According to the tracking system the container with my car was offloaded at Tilbury Docks (London) at 1810 this evening, couple of days to clear Customs and I can go and get it. Looking forward to seeing it again, although it needs a bit of fettling before it'll be out in anger!
I find it strange that the car has made it back to the UK faster than the refund of my Aussie Customs Bond ... Hey, ho!
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Check this out ... Yours Truly on TV
Interviewed at Phillip Island ... shame they called it a TR3, it is a TR5 of course!
http://www.c31.org.au/schedule/view/episode/19765
http://www.c31.org.au/schedule/view/episode/19765
Monday, 2 May 2011
Back in the single-seater...
I had wondered how driving the Formula Junior round a gravel-lined modern track would feel after the tree-lined adrenaline rush of Targa, well I'm pleased to report it was still fun!
My first round of this year's FIA Lurani Trophy, at Donington Park, having missed the earlier rounds at Monza and Hockenheim. The car was woefully unprepared having been away for so long, but we checked a few obvious bits, put in some fuel and went well in qualifying having not sat in the car for six months I was quite pleased with a 1:28:3, 3rd in class C. Had a couple of interesting slidy moments, one tank-slapper through the Craner Curves had my full attention!
Race one sadly was a complete disaster... Good enough start, although I'm still not great at getting this car off the line, interesting first lap, but a broken gear selector at the chicane saw me coasting into the pits and into retirement. Very disappointing, and a bit ironic that it wasn't anything I'd have checked in the uncommitted winter job list.
Fortuitously I had a spare selector, and got it replaced (when the car should have been in Parc Ferme apparently!), and with a generous nod to that engineer of last resort, Mr Heath Robinson, we lined up for Race Two on Sunday morning ... Not a bad start and a good couple of laps, but then red-flagged after a three car shunt at the front of the field, disappointing considering we'd had the riot act read to us that morning by the Stewards, after some iffy driving standards on Saturday. I don't know how the shunt came about, but I crested the rise at Coppice to find bits of car all over the road, and came past John Fyda's broken car to see him lying alongside as a marshal arrived urgently beckoning more support ... I am pleased to report that he has just a broken ankle, but I didn't find this out till later, frankly it had looked worse than that when I came by... Hope your leg mends quickly John.
Got a poor start in the second attempt, and got tangled up with the front-engined cars, also leaving a small margin as I expected to find a 'box full of neutrals at some point, and coupled with a gusty wind chucking the car about, I was well off the my Qualifying pace, but sitting on the grid for 20 mins whilst ambulances and broken cars come past you really doesn't do much for your confidence ... Pleased just to finish to be honest. 3rd in Class, of 5. 15th overall from 32 starters.
A very long wait for the cars to be released from Parc Ferme, whilst there was a lengthy Steward's enquiry, then the M1 was closed, then our chosen alternative the A361 was closed, then the kids needed a break ... We got to Delta's to drop the car off gone 18:00... Ho hum!
Well done to the awesome Callum McLoed for two fine wins in the Caravelle.
Get well soon to John Fyda, and I hope to see the mangled cars back out soon, especially Stuart Roach's beautifully prepared Alexis.
Next stop Porto, a full six weeks away.
My first round of this year's FIA Lurani Trophy, at Donington Park, having missed the earlier rounds at Monza and Hockenheim. The car was woefully unprepared having been away for so long, but we checked a few obvious bits, put in some fuel and went well in qualifying having not sat in the car for six months I was quite pleased with a 1:28:3, 3rd in class C. Had a couple of interesting slidy moments, one tank-slapper through the Craner Curves had my full attention!
Race one sadly was a complete disaster... Good enough start, although I'm still not great at getting this car off the line, interesting first lap, but a broken gear selector at the chicane saw me coasting into the pits and into retirement. Very disappointing, and a bit ironic that it wasn't anything I'd have checked in the uncommitted winter job list.
