It seems a long time since the action on the track at the Sydney VW Drags, but VW Warwick is just around the corner on September 29-30th. This is the seventh year for Warwick, the weekend that started it all, and it's still very cool that the Australian Volkswagen community can have its own drag racing series. A comment was made to me at the recent Valla Spectacular that more VW drag cars have been built in the last seven years than the in the last seventeen years! Let's hope we can keep that momentum happening.
The VW Warwick section on the VWMA website has now been updated and registrations are now open - www.vwma.net.au
Registration forms and payment must be received by Friday 21st September. Sydney had 94 entrants - can Warwick take back the title for the most drag car entries?
The good news is that the prices have remained the same, as has the successful two day racing programme. A new gallery slideshow has also been added containing a few pictures of last year's event.
This year I am hoping to produce a DVD of the action, which was sorely missed last year. I'm currently in talks with a production company who are keen to put an exciting highlights package together, which if successful will also be done for Sydney 2013.
On the track, the number of drag cars now cracking into the Top VW Shootout is growing. The cut-off for Warwick this year is again 7.49. With some of the form shown at Sydney it's likely that a few of the new drag buggies and watercooled cars will fall into this bracket. Should be interesting. Of course there will be a cash incentive for the first driver to dip into the 5 second times - more info to follow.
See you on the track.
Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time drag racer
ps Trevor Luckhurst from Qld has the honour of #1 entrant for VW Warwick 2012
tar76 ·
👍 looking froward to this 👍 If your not racing how do go about booking a camp site?
h ·
👍 good stuff craig and co.. looking forward to it
'pauly h' 😂
coletrickle ·
Cash for a 5 sec run?No cash for anything else?
vw54 ·
Cash for a 5 sec run? No cash for anything else?
cash for the most colourful car 😂😂
VWMA Editor ·
Pay for general camping at the gate - $30 per adult includes entry to the racing. Children under 14 free.
Prize money for the Top VW Shootout winner and runner-up as well as best reaction time recorded during Sunday racing (not qualifying).
tar76 ·
VWMA Editor wrote:Pay for general camping at the gate - $30 per adult includes entry to the racing. Children under 14 free.
Prize money for the Top VW Shootout winner and runner-up as well as best reaction time recorded during Sunday racing (not qualifying).
Thanks for that. 🙂
ian.mezz ·
we are going .
so now only 93 drag vw to go 😂 to beat the wsid entrants numbers .😂
so who's racing ??????????
whathaveidone ·
Im in👍👍
matberry ·
I've entered 🙂
h ·
I'm spectating with a beverage or eleven 😉
but im floating out one of the entrants cars
looking forward to sunny weather pls
1916baja ·
whathaveidone wrote:Im in👍👍
until the last round before the finals! 😂
Im in too!!
tar76 ·
h wrote:I'm spectating with a beverage or eleven 😉
but im floating out one of the entrants cars
looking forward to sunny weather pls
I'll be joining ya h. The bro in law and I are camping (first timers) so what happens on Saturady night? Barbie at our kombi?
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
I'll be there. As for the car i'm driving it's yet to be confirmed so a maybe for racing.....
tar76 ·
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:I'll be there. As for the car i'm driving it's yet to be confirmed so a maybe for racing.....
when are you leaving for Warwick ?
( Tarin Blue kombi Bribie Back in the day) just so you know who i AM.
hellbugged ·
Craig
What are the helmet spec/requirements?
whathaveidone ·
got all this of an old post. Dont think Warwick is as strict but better to be safe.
So on the top right hand side, you will see:
"note: all vehicles slower than 10.99 " etc
So unless you are faster than 10.99, you can use:
All helmets should have a date of manufacure on them some where.
If yours is manufactured on or after 2006, and has an AS1968 standard, you are good to go.
...and until 2013, you can still use Snell as old as M2005 as quick as 9.00 seconds
or SA2005 for any speed.
Naturally any of the newer M2005 or SA2005 snell helmets are fine up to 9.00 seconds..
M are good to 9.00 and SA 2005 or newer as fast as you want
1916baja ·
LUntill Sydney i had been using a shitty old motorbike helmet i bought fir 5 bucks at a garage sale.... So they aren't all that strict...
