2014 Fiat Nationals Newsletter #1 Greetings from the Fiat Club of NSW Nationals Organising Committee in this, the first newsletter for the 2014 event. We would like this newsletter distributed to all Fiat Club Members within each of the States via your respective Club magazines and websites as soon as practicable please. We will also be posting it on the Fiat Nationals Website. 17-19 January, 2014 SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK Summary: The event will be held on the 17th – 19th January 2014 in Sydney. Most of the event will be held at the Sydney Motorsport Park - SMP precinct (formerly known as Eastern Creek Raceway) except for the motorkhana, which will now be held at the NSW Club grounds – Ansell Park. The event will follow the tried and true formula of: Friday: Registration and informal welcome function Saturday: Motorkhana in the morning, Show n Shine in the afternoon, BBQ evening. Sunday: Supersprint and Closing Function. Accommodation has been now organised with the Chifley Hotel, conveniently located right next to the Sydney Motorsport Park. To book, phone 02 8889 7700 and quote Booking ID Number - Fiat Nationals 318951. It was previously advised that we would be staying at the hotel of the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club which was about 20 minutes “down the road”. However, a very competitive rate has been arranged with the Chifley and their proximity to the track makes them a much better option. The Chifley is literally a 3 minute drive from the main entrance of the track. Apologies to those who may have already booked at Panthers but we would ask everyone to now make their bookings at the Chifley as soon as possible and stating that they are part of the Fiat Nationals Block Booking. Participants will be required to make payments direct with the hotel. We have set aside 60 rooms for those attending the Nationals event at special Fiat Club rates of the following:- Suites $172/night (sleep 4), Queen $132/night (sleep 2), Twin $132/night (sleep 2). This rate and the rooms will be held exclusively for Fiat Nationals participants until 17/12/2013. After this date, the Chifley will not be able to guarantee a booking using the Nationals special rate so please get in early and complete your reservation. The Motorkhana will take place on the Saturday morning at Ansell Park, the NSW Club Grounds. This event will revert to a dirt motorkhana for the 2014 Nationals. The Organising Committee has tried very hard to secure a suitable bitumen motorsport venue and we thought we had one arranged but that venue has recently been withdrawn from our use. SMP has a skid pan but it is not large enough to run several motorkhana events simultaneously and there was some concern within the organising committee over its concrete surface anyway. Difficulties with getting the requisite permits and Police clearances for other public carparks and spaces has meant that we have had to go with a secure venue like Ansell Park to complete our preparations. Ansell Park is about a 25 minute drive from the hotel. If however, between now and the event date, we are able to secure a suitable bitumen venue within striking distance of SMP, then we will revert to a bitumen surface for the motorkhana. The Show n Shine will be held within the grounds of SMP on Saturday afternoon. These grounds are about 50 metres from the hotel. So it is all very convenient. The BBQ will also be held that evening in the same area. A Hawaiian theme or similar is being considered for the BBQ. The Supersprint will be held on Sunday 19th January. The Organising Committee has two options it would like to present for your collective consideration please. The first option is to run the supersprint on the “Grand Prix” Circuit. This is the original circuit layout. It is a terrific track that is fast and flowing. It has a high average speed, with a very long straight where most standard Fiats would find their rev limit quite easily about half way down this straight. Turn one is a very high speed corner which will need to be navigated cautiously but a good lap around the GP Circuit is very rewarding to most drivers. This circuit is the one used by the V8 Supercars and costs about $20,000 to hire for the day (includes garages/carports). We would need to run a field of about 100 cars by inviting other Marques like AROCA, Ferrari, Lancia and perhaps Chrysler and Mopar. Without sponsorship offsets, we would need to charge competitors about $200 for the sprint event. The second option is to use the “South Circuit” instead. This is much tighter and twistier and does not incorporate the main straight or the infamous Turn One. It has some very tight corners and hairpins and incorporates a considerable change of grade. It too is challenging in a much different way and is hard on tyres and brakes. It is cheaper at around $14,000 for the day and with a probable requirement of an 80 car density (and no sponsorship) would see an entry fee of about $175. There are NO garages or carports available here. The Organising Committee has booked the entire circuit at this stage and so we can run either layout depending on your feedback. We would appreciate this feedback from either the President or Club Captain for each Club asap as to the Club’s preference. One Club, one vote principle – so please get talking to your members now. As a heads-up, we will be extremely stringent on vehicle safety at the scrutineering for this supersprint. Brakes, tyres, steering, suspension, seating and seatbelts will need to be in very good condition before cars are permitted to compete. So please tell your members to begin preparing their vehicles now. There won’t be a lot of sympathy for cars deemed unsafe due to poor preparation. They simply won’t be allowed to run. The Presentation Dinner will be held within the function rooms of SMP (walking distance) on Sunday evening and will follow the traditional smorgasbord fare and pricing. That’s about it for now. Supplementary Regulations will be issued by the beginning of October at the latest as soon as we can finalise sponsorship and accordingly all pricing. Our objective is to run the event at cost only (no profit) in an attempt to offset the higher track charges associated with the supersprint element this year. We will organise a conference call with Club Presidents and Captains in or around the 3rd week of September to provide more detail and receive any feedback. In the meantime, please call or email for any further detail. Again, please book your accommodation now. With kind regards , Dave Filipetto Chairbloke 2014 Fiat Nationals Organising Committee
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 03:28:19 +0000