31 replies to this topic

[Quixotic]

Well, a while ago I rang the management of AIR who told me that The resurfacing of the track is almost completed. I have been advised that they will be opening for Private Practice at the beginning of March 009.

If this is indeed the case, (I will admit to a healthy amount of distrust here), Adelaide will again be a two track town, (I mean in permanent circuits anyway).

This is the track that I used to go to as a young tacker to watch the openwheelers racing. I like the look of the layout, (fast), and I am keenly anticipating racing there.

I have raced at most tracks in this country over the last 20 years or so, but this is one that I have always wanted to have a "Fang" on.

I would be keen to hear the views of anyone who hase raced there. It looks fairly safe, and as far as I know there has only ever been one fatality there. I do however remember a huge Sports Sedan startline crash there. I believe Brock was involved. But I could be wrong.

Regards,

John

[Ray Bell]

Yes, in a Sport Sedan or GT race, Brock in Janey's Monza...

Some say he hit the nitrous too soon, others say it broke a halfshaft.

Vees were always a spectacle there, with the long crocodile and the slipstreaming down the straight and through the fast esses. King of them for some time was Peter Scott.

[Quixotic]

Who was the fatality? Was it Colin Trengove? I'm thinking 1980 0r 81 It was before I joined the Army anyhow.

In practice I believe.

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by Quixotic
Who was the fatality? Was it Colin Trengove? I'm thinking 1980 0r 81

In practice I believe.

You are correct on all points, private practice though......

[Quixotic]

Now I am racking my Brain........

F5000? Lola? T330? T400?

I raced bikes then so I was not as interested in cars as I am now.......... I remember hearing about it.

Wasn't he known as a bit of a "Hairy" driver?

John

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by Quixotic
Now I am racking my Brain........

F5000? Lola? T330? T400?

I raced bikes then so I was not as interested in cars as I am now.......... I remember hearing about it.

Wasn't he known as a bit of a "Hairy" driver?

John

Any statement made by myself on this subject was realy inappropriate considering the outcome of this incident. Colins late father Doug was a very good friend of mine and we did many f5000 races together in the Formula's heyday

[Quixotic]

Ah..... So his death in a race car was not entirely unexpected then.

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by Quixotic
Ah..... So his death in a race car was not entirely unexpected then.

[Quixotic]

What was his big problem?

Was he much braver than his driving abilities? Did he use other cars as braking markers? Was he too aggressive?

What was his major malfunction then?

John

[Quixotic]

I'm really keen to drive my Vee there.......

1600 Vees have not raced there yet...

[Lee Nicolle]

The Brock prang in Bob Janes Monza was caused by a broken driveshaft, there was a lot of cars involved. The front of Tony Hubbards Falcon flew over the fence and behind the spectators. They were GT cars and that is where they stopped being a viable category.
Colin Trengoves accident was in private practice in a F5000
To me AIR is a drag strip with a bumpy return road though in a V8 Sports sedan it keeps you awake!! !70mph into turn 1 and back off a little and drive it through.
Vees do more turning down the straight than they do for the rest of the track with the drafting duels. Be very carefull on the bowl if it rains.

[2Bob]

Be very carefull on the bowl if it rains.

Especially coming off the bowl onto the start of the drag strip. Whatever the drag cars use to light up their tyres becomes damn slippery with a bit of water on it as I found out the hard way in one practice session just as a few drops of water hit my visor and I hit the armco on the 'inside' of the straight. A few bent chassis tubes - enough to finish the days racing for me.

[2Bob]

What was his big problem?

Was he much braver than his driving abilities? Did he use other cars as braking markers? Was he too aggressive?

What was his major malfunction then?

I think that Colin's driving was probably OK but he was certainly operating on a shoe string budget (or less!). Came from a family steeped in motor racing, Dad worked at Elfin at one stage and basically built the Bachus and ASP cars and Colin's brother raced and brother's son has been involved in Formula Holden and F3 (I think).

Not sure what happened to Colin, maybe something broke? The accident was in the esses coming back towards the oval I believe.

[jeremy durward]

Originally posted by 2Bob


I think that Colin's driving was probably OK but he was certainly operating on a shoe string budget (or less!). Came from a family steeped in motor racing, Dad worked at Elfin at one stage and basically built the Bachus and ASP cars and Colin's brother raced and brother's son has been involved in Formula Holden and F3 (I think).

