Circuit Racing DLRA Speed Week 2015 (Lake Gairdner)

Hi All,

I’ve been off the forum for a few weeks as I’ve been doing an outback trek with one of my good mates. While touring around we stopped in to Lake Gairdner in South Australia to check out the DLRA (Dry Lakes Racing Association) 2015 Speed Week.

The next couple of posts will have different sub topics, so up to you if you want to read.

 

Part 1 – Getting There

I won’t bore you with all the details, but we drove from Melbourne to Mount Gambier (going to do a track day at Mac Park as soon as possible), to Port Augusta (awful) then to Port Lincoln (I’ve always wanted to eyeball a Great White) and finally to Lake Gairdner via the west coast of SA.

The DLRA website gives reasonable instructions on getting to Lake Gairdner, but at the time of writing this (March 2015) the information is 4 years old and annoyingly outdated. We drove up the west coast of SA (heading to Ceduna from Port Lincoln) and it’s a little hit and miss getting to the Lake from there. We drove through the Gawler National Park but you basically drive straight past the lake turnoff because the final Lake Gairdner sign is for traffic heading in the opposite direction? We stayed (tent) at Mt Ive sheep station which according to the DLRA website has no fuel, alcohol etc, but they do and they have a great bar called the Spinifex Bar that a lot of racers and their teams drink at. The sheep station is very rustic with red dirt and howling winds, but you make do and folks are all friendly. It wasn’t until we got to Mt Ive that we were told we’d driven past the Lake turnoff as the sign for the DLRA speed trials is only signposted if you’re driving from the station!

Weather is tricky too. When we arrived it was stinking hot (dry) and blowing a gale; Red dust everywhere. That night it rained and the wind changed direction. Next day was cool/cloudy in the morning and then nice during the day (25ish). The next day was a shocker; 5 degrees in the morning and the wind was arctic. It was even worse on the salt. The event is put on by the DLRA, an association run by enthusiasts and amateur/volunteer staff. That’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t want to offend any of the very nice people I met and whose company I very much enjoyed. Let’s just say event management doesn’t appear to be their strong suit.

The lake itself had great salt when we where there (better than Bonneville I think) and many records would have been set if the wind played ball (it was often a tailwind gusting 20-30kph). I was talking to many drag racers that I recognised or knew and there are lots of them who compete at the annual DLRA event (there is only one event each year…a bit like Christmas I suppose). One ex-drag racer has an old Studebaker that has run 210mph at Bonneville and on its first run at the Lake it got whacked by a nasty side gust and started spinning at about 200mph. The driver told me he knew the parachute had deployed because he could see it rapped around the front of the car!

Lake Gairdner is massive and aesthetically very nice. You have to pay to go on it and after the first day the organisers stopped letting anyone but competitors and their teams onto the salt because someone thought the lake was getting mistreated and damaged. The lake is “owned” by the local indigenous people and basically they, in conjunction with the local department of snakes and spiders, have a big say on what goes on and the rules change from day to day. The one day we were allowed onto the salt was pretty good, because you can easily go back to your car to get food or drink (there are no food/drink vendors on the lake itself) as well as chairs more sun cream etc. It is a lot more painful when you’re not allowed to park on the lake. Basically you park anywhere you can and then walk onto the lake at the end where the start line for the long run (9 miles) is. The pits are at the 3 mile marker…so if you want to go and have a look start walking and hope some team bus/truck picks you up on their way back to the pits.

Finally, the roads…they are outback roads, so don’t expect anything other than bone-jarring corrugations and rocks ranging in size from a size of a golf ball to Pamela Anderson’s fun bangs! I had to swerve to avoid a soccer ball sized monster (how it got in the middle of the road still perplexes me; the winds are strong, but not that strong). I missed severely damaging my car, but my front tyre didn't fare so well. I think I left my sump guard somewhere on the track (it’s not a road) to the Organ Pipes rock formation which is near the Lake. There are a few natural “things to see” in the area, but it’s mostly about the racing. There is no phone coverage, no TV signal (unless you have a dish) and the internet is pretty flaky too…we tried to use the one at Mt Ive a few times and gave up after that. Good thing I told the wife I might be off the radar for a while and not to panic. Seriously, it’s remote so be prepared.

 

Part 2 – 250cc action

Okay, we’re 2fiftycc people so here are some of the few bikes that you might be interested in. Don’t ask for speeds or records or whatever as the DLRA don’t have a PA system and often the competitors are not given a time-slip? They’re just told what they ran and maybe they’ll get a time slip tomorrow! It’s definitely NOT Bonneville.