Fortuitously I had a spare selector, and got it replaced (when the car should have been in Parc Ferme apparently!), and with a generous nod to that engineer of last resort, Mr Heath Robinson, we lined up for Race Two on Sunday morning ... Not a bad start and a good couple of laps, but then red-flagged after a three car shunt at the front of the field, disappointing considering we'd had the riot act read to us that morning by the Stewards, after some iffy driving standards on Saturday. I don't know how the shunt came about, but I crested the rise at Coppice to find bits of car all over the road, and came past John Fyda's broken car to see him lying alongside as a marshal arrived urgently beckoning more support ... I am pleased to report that he has just a broken ankle, but I didn't find this out till later, frankly it had looked worse than that when I came by... Hope your leg mends quickly John.
Got a poor start in the second attempt, and got tangled up with the front-engined cars, also leaving a small margin as I expected to find a 'box full of neutrals at some point, and coupled with a gusty wind chucking the car about, I was well off the my Qualifying pace, but sitting on the grid for 20 mins whilst ambulances and broken cars come past you really doesn't do much for your confidence ... Pleased just to finish to be honest. 3rd in Class, of 5. 15th overall from 32 starters.
A very long wait for the cars to be released from Parc Ferme, whilst there was a lengthy Steward's enquiry, then the M1 was closed, then our chosen alternative the A361 was closed, then the kids needed a break ... We got to Delta's to drop the car off gone 18:00... Ho hum!
Well done to the awesome Callum McLoed for two fine wins in the Caravelle.
Get well soon to John Fyda, and I hope to see the mangled cars back out soon, especially Stuart Roach's beautifully prepared Alexis.
Next stop Porto, a full six weeks away.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
That's Just about it Folks ...
... But I will load some more photos and some footage up onto YouTube, when I get home to the UK next week, so keep popping back if you might be interested in those.
Thanks for reading.
James
Thanks for reading.
James
Thanks
Particular thanks are due to:
Helen Coad of Octagon, the organisers, she's endured my inane questions and listened to my tribulations for 18 months, and she's brilliant.
David Ogg and navigator Michael Farrell. Helen introduced me to David some months back to give me some perspective on the event. At times when this whole project looked a bit improbable, it was great to have David and Helen, whilst not exactly 'in the canoe' with me, at least cheering me on from the bank as I paddled against the current! Having arrived in Oz, David and Michael have been fantastic, with logistics, as chauffeur, recce guide, and friends.
Charlie and Mary Hughes and their crew; and Stephen and Ginetta Rochester and their crew; your patient help is hugely appreciated.
XL Insurance, my employer, for giving me the time off and the much-appreciated sponsorship towards shipping costs.
OAMPs, for sorting several insurance issues that arose.
Geoff (and Grant) Kelly for getting the car back on track and Targa, when it looked like it might be going pear-shaped after the mechanical problems at Phillip Islands.
Michelle at Gibson Freight in Melbourne, and Martin at DHL Motorsport in Slough - please bring it back safely!
TR Enterprises, Steve, Simon, James and the rest of the gang in Blidworth, Notts., for building a car that has taken all that I have thrown at in the last few weeks, and still looks and goes good. It's heading back your way shortly, so you can put it all back together again!
Massive thanks to Jason Williams for agreeing to sit alongside me whilst I made my rally debut - considering that you were tackling your role as co-driver as a novice too, I think your approach has been excellent, there turned out to be rather a lot more to it than either of us realised and your work on the Pace Notes themselves was tremendous, but your role is much more than just about the Pace Notes. Thanks a lot mate, it's been great to share this experience with you.
Lastly, to Nic, my wife and my children, Emily and Freddie, for being as supportive of my activities as anyone could possibly wish for. I don't (well I try not to!) take it for granted.
Helen Coad of Octagon, the organisers, she's endured my inane questions and listened to my tribulations for 18 months, and she's brilliant.
David Ogg and navigator Michael Farrell. Helen introduced me to David some months back to give me some perspective on the event. At times when this whole project looked a bit improbable, it was great to have David and Helen, whilst not exactly 'in the canoe' with me, at least cheering me on from the bank as I paddled against the current! Having arrived in Oz, David and Michael have been fantastic, with logistics, as chauffeur, recce guide, and friends.
