High Octane

All current members will need to renew their membership for 2010. For just a $10.00 renewal fee you now get a full hour free in a simulator, normal cost $30.00 a saving of $20.00 For the full list click here.

Membership renewal can be paid in person at High Octane during regular racing hours or you can click here to send us your name and current membership number and we will contact you for credit card payment over the phone. Thanks for being members in 2009, we hope you benefited from our various offers and events during the year.

Racing Hours
We have new racing hours so there is more time for you to enjoy yourselves at High Octane. Why not check out our monthly specials. We look forward to seeing you at High Octane soon.

Race report - Round 1 Pedal to Metal V8's
It was a great start to this years 1st round Rod Porter and Doug Benson ended the round on 26points each and Rory Boyd 2nd with 25 points. Newcomer to this years league Maria Ricketts, Yes Guys we have our first women driver and she intends to be on the podium at the end of the year. Maria finished in third for the night on 22 points. Richard Bell had a set up problem which held him back in the first race but showed that he will be a contender for the podium this year as well finishing on 19 points and Dave Lapworth ended on 17 points for the round. There were a few drivers who did not make the first round and we look forward to these drivers at the next round which is Amaroo race park on the on the March 10th 6pm start.

It was a great start to this years Pro V8,s with 12 drivers fronting up for the start of this league. Grant, a new driver to this league kept the top drivers from last year honest and ended up with top points for the night with 40 pts, Coen Bon was 2nd on 38 point and Tim Hamilton 3rd on 37 points the rest followed like this Dan Morris 4th = 33pts Steve King and Troy C both 5th = on 31 points Dale Press 7th on 26 pts, Tim Harch and Rod Porter 8th = on 25 pts Wayne Domingan 9th with 22 pts Paul Mcfarlane 11th on 21pts and Craig Day 12th on 20pts. All in all it was a good nights racing and every one enjoyed them self's but we will move some drivers to some other leagues which will leave the V8 Pro League with 8 drivers for the 2010 season. So at this stage these drivers will be Grant ?, Coen Bon, Tim Hamilton, Tim Harch, Dan Morris, Dale Press, and Wayne Domingan. This league will now be with full set ups and you will be able to come and practice as much as you like prior to each round. and as members you drive for $20.00 per hour. Remember you can have a driver fill in for you if you cant make a round and the points will go to your total check with race control on this rule. We will send an email to you soon to update you all in the revised 2010 V8 pro league.

Team Mercedes vs White Knuckle Racing
A good start to this years Corporate Challenge with Team Mercedes taking out the first race of round one, as White Knuckle racing were racing them self's for the first race taking each other out more then once. They got their act together in the 2nd race and evened up the score going into the final race of the night with equal points. The lead for the race swapped 4 to 5 times during the race and it came right down to the last lap when a team Mercedes driver spun with just two corners to go letting two opposing team drivers through handing the win to White Knuckle Racing.

So how realistic is simulator racing? Give you 15 minutes free to find out for yourself!!!!
It can be as serious as you like. 40 percent of our clients race cars for real. The rest wish they had the budget. Of course I am going to be biased about how good sim racing is. I run the business. I would like to point out that I gave up racing cars for real to start High Octane in 2000. I had my first drive in a Hyper Stimulator on the Gold Coast in 1999 whilst competeing in the 1999 Formula Vee State Championship. From that first drive I was hooked. Obviously, if I was that keen to start my own race centre. The biggest problem that I have encountered over the past eight years is people reluctance to give it a try. "I can play playstation at home, why race simulators when I can play playstation" is a common statement heard at High Octane. The difference is chalk and cheese. The physics for the games are just that. For GAMES. For example I have seen people do a 1:45 lap around Bathurst in the V8 Supercars 3 software. Real life laps are closer to 2:08's. That is an average time for a lap in our V8 simulator. Physics for most sim racing software are a result of the logged data off the real cars and feedback from the real drivers. NOT GAMERS!!!!! Don't take my word for it, click on this link Sim Racer V's Real Racer to see a sim racing lap side by side with a real lap of the Ferrari Formula One car. Still not convinced? Come in to High Octane during our Christmas Trading hours and we will give you a 15 minute test drive for no charge. Just mention that you saw this article on our website news page when you ring 0411 279 559 to book your free session.

