Targa New Zealand Rally 2011: Racing Day 2
October 26, 2011
Well we had an eventful day today!!! I wrote last night’s first blog post from the hotel room prior to everyone else arriving. Conrad and I got there a bit early so we checked in and started getting things organized for the rest of the teams arrival. Once Steve and Jen arrived we ran down to the town they were in and went straight over to the local Nissan dealership who were kind enough to offer the use of their facilities so we could go over the car after the first days events.
Steve had lost considerable amounts of time because the car was going into limp mode due to high transmission temperatures. We wanted to inspect everything and see what was going on. As soon as we dropped the diff fluid, we knew we had found the culprit. Inside the diff fluid there were clear signs of metal wear. The fluid had taken on a metallic shimmer. We inspected the transmission fluid and it looked fine. For those of you who don’t know, the GT-R rear differential, transmission, and transfer case all share one big assembly. So, we figured that the differential was getting so hot it was cooking the transmission as well. The only thing we could do was pull out our spare assembly and install it.
Normally, if we were in a GT-R certified dealership working with the right tools, this would be a 3-5 hour job. However, this was not a certified GT-R dealer, and we did not have all the tools! After a lot of swearing, some busted knuckles, and some frustrating moments, we finished the swap….at 5:15 a.m. this morning!!! We went back to our hotel rooms, got an hour of sleep and packed up to take on today’s adventures.
That was a lot of work and a real pain but boy was it worth it!!! Steve was pushing hard today and according to early reports finished second in a couple stages. Had he been able to push harder yesterday like he did today we would be in a much better position!!! Unfortunately, we’re a little out of luck as it is what it is, but that’s racing!
Attrition is already showing on some of our competitors cars! Dodson blew up one of their gear boxes yesterday and was having more issues today, keep in mind their transmissions are HEAVILY modified and far from stock. Proctor cracked three wheels yesterday and arrived to the parking garage this morning with a brand new set on all four cars! A couple of cars have gone off but fortunately nothing major and everyone has been able to carry on and make the necessary repairs.
While it was awesome to see Steve and Jen pushing hard today and making big strides, it was even more exciting when Leigh Hopper challenged Steve to a bit of a drag race at this afternoon’s extended stay lunch stop on an airport strip. Normally these stops are only an hour or so, but to avoid the evening traffic crossing the bridge in Auckland the organizers set up a three hour event at Sunny Hills airport in Warkworth. Leigh challenged Steve to a drag race in the GT R….against his acrobatics helicopter!!! It was insane! Leigh is an amazing pilot and was performing some amazing aerial acrobatics, including sliding his helicopter along the grass for a good 100 feet or so. They raced twice and Steve won the first time but Hopper took the victory the second go around. Check out the video on-board to see the race! The GT-R’s ECU has been set with a top speed limiter of 200km/hr, which is the maximum speed allowed in the rally.. Leigh’s helicopter doesn’t have such a limiter!
All in all, it was an awesome day! However, as you can imagine, I’m exhausted!!! Enjoy the pictures and video, I’m going to bed!
All 2011 Targa New Zealand Coverage
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- Targa New Zealand 2011: STILLEN GT-R Back in Action!
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 1
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 2
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 3
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 4
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 5
Targa New Zealand Rally 2011: Racing Day 1
October 25, 2011
Today was the first day of actual racing. It was a great day and Jen and Steve did a fantastic job. Their still getting to know each other’s styles and figure out what the other one wants to say as well as hear. It always takes a bit of time to develop that relationship between driver and co-driver.
(Team STILLEN – Steve Millen, Jodi Millen, Jen Horsey, Kyle Millen, Conrad Healy, Joe Nagy, Mark Ungles)
The car is running well. We’re ending the night in Whangarei (“wonG uh ray” or “phonG uh ray” if you say it the Maori way). We’re very excited to be on new roads this year. It really helps level the playing field. When the organizers put these events on they have to get the approval from every single person who lives on the roads we’re going to be racing on. It takes about five months and they see around 9,000 people. It’s truly impressive and even more impressive that they were able to branch out to new parts of the country! Peter Martin and the crew at Targa New Zealand have worked hard to put on the best possible event!
Conrad and I did quite a lot of traveling today and got to see three stages! Got some great action shots as well as a few “uh oh” moments from some of the competitors. Steve has been up and down in the standings all day. The first couple of stages were a bit rocky but later in the day they started making some great times and even beating some of the front runners like Tony Quinn. It’s still very early in the race though.
Wish us luck and follow along as the rally continues!
All 2011 Targa New Zealand Coverage
================================================
- Targa New Zealand 2011: STILLEN GT-R Back in Action!
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 1
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 2
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 3
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 4
- Targa New Zealand 2011: Racing Day 5
Targa New Zealand Rally 2011: STILLEN GT-R Back in Action!
October 24, 2011
Well, we’re back in New Zealand for the Targa Rally. Today was the first official day of the event and it started with scrutineering in the viaduct in Auckland Harbor. Last night was pretty exciting as the All Blacks (New Zealand rugby team) won the world cup! Today was a bit busy in Auckland as they shut down the main streets and had a ticker tape parade for the team. GO ALL BLACKS!!!!!