Charlie and Mary Hughes and their crew; and Stephen and Ginetta Rochester and their crew; your patient help is hugely appreciated.
XL Insurance, my employer, for giving me the time off and the much-appreciated sponsorship towards shipping costs.
OAMPs, for sorting several insurance issues that arose.
Geoff (and Grant) Kelly for getting the car back on track and Targa, when it looked like it might be going pear-shaped after the mechanical problems at Phillip Islands.
Michelle at Gibson Freight in Melbourne, and Martin at DHL Motorsport in Slough - please bring it back safely!
TR Enterprises, Steve, Simon, James and the rest of the gang in Blidworth, Notts., for building a car that has taken all that I have thrown at in the last few weeks, and still looks and goes good. It's heading back your way shortly, so you can put it all back together again!
Massive thanks to Jason Williams for agreeing to sit alongside me whilst I made my rally debut - considering that you were tackling your role as co-driver as a novice too, I think your approach has been excellent, there turned out to be rather a lot more to it than either of us realised and your work on the Pace Notes themselves was tremendous, but your role is much more than just about the Pace Notes. Thanks a lot mate, it's been great to share this experience with you.
Lastly, to Nic, my wife and my children, Emily and Freddie, for being as supportive of my activities as anyone could possibly wish for. I don't (well I try not to!) take it for granted.
Trophy Time
The post event dinner was held on the Monday evening, the day after the event, and was huge, well over 500 people. A good dinner, although perhaps the presentations went on a bit too long, but it was well compered. Highlights included the Party Tape, which the tv crew had put together from the more amusing or entertaining clips during the week, it was very well edited, and if you've made a fool of yourself on some stage of other, you can expect to see yourself here! They'd done a similar one for the 20th anniversary using clips from all the preceding years (embarrassingly including David Ogg's previous Targa mount, a Ferrari 365, down a bank at an angle of about 40o!), this tape also got a second showing. The highlight for me though was a ten minute ramble by a long-time competitor, ex-pat Northern Irishman, John Blake, who was hilarious recounting a few stories of past and present indiscretions, both his and other people's.
The other highlight was of course picking up our Targa Trophies, for hitting the times, whilst these had been achieved by quite a lot of crews, it seems that this is a pretty rare event for novices on this event, let alone complete novice Rallyistes, and it's just dawning on us what we have managed to achieve... We are chuffed to bits! A few people are certainly impressed, to the extent that we've been offered a fully prepared Holden Torana if we want to come back and run again but don't want to go to the expense of bringing a car down next time.
Would we come again ... Too right we would! Fantastic event, fantastic roads, lots of lovely people. Let's make no mistake though, it's a major undertaking to bring a car from Europe, both in terms of costs, and time to organise oneself and do battle with the bureaucrats... If I were to come again, I would definitely prepare the car more appropriately for an Endurance event over roads with some bumpy surfaces. We've had a lot of marvellous help whenever we needed it, for which we are very grateful, but I would definitely want some support crew next time, this of course would increase costs somewhat, but at the end of a long day it would be good not to have to wait in sweaty race suits to borrow someone else's tools etc. I would also pre-book fuel, just to relieve the stress of wondering whether you have enough fuel to run the stages and road sections before the next filling station hoves into view. I would definitely run with Pace Notes again, although I would not alter the philosophy of 'driving what I can see'.
Not sure when, but I'll be back ... Just need to work out whether to do Targa New Zealand, or Targa Newfoundland, or Classic Targa Adelaide before coming back to Tas!
The other highlight was of course picking up our Targa Trophies, for hitting the times, whilst these had been achieved by quite a lot of crews, it seems that this is a pretty rare event for novices on this event, let alone complete novice Rallyistes, and it's just dawning on us what we have managed to achieve... We are chuffed to bits! A few people are certainly impressed, to the extent that we've been offered a fully prepared Holden Torana if we want to come back and run again but don't want to go to the expense of bringing a car down next time.
