Sandown, Victoria, July 24th / 25th

The team enjoyed a good road trip over to Melbourne, with expectations of improvements to the car to be positive. Alas upon arrival to Melbourne we encountered rain.

Arrived for practice to find wet conditions, and Daniel having never seen the track let alone drive it, and to compound the situation we have not had our Jacer out in the rain before either. Too bad as it is the same conditions for all.

Pretty ordinary first two practices as Daniel became accustomed to the track and the conditions. With in a few minutes of the second part of the second practice session start, Daniel made a driver error that sent him off the track at the end on the main straight, leaving the car with a damaged rim and bent axle. Missed third practice whilst fixing the car and had a good last session.

Wet conditions on Saturday saw Daniel not qualify too well and we were in position 35. Despite the position the car actually was feeling really good. We were disappointed, but were happy with the engine work and suspension changes. Race 1 saw Daniel move forward to finish 30th. He had also made gains in lap times and was happy with the car.

With better weather on Sunday we were looking forward to better times and making up some ground. Race 2 saw our Jacer more settled and with Daniel a lot more comfortable on the track, put his head down and finished 24th. Pleased with the engine feeling stronger and our suspension working well the drying conditions aided confidence.

Race 3 was dry and we tweaked the setup some more, Daniel moved up the field again until some contact in the rear of the car unsettled the driver and saw us lose a few spots, but with determination we eventually moved forward again to finish 22nd.

Race 4 was 6 laps in the dry. Starting out of 22nd we were hoping to break into the top 20, but a poor start made life very difficult and Daniel was 27th after Lap 1. Contact again from the same car in the rear of our Jacer sent Daniel off the track and glancing the Armco railing. Daniel was 32nd when he found his way back onto bitumen again. With a frustrated driver and possibly some red mist he again put his head down and Lap 3 was in 30th. Lap 4 saw another place forward to 29th. Still pushing on we saw 28th with last lap to go. Daniel said “I really needed to concentrate and make the most of the last lap, as I had some speed and the car felt pretty good”. An excellent last lap saw Daniel push on to finish in 25th.

“Not where we were hoping to run, but we do not have the pace of the front teams and thought a top 15 a realistic position to aim for” Daniel commented. We showed glimpses of attaining our goal but in motorsport you have meetings like that, where despite best efforts some luck just deserts you. Congratulations to Daniel Reinhardt, James Simpson and Andrew McFarland on your well deserved podium positions.

The bonuses for our team, was to be awarded Best Presented Car for this round and Daniel received a trophy donated by Creative Machining and a racing jacket. Our thanks also to Vivid Vinyls and Luke Raethel Crash Repairs for giving us a good looking race car. This is for your efforts as well.

“We have definitely made gains with both the engine output and our knowledge of our suspension. Pity these results do not reflect that. We look forward to the next round at Mallala S.A. where we have data to compare to” noted Daniel.

Well you have to some times wonder where you went wrong? The 2nd round of the S.A. State Championships was not really a memorable one for the team. After only completing 6 laps in practice on Friday we had to retire with a gearbox that had locked up! Thinking our chances for any points may have been dashed we returned to the workshop to see if we could get back for qualifying on Saturday morning. After a late night we were back at Mallala and ready for qualifying in the morning. After a really ordinary qualifying session we were almost at the back of the pack in 22nd. “I was extremely disappointed after the effort we put in last night to not be a little more competitive” said Daniel. We decided not to waste our new tyres, as we had not scuffed them in on Friday as we planned so we continued through the meeting on our practice tyres. At least we were salvaging some points by competing.

We learnt a huge amount about set up on the car to get the best out of the package as it was. By continually tweaking the chassis we managed to go quicker each session, but never any further forward than 15th. Definitely character building and overall it was a steep learning curve where we learnt a lot about our suspension and tuning of the car. Says Daniel “We were obviously disappointed with our placing, but in the scheme of things we were please to have fixed the cause of our gearbox failures and have a trouble free mechanical weekend again”. Looking ahead we will be venturing to Sandown in Victoria we hope in June to gain some data for the Clemenger International Freight 2010 National Series to be held there in July. Congratulations to Ben Porter, Daniel Reynolds & Michael Kinsella for being on the podium for the S.A. round of the series and to all competitors for putting on a great weekends racing, and showcasing what exciting close racing Formula Vee can deliver. Well done to all.

