High Roller Energy Blog

FIRST V8 SUPERCAR LAPS FOR FORMULA FORD CHAMPION 2009

               

Nick Percat got to experience first hand what a V8 Supercar is like for the first time, testing recently at Mallala in South Australia.

In quite possibly the hottest conditions you could face for your initial taste in a V8, Percat’s high level of fitness was brought to the fore with the temperature in the shade a stifling 44 degrees Celsius!

Joining Percat at the test was 2008 F3 Gold Star winner James Winslow, who Nick shared the Jay Motorsports number 42 VZ Holden Commodore during the day.

“Today was really just about getting a feel for what these cars are all about, and it was great to have Richard Holloway from Walkinshaw Racing here to guide me in this initial phase of coming to grips with a V8 Supercar” said Percat.

“I got a few sessions in during the day, and I think we did about 25 or so laps… but you would always want more! James has done quite a few miles in these cars now, and did about 50 odd laps today so to be a few tenths quicker than him in my first test was certainly encouraging” quipped Percat before returning to Melbourne.

Percat won’t need to wait long for another run in a V8 Supercar, with the upcoming HRT ride day scheduled for the 27^th of November at Mallala giving him some more miles before 2010.

For all the latest news visit www.nickpercat.com

 

Come meet HIGH ROLLER’s Brendon White at the Oasis Youth Centre Wyong for their Skate, BMX & Scooter Comp this Sunday 29th November, he will doing a BMX Demo and helping out with the event.

 

HIGH ROLER is supporting this event and wishes all the competitors goodluck.

 

-HR Crew.

RACE REPORT

 

 

Event: Australian Super X Rd 6

Location: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton NZ

Conditions: Soft and Sandy

 

Riders:

Daniel McCoy

Danny Anderson

 

 

Qualifying – Pro Lites

Rider	Result
Digs	1st

 

 

 

 

Quad Challenge 4×5 Laps – Pro Lites 

 

Race	Rider	Result
Race 1	Digs	4th
Race 2	Digs	1st
Race 3	Digs	1st
Race 4	Digs	2nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall On The Night: 2nd

 

Championship Standings

Rider	Results
Digs	9th
Mitch Austin	14th
Luke Bond	26th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digs, New Zealand this weekend and the track looked good but real soft, we had to go and buy a tyre to suit the track conditions. Practice was good, the crazy NZ riders were just crashing everywhere and they were big ones. I qualified 1^st by just under 2 seconds, heat race time I had a shocker and crashed 2 times, not the race I was looking for. Semi’s I had a bad pick of the gate and had another crash, so I had a really bad gate pick for the final, but came out ok running 2^nd, until I spun out and laid it down and ended up 4^th. Final 2 I holeshotted and won and same in the 3^rd final. Lucky last I was equal on points so it came down to the last race and I got an ok start, but got pushed out and came from behind to only finish 0.136 of a second behind 1^st and I had to win to win the night so it was real close.

 

 

Qualifying – Pro Open

 

Rider	Result
Dan McCoy	7th

 

Quad Challenge 4×6 Laps – Pro Open

 

Race	Rider	Result
Race 1	Dan McCoy	4th
Race 2	Dan McCoy	5th
Race 3	Dan McCoy	3rd
Race 4	Dan McCoy	10th

 

Overall On The Night:  5th

 

Championship Standings

 

Rider	Results
Dan McCoy	5th

 

 

McCoy, Qualifying was tuff everyone was really close I ended up 7^th, heat race I got a really bad start and finished 5^th so I went to the 6 lap grid race and won the race to get 9^th pick for the 1^st final. First final snuck around the inside of turn one and was in the top 5 and finished 4^th. Final 2 I got an ok start and finished 5^th. Final 3 got into 3^rd and finished 3^rd. Final 4 got a bad start and Marmont didn’t make the finish line jump and Carroll landed on him and I had no where to go and landed on Jay and went down and could only finish 10^th. With 5^th overall. Really bummed that I got a bad start in the last race and crashed as it could have been KTM 2^nd and 3^rd overall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phil Bond

 (Team Manager/Owner)

Round 6 on a plane and off to New Zealand to start a new chapter in the Super X series. We headed to the stadium to check out the track and discovered a soft topsoil surface way different than any other track we have raced on. McCoy qualified 7^th which gave him a good gate pick for the heat. He got a bad start and made his way back to 5^th place. He got a good start in the semi and rode away for a strong win. First main saw him in 4^th with a good ride. Main 2 saw him with a great start and strong ride finishing in 5^th. Main 3 was another strong ride with a 3^rd position putting us in 3^rd on points with one to go. Main 4 and luck changed with Dan caught up in a crash between Marmont and Carroll bringing him down too. He remounted and rode back strong from last to salvage points and finished 5^th on the night. I’m sure without the crash McCoy would have made a podium on the night, as his starts and riding was awesome.