Would we come again ... Too right we would! Fantastic event, fantastic roads, lots of lovely people. Let's make no mistake though, it's a major undertaking to bring a car from Europe, both in terms of costs, and time to organise oneself and do battle with the bureaucrats... If I were to come again, I would definitely prepare the car more appropriately for an Endurance event over roads with some bumpy surfaces. We've had a lot of marvellous help whenever we needed it, for which we are very grateful, but I would definitely want some support crew next time, this of course would increase costs somewhat, but at the end of a long day it would be good not to have to wait in sweaty race suits to borrow someone else's tools etc. I would also pre-book fuel, just to relieve the stress of wondering whether you have enough fuel to run the stages and road sections before the next filling station hoves into view. I would definitely run with Pace Notes again, although I would not alter the philosophy of 'driving what I can see'.
Not sure when, but I'll be back ... Just need to work out whether to do Targa New Zealand, or Targa Newfoundland, or Classic Targa Adelaide before coming back to Tas!
Targa Titbits
Targa is very popular with most of the population in Tasmania, it's a big deal here, schools give kids time off, you can see people in the strangest of vantage points, and sitting in their front yards, or with sofas and a pile of stubbies in the back of a pick-up (locally 'ute') etc. It is all in the name of public relations that we run some of the in-town stages, and that's what the Launceston TargaFest is all about too. It seems appropriate to give these people a wave as you go by on the touring stages. Early in the week I gave a wave which in retrospect seemed a bit limp, and this was to two rufty-tufty types sitting on the back of a ute ... a bit too Brokeback Mountain! So that made us realise that you really need a full range of waves, appropriate for different audiences: the 'English Royalty' for those of a certain age, Jason's cheery 'tellytubby' wave for school kids, but something a bit more manly is certainly required when you hit 'Deliverance' country.
Whilst waiting in the park for the start of the Prologue stage I was approached by an ex-pat Brit, Brian Dermott, who'd been astonished to see the Historic Sports Car Club badges on our car; turned out he was a founder member of the club, and ran in a number of events in the very early days, before emigrating to Victoria. Brian, it was a pleasure to meet you. Any Brits reading this, Brian has offered to be a point of contact, or perhaps even more active support, for any other Brits going out, particularly HSCC members.
We enjoyed meeting father and son team Frazer and Andre Gasgoine, Frazer was a 'Legend' meaning that he had run in a number of the early events, and was invited back for the 20th anniversary, with certain 'grandfather' rights as far as car-specification was concerned - effectively they could run to the regs of the period they ran in. In their case they ran a Ferrari 308 GTB, nice looking car, they ran with no pace notes, and they ran very well. We enjoyed their company. Must be a buzz to have 'Legend' emblazoned on the side of your car!
Best noise of the week, not the Lamborghinis, not even the Porsche 908, but the Jensen CV8 of the Ullrichs, a hugely developed car, not sure that anyone from West Bromwich would recognise it!
Of course we had made a massive effort to get to the event, but teams that had driven from Queensland had at least an 18 hour drive to the ferry in Melbourne, teams from Western Australia had to drive for days to cross Oz ... Pretty epic when you think about it, and it puts us to shame in the UK, when grids are down at some race meetings because people can't be bothered to drive to the farther-flung circuits, which are probably a 5hour drive at most from the majority.
The island has some great place names, Brits would feel right at home, I saw Bridport, Epping Forest and Melton Mowbray for example, there were also a few oddities, such as Laughing Jack and Penguin, but certainly the most amusing was a place called 'Nowhere Else', can you imagine having that conversation with a policeman after he's stopped you - "what's your address sonny", "Nowhere, Officer", "Don't be funny with me, Young Man, where do you live?" etc!
I've mentioned it before, but the scenery really is spectacular - it's a big area yet the population is only half a million or so, of which over half live in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and a couple of other towns, so that means the rest of the place is pretty sparsely inhabited. Even driving up the state's main road from Hobart to Devonport, there were times when you had 10km views in every direction, and yet the only evidence of humankind was the road itself, some telegraph poles alongside and some fencing stretching into the distance.