Not sure what happened to Colin, maybe something broke? The accident was in the esses coming back towards the oval I believe.

and i'm told a grandson about to start racing karsts too.

[Lee Nicolle]

Originally posted by 2Bob


I think that Colin's driving was probably OK but he was certainly operating on a shoe string budget (or less!). Came from a family steeped in motor racing, Dad worked at Elfin at one stage and basically built the Bachus and ASP cars and Colin's brother raced and brother's son has been involved in Formula Holden and F3 (I think).

Not sure what happened to Colin, maybe something broke? The accident was in the esses coming back towards the oval I believe.

While I dont know what happened it was accepted that something broke, quite possibly due to a lack of budget. It happened coming back through the esses where there is not much runoff.
John Smith had a very big Formula Mondial [RT2??] crash in the similar area also from memory in private practice without serious injury.
Bob is right, the burnout area makes it bloody slippery when wet. The line then is off the corner very early and straddle the white line down the centre or hit the inside wall. Has happened lots of times in all classes open whel and tintop.

[Ray Bell]

Colin was an acquaintance of mine...

I couldn't say he was a friend because I only met him a few times. But I understood what drove him and I understood his enthusiasm. It was truly in his blood... you only had to see how animated old Doug was when the conversation turned to cars or engines he favoured and you could see where Colin was coming from.

The devastation of his death followed a number of paths. How, for instance, did Terry Hook cope with it? Or Peter Scott, a close friend... who had been joking a few months earlier about organising a bus trip to Sandown to watch Colin crash? Or others who were close to him or helped him or knew the family well?

I'm sure that Colin's tragic accident was both unexpected and a greater burden to the racing community in Adelaide than most realise.

More so, of course, to Tania, the loving life partner and mother of his children. I only met her briefly maybe twice, once I recall in the driveway to their home the night between practice and race day at an AIR event. Like so many racing drivers' wives or girlfriends, you see in them a devotion, but you don't see the whole person because you are drawn to the intricacies of the man they are with and what he's doing.

Recently Colin's children started taking more of an interest in what their father did. So much so that Tania started surfing the net for information and found this forum. We met again at Lobethal, where she and her present husband arranged to catch up.

Bright eyed and enthusiastic, Tania told me that she'd not been interested in any way with racing since Colin's death, that it was an everpresent issue in her life and something that presented her with difficulties.

But that didn't stop her flying to Eastern Creek a few weeks ago so Colin's daughter, Jodi, could see the kind of cars her father loved in action. Colin never met his grandson Jordan, of course, but Jordan now knows what it's like to sit in an F5000 as Kenny Smith indulged him and KB took an interest too.

You see, even though we think we know people, we truly don't. Some of us knew the Colin Trengove who sometimes went in over his head financially and physically to race a variety of cars. Some of us knew the outer veneer of the relationship he had that produced his children. Some of see the outer veneer of the relationship that comes after the tragedy.

But do we see the whole picture? No, of course not. None of us are mind-readers. We cannot know what was in Colin's mind as he caught sight of those keen exciting eyes of the woman he loved, when he shared with her the joys of parenthood or the agonies of family finances. Much more so, we cannot know the pain and distress of the news of this kind of disaster brings to the family at home. The torture of the moment or the lingering heartache of the ensuing years.

I missed seeing Tania at Eastern Creek, and a day later I learned I missed seeing Carol Hopwood too. Carol, of course, didn't lose her husband in a racing accident, but racing was so much of their lives together right up till his death that it might be hard to distinguish the difference.

Carol hadn't been to a race meeting in the decade since Peter died either, but went out there on the Saturday and caught up with a few old friends. She relished the small number of renewed contacts, especially a warm hug from Steve Webb. But it was still so hard on her that she left after about an hour.

Fellow TNFers, Tania started posting on this forum just last week. She could, if she chooses, give us a lot of insight into things she saw and lived through over the years... I certainly hope she does. I think it can benefit us all.

[HistoricMustang]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Much more so, we cannot know the pain and distress of the news of this kind of disaster brings to the family at home. The torture of the moment or the lingering heartache of the ensuing years.

Ray, such a accurate observation and not realized by most individuals who do not research past printed media.

Some do not realize that family members sometimes love the man and not the sport so we do not understand why they just walk away from it all.

Henry

[Lee Nicolle]

Very well put Ray.

[Dale Harvey]

I agree, nicely written.
Dale.

