GT Club Runs - Valla 06
The annual Valla GT weekend was on again recently and again I attended making this my second year there. Its great to get the GT packed and get on the road to Valla for its such a long drive (6 hours) that it I really enjoy just getting in the GT and seeing the KM's tick by. After all they are grand tourers.
The trip this year was not without its drama though. My car was put in for rust repair in the weeks leading up to Valla and I was assured I would get my car back by the day before at the latest to allow time to pack. I got the car back at lunch time the day before Valla but the damn thing wouldn't run. It would start, idle, and stall when driving off. If you got it up to speed and gave it some stick it would cough and splutter and carry on.
After my brother in law and I worked it out we were able to fix it temporarily but at that stage it was 11pm of the night before we had to leave. So the packing was done hastily the next morning and off we set. The only real drama on the way to valla was my loss of three points from my license and the lightening of my bank balance by some 200 odd dollars which dampened my spirits a little for a bit.
Arriving at Valla we checked into our accommodation and headed over to the park for a look at who was around and because I had to drop off an alternator someone needed. The first day in Valla was pretty cruisy and we just relaxed mostly.
The Saturday arrived soon enough though and the day started with the obligatory car wash before the show and shine in Nambucca Heads. We turned up at the park and put the car in position with the other xbgt hardtops as in the show all models are together. Unfortunately on the way to the show my car threw an air con belt forcing me to stop and thus position me well out of the normal order of cars which was a shame. A club mate also stopped putting him out of line also for his xa hardtop. Thanks for that mate.
The show day was a great sunny day with plenty of people both local and club members getting around checking out all the machines on display. I think the locals really get a kick out of having us there.
Saturday night is the party night with a fancy dress theme. This years fancy dress theme was famous tv and movie characters. I went as the bundy bear (damn hot outfit) and my wife went as cleopatra. I think everyone there enjoyed themselves and got a laugh out of all the costumes.
The following day's events included the cruise to a go kart track nearby where a GT club competition was held with teams of 4 drivers relaying for 5 laps each to decide the overall winner. My team made up of Newcastle Members came 4th overall which was about mid field. Not too bad.
Sunday nights events saw the handing out of the awards from the show and shine, the auction and the rest of the formalities for the event. Once this meeting wound down Valla was pretty much all over except for the drive home. Apart from a sticking throttle the drive back was fairly uneventful and it was great to drive back with a few club mates from the Newcastle club we caught up to. Looking forward to Valla 07.