New High Octane Forum
We now have a new forum for High Octane members and customers to use. We have had a special High Octane section added to the Australian Sim Racing Group’s Forum. Basically it gives you guys an avenue to chat about High Octane leagues, seek drivers for race nights or to chat about anything else that comes to mind. You will need to become a member of the ASRG Forum which is free. Once you log onto the forum’s, the High Octane section is down near the bottom. Click on this link to check it out. http://www.asrg.org/paddock/viewforum.php?f=37 It will be a great place to have a yarn after each league race night, or if you need drivers for a private race night, this will be where you put the question out to all members and league drivers. Have fun with it, but please stick to the forum guidelines set out by ASRG.

Congratulations to our 2009 League Champions.
With our leagues over for 2009, without further to do I would like to congratulate out champions for 2009.

Rev em Up V8 League        2009 Champion     Coen Bon
Pedal to Metal V8 League   2009 Champion     Steve King
LeMans Audi R8 Pro           2009 Champion     Rod Browning

There is still the grand final battle on Monday 21st to decide the corporate challenge winner for 2009. Team Average v's Tighe Cams, we will let you know who won next week. Please check back in a couple of weeks for all the League Results for 2009.

One more thing, KIWI's have won our two V8 leagues and they think they are pretty special. Both Coen and Steve have entered the 2010 leagues. Want to wipe the smiles off their faces? Well why not join a 2010 League. Please email me at racing @highoctaneracing.com.au

High Octane's Nurvember 6 Hour Endurance Event - Run and Won........
On November 28 we held our fist ever Nurburgring Endurance Event. The Nurvember 6 Hour. Designed for teams of two drivers this was the ultimate endurance event ever held at High Octane. Using the FIA GT's we started the race at 3pm on November 28th. The teams lined up on the grid were.

Darren and Tim looked to have the early pace but Steve pulled a blinder of a qualifying lap to secure pole. Next was Tim in the Lister, Wayne in the 550, Rory in the Lambo, Rod in the MC12 and Rikki in his first endurance event at High Octane. It was invisaged that Tim and Darren would tear off at the start but to the surprise of the rest, Steve and Wayne kept them honest in the opening stint. Strategy was going to be an important part of the day, especially when teams started to realise they could get more laps out of a tank of gas. At first Wayne and Dale had a good chance of outright victory as they were running one or two laps beyond the rest (keeping in mind that it is almost 9 minutes a lap). The fact that they could have one or two less pit stops would work out to a couple of minutes of time on track.

But it was not to be, the other teams soon caught on and it brought the top three teams close together again. Usually around 40 seconds seperated the top three (don't forget on a sub 9 minute lap its not a big gap). Still with about an hour to go, strategy was still going to be a part of it all and the Ferrari crew thought they still had an advantage over the Lambo of Steve & Coen and possibly over Darren and Tim's Lister. But as luck has it, a pace car in the dying hour brought the field back together all with fresh tyres and full tanks.

A poor tyre choice left Dale and Wayne out of contention with the battle going down to the wire for Steve, Coen and Darren, Tim. A retirement from Rod and Chay in the MC12 saw the battle for 4th and 5th between Rory, Ash and Rikki, Paul. Across the finish line it was.

Every fully paid session you have at High Octane during normal Racing Hours now gives you a bonus. Introducing the new Frequent Driver Card. You will be given one of these on your next visit. It is a reward for regular visits to High Octane. Race three sessions and get one session free, twice. Each card is valid for four months from your first stamp. Your free drive is an average of your three drives. The Frequent Driver Card is subject to conditions.

The Frequent Driver card is intended for members only. However for the month of December, all drivers will receive the Frequent Driver Card without having to be a member.

