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September 09 - Skelta cleans up at inaugural Oakey Sprint
The inaugural two-day Oakey Street Sprints event was
held in the town of Oakey, west of Toowoomba, last weekend.
In spite of a dust storm and very windy conditions, over
130 competitors took part. Excellent organisation by the
AARG (Australian All Rally Group) made the event a huge
success and a great addition to the Motor Sport calendar
in Queensland.
Skelta fielded two supercharged G-Force cars; one driven
by company owner and designer Ray Vandersee and the other
by Guy Bedington. As usual, the competition was fast and
furious from a varied field of very well driven machines.
These included a mega horsepower 4 wheel drive GTR Nissan,
a V8 powered Ford Escort, Mitsubishi EVO's, several full
race V8 sports sedans and a host of other well prepared
vehicles.
When the dust settled (although it didn’t really!)
Skelta had won all the major trophies. Ray, after the lead
had swapped several times over the weekend, finally put
in a run of 41.1 seconds to set the new course record and
win the A1 Bodyworks Fastest Individual Perpetual Plate
trophy for fastest car on the weekend. Ray was supported
by Guy to win 1st and 2nd place in both the CF Performance
Sports Car Championship and the 3 - 5 litre classes. The
two Skeltas qualified for the top ten Wagners Eliminator
Shield shoot out event. Ray topped off a great weekend by
winning this as well!
To demonstrate true versatility, both cars were driven
to and from the circuit each day and performed faultlessly!
“We didn’t even change the tyres, using the
ones we used at Targa Tasmania earlier this year. I’m
very pleased with the Kumho Ecsta V70A which provided the
grip required to win.” said a jubilant Vandersee.
"Many of the other competitors were running very soft
slick tyres which tend to have an advantage in a one lap
dash sprint event such as this".
Vandersee was quick to sing the praises of the course,
the organisers plus the Toowoomba Regional Council who are
great supporters of the event.
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7
September 09 - Skelta takes on Pittsworth Sprints
Over 130 competitors took to the streets of Pittsworth
for the annual 2 day sprint event last weekend.
Guy Bedington, driving Ray Vandersee's 2009 Skelta G Force
S/c won class and category, fastest sports car and fastest
road registered vehicle. Guy finished 4th outright just
ahead of a Porsche GT3 and a couple of well driven EVO 9
Mitsubishi's.
The car ran faultlessly and was driven to and from the
meeting each day! Another excellent result for the Skelta
team.
The next outing for Skelta will be the Oakey Sprints being
held 25th – 27th September.
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24
August 09 - Skelta V8 Spyder outing at Queensland Raceway
Last weekend saw Skelta's first appearance in serious
circuit racing, in near perfect, albeit hot, weather conditions
at Queensland Raceway. The all new Skelta Spyder V8 took
on an impressive array of Porsche Cup Cars, Lotus Exiges,
a mega horse power Cobra as well as turbo charged MX5's
all driven by experienced competitors, in the Steve Cooper
Surveys Production Sports Challenge - supporting race to
the V8 supercars.
In his first ever outing in a V8 Spyder, Jonathon Webb
put the car on pole position being the only driver to get
into the one minute thirteens.
A frustrating mechanical problem, which turned out to be
minor, during the first race sidelined the car on Friday.
The dedicated workshop team worked frantically on Saturday
to have the car back on the grid on Sunday.
Jonathon, having to start from the rear of the grid put
on an enthralling display of driving. He rocketed through
the 28 car grid to finish eighth having caught the leading
group when the 10 lap race finished.
All in all another excellent result for the team in a new
model with the new Hartley V8 engine, and in a new category
of motor sport for Skelta. Watch the circuit racing space
for more results!!
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20
August 09 - Skelta scores at Leyburn Sprints
Last weekend saw another maximum entry Sprint meeting
held at the historic town of Leyburn in South East Queensland.
Conditions were near perfect despite the 2 degree starts!
Competition was particularly fierce this year in all categories.
Skelta fielded two supercharged G Force cars, the first
driven by company owner Ray Vandersee and second driven
by Guy Bedington. The pair finished first and second in
Modern Sports Cars class with Ray putting his car in second
outright position against several well driven specialist
open wheel hill climb specials, Guy finished 5th outright
which gave the team another excellent result for the weekend.
Both cars ran faultlessly.
