John Whelan is the 2010 NZV8 Rookie of the year

John Whelan’s Team was awarded 2010  Best Presented/Professional Team

23rd March 2010

Taupo was a good round.

As I have not done a lot of laps at this circuit. Also I have never been around it in a NZV8.

1st test session I was 21st quickest (hrmmm ok this could have been a bit better but it was 1st time on the track)

2nd test session I was 17th quickest (went over a second quicker which was good Still wanted to be further up)

1st qualifying session All cars. 11th with a time of 1:37.854 (this was good easily made top 20)

2nd qualifying session top 20. 11th with a time of 1:37.214 (happy that I went quicker in time just a shame I missed out on top 10 and by 0.066 of a second)

The whole team was stoked with the result of course I was guttered I wanted top 10. When I look back at it now it was a pretty good effort as this is a home track to a lot of the North Island drivers, so with just turning up having 2 test session and being able to put it on grid 11 not too bad.

Race 1

Got a good start by the end of the first lap first lap I was in 11th.

I had Andrew Anderson in front of me and was chasing him down few laps into the race Clark Proctor made a mistake in front of Andrew Anderson he managed to get passed I was sitting right on Andrews bumper so I followed through.

I stayed with Andrew to the end of the race finishing in 10th place which I was pretty happy with. I just couldn’t get passed Andrew I was quicker in some places and he was in other parts of the circuit.

I was struggling with power over steer P OS (on the exit of the corner when on throttle the rear of the car was loose)

Race 2

We did some changes to try help my P OS for this race.

 I started from grid 10 once again got a ok start but this race the car had no pace the changes we made did not help and the changes in track temp also hurt us. I fell back through the grid and finished in 14th. Bit disappointed as I always want to move forward. On the positive side, the car still is in mint condition.

Race 3 Reverse Grid

We did some more changes so it would be a rocket in the final race.

Well this race did not go to plan on turn 3 first lap, I went to the grass to avoid a spin tried to turn back onto the track but with the slope of the grass it would not turn so I shot across to rejoin at turn 5. This was a very bumpy off track trip I mowed a lot of grass by lap 3 I had warning lights on due to a water temp getting to hot. So I had to make a bit stop, had about an inch thick of grass in front of the radiator. The boys cleaned the grass away and sent me. Car felt good apart from having no power all my gear changes were late. (After the race we found I had squished the exhaust so it could not flow causing the loss of power. 13 laps down the power steering hose let go causing excess smoke and I got told to park the car in the in field so I did race over. (Bugger but the race was pretty much over with the pit and causing damage to the exhaust.

Overall

We showed some good pace and good results now just can’t wait for Hamilton 400 starting 16th of April.

Prize giving was held on Sunday night, after the meeting.

I received Rookie of the year.Team received Best Presented/Professional team of the year.This was an awesome result due to our up in downs through the season.

16th February 2010

Well not too much to update.

If you haven’t heard already I had a major crash in testing.

Brakes Failed on entry to turn one and went into the tyre wall at about 160-180kmh.

Don’t worry the car is getting fixed and will be at taupo well we trying our best. Ian Tullochs words were “tell john to get ready for taupo”

Oh and yes by the way I am ok haha

What did I Do?

Went down the straight just into 4th gear.

Put my foot on the brake foot went straight to the floor.

I remember as clear as a bell. I played with the pedal and it was just tangling there. I said to myself “you’ve got to be kidding me’

So I tried to turn it or put it side ways, to try scrub off some speed. To be honest it did not do much and then I just got ready for the ride.

For you if ya like detail, it was the Bias brake bolt/rod that broke.

Anyone that comes to any more of the rounds or next time your near the car I will be happy to point out the part that broke.

I have posted photos in gallery.

Taupo is in 3 weeks starting 20th of March.

If you have any questions feel free to email back or call me.