High Octane - ANZAC Challenge - Round 1
On the 24th of May we held our very first ANZAC Challenge. Four Aussies and four Kiwi's battled it out in the V8's at four different tracks. It was a fantastic night with a battle that lasted right up to the last few laps of the final race. The Aussie Team was made up of Max Peterson, Doug Benson, Richard Bell and yours truly (Dale Press as last minute fill in). The Kiwi team was made up of Wayne Domigan, Chris Yearbury, Steve King and Jason. Race one was at Adelaide and the Kiwi's drew first blood scoring 30 points to the Aussies 22. Race two at Hamilton saw the Aussies fight back with a 28 point to 24 point victory. Race three saw the Aussies fight back hard with a 31 point to 21 point victory over the Kiwi's at Pukekohe. Then not to be outdone the Kiwi's fought back in the final race at Sandown to defeat the Aussies 27 points to 25. Bonus points were given to the team that had the fastest lap in each race. The Kiwi's had three out of the four fastest laps so they earned three points to the Aussies one point. So after four and a half hours of racing the final points were , Aussies 107 and Kiwi's 105. Nothing in it really. Thanks to all who participated and congrats to the Aussies. I have a feeling this is not over..............................

As for the awards, congratulations to the following 2008 league drivers for being the top 3 point scorers in each of their leagues.

Rev em Up V8's - Congratulations to Ash Lowe. After 29 races over 10 months. This championship went down to the final race of the year. There was literally one point between Ben and Ash going into the final race. Ash won the battle and now has back to back V8 Championships at High Octane. He is back in 2009 to go for three in a row. Something that has never been done before. Its not going to be easy as all the usual suspects stand in his way of the crown. We even have a previous High Octane V8 Champion, Craig Churchward, making a comeback after 2 years away. I cant wait............
272 Points - Ash Lowe
268 Points - Ben Shakepeare
259 Points - Jim Killeen

Pedal to Metal V8's - Congratulations to Shane Heathcote. After 29 races over 10 months, Tim and Shane, two fresh faced High Octane Rookies were on equal points going into the final race. Regardless of where they finished, all they had to do was to beat each other. Shane finished one spot ahead and won the championship by one point. On a side note, Shane has left QLD now, so he cant pursue the A grade V8 league in 2009 and Tim actually raced with the A grade drivers in 2008 as well. He finished a credible 4th. Watch out guys as Tim concentrates on one league only this year.
279 Points - Shane Heathcote
278 Points - Tim Harch
251 Points - David McKeown

Ferrari and Astin Martin PRO - Congratulations to Michael Sampson. Well there was Michael and then there was the rest. Michael's first League at High Octane and he blitzed the lot. That was no mean feet either as he was up against the cream of or league drivers. The battle however for the best of the rest was decided during the last race. Andrew just held on and added another High Octane trophy to he's cabinet.
174 Points - Michael Sampson
150 Points - Andrew Tuckwood
148 Points - Rod Browning

LeMans Audi R8 PRO - Congratulations to Ben Shakespeare. Although he is still a young fellow, Ben is a six year veteran league driver at High Octane and when I think about it, he has always finished a championship on the podium. This was a close league that could have seen any of the top three drivers win the championship. The closeness of the points is testament to that. The 2009 LeMans Audi R8 Pro kicks off on February 11th with four of 2008's drivers lining up again.
158 Points - Ben Shakespeare
154 Points - Rod Browning
152 Points - Tim Hamilton

2008 BMW Corporate Challenge - Eight teams entered, after 6 months, 24 heats and 72 races. The top two teams to battle out the Grand Final was Brisbane BMW and Archerfield Speed Karts. Many teams battled hard throughout the league but none could beat the might of Archerfield Speed Karts. They won every round and the Grand Final. At the end of the season, just being the best of the rest was a great achievement.
660 Points - Archerfield Speed Karts
588 Points - Brisbane BMW
575 Points - Sunstate Gas & Plumbing
555 Points - Civic Video
553 Points - Tighe Cams
505 Points - Quality Nuts
470 Points - B & D Signs
464 Points - Queensland Health

For all league results from 2008, click here.

From now on when you visit our website you will see a "This Months Specials" starburst on the main page. Don't forget to check it out each month as there will always be something different. You can also click here to get there.

All current members will need to renew their membership for 2008. Membership is required to race in 2008 leagues. You also receive a swag of benefits when you are a members. Free drive on your Birthday, save $5.00 off each session, able to use our frequent driver scheme, invitations to special events plus many more benefits. For the full list click here.