The next competitive outing for Skelta is at Queensland
Raceway from 21st-23rd August where the company is fielding
the all new Spyder V8 (see photo right). It is entered in
the Steve Cooper Surveys Production Sports Challenge - supporting
race to the V8 supercars.
The car will be driven by Jonathon Webb, rising V8 star
of the Fujitsu series. It is Skelta's first venture into
circuit racing and with a full grid of seasoned Porsche,
Lotus and Cobra drivers competition will be fierce, however
the company expects the new car to be a front runner.
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8
June 09 - Skelta blitzes field at 2009 Mt Stuart Sprint
and sets new course record.
Marcus Nuutinen and navigator Gerard McConkey in their
Skelta G Force sportscar, took overall honours in Townsville
this weekend over the 2 day Mt Stuart Sprint
Consistently lowering the course record during the event,
the pair finished with a best time of 4 minutes and 7 seconds,
an amazing 7 seconds under the previous course record! Second
place was taken by Russell and Sarah Newman in their Nissan
R35, some twenty seconds behind the supercharged Skelta
for the weekend.
"Once again we just kept getting quicker as the weekend
went on and our Skelta with the Kumho tyres worked brilliantly"
said Nuutinen.
This is the third successful outing for the Nuutinen/McConkey
team, having recently finished 8th outright in the Targa
Tasmania, and second outright in the previous Mt Stuart
event.
Ray Vandersee, owner of the Skelta company said "the
Skelta is now consistently achieving podium results and
has again proven its reliability and competitiveness against
the best".
Leyburn Sprints in August will be the next sprint meeting
for the Skelta team.
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2
June 09 -Skelta on the podium again at the Cootha Classic
The sun shone on the Queensland built Skelta Sports
car at the Cootha Classic Hillclimb over the weekend!
Held to celebrate the state’s 150th birthday and
its connection with motoring and motorsport events, the
event was conducted in perfect Queensland conditions and
watched by thousands of Brisbanites & visitors alike.
Ray Vandersee in his Toowoomba constructed Skelta G-Force
S/c took out a class win and an outstanding 3rd outright
position amongst an impressive line up of specialist hillclimb
racing cars. His final run time of 49.3 seconds putting
him in the top 3. Unofficially, the Skelta was also the
quickest car on road legal tyres, fastest sports car and
fastest road registered car.
“I found the track quite a challenge to learn but
the great handling of the Skelta meant I could attack right
from the start” said a delighted Vandersee. “In
the final runs I was able to push hard on what is a very
challenging and tricky course.”
Vandersee was very complementary about the event and the
organisers, the Historic Racing Car Club. “This event
has been a real celebration of Queensland motoring with
a lot of spectators coming out to soak up the atmosphere.
Conducting this at Mt Cootha provides a direct link with
our past and it was great to see the Brisbane City Council
supporting this spectacle.”
The next outing for the Skelta will be at the Mt Stuart
rally in Townsville where Marcus Nuutinen recently had a
podium finish – stay tuned!
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22
May 09 - Marcus does it again at Mt Stuart
Following on from his 8th outright in Targa Tasmania,
Marcus Nuutinen put his Skelta G Force S/c, powered by a
2 litre supercharged Honda engine, on the podium at the
recent Mt Stuart hill climb in Townsville, finishing 2nd
outright. The car even ran on the same Kumho tyres he used
in Targa as there was plenty of tread left on them!
His next outing will be in Townsville again to compete
in the 7km Mt Stuart Rally Stage early in June, closely
followed by a round of the Top Gear series at Queensland
Raceway. Marcus is certainly using the car for the purpose
it was designed, with great success!
Ray Vandersee will be at the inaugural Mt Cootha Classic
in his Skelta on 30th May competing for an outright victory
against a formidable field including Jim Richards in his
GT2 Porsche!
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03
May 09 - Targa Tasmania 2009 Report
The 2009 Targa Tasmania was a huge event this with over
240 entries from all over the world with all the categories
and classes being fiercely contended. Skelta once again
stamped its mark on the event.
First and foremost a big thankyou to our sponsors this
year. Kumho tyres for sticking us to the road so very well
and with plenty of tread left at the end! Haltec for providing
sophisticated spark, Rotrex for such an amazing supercharger,
Petro fuels for feeding it all and of course Vanderfield
for their constant support.