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
tar76 wrote:
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:I'll be there. As for the car i'm driving it's yet to be confirmed so a maybe for racing.....
when are you leaving for Warwick ?
( Tarin Blue kombi Bribie Back in the day) just so you know who i AM.
Sometime Friday. If I manage to get the day off around lunchtime otherwise after work.
Stanley ·
looks like i'll have to ditch the ice cream container
20bkombi ·
Mmmmm ice cream....
At this stage looks like I'll be racing the bus again🥲
Can't spend any more money on the notch as I've gone blind in my left eye and needs surgery this week, so will have to borrow money🙁
Hope all goes well and I can see to go racing.
matberry ·
^^^ OMG Aaron. Best wishes bud. Get that eye working mate.
1916baja ·
Shit Aaron... Not good news! Good luck mate.
VWMA Editor ·
Hi All,
The weeks are counting down to Warwick, which means the finer details are being sorted and track preparations being made. It also means that the siren has signaled the usual 11th hour car preparations, and I have already been receiving the odd email enquiring as to the last possible minute that I will accept an entry to race. The answer? 11.59pm Friday September 21st. Rest assured there will undoubtably be a few with this time mark recorded on their registration form.....
A reminder to all drivers and crew that your tickets, etc will be waiting for you at the track. This helps reduce the chance of loss or misplacement of essential paperwork if I send it out in the post. For those who arrive on Friday, please drive through the gates, setup your pit area and find the VWMA tent near the control tower to receive your bag of goodies (thanks again to Volkswagen Genuine Parts for filling the bags). On Saturday drivers and crew will need to check in at the front gate where your tickets, etc will be waiting. A word to the wise - arrive as early as possible to avoid long queues!
The Saturday morning street parade and display in Leslie Park leaves the track at 9am and stays in town to approx 11.30am. This is an excellent way to start the weekend, and although keeping your race car on a trailer until after this activity is finished can be taxing, it does provide Warwick locals with a sneak peak of the cars and helps draw a few more spectators out to the track.
General camping is available to those not racing and payment is made at the gate - $30 per adult and children under 14 free. Please remember no pets and no open fires. The Warwick track is ideally suited for camping right next to the action - you don't have to even leave the comfort of your camper to see the cars racing! There are hot showers and food and drink available on site. The dinner on Saturday night must be pre-booked for catering purposes.
I've been assured that the trikes will make a welcome return for 2012, and there is also quite a groundswell in the watercooled ranks after the success of the Sydney event. Buggy numbers are also increasing, and there are one or two unique creations rumoured to make an appearance. Naturally, I've also been privy to a few new Tappet Cover racers, some of which have more time and money invested than on the real thing!
See you on the track
Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time drag racer
Bob down ·
so if youre just gunna camp sat night and not race, how early can we pay at front gate to be involved in show and shine in warwick?
humpty ·
I'm coming over!.... Just been talking to Ben R, booked my flights.... Just need to sort out the entry stuff and we are sorted!
Might even have a car to race!
👍
matberry ·
^^ good to hear your making the trip buddy.
whathaveidone ·
So thats drivers from 5 states now👍
hypo-vw ·
humpty wrote:Might even have a car to race!
👍
I heard the car that you have organised is NA , old and not very quick !! 😂😂😂
humpty ·
hypo-vw wrote:
humpty wrote:Might even have a car to race!
👍
I heard the car that you have organised is NA , old and not very quick !! 😂😂😂
Heard that too..... But beggars can't be chosers.... 😂
bronte17 ·
Good stuff Craig sorry I missed you this week catch up next week
Stanley ·
Look forward to meeting you Simon.
humpty ·
Stanley wrote:Look forward to meeting you Simon.
It's been a long time coming Andrew.... Looking forward to catching up with all you guys.
VWMA Editor ·
Hi All,
Entries for the weekend are beginning to stack up nicely, but I would appreciate those who are intending to compete to enter sooner than later, if only for the sake of my stress levels (the doctor always told me drag racing was bad for my health….). The PDF print version of the entry form is now available if the online process is not an option. Please remember that the dinner on the Saturday evening must be pre-booked with your entry if your are wishing to attend - I unfortunately had to turn people away last year as the dinner is catered on a pre-booked number of people.