It is a team event/challenge that is run between 3 teams: Triple P Racing / High Octane Racing / Simulation Raceway

Using the FVR V8's. These cars are a refined version of what we ran in the Motor Show Series earlier this year. The classic Holden vs. Ford battle. The cars have more grip than the current V8's being used in leagues and for those who did race in the Motor Show Series will know just how close and competitive these cars are. It is a fantastic league for beginners and experienced league drivers.

Wednesday August 1st saw Triple P Racing take out round 1 convincingly. Three races at Mugello saw them take two victories from three starts. Simulator Raceway had a second, third and a first with High Octane Racing coming home in third, second and third.

We can always do with some more drivers. Its not a compulsory league. Therefore you will not have to show up to each round if you don't want and each round will carry on regardless of how many drivers we have on the night. However there will be a discount if you choose to do the whole six round series.

Cost: $45 per driver. If you commit to the full six rounds $35 each.

NOW OPEN AT ARCHERFIELD

Our new race centre at 10 Beaufighter Avenue Archerfield is all systems go and ready to take your bookings. We now have eight Hyper's ready to race and all our cockpits now have 19" monitors. The ADSL is connected and our first on line practice session has gone off without a hitch. So the leagues are due to kick off first week in May. Below is the progress that was made from the beginning of construction on February 18 to the final sign going up on April 22nd. I would like to pass on my thanks, gratitude and appreciation to the following generous people who gave up their time to build the new race centre - Craig Day, Jim Lowe, Chris Harman, Mike Russell, Wayne Domigan, Martin Tuckwood and Darren Beckett.

We are pleased to announce that we are associated with another on line racing group. Triple P Racing, otherwise known as TPR. This is a small on line group (approx 15 members) that has only just got off the ground. For those who have enjoyed online racing from here and at home should check out their website and join up. They have some good dedicated people who are very helpful at getting into the on line racing scene. They already have a GTR2 and an Ozzy Racers series underway. I am currently enjoying racing in the GTR2 series. Membership is free, to sign up go to www.triplepracing.com and start your online racing today.

We received many good submissions for our logo and car design comp that we ran last month. The winning submission that was chosen by the judges was a package designed by Aj. Well done Aj, a job well done. You have won yourself a Hyper Stimulator Clubman for your effort. Here is his winning logo and car design.

In the past we have supplied you with gaming computers to match up to your Hyper Stimulator. High Octane can now also help you with all your computing needs. Big or small, office or home, stand alone or networked. From desktop PC's to laptops. All are available to purchase at High Octane. Next time you are looking for a computer system, advise us of your specs and we will provide you with a competitive quotation and the quality of service you have known to experience at High Octane.

ASRG are an Australian based sim racing club. Operated by a group of hard working individuals dedicated to providing the public with professionally operated online racing leagues. Currently they run two Grand Prix Legends leagues, a Porsche Carrera Cup league, A Formula One League and soon another V8 league. It is a lot more fun than just racing the AI cars in your software. You can quite easily find yourself battling against 20 other drivers who are all real people like yourself. There are usually a couple of try before you join leagues, so you can really see what it is all about. Once you are ready to take on the rest of Australia and sometimes the world you just pay a simple membership fee that lasts you a year and away you go. The membership is excellent value all made possible by the dedicated committee and team all doing it for the love of it. High Octane is a partner/sponsor of the ASRG and regularly participate in their leagues. What's more if you don't have the equipment to race online from home, you can do it in the comfort of High Octane now connected online with ADSL2 +. Check out their website at www.asrg.org. Its free to become a member of the forums so take a look at what's going on behind the scenes.

Just want to share of a couple of websites that I find cool and that are worth checking out.
http://www.aurace.com - AuRace is a provider of royalty free auto photography. They showcase many different local photographers work to allow you to quickly find and acquire Australian motor sport photos. All photos shown can be purchased and instantly downloaded for use under a royalty-free basis.
http://www.rqld.com - They are a Queensland-based group with a focus on Motor sport events for performance car enthusiasts. Membership is free - but necessary to access the forums and events section. The forums are a great place to chat with other rev heads just like yourself. So click on the link and sign up and start discussing technical data, look at some pics and vids and do what you do on forums. I'm a member, just look out for any posts from "Pressy".