The team has been working hard to make sure we are ready for round 2 of the S.A. State Championships which also includes the Clemenger International Freight 2010 Formula Vee Australian Series Rnd 1. Racing is this weekend at Mallala Motorsport Park on Saturday and Sunday. We are attending practice on Friday 30th April. Please come and support our efforts this weekend if you are in the area. Results will be posted next week so stay tuned.

After a mixed round 1 of the S.A. State Championships we have been busy in the workshop.

After qualifying in 4th spot and finishing 5th in race 1 we were less than satisfied with the effort. A few adjustments to the car and we were out for race 2. This went to plan and Daniel managed a faultless drive to finish in 1st place and set the fastest lap in the race. This was the first win for the Calibre One Jacer. There was some great close racing with several lead changes. Daniel stole the lead with an outside pass on Rhett Payne into the 2nd last turn and held him out to go on and take the win.

From hero to zero in race 3 starting off pole Daniel was to only make it around the first 2 corners before the entire field drove by and he headed for the infield. "I lost all drive on the exit from turn 2 and found I had no gears" reported Daniel on his return to the pits. "This is my first mechanical DNF in 3 seasons and I was devastated" explains Daniel. He thought he had destroyed the gear box.

Back in the workshop and the trouble has been found. It was a minor failure of a spacer that keeps the side gear engaged with the spider gears. No debris had made it's way into the box so with all seals still intact in the box, it was a straight forward repair and refit. All is back into the car now, so a bit of a polish and we are ready to have another go. With some further developments in progress perhaps a trip to the dyno may be required. Over all a mixed round with some high's and of course ending on a low but the Jacer is making progress as we come to terms with it's characteristics.

Please tune in to Channel 31 in S.A. a new motorsport program is being launched and Daniel was interviewed for the show at Mallala that weekend. The show is called "Heaps Fast" and is due to air near the end of March 2010. See website puremotorsport.tv.

First test day for 2010 and we had fine and sunny weather. We arrived at the track early to get set up. Some time in the workshop now behind us we were to see what the results of our endeavours were. Daniel explains "I was really keen to get out onto the track and put some laps down, the break from November till now has been too long". We have worked at some refinements to the car mechanically and went over the whole chassis assembly checking every nut and bolt, as well as some shielding and cosmetic touches to keep our program on track. "I needed some time behind the wheel and get to feel the response of the car, and driving smooth and fast again" says Daniel.

We were pleased with the car and our fuel gremlins appear to be now behind us. Whilst our work on the suspension has allowed us to understand the effects adjustments have on performance, it was the greenness of the track (from little use over the break) and practice tyres that were not optimum we believe that caused slower than expected times on the day. Says Daniel "we still made adjustments to set up and feel we made progress throughout the day as we set the quickest time in our last session. With a good day of several sessions I feel more at one with the car and believe lessons learnt today will hold me in good stead for Round 1 on the 27th February". All bodes well for a good start to 2010. Look out for news of the Calibre One Jacer's start to the racing season in the coming weeks.

Whilst DJW Motorsport was happy with the performance on debut for our new Calibre One Jacer at the end of 2009 we are well under way with development to further enhance the on track performance. Round 1 of the S.A. State Championships is at Mallala on February 27.

We have been busy in the break to further refine the build of the car and add some enhancements. I am looking forward to getting out in the car for a shakedown again on the 6th Feb for the first practice day at Mallala Motorsport Park says Daniel. We believed we could see the need to tweak the car in certain areas, to aid in reliability and ease of maintenance and assist with making the car more competitive. Having said that we were satisfied that both driver and car showed enough in the last race of the year to know we are not too far off the pace with minimal track time.

Stay tuned as we near the start of the season again and ready ourselves for competition.