9th February 2010

Today I had two presentations promoting safe driving in Dunedin. Focusing on braking. I had two group’s one group from Bayfield high School & one group from Kings High School. I showed them the stopping distances at 40kmh and 60kmh with & without ABS brakes. Also in wet and dry conditions. I got the students involved by everyone having at least one turn in the car feeling ABS brakes, Also I got them to mark each time where they thought the car would come to a complete stop. I found the kids really enjoyed this and were surprised by some of the results and went home with more knowledge and understanding that there is a big difference between 40kmh & 60kmh when you have to stop. In my opinion I think it was a very successful day and hope to run some more presentations.

25th January 2010

Round 4 Timaru (levels)

Qualifying: We made it into the top twenty in the first session with old Rubber on. Then we went out to try to make the top 10 so we put new Rubber all round but unfortunately we lacked some pace a qualified 17^th. This wasn’t the result I was really after but considering the lack of laps I have done around levels and having test sessions in the rain. The result could have been a lot worse.

Race 1: This was an interesting race as we cam up to start the race it was wet and we were on slicks. I made a very good decision to come into pits and change to wet tyres. As the race started on the 1^st lap there was a major crash which I avoided as I was in pits. The race was red flagged. We got underway again unfortunately I didn’t have the best set up as the team just put the wets on and could not do a set up change due to time. We finished in 14^th place after starting 17^th I was happy to drive the car in after the race as there were a few cars that didn’t drive back in to pits.

Race 2: Now the big question on the build up to this race was it going to be dry or wet as the weather was raining then dry then Raining then dry all day. We went with a set up that was in the middle of being a wet & dry set up. Reason being so if it was wet we have a pretty good car but if it was dry we also had an ok car. The race started and it was dry I started off 14^th had ok car pace but obviously if we knew what the weather was going to do we could have had the car better. We finished 12^th.

 Passed a few cars and overall this was a good race.

Race 3: After spending a lot of time studying the weather we made the decision it would be dry so we went for a full dry set up to hopefully have a quick car and get a good result as we started of 7^th on the grid. But no thanks to Tmaru it rained right before the race started and we just had to put wets on with dry set up. Well there was nothing me or the team could do about this so as the lights went out I pushed on exit of turn 3 I went 3 cars wide and unfortunately in the process lost a lot of places but I put my head down and worked back up to finish a respectfully 10^th place this is our 1^st top 10 finish so the team were pretty happy. It was a long race in the rain as my window started fogging up which caused a lack of visibility.

Overall the weekend was ok not too much damage showed so good pace in not perfect conditions.

Thank you very much too all the people who came and supported. It’s Awesome having a following at each round so thank you

18th January 2010

Round 3 Invercargill Teretonga.

Well where do I start. Qualified 11^th once again just outside top 10.

Race one went pretty good with no dramas finishing 12^th.

Race 2 this is where it started getting interesting. Started the race in 12^th outside by the end of turn one I was run onto the grass dropped back to last. (Bugger) So I started the chase got passed one vehicle then passed another on entry to turn one but unfortunately over cooked it by a fraction, causing me to push wide, with a lack of grip off racing line. The car could not hold, so it shot off the track straight over the gravel trap and into the wall. This caused the race to be red flagged and the car was not able to be driven so I the car was taken to the pits on the back of a truck.

The car was a mess, and we were told and a lot of people never expected the car to be fixed for the following race just over 2hours away.

When the car finally arrived in the pits team manager had a good look at the Cartridge World falcon and notice there was nothing structurally wrong.

The whole team put there gloves on and got stuck in doors were off panels were getting hit couple people from other teams came and helped. In a way it was a awesome site to see the whole team showing everyone what they can do and by time the 3^rd race came around the car was looking pretty good considering the damage from race 2.

I was so stoked to be sitting on the grid for the 3^rd race and could not thank the team anymore huge effort.

I was 3^rd on the grid when the lights went out I was off coming around second lap I was into 2^nd.

On the exit of turn one I got a hit from behind causing me once again to shoot off the track. Once again I made contact with the wall not nearly as hard and I reversed out and I was off again, but half a lap behind everyone. From there it was along race to the end where I finished in 18^th spot.

Overall a bad weekend for myself.

Few good positives, the team showed what they can do and how good they can work together.

The Cartridge World falcon made channel 3 news and got mentioned.

Now we are getting known in the class and also known to the TV crew hopefully they will follow my car more.