I think we were extremely lucky with the weather, although we had to contend with some damp roads at times, for us it was only actually raining as we tackled three stages; a lot of the time we were running under blue skies, I'm led to believe that most Targas are rather wetter than this one, especially as this year was run 3 weeks earlier than the usual date. To make up for our lucky weather, Monday's 300km drive from Hobart to Devonport for the ferry was hideous, torrential rain, roadworks on much of the main road, and quite a lot of heavy lorries raising huge walls of spray - most unpleasant, but I'm grateful that we only had to contend with that after the event had finished.
Whilst waiting in the park for the start of the Prologue stage I was approached by an ex-pat Brit, Brian Dermott, who'd been astonished to see the Historic Sports Car Club badges on our car; turned out he was a founder member of the club, and ran in a number of events in the very early days, before emigrating to Victoria. Brian, it was a pleasure to meet you. Any Brits reading this, Brian has offered to be a point of contact, or perhaps even more active support, for any other Brits going out, particularly HSCC members.
We enjoyed meeting father and son team Frazer and Andre Gasgoine, Frazer was a 'Legend' meaning that he had run in a number of the early events, and was invited back for the 20th anniversary, with certain 'grandfather' rights as far as car-specification was concerned - effectively they could run to the regs of the period they ran in. In their case they ran a Ferrari 308 GTB, nice looking car, they ran with no pace notes, and they ran very well. We enjoyed their company. Must be a buzz to have 'Legend' emblazoned on the side of your car!
Best noise of the week, not the Lamborghinis, not even the Porsche 908, but the Jensen CV8 of the Ullrichs, a hugely developed car, not sure that anyone from West Bromwich would recognise it!
Of course we had made a massive effort to get to the event, but teams that had driven from Queensland had at least an 18 hour drive to the ferry in Melbourne, teams from Western Australia had to drive for days to cross Oz ... Pretty epic when you think about it, and it puts us to shame in the UK, when grids are down at some race meetings because people can't be bothered to drive to the farther-flung circuits, which are probably a 5hour drive at most from the majority.
The island has some great place names, Brits would feel right at home, I saw Bridport, Epping Forest and Melton Mowbray for example, there were also a few oddities, such as Laughing Jack and Penguin, but certainly the most amusing was a place called 'Nowhere Else', can you imagine having that conversation with a policeman after he's stopped you - "what's your address sonny", "Nowhere, Officer", "Don't be funny with me, Young Man, where do you live?" etc!
I've mentioned it before, but the scenery really is spectacular - it's a big area yet the population is only half a million or so, of which over half live in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and a couple of other towns, so that means the rest of the place is pretty sparsely inhabited. Even driving up the state's main road from Hobart to Devonport, there were times when you had 10km views in every direction, and yet the only evidence of humankind was the road itself, some telegraph poles alongside and some fencing stretching into the distance.
I think we were extremely lucky with the weather, although we had to contend with some damp roads at times, for us it was only actually raining as we tackled three stages; a lot of the time we were running under blue skies, I'm led to believe that most Targas are rather wetter than this one, especially as this year was run 3 weeks earlier than the usual date. To make up for our lucky weather, Monday's 300km drive from Hobart to Devonport for the ferry was hideous, torrential rain, roadworks on much of the main road, and quite a lot of heavy lorries raising huge walls of spray - most unpleasant, but I'm grateful that we only had to contend with that after the event had finished.
The One about the taxi, the spider and the puppies...
For Jason and I, one of our Targa highlights has been meeting a local couple running a yellow Ford Falcon, Charlie and Mary Hughes. It seems as though Charlie sits there pushing the ex-taxi as fast as it will go, whilst Mary is constantly urging Charlie to go faster! They actually ran the Prologue stage with a Taxi sign on the roof! The car is signwritten with a long list of people they are grateful to for help, with the last named being Darby. I asked who Darby was and was told it was their sponsor ... it turns out that Darby is their Great Dane, and she's recently had a litter of pups, so rather than being eaten out of house and home by a large family of Great Danes, they have sold the Pups, and the money they got has paid their entry fee!
