African Muscle Cars - Forum

Please remember to pack cameras ! Travel safely!

Ters.

These gyus got money and plenty GUTS!!
Rassie.

Got back yesterday (after leaving the pan on Sunday )
Epic weekend, my little Lakes Roadster was a bit of an eye opener to some
Looking forward to getting my pics together.
Track was unprepared this year, and unfortunately they had rain twice in the week before the event which caused the natural surface to blister in places, making the middle section of the track a little hairy again. The last km or so was pretty decent though. And of course the track is the same for everyone, you just have to drive according to the conditions.....

I wrote thids for the Lumina forum but im sure you guys will enjoy this as well .


r theThis years Speed Week is over for me and Daniel . The trip for us is 1100km which took us 9hr30min driving time pulling a trailer with a quad on . The roads after Vryburg are just asking to be driven on at 160kph all the time . Mr. Plod only sit 10 km either side of the towns or in town doing speed trapping . We stopped of at Vic from Vics Auto and Road Bandits in Upington for the compulsory meet up before heading to the Pan . I just love that real Northern Cape /Kalahari Afrikaans accent . The next stop was at Ashkam for the last fuel up before the pan which is 60km from there . We filled up an additional 50lt just in case on our return they don't have stock .( We used that on the way back to Upington ) . Registration was painless as everything is now done before hand and your goody bag is there with all your vouchers in it . Setting up the camp site was a mission this year as the wind was quite strong and most tents are like parachutes then . We broke two pole connectors which we fixed with duck tape and tent pegs and left the water proof section off the tent as it kept blowing away . ( Cooler at night ) . The next morning we went for vehicle scrutiny and drivers briefing . Last year my # was 61 and this year it was 122 . We were told that the week before on Wednesday it rained 125mm in 8 hrs on the pan and the track is slippery ( Its blisters of sand that come up when it dries and cause loose sand ) . They wanted the bikes ( 3 ) to do a run first before the cars . I was 5th car to run so i thought it would be a unmolested surface well what a surprise . The first car was a C63AMG driven by one of the journalist of Motoring Magazine . He did a 266KPH , so i thought i was good for my 240KPH which is what i went there to achieve . I had calculated that i would get to 200kph hold it there and then floor it the last 2km ( 5 KM strip ) . The blisters on the track had all turned to soft talcum powder and going sideways at 200 is no joke , you realy had to have some drifting skills to keep it pointing in the right direction . The traction for a about 1500m was nil so you gained no speed only the last 500m allowed you to accelerate hard and it did not kick down to 5th as i had hoped . I crossed the line at 213kph and very disappointed . Daniel then did a run and only clocked 208kph and said that it was the scariest drive he has ever had ( for a paramedic to say that proves how slippery the track is ) . I did a run at 5.30 that afternoon (track temp 30c ) and only improved by 1kph . I went out the next morning early ( track temp 15c ) and only managed 215KPH . Same problems persisted with loose sand . I decided to not run again that day as it was too hot and i wanted to chat to other guys with similar cars to see how they were coping and if they were faster than me . There was another Lumi there with 76mmpipes and headers and a Rotofab and he only managed 199kph but his son did 222kph so i was beaten . I decided to go again the next morning and be first off but the start was delayed because the timing sensors had got dust on them and needed some work so at 9.30pm i decided to do a run aong the fence were we had found a good 4km piece of hard clay and i did a 241kph on my GPS . I was so pleased that i went back to the starting line to show the guys waiting to start that it can be done . When i got to 200kph i then hooked it into tiptronic mode and geared down to 5th and floored it and soon hit 6000rpm and then hit the 241kph in 6th .. So i now have the unofficial 240kph that i wanted to achieve on sand . Next year is a new goal as my car will have some mods ( still to be announced ) . The drive home again was effortless as Daniel i i shared the driving , he did the most and also the night driving . Our total distance covered on the trip odo was 2345KM and lots of fuel . Ill put the official speeds up once the week is over but i can tell you one thing that i was faster than the Mustang GT 500 that was there , he only managed 148kph . I chased him down the track next to the fence with Pauls Raptor 700 and almost stayed with him . At the finish as he got out his car they announced his speed of 148kph and he was shaking like a leave . I asked him how it was and he said he was scared to floor it as it was so slippery . Ill load some pics later . I have a in car video of me on that last 215kph run with ACDC Thunderstruck booming in the back ground .

Nice one Rudy!

Once again my experience of the surface seems to be a little different from what most other guys found out there.

I sure hope there is more feedback coming - hopefully a lot more guys on here will be there for the second weekend....

Found some photos...

http://dnaphotographers.com/speedweek-2 ... th-africa/

The V6 rod managed 171km/h.

Very nice photos, looks like it is in its natural habitat.

I saw that being trailered up as we were coming back. Congrats!