DJW Motorsport is pleased to announce that the beast is awake, tonight in the workshop after a final check of the electrical circuits and the all important addition of some fuel, our Jacer burst into life. Now it will be off to the Dyno for last minute tuning and run in, then add signage to the new paint. We are at last about ready to fire an angry shot and go racing. Stay tuned for test day info at Mallala.

After a few minor set backs the race car body came home from the Luke Raethel's paint shop. Once again Luke has delivered a stunning paint scheme in a custom colour, and has a superb finish with the naca ducts made and moulded into the engine cowling. DJW Motorsport is very grateful for the time and effort Luke has put into our race car. Please check out our gallery to see some preview snaps of the colour scheme. If you require any paint or panel work for your pride and joy please consider our valued partner, and Luke will be happy to provide a quotation.

All that remains now is a visit to the dyno to run in and set up jetting, then we hope to be off to the track to test (subject to availability of the track) before departing for Oran Park NSW for it's maiden race meeting. We also have our new race team pit shirts and they look fantastic. Pics to follow soon.

All front suspension is now completed and assembled. Brake and clutch lines are completed and working, and the wiring loom has been installed. All oil hoses and oil filter and cooler also on the car.

Body is all prepped and ready for the top coat to be applied as soon as naca ducts are finished. We are on track to fire it into life in the next week some time. All that remains is some final assembly of ignition, and throttle cable manufacture then Vivid Vinyls will apply the livery to the newly painted body in readiness for the track. Thanks to MFJ Engineering for the powder coating of the frame and H beam.

Today we have sent the body to Luke Raethel to add two nacca ducts for cooling under the engine cowling, and supplying cool air to the oil cooler. He will then apply the paint to finally complete this part of the build. The H beam has been fully welded in our workshop and sent to out to be powder coated. Work is now centred on new brake lines, oil lines, then make the wiring loom. All is now very close to hitting the start button and our Jacer bursting into life for the first time. Stay tuned.......

Busy time in the workshop in the last few weeks. Whilst not looking like much has happened the Jacer is now starting to look like a racer. Please check out our progress in the gallery section under car production. It is back on its wheels again. We have installed the engine and gearbox as well as completing the rear suspension. All body work has been trimmed and fitted ready for our partner Luke Raethel Crash Repairs to work his magic on, and complete the body in a stunning white duco with blue pearl. Back in the shop we will be finishing off the H beam and front suspension for the final time, fitting all the braided brake lines and callipers, and complete the wiring loom in anticipation of firing it up in the next few weeks. Then it will be off to the dyno to run in and tune.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to CalibreOne, a well presented, professional, customer focused, IT Business Solutions Company. DJW Motorsport wish to emulate the professionalism and integrity of CalibreOne in all facets of our motorsport both on and off the track. We will be proud to have our new Jacer bodywork painted in the CalibreOne livery. Look out for us at the track soon and if you have any IT or network needs in your business, please consider supporting our partner CalibreOne.

June has been a very productive month in our workshop. Arrival of the rear suspension components and monoshock enabled us to finally make the Jacer a roller. Construction and fit up of dash was completed as was the fabrication of steering rack mount and fitment of rack and steering arms. Also the steering shaft was made and installed. Trimming of the main body to fit has begun and a complete strip down and sanding of chassis ready for application of the powder coating. Engine is currently being assembled. Compliance check has been signed off also. Next will be the reassembly, with some for the last time when chassis is returned. Watch this space!!!!

Welcome to our new website. Together with our partners, we have been striving to get out into the world for the last year and that day is finally here. Have a look around and enjoy the sites. Please be sure to check out our partners and friends also.

After bringing home our Jacer F2K5 in pieces, work has begun in our workshop. We started with the “h” beam and modifying ready for a custom front suspension set up. Instalation of the beam on the vehicle for a mock setup and then installation of the pedal box assembly and aluminium floor and firewall. Work will now progress to the rear suspension and dummy fit up of gearbox and engine block. We would also like to welcome Rhemac of Williston to our team of partners.

Also in June we hope to fit the dashboard ready for the instrumentation and wiring. Check back to see how work is progressing.