Skelta Sports Cars, fielding the Mk2 supercharged model,
started with 3 cars and finished with 3 cars. The most notable
achievement was new Skelta owner Marcus Nuutinen, competing
in his first Targa, alongside seasoned navigator Gerard
McConkey, finishing in 9th outright position!! This was
a particularly good result considering the wet conditions
on days 4 and 5 where many well known and more seasoned
drivers failed to finish.
Guy Bedington, competing in his 10th Targa, with Navigator
Dennis Neagle finished 22nd in the Modern Category after
a minor incident with a chicane barrier cost them a 5 minute
penalty!
Ray Vandersee and Alan Stean had a frustrating start with
an extremely unusual thermostat problem causing the engine
to run hot. However, after the problem was sorted out, Ray
went on to set the record again on the Arrowsmith stage,
which is the longest and most difficult stage of the event
(47kms) and in the wet. He now holds the records for both
dry and wet conditions on this stage, he also set the fastest
time on the Risdon Brook stage, the final stage of the event.
Once again, Skelta proved to the worlds best that the car
is super fast in all conditions, can outperform other far
more expensive marques and most importantly, is capable
of winning the worlds toughest tarmac rally. Roll on Targa
2010!!
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24
Apr 09 - Skelta Team Heads for Targa Tasmania
The 2009 Targa Tasmania event will see three new-model
Skelta G-Force S/c vehicles entered. The vehicles, being
driven by Ray Vandersee, Guy Bedington and Marcus Nuutinen,
have been throughly prepared and are currently enroute to
the start in Launceston.
The event, Australia's premier tarmac
rally, begins with a ceremonial start from Launceston's
Country Club Resort on the 28th April, followed by a prologue
in Georgetown. The event finish and podium ceremony will
be held on the 3rd May at the Wrest Point Casino in Hobart.
The Skelta of Ray Vandersee has been
fitted with a satellite tracking beacon. For live updates
every 30 seconds go to www.targa09.com
or for full results go to the Targa website at www.targa.org.au
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06
Apr 09 - Release of new model
Having quickly gained a reputation for speed & reliability
in Tarmac Rally competitions throughout 2006 – 2008
with the G-Force, Skelta announce the arrival of the
new model G-Force S/c. Styling changes to the front of the
car have yielded other benefits according to Skelta designer
and manager of the operation, Ray Vandersee.
“Visual appeal is one thing but we were also aiming for less aerodynamic
drag and more downforce” said Vandersee. “We
seem to have achieved all our aims. The car is definitely
more planted in the front end and aero tuft testing confirms
better flow around the radiator intake ducts.”
The S/c in the new model name refers to the low pressure supercharger installation which adds approximately 53kw to the maximum output of the Honda engine. Additional torque adds an estimated 20kph to the vehicles top speed with a corresponding drop in acceleration times.
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22 Mar 09 - Skelta triumphs in Gatton sports car championship
Today the Skelta Sports Car team filled all three places on the podium in the Sports Car Championship Challenge at the annual K & R Plumbing Supplies Gatton Sprints. The triumphant team were all entered in Skelta G-Force S/c models that are also entered in the renowned Targa Tasmania tarmac rally in April.
“This event was a great shakedown for the tarmac classic and gave us lots of confidence in the car's speed for this upcoming rally” said Skelta Managing Director, Ray Vandersee.
“The drivers taking part at Gatton this weekend are all competing in Tasmania next month and I'm very pleased with the pace each have managed to demonstrate.”
Results, Sports Cars
1st – Ray Vandersee, Skelta G-Force S/c, 35.6s
2nd – Guy Bedington, Skelta G-Force S/c, 36.1s
3rd – Marcus Nuutinen, Skelta G-Force S/c, 36.3s
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1 Mar 09 - Skelta Willowbank Podium
The 2009 season has opened with a first up podium finish for new Skelta owner Marcus Nuutinen and his co-driver Gerard McConkey. Running in the short course Willowbank Tarmac Rally Challenge, Nuutinen steered his 2008 G-Force S/c to second outright in what is the first rally style event for the Central Queenslander.
“Marcus is a great steerer having competed in a number of sprints and hillclimbs in his Porsche GT2, but this was his first event with a navigator” said an impressed Skelta general manager, Ray Vandersee. “We are looking forward to having Marcus in the Skelta team for Targa Tasmania in April and supporting him in various tarmac rally events throughout the season.”
Nuutinen found the Skelta's handling very predictable, quickly establishing a competitive time then repeating it. His last four runs of the repeated 5km stage were all within 3 seconds of each other.
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