[kevinbartlett]

Ray,

That tribute you wrote about Colin was very well put and obviously sincere. Tania and the kids enjoyed the TR2 and it was good that they took the time to say hullo. Even though there must have been moments of painful memories for them.

[Lee Nicolle]

Kevin, I seem to remember that you had a fairly unique way of negotiating the AIR bowl in the wet.
About 73 in John Gosses Falcon. You were oversteering the car off the bowl onto the straight and using the wall to keep the car from getting too sideways! Seemed quite effective though it was a little rough on the rear bumper and quarter!

[jeremy durward]

Very well said Ray, my dad was a mate of colin's and i still think it effects him to this day. everytime i talk to him about my own racing i see a mixture of excitement and fear, sometimes he won't really want to discuss it at all.

[cosworth bdg]

Ray, Your tribute to Colin was very well written and recieved by all TNF er'S very well and with the dignity that Colins accident & passing so rightly deserves.

[Quixotic]

To Ray:

A lovely and touching reply. I will ask no more questions about it.

I am still very keen however to hear other drivers opinions about the circuit.

Regards,

John

[jeremy durward]

Originally posted by Quixotic


I am still very keen however to hear other drivers opinions about the circuit.

Regards,

John

while i'm way to young to have driven on it, i too grew up seeing racing out there and have always wanted too drive on it. does anyone know if there is any truth to the resurfacing rumours?

[2Bob]

VERY long straight (drag strip) followed by fast right hander then tightening right hander (both good fun) fast left hander, quickish right left esses immediately followed by tight left hand negative camber onto the bowl with a fast right hander onto 'back' straight of the bowl leading to the other end of the bowl which leads onto the straight (and drag strip burnout area). Also a short circuit version which turns right (slow corner) off the straight to join the long circuit before the esses. The bowl is interesting in that it has a concrete wall all around so is a bit (a lot?) intimidating and is actually faster than it looks at first glance. Not many places to go off without hitting something. My memories are based on old F3 and a clubbie so the straight was a bit boring! The fast right handers off the straight were good fun. Braking for the negative camber also tricky because not much time after the esses, ie braking while not straight coming out of the esses. Where to brake for the 'wall' of the oval and which line into the wall also interesting. Would have been really interesting in a big banger F5000 or similar where speeds would have been pretty high! Be nice if it started up again just to provide a bit of variety, ie if we kept all the Mallala race meetings and added 2 or 3 at AIR!

[tania34]

Originally posted by Quixotic
Now I am racking my Brain........

F5000? Lola? T330? T400?

I raced bikes then so I was not as interested in cars as I am now.......... I remember hearing about it.

Wasn't he known as a bit of a "Hairy" driver?

John

Lola T332 actually.
What is "hairy" supposed to mean?

[Ray Bell]

Tania... 'hairy' relates to a perception that a driver might be ragged, over the edge, driving beyond his limits or in a manner that might endanger his competitors...

Note that I said a 'perception'? Many times it's really not how the driver is, rather how he is viewed by some.

We talked before about how many of his friends loosely spoke about going to Sandown to 'see him crash'... well, they weren't hoping or even expecting him to crash, were they? But there was a view that Colin was going in too deeply considering his experience at that time.

You are also aware how fun-loving this bunch of guys was. To talk that way about things was a natural thing for them, it wouldn't necessarily reflect their true expectations.

[Quixotic]

When I was racing Grand Prix bikes I was often described as being "Banzai", (closely related to Hairy), Either doing ok in a race or crashing in spectacular fashion.

I was quite careful, but as I was racing an older machine and perhaps my tyres were not new, I had to ride a bit harder to try to be competitive. Hence I pushed too hard at times, and I suppose I did crash a little bit more than my opposition.

When I had the budget to do it properly I found then my crashing became less common.

Regards,

John

[tania34]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Colin was an acquaintance of mine...

I couldn't say he was a friend because I only met him a few times. But I understood what drove him and I understood his enthusiasm. It was truly in his blood... you only had to see how animated old Doug was when the conversation turned to cars or engines he favoured and you could see where Colin was coming from.

The devastation of his death followed a number of paths. How, for instance, did Terry Hook cope with it? Or Peter Scott, a close friend... who had been joking a few months earlier about organising a bus trip to Sandown to watch Colin crash? Or others who were close to him or helped him or knew the family well?

I'm sure that Colin's tragic accident was both unexpected and a greater burden to the racing community in Adelaide than most realise.

