big THANK YOU to all those guys from SORRA & to Aztec for his help (He’ll know what we mean)

Jeff Thomas & Louise in the 51 buggy won the Event and their Pro Class with a total time of 1hr 57mins 6secs.58. Phil Page & Dustin Baque 148 second outright & first in their Pro Lite Class 1.58.15.23 , third outright Scott & Michell McNeil 212 & first in the Super 1650 class 1.59.38.39 ,

2nd & 3^rd in Pro Class were 17 Jeff Cripps & 95 Aaron McClintock, that should give Aaron the Class for the Year. In Pro Lite 2^nd went to 136 Michael Lattimore with 181 (Mr. Consistency) Steve Taylor & Maria Raccosta in 3^rd. Wayne & Daneen Horsfall 260 took the 2^nd posy in Super 1650 followed by 211 Scott Brown & Troy Burgess.

In the Sportsman Class (1330cc) a sterling effort from brother & Sister, Bradley & Kylie Bishop. Not only taking 1^st in Class but being placed 4^th outright .Second place to Grant & Tim Walker, with Les Webster/Brett Blackshaw 324 in third spot.

Its getting close Now, It Should be a Beauty.
Would you believe 9 cars so far contesting Sportsman Class, About 24
cars entered at this point, Farmer, Honey, Phil Page ,Jimbo Kearle
,Simpson, Aztec ,Jeff Thomas ect, should make some great racing and video
footage.
WEB Video will be putting together a DVD of the event and Top Gear
magazine and three local area newspapers are covering it as well!
All this and the Famous COLO PARK Saturday evening Dinner,what more
could one want for a dirty weekend, Oh! we have hot showers too.

Top Gear Australia Magazine will be at the state round in November to photograph and interview drivers, all extra bodies would be appreciated at the Nov 2nd working bee to make the grounds and track look its best! Bring along your whipper snipper, garden tools etc to help out.

Sup regs, entry and dinner order form are now up on the Calendar page.
There is a discount for early entry. All competitors will go into a draw to be refunded $200.00

Win an Extreme Drive with Off Road Rush!!!*
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Off Road Rush and SORRA are offering a chance for those volunteers who
help our club to jump behind the wheel of a V8 powered A-Arm buggy in an
Extreme Drive package at Oran Park!

One of the lucky people who volunteer their time and sweat to keeping us
racing will win an Extreme Drive voucher when their name is pulled from
a hat at the end of the season.

The raffle will be eligible for those who have helped out at race days,
working bees etc, anyone with points in the Club Supporters point score.

So if you've always wanted to know what its like to plant your foot into
V8 powered buggy and attempt to put yourself into orbit, now is your
chance! Volunteering to help your club in 2008 could see you behind the
wheel for 21 laps of the purpose built Oran Park off road track!

It really is just too much fun!

www.offroadrush.com.au

Getting close now only a couple of working bees to go!
Come along and give yourself a better chance in the draw.
And it won't hurt to brush up on your knowledge of our track, it might be
a little different to what you think !

LENLORD CAR SALES (Specialist’s in 4WD Vehicles) Located in Richmond NSW ph 02 45 782 899. www.lenlord.com.au are coming on board again as the major Sponsor for SYDNEY OFF ROAD RACING Asc Inc’s round of the

NEW SOUTH WALES CHAMPIONSHIP to be held at COLO PARK on the 15^th and 16^th November 2008.

An added attraction this year is the opportunity for some of the entrants to be able to hire incar camera setups that will give in and out of car footage and maybe some telemetry stuff. Simon & cohorts will be filming the whole race meeting for a DVD and this would obviously be a great time to give your sponsors something for their money,(you could even buy an extra DVD to give to the Sponsor, now that’s an idea!)

WEBB VIDEO, the guys that put together the Milbrodale Video, were up at COLO PARK for our race meeting last week to check out and find some great filming posies ,to be ready for the NSW round of the Championship in November. You can check out their work at

www.webbvideo.com.au Snippets from Milbrodale & the COLO race can be viewed at this site.

Our Club, SORRA, is holding a Raffle to raise some cash. More details to come later.

The LAST round of the NSW Championship is definitely shaping up to be a race not to miss, So make sure its on your Calendar and come to COLO PARK for a GREAT WEEKEND!

