It may not be a drug, yet. Rumoured to be partly because the green party have not realised it exists. Luckily for all of us we are only too aware of how epic endurance racing is. Growing in popularity to become one of the most rewarding forms of motorsport offering one of the best experiences you can have.
Joseph Johnson Photographer (Motorsport Files) has produced an incredible account of what endurance racing is, what it entails and the motivation behind it with a fantastic collaboration with series regulars Simon Gilbertson & John McIntyre (GilbertsonJMR racing) and their eight litre race machine contrasted and compared with series regulars father and son team Grant and Matt Moore (Moore Racing) and their two litre family car.
Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/614865328679486/videos/887165708382410/
Video Credit: Joseph Johnson Photographer (Motorsport Files)
Teams Credit: GilbertsonJMR Racing and Moore Racing
Heavy traffic @ Levels, Timaru – The pointy end of the 3-hour Endurance Race.
Photo Credit: Unknown
In the 1999 movie Any Given Sunday, Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) eloquently portrayed the importance and the difference an inch makes “inch by inch, play by play” over the course of a competition in his world-famous speech. Obviously, we too speak metric.
In what is widely believed to be a world 1st for motorsport. La Primo Timo was unleashed trackside ahead of the penultimate series race decider to assist with valuable strategy insights.
Racers don’t need a motivational speech to realise “life is a game of inches, the margin for error is so small, one half second too slow too fast you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every minute, every second…
They make the difference between winning and losing.”
As such a queue quickly formed of the who’s who of SIERDC champions and contenders eager to gain an edge over their fellow competitors from NZ’s fastest mum, Christina Orr West to multiple class champion Aaron Black and every one in between including SIERDC Champion Jonny Reid all keen to get that pivotal knowledge with which to maximise their race strategy and avoid the dreaded red mist. Victor of course was there simply for the (B)romance. In addition to putting the Pro in prolapse we offer dream catchers, crystals, and homeopathic remedies. No Victor!
A world 1st for motorsport. La Primo Timo lets it out of the bag.
Photo credit: SF Library
Aaron Black (WTCC BMW) and multiple Class A champion checks his Crew Beer Quota.
Photo credit: SF Library
The top 20 3-hour qualifiers at Teretonga were invited to join our revolutionary scheme where for no charge they could drive Pugalicious and we would drive their car. To avoid disappointment and manage demand this incredible and generous offer was presented to qualifying team owners and drivers during the window between qualifying and race start. For 2019 it appeared this simply didn’t give teams enough warning on how to manage their cool suits. Fortunately, we were able to campaign Pugalicious where we managed to perfect our one stop pit strategy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzc2Exyvanc
One stop pit strategy edges a step closer to perfection Video Credit: SF Library
While last season teams were caught offside, Marco Schelp promptly requested a test drive post race!
Marco video to go here!
Super-fast (Mario) racer German ace Marco Schelp pilot to BMW’s and Porsche muses I f just maybe the French know a thing or two?
We are pleased to announce this rare opportunity will become a tradition at the opening round of each season.
Pit Bikes
Peugeot have been making neat stuff since 1810. Versatile as. We challenge you to tell us of a brand with a more complete history of making the world a better place than Peugeot…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptl9URCd-_o
Needing a suitable mechanism for our patented energy transfer system. Identifying that each year we are a year older, driven by real efficiencies that come with a two driver no pit crew team we need to be smarter than the average bear.
With both wet and dry options, we are ready for any number of seasons that Teretonga, the world’s southernmost racetrack (or any other circuit) can throw at us in a single race meeting.
Seriously Fun Peugeot Pit Bikes in use at Levels – For when the going gets tough. Photo Credit: Doctor Bike
The 1989 Peugeot Alpine Express (Reynolds 501 tubing) is equally at home on tarmac as it is gravel Photo Credit: SF Library
The Pits Top 20
That is right. We have The Pits Top 20. For 2019 we were proud to bring our selection of racing tunes to the paddock and the masses, as strong believers of sport and entertainment merging into a successful atmosphere enhancing experiences for both the public and participants. We are here to entertain, to race, to compete and to enjoy. We are very fortunate that our race machine comes with the factory option of a sound system ensuring maximum comfort on our Saturday drives.
Embracing the mindset and challenge of continuous development we are pleased announce we will be enhancing The Pits Top 20 for the upcoming 2020 system….
The Pits Top 20 – 2019 Racelist
- Cars, Gary Numan
- The Passenger, Siouxsie and the Banshees
- Behind the Wheel, Depeche Mode
- I Feel Speed, Dubfire, UNKLE
- Passin’ Me By, The Pharcyde
- Us V Them, LCD Soundsystem
- Push It, Salt-N-Pepper
- Rabbit In Your Headlights, UNKLE, Thom Yorke
- Keep On Movin’, Soul II Soul
- Love Machine, Wham,
- See Me Go, The Screaming MeeMees
- Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
- City Limits, I Am Giant
- Business Time, Flight of the Conchords
- Fast Times in Tahoe, Elemeno P
- Drive, Incubus
- Children, Robert Miles
- Road to Nowhere, Talking Heads
- Travelling Not Running, EMF
- Happy, Pharrell Williams
Super Charger
The eternal quest for speed and an edge over your nearest competition has been ever present in motorsport since the last horse was hitched to a stage post. The 2019 Carter’s Tyre Service SIERDC season was not set to escape.