It was Charlie and Mary who had a Huntsman spider appear out of the air vents during one stages, a Huntsman apparently isn't dangerous but it's about the size of your hand, complete with furry legs and all, certainly enough to put you off - even if you weren't driving at Charlie's pace at the time - being a farmgirl Mary dealt with it with the hefty book of pace notes, it's about the size of a side plate now, and won't be crawling anywhere ... In another wildlife encounter they had an eagle of some sort swoop down in front of the screen on another stage. They (and their crew) are great fun, it's been great to meet them. They were very sweet to buy four cuddly toys, a koala, a platypus, a bilby and a Tasmanian Tiger, for Jason and I to bring home for our young children. They've also done very well in the event, which they are very pleased about considering they are relative novices too. The old taxi goes well!
It was Charlie and Mary who had a Huntsman spider appear out of the air vents during one stages, a Huntsman apparently isn't dangerous but it's about the size of your hand, complete with furry legs and all, certainly enough to put you off - even if you weren't driving at Charlie's pace at the time - being a farmgirl Mary dealt with it with the hefty book of pace notes, it's about the size of a side plate now, and won't be crawling anywhere ... In another wildlife encounter they had an eagle of some sort swoop down in front of the screen on another stage. They (and their crew) are great fun, it's been great to meet them. They were very sweet to buy four cuddly toys, a koala, a platypus, a bilby and a Tasmanian Tiger, for Jason and I to bring home for our young children. They've also done very well in the event, which they are very pleased about considering they are relative novices too. The old taxi goes well!
Monday, 11 April 2011
Monday in Hobart
We actually had a day off on Monday.
Thanks to Scott, Elaine, and son Colin, Taylor for showing us around Scotty's ToyShed, with a few interest classic and race cars, and lots of good memorabilia, photos etc. Elaine then dropped us up to the Moorilla estate, where a controversial new modern art gallery has been opened by some gazillionaire. Very modern building, and the whole place is very funky, but just a touch weird ... There are no descriptions on the Walls by the exhibits, but they give you an iPod which works out where you are in the building and what you might be looking at, in each case there is then different buttons that gives you an explanation of the piece, the comments of the Gallery owner or the curator, or in some cases an interview with the artist. Some of the comments by the owner or the curator are classic, as they have a tendency to describe each other's selections (or sometimes their own!) as cr@p! After you've left, the iPod then emails your own experience in the museum to you.
The gallery has only been open a couple of months and is seriously impressive, inevitably we found some stuff good, some stuff clever, and some other stuff just plain weird or even deviant! The piece de resistance (although I hesitate to use that phrase) is actually a machine called the 'Cloaca Professional' ... Anyone out there remember their Latin from school? Cloaca is the word for sewer if I recall correctly, and this is a machine that actually makes poo, replicating the human digestive system. Into one end they feed food that is surplus from the restaurant and cafe (at 12:00 and 15:00 every day) and then at 14:00 every day it poos - I'm not kidding! Jason asked the technician a bit about it, and he told us that it had got a bit clogged up during the installation phase, but then they realised that it didn't have a varied enough diet, as the builders were dropping their pies and chips into it ... Now it has a 'normal' varied human type diet, they even give it a beer a couple of times a week!
One of the other exhibits opened with some chunks of genuine meat hanging from it, when these started to deteriorate, they fed the meat to the Cloaca ... So here we have it, the first museum in the world where one exhibit eats others. Hilarious. If you don't believe me check out the website mona.net.au
Off to the big Targa Presentation dinner shortly, and ready for a beer! Will report on the dinner later.
Tomorrow we drive up through Tasmania from Hobart to Devonport to catch the ferry, and we have planned to meet a group of Targa-istes at the pub that sits on one corner of the old Longford circuit, and is apparently full of race memorabilia. It's about half way up the state, so a good place to break anyway in the 4 hour drive. I hope the car can make it...!