Once we got down to the scrutineering location we let Steve and Jen (more on Jen later in this post) do their thing with the organizers of the event. Mark and Joe (you know them from years past) have to follow up with their crew meeting. Conrad and I cruised through the park ferme (parking area) to check out some of the competitors cars. The BS has already started as some of the other GT-R teams are telling us they aren’t running as much power as we know they are….That’s OK…we’re not going to tell them everything we’ve done either!!! Read more
Targa New Zealand Rally 2010: Recap and Wrap-Up
November 11, 2010
Every year towards the end of October, teams from around the world gather together in Auckland, New Zealand to start the 5 day Dunlop Targa Rally. The Targa Rally is a grueling test of man and machine that takes place over closed country roads that would normally be open to the public. The roads get closed down for just a few hours, just long enough to funnel 100+ “rally” cars through. Competitors arrive in all types of vehicles, from a Ferrari F430 World Challenge race car, a Maserati and a few Porsche GT3 super cars to WRC-prepared Subaru and Mitsubishi rally cars, and even the older classic cars come out in force, like the old Mark 1 Escort’s and even a Datsun 240Z with a supercharged LS2 engine and sequential gearbox. 2010 however was the year of Godzilla.
In the 2010 running of the New Zealand Dunlop Targa Rally there were four Nissan R35 GT-R’s competing in the actual race, and one GT-R competing in the Targa “Tour”, an event which takes place on the same closed roads and along the exact same route as the actual rally, the only difference being the Tour drivers are limited to a much lower top speed and do not compete for any sort of winner’s prize. The four GT-R’s this year were piloted by some of the most experienced Targa Rally competitors, including Tony Quinn. Tony has won 3 Targa’s now and competes in Australia and New Zealand with his GT-R in numerous different Targa’s each year. Steve Millen took the STILLEN-prepared GT-R to the event Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 6 – Racing Day 5
October 29, 2010
Racing Day 5 Wrap Up!
I am in my hotel room writing this before Steve and Phillip get into the wharf for the final destination. They have both done an amazing job and the entire team is very proud of the effort and hard work put in by all! Steve pulled out some pretty miraculous skills this week and showed that he hasn’t lost his edge. Steve competes in very few of these rallies and really doesn’t get much time to get back into the racing lifestyle anymore, so it took a day or two for him to feel fully comfortable with the car, but I’ll tell you once he was in the zone he was a machine! The in-car video footage and the photos tell the story better than I ever could!
The car has performed flawlessly all week and Mark and Joe have done a great job maintaining the car and making sure Steve and Phillip have exactly what they needed all week. Jodi and Vivian (Phillip’s wife) have been great team moms and looked after the service crew and the drivers better than anyone could have asked for. We are all very happy to come home with the drivers and car all together in one piece and with a very Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 5 – Racing Day 4
October 29, 2010
Wellington is a lot like it normally is…Cold…Windy…and a high probability of rain! Not a huge surprise yet very welcomed! We are holding strong in third place and Steve drove hard today and won a couple stages chipping away time at Quinn and Inkster. Inkster fought hard and also had a great showing and we are expecting tomorrow to bring an awesome battle! All three vehicles are running strong and working hard!
Last night I was walking through the parking lot and noticed a car on a trailer covered by a tarp Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 4 – Racing Day 3
October 28, 2010
We have made it to New Plymouth and I am writing this update from a Beaurepairs Service Center. Tonight we went through the car for a mid-week check up, went through the oil change, checked brake wear, tires, etc. Also the guys are having to fix the front lip after a local at one of the lunch stops guided Steve straight into the curb when he was trying to get into the parking area for lunch. They had stacked up some blocks of wood to get over the curb and with three guys watching they guided him straight into the curb and pushed the front lip back! Mark and Joe have had a pretty easy week though compared to Newfoundland so I guess it’s good to keep them up for a night. All is good on the car and the teams spirits are high.
We came to the service center to rotate the tires on the rims. Today was another hot day and we saw some pretty serious tire wear occurring and we want to stay ahead of it as tire consumption is a big part of the strategy on the Targa rallies. Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 3 – Racing Day 2
October 27, 2010
We are in our second night at Palmerston North and have some good news! Steve is really enjoying the car and having a great time. He pushed hard today and caught some ground on Proctor in the Metalman car but unfortunately another car caught more ground and squeaked ahead of us by a few seconds. So, currently we’re running 4th overall but making gains on the competition.
Something I did not include in yesterdays update is the great sportsmanship on this rally. People work hard to help each other and teams competing against each other have been known to lend a hand and help their competitors to get them back on the road a little sooner. Last night both Proctor and Dodson developed leaky Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 2 – Racing Day 1
October 26, 2010
I am writing this from the hotel in New Plymouth. The good news is, the STILLEN GT-R is running very well and Steve and Phillip are doing very well and working great together! Steve took it kind of careful today as he wanted to see how the tires were going to fair. These Dunlops are looking great and are showing hardly any wear. We are very excited to see how they work through the week!
(For a larger version, click here)
Today was unusually tough as the weather was uncharacteristically warm.. The roads were hot and we really expected the tires to start wearing heavily. However, The GT-R is running strong and working very well! Read more
Targa New Zealand 2010: Day 1 – Prologue
October 25, 2010
Well, I am sitting in the hotel room in Manakau (man-ah-cow) and I’m a bit confused about this week in New Zealand with the STILLEN team competing in the Targa Rally. In 2006 I packed some board shorts, t-shirts, shorts, a couple pairs of jeans and a light wind breaker. I immediately went down and bought myself a heavy jacket, jeans, and some rain gear. In 2008 I was optimistic and brought down a pair of board shorts, couple pair of shorts and some t-shirts along with a heavy jacket and jeans.
Upon my arrival I dumped the T-shirts, shorts, and boardshorts at the house as I realized I wouldn’t need any of it for the week. Just stuck with the jeans and jackets and was good all week. This year when I packed I laughed when I saw my clean boardshorts sitting in the closet, grabbed all my jeans, my heavy jackets, and one pair of shorts and a few shirts. Now I’m convinced that New Zealand is messing with me. We haven’t had a drop of rain or even a menacing cloud and the weather reports are good for most the week with some rain possible towards the end of the week. Just my luck!!! Read more