Last year the fashion amongst the Mercedes pilots was to turn up the wick with a super charger.
Series title sponsors Carter’s Tyre Service were first to break plans for 2019 making their incredible gull winged machine even more of a flyer.
Beautiful Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 of long time series naming right sponsor Carter’s Tyres Photo Credit: Doctor Bike
Long-time on track rival Love Machine Racing were clearly feeling the French heat opting to move classes courtesy of forced induction with the well campaigned 190E eventually finishing 2nd in class C, 3501cc+
The Love Machine in the low air system behind the Pug. Sam Fillmore Ferrari 458 GT3, prepares to, again, lap us. Photo Credit: Unknown
Sensing the performance gains on offer our R & D department set to work pulling many arduous nights in the lab researching, experimenting, developing, and refining our energy transfer system. Following rigorous testing, many successful, (and numerous unsuccessful) lab results, highly recommended IP lawyers engaged we successfully filed a patent late in the season allowing Seriously Fun to also break silence at the final round at Ruapuna.
In another off track first to competitor’s amazement and bewilderment we blatantly transferred latent residual energy directly into Pugalicious providing a sustained yet instant hp gain. While former NZ A1GP driver Jonny Reid confessed to loosing focus as he excited the pits in the eventual series winning Audi R8 LMS GT3 the results were undeniable. We were unable to measure the exact gains trackside without our lab diagnostics. Both star and round drivers set lap personal bests with Timo going 0.5 second faster than ever before and harassing the Moore’s in their Altezza pushing them more than they liked. Serious gains were made. In addition, Jarred Parmenter in the RX8 was quick to hunt us down post race to see why their RX8 was taking its time to catch us relying entirely on the straight pieces of track!
Super Charger
In another 1st for motorsport, we are proud to be custodians of the infamous Lolly Trolley.
It gave us great pleasure to award inaugural season passes for 2019 to:
- Chris Dunn for excellent work at SIERDC
- Laura Moore for excellent Volvo sharing
If you are lucky enough to be our neighbours in the pits, then you are also expected to get stuck in! (and provide a fire Marshall 😊)
Warm Laps
Everyone loves a Hot Lap right? Seriously Fun are proud to offer Warm Laps at every SIERDC round!
A slighter leaner Le Ton enjoys a Hot Lap with 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden at Ruapuna in 2005/6 season where Luke finished 5th NZV8’s Photo Credits: SF Library
Ever wanted to listen to your favourite music in your 2nd favourite race car? Now you can…
Be in with a chance to win a SF Warm Lap with our star driver in Pugalicious or possibly even in Le Coq Noir.
Simply donate to Seriously Fun to be in with a chance to win a Warm Lap at each round that season.
Follow us on Facebook or subscribe for more competitions and opportunities to win a SF Warm Lap.
SF Warm Lap recipients must be 18 years or older and are responsible for their own travel costs to the respective round to redeem their SF Warm Lap. Winners will need to agree to and sign relevant motorsport waiver.
Congratulations to Carla Lynn. Winner of the 2019 Ruapuna Warm Laps Facebook competition
Win a SF Warm Lap – in Pugalicious – Enter now!
Testing
Our 2019 pre-season testing was very successful an important step before making the southern trek to Teretonga passing Rolling Starts, Traffic, Pit Signalling and Comms check out the action below.
Rolling Start Practise – CHECKED
Note – new Highlights working well
Traffic Management and Mirror Work – CHECKED
Pit Lane Speed Restrictions and Pit Signalling – CHECKED
Race Comms and customary pre-season offering to the race gods – CHECKED
Best Horn
A horn is any of a family of musical instruments made of a tube, usually made of metal, and often curved in various ways, with one narrow end into which the musician blows, and a wide end from which sound emerges.
In yet another 1st Timo prepared our manufacturers national anthem, hard wiring it into our race car ready for that elusive top podium step. Regular systems testing will see it deployed as we leave the pits, receive the chequered flag, to thank volunteers and race marshals or signal respect when losing a fair place to our rivals. An innovative alternative to in car two-way race radios it can also be sounded when returning to the pits for mechanical refreshment to warn the second driver.
Pugalicious has consistently won “Best Horn” scooping the often overlooked but prestigious award in 2018, 2017 and 2016. Sadly in 2019 due a lack of interesting entries this category award was unable to be accepted by Seriously Fun in 2019.
A red bull might have horns, but a black rooster crows!
We are pleased to announce our 1st supporter’s competition for 2020. When you donate to SFun you will be able to vote for Le Coq Noir’s new voice.