 

In a last minute decision we decided to take Digs with us to have a ride in the Pro Lites as the rider numbers were down. Monday before the Super X I rang Jason Davis a New Zealand Enduro rider we helped out a bit this year at the Off Road Championship to see if he could find a 250SXF we could borrow to race. 1 hour later he had found a bike and a deal was done. She was a 2008 model and had done a bit of work. We took a heap of parts, Dig’s suspension, set of graphics, gave her a rebuild on race day and she was ready to go. With Digs the only Australian in the Lites it was a battle of the countries. First race Digs went down over taking for the lead and fought back to 4^th in the 5 laps. Race 2 he holeshotted and lead all the way to win. Race 3 same thing holeshotted leading all the way leaving 1 point behind Michael Phillips in second. Race 4 was tuff with 18 New Zealand riders all after Digs. They swamped him at the start pushing him off the track, he got back on in 8^th he put his head down and rode hard back to 2^nd just missing winning by a half a wheel and finished 2^nd on the night. It was a great result for Digs as we only took him to have some fun and a ride and “on an old bike with no test time was a massive effort”. I would just like to thank Jason Davis for all his help with organizing a bike and looking after us in New Zealand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.Bond & the team at Coastal KTM

Race Team Manager

 

-HR Crew.

 

HIGH ROLLER would like to Congratulate STAN WALKER on taking out 2009’s AUS IDOL competition.

STAN is a great bloke & a big talent. Goodluck & All the Best!!!!!

-HR Crew.

K-Sera enjoying a HR, to listen to K-Sera’s urban beats log onto www.kseraradio.com or listen to “K-Sera & The Dirty Dozen” 9pm-10pm on Sydney’s The Edge Fm 96.1.

 

-HR Crew.

 

HR with New Zealand Hip Hop/Rap band SMASHPROOF & Victorian Hip Hop/R & B/Rap act Tenicee. Congratulations to SMASHPROOF for picking up 3 Awards at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards held in October for Highest Selling Single, Best Video & People’s Choice.

 

-HR Crew.

 

Click onto our “Gallery” section of our website to view pics from our HIGH ROLLER Halloween Party 2009.

or click on http://www.highrollerenergy.com/gallery/gallery.htm to view the pics.

ENJOY!!!

 

-HR Crew.

PERCAT CROWNED 2009 FORMULA FORD CHAMPION

Round 8 – Gold Coast Super GP October 22-25

Following on from Phillip Island and Nick Percat’s emphatic victories in races 18 and 19 of the Australian Formula Ford Championship, we now prepare to celebrate one of the all time great open wheel drivers in Australian motor racing history. It’s with these victories in which Percat sealed the 1^st place trophy with 4 races remaining.

Some of the statistics achieved in 2009:-

•-          MOST POINTS IN THE 40 YEAR HISTORY = 371 (2^ND TIM BLANCHARD 346)

•-          3 POLE POSITIONS (EQUAL MOST IN 2009)

•-          12 RACE WINS

•-          PODIUM RESULT IN 20 OUT OF 23 RACES

•-          FINISHED EVERY RACE

•-          CAREER WINS IN NATIONAL FORMULA FORD = 22 (HIGHEST BY 5 WINS)

The racing on the streets of the Gold Coast was always going to be slightly muted for a few reasons, one being that the Round would only decide who was to come 2^nd, so it became in sporting terms, a dead rubber.

Nick explains some of the highlights of the weekend, and his thoughts on becoming the 2009 Champion.

“Well our weekend was a pretty low key affair having already done the business at Phillip Island. So it was just a matter of trying to keep it off the walls during the races and see if we could get Mitch the second place in the Championship, which we did!”

“The final race for me in a Formula Ford was a pretty exciting one, with rain coming almost on queue as we rolled out on the track, and I love racing in those difficult conditions so to charge from 5^th to 2^nd in such a shortened race was a great way to sign off!”

Percat leaves Formula Ford with a record that could stand for some time, and a future full of opportunities.

“I’d dearly love to have a crack overseas again, I got a taste for it with my Festival win last year, and my driving style seems to suit the European way of thinking! If the right deal came along I would have to have a serious look at it. Its slightly frustrating seeing guys I have raced with and beaten doing say World Series Renault next year, but given the chance I’d love to show what I could do in the new GP3 feeder series in 2010″

While racing overseas is an option, currently Percat’s Brains trust are putting the final touches to Nick’s 2010 Fujitsu Series Assault.

“2010 isn’t 100% locked in yet, but I’d have to say that with the support from my current backers in Walkinshaw Performance and No Fear we should be able to sign off on something soon…. It would be nice if we could find another backer to get us over the line, but I am not the only one looking for financial support right now, so we will have to wait and see! Hopefully my form book is worth something!!”

Nick would like to thank the following for his 2009 Championship campaign:

•-          NO FEAR

•-          SONIC MOTOR RACING SERVICES

•-          WALKINSHAW PERFORMANCE

•-          CASTROL AUSTRALIA

•-          MYGALE

•-          REVOLUTION RACEGEAR

                HIGH ROLLER ENERGY

 

 

H

 

To sum up the massive year that was 2009, we leave you with the often quoted comment by the youngest of Percat fans…

“Dad I want a photo with the angry car!!”

The “angry car” and the driver with NO FEAR will be back on the track soon….