I have just got back to work today. I have been working non stop at the Tulloch transport garage in Mataura But I am happy to say the car is ready to rock and will be in Timaru now. I am heading there first thing in the morning.

One last thing thank you very much too all the people who came down and supported me in Invercargill and came over to the tent. It looked amazing think there were about 60 of you all in the team tops awesome job guys.

 16th December 2009

On Tuesday 15th of December I was invited to be guest speaker at Tahuna Normal Intermediate School for there end of year prize giving this was an honour to do. There were approx 400-500 people. I gave a good speech to all the kids letting them know what I have achieved and how I went about it with following my dreams, setting goals and having set out plans. The School I think really enjoyed having me.

It was really good to go as I am an ex pupil of Tahuna and now I feel I have and hope I have inspired the kids to follow there dreams.

I will try to get some photos to upload also I went to the school earlier and done a presentation to a class room on myself and safety hopefully I can source photos of this also.

30th November 2009

NZV8s Round 2 (Ruapuna Christchurch)

Weekend Schedule

Saturday

Test session 1

NZV8 Hot laps

Test session 2

Qualifying all cars

Qualifying top 20

Qualifying top 10 shoot out 

Sunday

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Test session 1 started off wet. Which was interesting as I had never driven one of these cars in the wet but not to worry I got stuck into the first test session the car felt good and we managed to set some pretty good times. We finished this session 10^th quickest.

Unfortunately with the hot laps, we decided to cancel due to several reasons, I am very sorry for this and I hope I do not have to do this again. For all of you there thank you for understanding. (If only we could control the weather)

Test session 2 was once again wet. We did a couple changes from the previous session, which was an improvement the car felt good and balanced. I called this session early as the track was trying and I wanted to save my wets. When I did pull in we were the 3^rd fastest which was pleasing.

Qualifying, all cars. This session went to plan with making the top 2. It was in dry cold conditions with the track being damp but not wet. I was 12^th fastest with a lap time of 1.32.864.

Qualifying top 20. This session was good. We were sitting in 16^th place then I came in and we made few changes and I had time for 2 more laps. I managed to put in a good lap time of 1.31.756 over a second quicker than the first session this moved me up to 11^th 0.01 of a second off the top 10 (bugger) but  never to mind as this was a big improvement on the 1^st round so me and the team was happy with this result.

Qualifying top 10……. (Next round hopefully)

Race 1 I started off grid 11^th we had a dry circuit unfortunately in the start of the race I got jammed in and by the 3^rd corner I was back about 20^th I managed to put my head down and worked my way up to finish in 18^th position.

Race 2 This time I started 18^th on the grid due to me finishing 18^th in race 1. I got off to a good start went for the outside line which was quicker. Unfortunately on the exit of the first corner I got pushed on to the grass causing me to drop to the rear of the field. Once I got back onto the circuit I pushed on and ended up finishing 14^th. I showed some good pace in this race also every time I caught another car I was able to pass it which is good.

Race 3 this race is a full reverse grid and full of action. It was wet which set it up for a good one. I started off 7^th my plan was to bolt from the start and try to get to the lead as quick as I can. Mid corner I was tagged which caused me to spin and nudge into the grave trap. The car stalled I managed to get it going again and get unstuck, by time I was on the circuit a safety car was call which was to my delight as I was able to catch the field and reform at the back. Safety car pulled in and we were off again. From the rear of the field I could not see a thing from water spray, it made it interesting. I had a good balanced car and pushed on again about 6 laps in I was again hit and spun back to the back of the field again grrrr. Struck of luck for me on the same lap the race was red flagged due to Andy Booth going into the wall. We got underway again this time it was a pretty clean race to the finish line I passed a few cars and finished in 10^th spot behind kayne Scott.

Very pleasing result and the team was very impressed with my drive without making any really mistakes in tough conditions.

Overall we were happy with the weekends results it was just annoying getting 3 bad starts out of 3. Not too worry as I showed good pace and racing skills. We had our best finish for the season so far finishing 10^th. We came 15^th for the weekend and now currently sit 17^th for the championship.