More so, of course, to Tania, the loving life partner and mother of his children. I only met her briefly maybe twice, once I recall in the driveway to their home the night between practice and race day at an AIR event. Like so many racing drivers' wives or girlfriends, you see in them a devotion, but you don't see the whole person because you are drawn to the intricacies of the man they are with and what he's doing.

Recently Colin's children started taking more of an interest in what their father did. So much so that Tania started surfing the net for information and found this forum. We met again at Lobethal, where she and her present husband arranged to catch up.

Bright eyed and enthusiastic, Tania told me that she'd not been interested in any way with racing since Colin's death, that it was an everpresent issue in her life and something that presented her with difficulties.

But that didn't stop her flying to Eastern Creek a few weeks ago so Colin's daughter, Jodi, could see the kind of cars her father loved in action. Colin never met his grandson Jordan, of course, but Jordan now knows what it's like to sit in an F5000 as Kenny Smith indulged him and KB took an interest too.

You see, even though we think we know people, we truly don't. Some of us knew the Colin Trengove who sometimes went in over his head financially and physically to race a variety of cars. Some of us knew the outer veneer of the relationship he had that produced his children. Some of see the outer veneer of the relationship that comes after the tragedy.

But do we see the whole picture? No, of course not. None of us are mind-readers. We cannot know what was in Colin's mind as he caught sight of those keen exciting eyes of the woman he loved, when he shared with her the joys of parenthood or the agonies of family finances. Much more so, we cannot know the pain and distress of the news of this kind of disaster brings to the family at home. The torture of the moment or the lingering heartache of the ensuing years.

I missed seeing Tania at Eastern Creek, and a day later I learned I missed seeing Carol Hopwood too. Carol, of course, didn't lose her husband in a racing accident, but racing was so much of their lives together right up till his death that it might be hard to distinguish the difference.

Carol hadn't been to a race meeting in the decade since Peter died either, but went out there on the Saturday and caught up with a few old friends. She relished the small number of renewed contacts, especially a warm hug from Steve Webb. But it was still so hard on her that she left after about an hour.

Fellow TNFers, Tania started posting on this forum just last week. She could, if she chooses, give us a lot of insight into things she saw and lived through over the years... I certainly hope she does. I think it can benefit us all.

Thankyou Ray you really have been a great listening post for me over the past few months.
yes Colin was a passionate driver, partner and father.
Up until the day of his untimely death, he had never had an accident before.
As I have spoken with a lot of old friends recently it was not only a huge shock for me but for them too, and a subject not talked about a lot. Only over the past few months have I been able to ask the details of what actually happened that day. As far as I am led to believe nothing broke, what was needed was some new rubber.
I have always maintained my interest in motor racing, as it was something I did myself for a short while,itgets in your blood. i just could not go to a race meeting for a very long time.
The last couple of years I have been to the Clipsal and to Philip Island.
As you said Ray going to the Tasman Revival a couple of weeks ago was something I really wanted to do, and to take Jodi so she might understand her father,s passion. His wish to drive a F5000 was something that took 5 years to achieve but he did it. yes it was very low budget but with the will and some help along the way he realised that dream.
seeing Kevin and Ken that weekend was really wonderful, like stepping back in time and they were both very kind. Yes it was emotional but also something i needed to do.
As Jeremy has said Colin,s grandson Jordan is about to start Kart racing next year and I hope he will enjoy his racing as much as Colin did.

[tania34]

Originally posted by jeremy durward


while i'm way to young to have driven on it, i too grew up seeing racing out there and have always wanted t
oo drive on it. does anyone know if there is any truth to the resurfacing rumours?

Yes Jeremy I believe it is true. I was out there a couple of months ago and the esses was ripped up and is due to be resurfaced the bowl however is not good at all and will also need work done.

[cavvy]

Originally posted by Lee Nicolle
Kevin, I seem to remember that you had a fairly unique way of negotiating the AIR bowl in the wet.
About 73 in John Gosses Falcon. You were oversteering the car off the bowl onto the straight and using the wall to keep the car from getting too sideways! Seemed quite effective though it was a little rough on the rear bumper and quarter!

Lee, I can add KB on the bowl in the Camaro, the inside front wheel bobbing about sprint car style ... loved it thanks Kevin.

Digressing I was in the next pit at Bathurst when KB came down & jumped in the Andrew Harris Falcon, three laps as I remember, a thumbs up to Dick Johnson & Ross Palmer did the deal.