20th Cobra Nationals - pics, videos, updates

[750hp]

Post them here for those of us who are missing the action!

[Donunder]

OK who's going to be first with the opening day's news?

With no Queensland team in the footy finals we're expecting a big effort from the Canetoads at Wakefield Park.

[spookypt]

Ok ill start...

Yesterday was on off rainy showers.

Today...PERFECT. Never seen a better day at WP.

Carnage report.

Chunky - blown diff
Me - stuffed clutch
James and Loui - blown gearbox
James and Loui's mate - blown engine
Gav - lost his balancer bolt but is flying.
Geoff t - unofficial 1.01s
Gary h - not too far away
Paul g - very quick in the go cart
Paul's drb from Vic is doing 1.02 on crap Tyres
Ron's beating Wazza by 10 100ths

Not a lot of cars. 79 entrants in total I think.

Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves... And the weather is awesome!

[byroncobra]

Nice summary matty, you left off Tony's suspected bottom end bearing...he's on the trailer tomoz sadly.

Just back from the "meet n greet," where were you mate?

Wazza on the mike just warming up for tomorrows' sledging....is anyone safe?

Im yet to clean out the grass clippings from my teeth after a most scenic off on the fishhook.

Thanks to towmaster for scaring the ****e outa me in the trackmaster run....now i know how to make king cobra....

See ya tomorrow for more thrills

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by byroncobra

Nice summary matty, you left off Tony's suspected bottom end bearing...he's on the trailer tomoz sadly.

Just back from the "meet n greet," where were you mate?

Bugger, I didn't hear about Tony's woes. What a rate of attrition.

I spent last night being a dad as well as chasing a new clutch so I could try and pull the box and put a new one in today... Sadly no luck. Found one in Sydney but needed to get it yesty. Nothing open today!!!

Next year ill have a spare. And a bigger truck to fit all the spares in.

Ill do some volunteering today and tomoz and enjoy the weather. Sigh.

[OZVENOM]

Hi spook bummer about the clutch i have a spare at work but that figures.
bummer .sitting at home wishing i was there . enjoy the weekend and have a safe trip home all.

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by OZVENOM

Hi spook bummer about the clutch i have a spare at work but that figures.
bummer .sitting at home wishing i was there . enjoy the weekend and have a safe trip home all.

We missed ya mate... Next year ey.

Ps bags that clutch... I wanna add it to my spares kit, box, drum, 20 ft container for next year!!!

[Cobnut]

Long time lurker, 1st time poster.....Attended the nats for the 2nd time as a spectator today and didnt disappoint. I dont as yet own a cobra so I can't chime in with hp & lap times, but am getting closer, and days like these just make me more determined.
Met forum legend Warren and his grey beast....very impressive.
Got up close with absolute pace wares......very impressive also.
But highlight for me & my 12yo son was the closeness of the viewing from the pit lane wall.....basked in glorious spring conditions I could've stayed there all day.
Congrats to all involved, those who have travelled for miles & not least the volunteers.....it was a real spectacle.
I'm sure with so many characters the evenings are a blast.
Certainly hope to join you one day in the not toooooo distant future!

Derek

[dhs.buckley]

no picks yet?, very jealous i am not there.
found these pics on facebook from ap site.
for all of us at home.

[leroy17]

Photos...... Hooray....

Yep, I am simple and need photos to confirm how much I am missing by not going.

Next year.

[d488y2]

“Some say he’s not the Stig. But he is the Stig’s Aussie cousin!”

[spookypt]

Well the nats is all but over for another year. Can I say the best 3 consecutive days of weather I've ever seen down here. Perfect.

The nsw cobra club put together a fantastic event which was very proactive and productive and I think everyone got some great runs. Big thank you to all for making us feel welcome. As usual!

Times were quick. Unofficially Paul from Vic ran as close to a sub 1 min as possible. When I left geoff t from Team bydesign was officially just ahead at 1.01.05 ish. But Paul was very very close.

The king cobra battle was wiiiiide open with chunky, ash, Gav and a few others all fighting it out...

The trail of carnage continued with Gary h with engine issues and Paul g with his lawn mower blowing a gearbox again. I think brent in his gt40 with a clutch. All opting out yesty. There were a few other broken things but nothing overly noteworthy I don't think.

All in all a great 3 days. Awesome catching up with those you only get to see once a year. Thanks to the Vic guys LJ/roscoe etc for sharing the laughs and stoked you convinced Paul to come up for a bash. That thing is wicked!!

We're booking sheds for next years muscle car so how many are we booking for you Vic blokes?

With the Philm, tenrocca, scotty h and a host of others who missed this year but hopefully locked in for next year plus the absolute pace crew gaining momentum next year is already shaping up to be big.

See u next year. My car will be fixed (again) and we'll give it a good go again.

Spookypt

[Tonus72]

Come on Matt - surely you had your camera with you???

Sorry to hear about the clutch - maybe you should have booked me as your pit crew??

Now that is a scary thought... You could never get that desperate!

Tony

[spookypt]

Mate sadly im Typing on IPhone. Will post some pics up in a few days..

I need a spanner man next year as my wife has her hands full with the bub.

If u like you're welcome to pit beeatch next year.. I'm recruiting now!

[750hp]

Thanks for the update Matt

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by spookypt

Mate sadly im Typing on IPhone. Will post some pics up in a few days..

I need a spanner man next year as my wife has her hands full with the bub.

If u like you're welcome to pit beeatch next year.. I'm recruiting now!

Pencil me in!

I have no experience, and no idea...
I still can't find a left hand screw driver
But I'm happy to sweep the floors if it helps and I don't drink, so there more liquor for everyone else

[Rebel1]

Times are up on the Natsoft site.

[Donunder]

Thanks Les.

Now let the analysing begin....

The first thing that grabs me is that there were an amazing ten cars in the minute sixes on Sunday, including Grant "Grandfather" Watson! Was there a special class for Hyabusa powered mobility scooters?

Ten in the sixes, that's close racing, with seven of them Queenslanders. I couldn't help but notice however the y a w n i n g gap of three one-hundredths between two of the competitors in this bracket! Oops!

Looking forward to the "debriefing" at the Red Rock next Sunday.... but in the meantime congratulations to all competitors who from all accounts made this one of the best Nationals for a long time.

[Rebel1]

Originally Posted by Donunder

The first thing that grabs me is that there were an amazing ten cars in the minute sixes on Sunday, including Grant "Grandfather" Watson! Was there a special class for Hyabusa powered mobility scooters? .

Sadly Don, Grant and Mark ripped the diff out of the scooter at the hill climb on the Saturday. Some dodgy welding got it going again but not good enough to last the weekend.

They were able to get a run at the drags and the hot Lap but was nowhere near as solid in the handling after the failure. Eventually the diff mount parted a second time and it was back home for the geriatrics and their scooter.

What times were posted just indicates how quick a healthy standard bore 302 can be when married with good gears and lots of time spent getting handling under control.

[TUF-427]

Originally Posted by Rebel1

Sadly Don, Grant and Mark ripped the diff out of the scooter at the hill climb on the Saturday. Some dodgy welding got it going again but not good enough to last the weekend.

They were able to get a run at the drags and the hot Lap but was nowhere near as solid in the handling after the failure. Eventually the diff mount parted a second time and it was back home for the geriatrics and their scooter.

What times were posted just indicates how quick a healthy standard bore 302 can be when married with good gears and lots of time spent getting handling under control.

To finish first, firstly you must finish....