Having dusted off the camera for the JZX Skidpan Day, I took this opportunity to head out to Wakefield Park Raceway for a joint hosted track day run by my friends from Yez Racing & the guys from Trak Life. Having known the Yez guys for a couple of years now & not seeing them so often, it's quite refreshing given the opportunity for us to all get together again. Yez Racing, what are they all about? "We strive to supply our customers with quality parts from well known brands at competitive prices. Having years of industry experience and knowledge, we are able to provide customers with the very best combination of performance parts to suit any aplication." And Trak-Life - "Just a few average guys really, embarking on similar adventures and most
likely going on the same journey or we would hope so! Our passions, sense of humour and wallet heavy
addictions have drawn us together to form what is known today as trak-life,
keeping our life on track and sharing it to our readers also offering car parts
that have been tested and proven on our cars at a competitive price! So go on, grab some insight from our experiences,
challenge yourself and even have a laugh reading about our everyday exploits
and failures."
The night before track day, a few of us had decided to stay at the track side cabins. I had contacted S.Le to see what time they were planning on departing for Wakefield, but due to the proposed time he said, I wasn't able to make it to the meeting point and thus, I began the lonely drive to Wakefield. Departing at 12:00PM & arriving shortly after 2:00PM.
SVP - "Hey S.Le, where are you guys?" S.Le - "We haven't left yet." SVP - ...
Since there was a track day running, it kept me occupied for the time being. I was also able to sneak in a little nap before everyone else had arrived.
And here is the main reason why I wanted to stay at the cabins the night before. While everyone was socialising, eating or watching the F1, I ventured out track side to soak up this breath-taking view. I had intentions of doing a star trailing photo, but due to unwelcoming lights & clouds, that wasn't possible. This was just one of the photos from the three sets I shot.
Watch in HD for ultimate viewing pleasures
So due to unforeseen circumstances, I decided to turn the photos from the third set into a time lapse instead. Thanks Ying for being a trooper & keeping me company in those freezing conditions for a little while. After F1 had come to a end, everyone was getting ready for bed, except for one person who had way too much energy for that time of the night, Hieuy. At about 1:00AM I was pretty knackered & decided to call it a night (or early morning).
5:00AM Monday morning, Wakefield's weather, comfy bed & thick blankets decided it was a good time to wake me up. I had no intentions of catching the sun rise, but thought what the hell, I might as well since I'm up. I had an hour & a half to find a decent location for sun rise as that's when you'll be able to see first light. With a temperature of -3.2 °C which felt like -7.6°C from what WeatherZone was stating, layers upon layers of clothes were worn (and that still wasn't enough). All that effort only to come to the disappointment of Wakefield's fog covering the actual sun rise...
Photo courtesy of Ying.
Just to show how cold it had actually gotten. Frosty hair SVP.
Top of the morning to you to Wakefield attendees. Not really, I was already tired by this point.
Despite the morning fog ruining my sun rise shots, they did make for some spectacular car photos.
It was also the debut day for Mowad's newly purchased Honda vehicle.
A handful of the Melbourne people had also made the trek for this day.
Trak-Life.
It wasn't long before everyone had made their way to the pit area. And it wasn't until this day where I really appreciated a hot croissant & a hot cup of instant noodles, thanks guys! Down to the pits I went shortly after eating.
Not long after arriving to the pits, people were already prepping to be track ready. Here's Tom on the nod.
Tony using Rhys' engine as a hand warmer. Smart move, smart move.
Not a good start for the ED's debut unfortunately. I'm glad you kept your cool throughout the day Mowad. Should have brought the #dailychaser though.
8:45AM - Drivers' briefing, S.Le on the podium.
Track activity started not long after. For those that don't know me, I don't take a liking into Honda vehicles. But this particular one, I liked it, I liked it a lot & I'm proud of that.
Unfortunately I had only taken two panning shots that day. My body wasn't accustomed to the amount of sleep I had gotten & I didn't want to tire myself out throughout the day, otherwise it'll be a dangerous drive home from Wakefield. Poor effort on my part, sorry folks.
Looking very seedy there Mr S.Le.
Custom one-off wall plague Ying had made for the Yez guys.
It was OO-NOES shortly after Henry took pilot of the red beast.
Mowad had finally put on a smile after all that drama with the ED. Still should have taken the #dailychaser.
Simo's Chaser was my favourite pick for the day.
Final touches for the ED before it hit the track. Cable ties fix all!
And we were off to a smokey start!
With track conditions getting better, more solid lap times were being laid down while onlookers watch.
Peter had finally taken the plunge to track his car after many years of owning it. Has the track bug bitten you yet my friend?
More fuel.
Less tyre pressure.
And food for fuel. At around 12:30PM it was lunch break for 30mins, which gave me a chance to put down the camera for a little while.
After our stomachs were happy, everyone was out there again.
Having the camera stashed away also meant passenger rides! My body had grown more & more tiresome by this point, so photos started declining very quickly to preserve my energy.
Yez Racing + crew.
Awkward.
Sydney plus Melbourne, united. Thanks Kim for sending me this.
And here we have the Rhys pose.
#onlytony would wear a singlet with Wakefield's weather, because that's how strong he is.
It was at this point where everyone had left & we had to farewell our Melbourne friends.
Thanks to the Yez guys & Trak-Life for organising an awesome event. Even though people were looking to chase PB's, what fun is it without having a wonderful time with your friends or meeting new people sharing similar interests?
