Ian Richards, Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast, Queensland.
Hi fellow 15-17 Register members and friends,
Well the TL17 in a Rally, this was to be a trial into unexpected areas,
after 15 months of re-building, swearing and apathy the car was ready.
One week prior to the rally l was to travel over the roads and forest area
to help set up the spectators positions and the car sat & handled well
beyond our dreams, so far as l could see there were no problems.
Alas the loggers moved in to clear the burnt trees from 2 months earlier
so with them dragging the forest, the furrows were there to stay, also to
add to the fun my suspension had settled to a stage suited to Oran Park
Raceway.
Hopefully the 6mm sump guard would be doing it's job, thank god it did,
at least we know now an 8 inch stump won't stop a Renault.
It was great to see Kevin Pullen from the Renault Car Club of Queensland
to stop in and have a chat, also wearing the Register's t-shirt. We chatted
until the drivers meeting was held & the storm also was looming in the
background. At the moment the car is stock, it will stay that way for 4
months then l will modify it to PRC limits.
I am very impressed with its handling, it bites onto the road extremely
well the koni's help, and also the toyo tyres help.
l have not yet stiffened the back springs to stop the seesawing effect,
this will be done very soon. The demister system we found to be quiet inadquate
so l'm going to see if l can run a demister on the front window. The roll
cage is working well holding down flex movement to a minium.
Hopefully out next rally will be in the dry so we should finish in the top
ten.
Happy Motoring Regards Ian.
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