Please change you calendars the christmas party date has moved to the 13th Of December

Congratulations to our club members that have been recognised for the commitment to our sport. See here

“All members are reminded that essential requirements for Private Practice at Colo are: Current CAMS competition license, current SORRA membership, correct attire whilst in race vehicle on the track, all safety equipment used i.e. seat belts, nets etc., and if using a road registered vehicle on the track all people in the vehicle must be wearing seat belts.” Members who do not comply with this will have their privilege of private practice withdrawn.

Next Club round is on Saturday and Sunday 19th and 20th July the sup regs and entry form available here. Minutes are also available from the last meeting here

Congratulations to Werner and Sue on the birth of the newest SORRA member!
Their baby daughter Emelie Isabella arrived on June 14th at 8.9lb and 53cm long. Mother and baby doing well, best wishes to you all from all the members.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATE PRACTICE

“Club Members wishing to conduct private practice at Colo Park must book with Paul Grant but keys are available from Paul Grant, Ian Irons, Ian Boyd and Ross Barnes. Once you have booked your day/time you MUST ensure that you have two adults, who will not be involved in testing the vehicle, with you at Colo and a Private Practice disclaimer form must be completed by all who are attending and signed by them. This completed form is to be presented when you pick up the key, also your current membership card and CAMS licence must be produced. You will not be able to fill the form in at Colo, although the key holders will have forms available for you to complete but all those attending will need to fill in their names and sign the form before you will be given a key. At that time you will also need to make arrangements with the key holder as to what time the key will be returned. The form is available on the CAMS website ( see above link ). You are invited to make a donation towards the upkeep of the track. There is also a sign on book kept at Colo Park which must be filled in when you are there.”

This issue was raised at last night’s meeting as people have been complaining that having to collect keys from Paul add an hour to their travel time and were still trying to book through the other key holders. We need to centralise all bookings but are willing for people to collect and return a key from their nearest key holder. The forms are essential and the two adults not involved in the testing is mandatory. That rule has been around forever but not always enforced and the club leaves itself liable if we do not insist on the forms etc.

Working Bee
The next working bee is on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th, camping will be available at the track on the saturday night, Please contact Jeff Crips or Ian Irons if you will be able to attend. See here for their contact details.

Email from John Paterson addressing Off Road Racing noise issues, Tuesday, May 13, 2008

**

*Email from John Paterson on 13/05/08*

Hello all,

For some time now AORCom (the Australian Off Road Commission) has been occupied with addressing the challenge of competitors endeavouring to be compliant in regard to noise restrictions.

Following on from Donald, where exceptionally high readings were
recorded, it has been decided that a meeting of those interested, and
those needing to address this problem, will be conducted at Alice
Springs at the time of the Finke Desert Race.

This might also be an opportunity to further discuss the merits of
establishing a Competitors Association and any other item of interest if
time permits.

The 95 dB(A) limit on noise, whilst frustrating, cannot be ignored and
our sport must manage this problem responsibly, if we are to avoid
someone else doing it for us.

When looking at the NCRs there is very little scope when dealing with a
car that exceeds the noise limit, or any ineligibility for that matter,
but the focus of this meeting will be about rectification rather than
any penalty for not doing so. However, non compliance or no identifiable
attempts to rectify, cannot be ignored either, so your views on
resolving this will be welcome.

And some ground rules. The first must be to concede that we have a noise problem with some cars and regardless of what goes on around us, the commitment must be to address our problem; - without whinging about it and/or making ridiculous threats that do little to foster harmony or the future well being of Off Road.

It should also be pointed out that AORCom has no desire whatsoever to
hand out penalties for non compliance and if a co-operative and mutually
agreed approach can be determined this possibility will evaporate.

Ladies and gentlemen, the problem of noise is ongoing with drag cars,
speedway cars, power boats and all disciplines of race cars both on and
off the road. And for those who specifically asked, there are ways to
get minimal relief via negotiation with some councils; - not the EPA, -
providing extraordinary levels of management are employed regarding the
concentration of noise and the controlling of time windows to reduce the
impact. But be assured, this is much more difficult than everyone simply
controlling their own exhaust noise to an acceptable level. We will
expand on this at the meeting, along with fundamental O H & S issues.

The meeting will commence at 1.30 pm on Friday, June 6 at Peter Kittle’s
car dealership on the main road north of the Alice Springs CBD.
/(Scrutiny starts at 3.00 pm)./

Anyone is welcome to attend and as I have no idea who will or won't, or
their email address, I hope every addressee here can help spread the
word so that those who will be at Alice Springs at least know it is on.
And again, all are welcome.

With best regards,