 

- Congratulations Nick on your 2009 Championship Win and congratulations on all your Record Feats for the 2009 season from everyone here at HIGH ROLLER ENERGY.

 

-HR Crew.

 

RACE REPORT

 

 

Event: Australian Super X Rd 4

Location: Canberra Stadium, Canberra NSW

Conditions: Tight with slippery surface

 

Riders:

Daniel McCoy

Danny Anderson

Luke Bond

Mitch Austin

 

Qualifying – Pro Lites

Rider	Result
Digs	6th
Luke Bond	DNF

 

 

 

 

 

LCQ – Pro Lites

Rider	Result
Mitch Austin	DNF

 

 

 

 

Triple Challenge – Pro Lites

 

Race	Rider	Result
Race 1	Digs	7th
Race 2	Digs	6th
Race 3	Digs	11th
Overall	Digs	7th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Championship Standings

Rider	Results
Digs	8th
Mitch Austin	12th
Luke Bond	24th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digs, Practice went good. I liked the track a lot I qualified 6^th, it got really hard and slippery so you needed throttle control real bad. First race I had a bad start, made some good passes I ended up 7^th. Second race another bad start and just made some mistakes, I had a bit of luck, some riders went down in the last corner so that was unlucky for them but good for me and I got 6^th. The last race someone jumped the gate next to me, so then it stuffed me up big time because they didn’t restart so he was in my way and I was like last off the start ended up crashing  just had a shocker and finished 11^th.”

 

Mitch, “The track was hard, practice sucked, I crashed and wrecked my brand new Fox Pro Carbon helmet! Did ok in the time qualifier, qualifying 7^th. I got the best start of my whole Supercross session, though quickly turning into the worst weekend of the session, after crashing on the second lap having to race the LCQ. I was in 6^th and was riding a bit out of my limits to make my way 4^th for the qualifying position, and hit the single a bit to fast and got kicked over the bars and broke my wrist and dislocated my shoulder.”

 

Luke, “In the first practice a couple of laps  in, my throttle was sticking on so I only got like 5 laps in the first practice, then we had to go and fix the bike so I didn’t get to go back into practice. I went into the time qualifier there was a triple, triple section I came up short on it and went over the bars and corked my leg, I only had 3 laps to get a good qualifying lap in and it was a shit lap don’t know what I qualified. Coming into the heat race I got an alright start, after the whoops I  jumped this double and landed on the hay bale which made me crash, so I was in last and was still riding around, then on the next lap after the whoops there was this triple on section, my bike bogged a little bit on the up ramp and threw me over the bars and I was winded, hurt my back and my wrist.”

 

Qualifying – Pro Open

 

Rider	Result
Daniel McCoy	9th

 

Triple Challenge – Pro Open

 

Race	Rider	Result
Race 1	Dan McCoy	5th
Race 2	Dan McCoy	2nd
Race 3	Dan McCoy	4th
Overall	Dan McCoy	2nd

 

Championship Standings

 

Rider	Results
Dan McCoy	5th

 

 

 

 

McCoy, “Practice went ok didn’t feel fast, and in qualifying I started to put it together and new I had a lot more to give once the races started. Heat race I finished 6^th the track was slick and I just wanted to get to the mains as everyone was crashing. I got 12^th gate pick for the first main and didn’t get the best jump but pulled through to 5^th. Second main got into a good flow and stuck behind Marmont and passed him on the last corner for 2^nd. Main 3 I stayed out of the first turn carnage and sat in 3^rd for most of the race but fell back to 4^th and ended up 2^nd overall. So happy for the team and Bondy he has been working so hard to get my bike right. Cant wait for next week.”  

 

 

 

Phil Bond

 (Team Manager/Owner)

“Canberra presented some highs and lows for our team with a tight track lay out and slippery conditions. With 52 Lites riders entered, just qualifying for the heats was going to be hard.

 

Digs qualified strong with a 6^th position and Mitch and Luke both making the field in positions 13^th and 30^th. The first heat finished with Digs in 6^th position and Luke having 2 crashes, with the second one putting him out for the night. Mitch’s heat started strong with him in 3^rd until he hit a tuff block putting him down sending him to the rear and into the LCQ. Second lap of the LCQ passing for 3^rd he had a big crash over the bars dislocating his shoulder and braking his wrist putting him out for the rest of the series. This is disappointing as Mitch showed good speed and was holding a top 10 place in the championship. Digs had 2 good final races with the 3^rd getting a bad start as another rider jumped the gate and blocked his start, he picked up the pieces and rode back to give him a 7^th overall and more points to the championship.

 

Daniel’s 2^nd position in the Pro Open pretty well sums up the hard work him and I have been putting into the bike. 9 weeks he has been on the KTM 450SXF this  is a short time to prepare for an event, but we now have a machine that’s becoming one with the rider. We won’t be resting on our laurels as we have made some more changes for this week just to fine tune some areas. For our first Pro Open podium as a team I would like to thank Daniel, KTM Australia the team and all our faithful sponsors for all your support this year and will be looking forward to hitting the podium this week.”

 

P.Bond & the team at Coastal KTM

Race Team Manager

 

-HR Crew.