Wandering around, I saw quite a few 250cc bikes and lots of racers running “odd” classes…postie bike type classes etc. One postie bike runs over 120mph and one is supercharged/turbocharged. Special mention goes to the guys from Gippsland in Victoria who were running a Sachs Madass 125 on 30%Nitro/70%Methanol! I’ll post a few pics of it in the “Other bikes” section. Phil, Murdo or one of the more learned forum members might be able to tell us a bit about the Gardner carburetor they are running on the Madass (apparently they stopped making this carb some time ago?).



2fiftycc classes are a mixture of 2 and 4-strokes, number of cylinders and engine configuration etc. The CBR250 (bike 496) in the pics is stock and is running in PP250 class which basically means it’s a stock production bike. You’d need the rule book to confirm all the different classes and what the letters represent. I think “G” means you’re running on gasoline and “F” means fuel of any variety e.g. Methanol etc.

Streamlining is also part of the class rules. The red thing (bike 866) is running in APS/G class in which I think the PS means “partial streamlining” which I believe means the rider’s body must be visible at all times and part of the wheels as well. The guy rides this thing in a more “sitting” position, so he’s cut the streamlining so his legs are visible when riding.

Bike 484 is owned and ridden by a gentleman named Tiny (he’s not). For any of you wondering what Tiny’s bike is, allow me to give you a brief overview. When I first saw Tiny’s bike I was instantly drawn to the VT250F petrol tank. I then noticed what initially looked like a supercharger snort and pulley system sticking out from under the tank. I figured it couldn’t be a blower as there’s no room for one on the V-twin engine. The thing with the DLRA or any speed trial operation is they normally have a “War & Peace” rule book, but they don’t discourage you from building whatever you want from whatever you can as long as it is safe and meets their rules. Tiny’s bike is a mix of a Honda VT250F and CBR250R. Tiny started with the VT250F frame, changed the rake and he then installed CBR250R wheels (rear swing arm too I think) and put the CBR 4-cylinder engine in it for good measure (MC19 I think). On top of the engine he has installed a Chinese supercharger and a Holley carb and so-on and so-forth. I heard he ran 90mph on his first sighting run, but haven’t been able to find out what his best run was. Nor have I been able to find out who ran the fastest 250cc at the event. I believe the DLRA record for a partially streamlined 250cc bike is 140mph.

Also, with regards to Tiny, when I went to Lake Gairdner I knew one of the 2fiftycc forum members was thinking of running his CBR250R and I was looking for the bike and not the engine. I found out after the event that Tiny is actually on our forum! So, hopefully Tiny can tell us how he ran and what’s next.

 

Part 3 – Other Bikes

Well, there are a lot of bikes in the DLRA, anything from 90cc up to 3,000cc plus single and multiple engine classes too. I was hoping to see the boys with the twin Jawa-engined bike run, but alas it was not to be. Here are a few non-2fiftycc bikes for anyone who cares. You can ask any questions and I will try to answer as best I can. Some bikes are pieces of art and some, well, they’re not.

I will post more pics as I go.

 

Part 3 – Other Bikes

A few more pics

 

Part 4 – Cars

Plenty of cars obviously and a few very quick ones too. I heard the bronze commodore ran 278mph, but can't confirm. The twin flathead engined streamliner was beset by problems but sounded unreal when they were warming her up.

Pics of some of the cars and a few more of bikes as well.

 

Spot on Murdo.

 

Thanks Risky

 

Just found out Tiny (VT250F/CBR250R hybrid) ran 110mph on Monday. Hopefully he reads this soon as there are no other times for him for the rest of the week. Track was shut Wednesday due to police investigating the bad accident that took place on Tuesday afternoon (another story for another time).

 

Hi Tiny,

Good to hear you're well and still at it.

Wow, that's some serious damage. 110mph in 5th seems pretty quick to me. What's the record in your class?

I can't get to the salt this year, so best of luck chasing down your record. What will you do with the bike after this year's DLRA event? Your post implied that this would be your 5th and last attempt.

 

I understand "enough is enough" Tiny. Especially since you're doing all this off your own back and not too many people can help you. I really wish I could get to the salt this year, but my dance card is super full over the next few months. I hope to hear you achieved your goals. Make sure you post on here as there are many of us who are keen on anything to do with 2fiftycc bikes. One of the forum members is building a replica of Brian Collins' 47cc Yamaha. I hope we can talk him into taking it to the salt at some stage.

 

Geez Yahoo, sounds like you have a nice collection of bikes in your shed!