I hope all car preparations are going well. I know that Rose Merrett, Rodney Penrose and Aaron Roberts have dyno sessions completed or underway, and that the Vintage VeeDub car had a successful test'n'tune last week. Barry Roberts also makes his return to the drivers seat at the wheel of his subaru motivated camper after hip surgery sidelined him last year. Apparently, he has plans to upset a certain black rotary powered bus….
The VWMA drag buggy has had modifications to the suspension in an attempt to tame the beast from wheel standing through second gear - entertainment for the crowd, but time wasted waving at the sky! Stan Pobjoy is planning to run his open wheeler this year, and we welcome Simon Thompson from WA competing for the first time at a VWMA round behind the wheel of the Wayne Penrose blue sports sedan. The Loco Gringos from Victoria have been hard at it on the track with four cars planning to make the trip up, while a rumoured three others may also be Qld bound.
After the Sydney event, Chris Bolton leads the drivers points championship, and his efforts along with the record number of entrants, means that NSW is well ahead to claim the State Of Origin trophy away from Qld. This could be the first time since the inception of the series that the trophy heads south, and the early list of entries for Warwick would suggest this to be a real possibility!
See you on the track
Cheers
Craig Hughes
Editor / Part-time drag racer
humpty ·
This gonna be a massive weekend.... So looking forward to catching up with you all, but I would like to expressly thank Wayne Penrose for offering my the opportunity drive his Sports Sedan.... It is an amazingly generous offer, and one hope to take full advantage off.... I'd also like to thank Ben Robinson for being my taxi to and from Brizzy airport too, plus his generous supply of camping gear for the duration.... You guys rock!
Catch you all there!
Simon
ian.mezz ·
with have been to the dyno shop.
we did 18 runs and did a bit of fine tuning on the holley .
rose gained a few more HP.
.
vw54 ·
will she be able to control it all
mick r ·
Hi quick question,sat dinner is it only for drivers,how can i pre book,any more info ,cheers MICK R
VWMA Editor ·
Hi All,
This is the last week to enter VW Warwick with entries closing this Friday September 21st. The magic number of entries to chase is 94, set by Sydney in February. As of today I have 50 VWs racing - fair slice to go, but then again, this is the mad rush week to send through entries.
This year a professional video will be created by Circleworks Sports Media, run by Brian White. VWMA readers will be familiar with Brian's excellent feature and show photos in each issue, and the video will be just as spectacular. It will cover the three days of action, and aside from the on-track footage, there will be coverage of the pit action, street parade and display on Saturday morning, interviews, tech and race tips, and on board footage. The video will be available as both an online download and in hard copy by November 1st when the next issue of VWMA will be released. I know Brian's work and dedication to the VW cause, and I'm very pleased to be working with him on such a great product.
A reminder again that all pre-paid gate passes and other driver/crew essentials will be waiting for you at the track. The VWMA office will be open all day Friday near the track tower for those arriving early, and I encourage everyone to get your paperwork done first thing when you arrive.
See you on the track
Cheers
Craig Hughes
VWMA Editor ·
Ben Robinson
Sides ·
Heh heh - 51 now Craig.
Work better bl@@dy get me back home to Brissie in time !!!
😂
tar76 ·
So looking forward to this!👍
humpty ·
Any of the Southerners making the trip up?
VWMA Editor ·
Hi All,
Entries are now closed for VW Warwick 2012 (email me today if you've only just crawled out from under your car and would still like to race) and a healthy field of 82 will line-up for the 1/8th mile. It's another quality field with some genuine contenders for the 5 second goal.
Gates for competitors are open Thursday and Friday, and the VWMA office will be set-up by late morning Friday near the control tower for drivers and crew to collect their paperwork and passes.
The weather at Warwick always throws some surprises our way (memories of last year's storm come creeping back) so it is strongly advised to be prepared and secure all tents and tarps and wayward items. The weather may again be unsettled so a word to the wise.
Other than that, I wish all a safe journey and see you on the track.