Sunday 1st October saw Weltmeister on the winning podium at the Phillip Island 6 hour relay.
About the Six Hour Relay:
Team Weltmeister was on hand on pit wall and in the garage throughout the weekend to guide the team. Ben Faggetter “steered” the game-plan / strategy and most importantly practice on Saturday 30th September to get all drivers into the rhythm of their set times. Matthew Stoupas “drove” strategy execution on Sunday 1st October to achieve set times - consistently, under new circumstances with 27 cars on the track at all times - to negotiate and over-take. Lisa Scarso arrived on Sunday to help out timing on pit wall, and making sure all drivers were re-dehydrated after each drive.
Gordon Robertson was the glue; “directing” the team – making sure the cars were prepared, the drivers ready and keeping one step ahead in delivering on the strategy. The defining moment of the 6 hour occurred at Saturday evenings’ Team Meeting, after the Event Organizers clarified the ‘out-lap’ counted towards the ‘gap factor’ - where one slow lap time severely diminished the accumulated laps required to win the event. Gordy discussed the options with the team which unanimously re-affirmed the Team / Weltmeister Strategy to “have fun, go hard (especially on the out-lap) and go for it” and not circum to the result calculations which inferred ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Sorry tortoise the Weltmeister hare got it right!
Pit Crew:
The Weltmeister pit crew of Luke Sword, Dave Grunig and Brendan Duncan looked after the team cars as if they were their own, taking care of scrutineering, tyres, brakes, re-fuelling, et cetera. Even making sure the cars were sparkling clean (not just for appearances) to ensure the drivers could see through the windscreen (after insects implanted themselves on the windscreen during every lap). Such pit crew care of the cars was critical to the 6 hour success, allowing the drivers to concentrate on their job of hitting set times.
“The Weltmeister Porsche cars didn’t miss a beat; thanks to the dedicated pit crew whose reputation as ‘Porsche Specialists’ was earned and deserved”, commented Grant Stephenson, a Team Weltmeister driver.
Drivers:
Each driver drove exceptionally well, especially considering there was one very experienced driver, Mark Chrzanowski and three ‘rookies’ on the 6 hour relay team; Peter Harrison, Grant Stephenson and Rick Moscati - in stint order. Each driver got equal stints of three x half hour sessions behind the wheel which went like clockwork. The set times were very similar across all drivers at 2:00.00 minutes to 2:02.00 minutes. The memorable moments from a driver perspective were numerous, including:
- dealing with the permanent “yellows” at turn 1 and Lukey Heights. Trying to keep your wits about you while negotiating traffic and aiming to achieve set times
- the thrill of the hunt; having to make up time when caught behind slower traffic, especially at the permanent yellows
- the excitement and pure adrenalin of over-taking all makes and models from Mustangs to Mini’s, especially through corners – off the racing line (and making it stick)
- the surprise at having very few cars over-take the Weltmeister Porsches. The Weltmeister Porsches were very strong and reliable all day, which can’t be said for numerous other cars / teams as they dropped off towards the end of the 6 hour
Special Mentions:
Special mention must also go to the Event Organizers and particularly the volunteer Flaggies being the extra eyes during over-taking. Even Mother Nature helped out over the weekend with magnificent weather.
The Result:
Team driver Rick Moscati said “achieving first place at the Inaugral Victorian Club Regularity 6 Hour Relay 1st October 2006 was icing on the cake. While the team was tracking second at the halfway point, the end result was somewhat of a (very pleasant) surprise - at least to most of the team. Even as the final minutes approached the team was focused on circulating to the set times and executing the strategy as opposed to second-guessing the result”.
| 