I can’t wait now to get back in the seat for the 3^rd round at Invercargill, on the 16-17^th of January. I am really enjoying driving these cars and think there is better results to come.

9th November 2009

Weekend structure

Friday – set up day

Saturday – 2 test sessions & Qualifying

Sunday – 3 races

 First test session was at 10.20 am we set the 19th fastest time of 1min.03.50.

Car was spanner checked over and worked on to get it all ready for the hot laps at the lunchtime break.

At lunch we had 4 hot laps, which I think everyone enjoyed themselves and came out with a big smile, which was great.

After lunch we had our 2nd test session, which also went well by improving our time down to a 1min.03.01 but everyone else also went quicker, so still sat in 19th place.

We sat down and went over the data to see where I had to improve to find more time for qualifying, which was good.

Qualifying Structure

1st session – 20min all cars

2nd session – 15min top 20 fastest cars

3rd session – top 10 shoot out

So we went out for the 1st qualifying session

1st Qualifying session – everything went well and we managed to post a time of 1min.02.62 which put us 17th, so we made the next session by being in the top 20.

2nd Qualifying session – everything was going well up to 14th then dropped back to about 17th needed to go 00.00.20 quicker and it was red flagged (stopped due to a car stuck on the track in a dangerous place) so we came into pits and waited

For them to clear the track and released us again there was about 4mins left in the session. I had to try and set a good time. As we went out on my second lap I got a fuel surge problem which caused me to come into the pits and finish the session early with out posting a good enough time to make the top 10 shoot out. We posted 01.02.55, which ended up putting us in 19th as others went quicker in the last couple laps.

Race 1 – Starting from grid spot 18 (not sure why I moved up from 19th to 18th on the grid but when you move that way you don’t ask questions)

As we came onto the main straight for the rolling start I was in 1st gear surprised by how slow we were moving but just waiting to go.

Then lights went green and we were off. I got a good start and was up a few places. In about the 7th lap I had a coming together with another car, which caused me to spin. I managed to keep going and finished 19th.

 Race 2 – Starting from 19th where I finished in race 1. This time the start wasn’t as good and did not gain as many spaces but as the race went on I managed to move up a few which was good finishing 16th.

 Race 3 – Starting from 7th, as it is a full reverse grid. The start was a interesting yet scary one as I managed to get myself in between 2 cars getting sandwiched, lost both my side mirrors, as we made it around the track we came up to the hairpin and on the exit I got tagged which caused me to spin. This was annoying as I started near the front and was hoping for a good result. Anyway I ended up right at the back I put my head down and worked hard and finished the race in 15th.

At the end of the day we had dinner at the track and a debrief with the team which was good. Overall the team was very happy with my result. Showing every time I got in the car I went quicker and improved. Overall we finished 20th but very tight in points after the 1st round. We are planning to do 2 more test days prior to the next round in Chch in 3 weeks time 28-29th November. I personally can’t wait to get back in the car I felt good and really want to now push on and get time in the seat. 

 3rd November 2009

The engine is with Tony Marsh (engine builder), instructions are to repair and report on any damage. I expect to have the engine back on Thursday. So it will get put back in the car friday all set ready to go for Saturday.

The failure with the gearbox was the counter shaft 2^nd gear cracked in the root of the tooth, the result has rendered the 2^nd gear lay shaft and main shaft gear U/S, no further damage found. No reason for the gear failure at this stage, the components were checked when O/Hauled on the 9^th Oct. Parts will arrive Tuesday am via express courier.

2nd November 2009

Whelan Motorsport had a dinner auction fundraising night on Saturday.

It was very successful night with all the support of the Dunedin community and as far as Christchurch in donations and gifts to auction off. THANK YOU.

Also it was a awesome turn out we had over 130 people who attended. We raised just over $16000 from ticket sales raffles and the auction. I personally think this was a very good result.

This will help me to compete in the NZV8s this coming season starting 7th of November.

30th October 2009

I had a test today at Ruapuna. Went well showing some positive times, but we did strike some problems 1 fuel problem. 2 gearbox issue. 3 blown head. Those last two problems causing me to finish the test early. Whelan Motorsport will be working on this to get all sorted for the 1st round pukekohe Auckland.