Calder Park - Round 6

16 - 17 September 2006

Report by Paul Kertes

Round 6 of the BMW Driver’s Cup was held at Calder Park on the weekend of Sep 16/17th. There were 14 BMW E30 racers participating at some point through the weekend, with over 80 cars in 5 categories competing in the VMRC. There were two newcomers for 2006 – Will Gordon having a fling in the avus blue car once owned and raced by his late uncle Andrew, and Dan Coleiro finally back in action with his “new” 325i engine.

Amazingly, the weather was perfect on the Saturday; sunny blue skies and mild temperatures. Qualifying saw Nathan Geier on pole (again) with Serge Lubicz and Craig Munroe close behind. Oliver Lindsaar confirmed the new-found power of his car this year with 4th spot on the grid. Stillwells David and Michael had little speed this weekend and found themselves at the rear of the field, but fared better than brothers Chris (broken clutch) and Nick (had to work at the dealership!), whose cars didn’t make it to the start line.

Drivers Briefing was the usual exhortation to keep it clean and obey the flags, but this time with the added poignancy of a tribute to the late Peter Brock, whose son James was making an appearance at this event. A minute’s silence was observed for Brocky on the Sunday while the Porsche 944s were lined up on the grid for their 1 hour enduro, with all other drivers standing respectfully along the pit wall – a truly sad and somewhat eerie moment.

Race 1 was a typically close battle with honours to Nathan Geier ahead of Craig Munro with Serge Lubicz right on his tail. Phil Showers would have been in the mix except for a passing move on Serge coming into the back straight kink; that ended with a collapsed air intake hose which effectively paralysed the black No. 5 and ended its race. Dave Levy found some good speed to finish a creditable 7th, only about 15 seconds behind the winner. Will Gordon performed exceptionally well for his first race, coming in 8th. Fastest lap was a 1:08.49 recorded by Serge.

Race 2 saw Nathan produce the second of his 4 race victories for the weekend, this time with Serge Lubicz second ahead of a fast finishing Phil Showers (from the back of the grid), just a second in front of Paul Kertes in 4th. Craig Munro blew a potential 3rd place by attracting a 15 second penalty for jumping the start.

On Sunday morning, the reverse grid race was first on the agenda and once again there was carnage as everyone scrambled to get past the car in front. Michael Stillwell’s weekend finished in this race in an incident involving David Levy, leaving extensive debris on turn 2 which fortunately did not lead to any tyre punctures. Nathan again took the honours from the rear of the field, with Serge second and Craig third. Chris Stillwell with a new clutch showed impressive pace and skill to come from the back, miss all the carnage and finish 4th, just ahead of nephew David who put in a clean race for a weekend best finish of 5th. Placegetters 3rd to 8th crossed the finish line in a large bunch, separated by just a second or so, highlighting the close racing and spectator appeal of the reverse grid concept.

Race 4 saw Phil Showers pip Nathan by 0.4 seconds on the finish line to spoil the latter’s clean sweep. Chris and Nick Stillwell finished side by side a few seconds behind – I believe a one finger salute from the slightly more forward car highlighted the fact that motor oil is thicker than blood. David Levy had some mechanical issues and didn’t finish, but left his mark on the last turn onto the straight, where several cars spun on his oil. Dan Coleiro also failed to finish, having to park his car when the gear lever broke off in his hand. Serge Lubicz broke a couple of rockers and limped the car home in 8th.

Race 5 was run in a very sombre mood, reduced to just 5 laps after a major accident in the Porsche 944 enduro that afternoon. Toward the end of the main straight, the Porsche of Barry Rowe was apparently nudged from behind and spun tail first into the concrete barrier, riding up over it and landing on its roof. There was considerable fuel spilled which hampered efforts to free the badly injured driver from the car, and we all watched in horror as the air ambulance was called in to ferry him to the Alfred Trauma Centre. The remains of the car was a remarkable sight – most of the rear end crumpled right up to the cabin so the car was almost half its original length. At the time of writing, Barry was still in the Intensive Care Unit with major injuries. Not surprisingly, the e30s took to the track with some apprehension for race 5, run without incident. Nathan made it 4 of 5 at the front, with Craig 2nd and Phil Showers 3rd. Unfortunately, Serge’s efforts to get his engine repaired in time came to naught, as the stewards pulled him off the grid for leaking oil.

So, another eventful e30 racing weekend came to a close, with several licking their wounds. Nathan Geier took the Round honours of course, from Craig Munro in 2nd. Serge Lubicz and Paul Kertes finished in equal 3rd, the latter benefiting from consistent finishes combined with the bad luck of others. Congratulations to Will Gordon and Dan Coleiro, who both took their cars home in one piece (gear lever excepted) and also managed to finish the round ahead of a few more seasoned campaigners. The next and penultimate e30 race meeting for the year will be at Phillip Island on October 21-22, where the BMWs will be mixed in with the Improved Production group. There will likely be over 40 cars on the grid and the long straights and fast corners at PI will offer some advantage to those who have spent a bit sprucing up their engines to garner a few more kilowatts. The season ends at Winton with round 8 in mid-November; all those with an interest in possibly joining the e30 racing group are encouraged to come along to one or both of these remaining meets for a first hand look at the action.