Thanks to Scott, Elaine, and son Colin, Taylor for showing us around Scotty's ToyShed, with a few interest classic and race cars, and lots of good memorabilia, photos etc. Elaine then dropped us up to the Moorilla estate, where a controversial new modern art gallery has been opened by some gazillionaire. Very modern building, and the whole place is very funky, but just a touch weird ... There are no descriptions on the Walls by the exhibits, but they give you an iPod which works out where you are in the building and what you might be looking at, in each case there is then different buttons that gives you an explanation of the piece, the comments of the Gallery owner or the curator, or in some cases an interview with the artist. Some of the comments by the owner or the curator are classic, as they have a tendency to describe each other's selections (or sometimes their own!) as cr@p! After you've left, the iPod then emails your own experience in the museum to you.
The gallery has only been open a couple of months and is seriously impressive, inevitably we found some stuff good, some stuff clever, and some other stuff just plain weird or even deviant! The piece de resistance (although I hesitate to use that phrase) is actually a machine called the 'Cloaca Professional' ... Anyone out there remember their Latin from school? Cloaca is the word for sewer if I recall correctly, and this is a machine that actually makes poo, replicating the human digestive system. Into one end they feed food that is surplus from the restaurant and cafe (at 12:00 and 15:00 every day) and then at 14:00 every day it poos - I'm not kidding! Jason asked the technician a bit about it, and he told us that it had got a bit clogged up during the installation phase, but then they realised that it didn't have a varied enough diet, as the builders were dropping their pies and chips into it ... Now it has a 'normal' varied human type diet, they even give it a beer a couple of times a week!
One of the other exhibits opened with some chunks of genuine meat hanging from it, when these started to deteriorate, they fed the meat to the Cloaca ... So here we have it, the first museum in the world where one exhibit eats others. Hilarious. If you don't believe me check out the website mona.net.au
Off to the big Targa Presentation dinner shortly, and ready for a beer! Will report on the dinner later.
Tomorrow we drive up through Tasmania from Hobart to Devonport to catch the ferry, and we have planned to meet a group of Targa-istes at the pub that sits on one corner of the old Longford circuit, and is apparently full of race memorabilia. It's about half way up the state, so a good place to break anyway in the 4 hour drive. I hope the car can make it...!
Hobart - Tea and Medals!
We made it! Bit of a crawl into Hobart, but a good run through about 20 green traffic lights in succession - somebody wants us to finish this thing.
We jump the queue so as to follow David Ogg and Michael Farrell's Alfa Giulia up onto the top of a small multi-storey car park where the official finish was sited, tv, commentators, podium, we get to drive through an arch and a pretty model looking a bit chilly in the cooler weather hangs a finishers medal round our necks. We are elated just to finish. Park the car on thhe lower level, and back on top to get a beer and cheer our buddies as they come through.
We are 58th in Late Classic Handicap, and 73rd in Classic Outright. We have achieved both our goal of finishing and our ambition to get a Targa Trophy. Into the bar for a beer, having been breathalysed every morning we've not had more than 2 beers any day, we might have a few more tonight ...
We might have got to the finish, but I'll have some more bits to go up later on the blog, just might be a couple of days until I get wifi again.
We jump the queue so as to follow David Ogg and Michael Farrell's Alfa Giulia up onto the top of a small multi-storey car park where the official finish was sited, tv, commentators, podium, we get to drive through an arch and a pretty model looking a bit chilly in the cooler weather hangs a finishers medal round our necks. We are elated just to finish. Park the car on thhe lower level, and back on top to get a beer and cheer our buddies as they come through.
We are 58th in Late Classic Handicap, and 73rd in Classic Outright. We have achieved both our goal of finishing and our ambition to get a Targa Trophy. Into the bar for a beer, having been breathalysed every morning we've not had more than 2 beers any day, we might have a few more tonight ...
We might have got to the finish, but I'll have some more bits to go up later on the blog, just might be a couple of days until I get wifi again.
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