DSA
Media
Media Release – Monday, October 06, 2008
Challenging
Weekend of Rallying for the DSA TEAM
Friday October 3 was the start of the
first ever Tarmac round of the Australian Rally Championship
held in around Burnie, Tasmania.
The Driver Skills Australia (DSA) team of
Mark Butcher (driver – TAS ) and Lisa White (Navigator – WA )
where eager to hit the roads in the all black Subaru WRX rally
car. The crew worked non stop for three weeks preparing the car
and making adjustments from gravel specification to tarmac. The
car also had to have some major components rebuilt to insure the
team could push hard and maintain reliability on the fast and
twisty Tasmanian roads.
With the event underway early on Saturday
morning the pace was instantly set by the Championship leading
Toyota of Neal Bates. Following him however the positions were
chopping and changing with some of the younger teams certainly
showing great speed. The DSA team were performing well but
struggling with grip on the wet roads and after some reasonable
stage times left the road on stage 4 near Savage River.
“The roads were very wet and it was
raining on and off as we drove very near to the limit and
unfortunately we were caught out after a fast section over a
bridge and the following right hand corner tightened up leaving
me with little option but to run directly off the road. We
stopped only about 1m from the edge of the road, but with all
the rain there was practically a creek running under the car and
no chance with semi-slick tyres of driving back out. We were
assisted by the recovery crew but as a result had to be excluded
from that stage – effectively ending our chance of finishing 8th
– which we had been running up until then” said driver Mark.
The team were not alone with several other
crews facing a variety of issues including Michael Guest with
gearbox dramas, Barry Kirk sliding off the road and Craig Brooks
had an oil line come loose ending his great run in Heat 1. The
team salvaged 10th place for Heat 1 and were
confident of an improved result on Sunday (Heat 2).
Waking up on Sunday the weather was
looking promising and with the hope that the roads would remain
dry teams set off again to tackle the roads around Hellyer Gorge
and Savage River.
A fast run over the first stage had the
team confident of a good time but it was the little Mitsubishi
of Molly Taylor that really was flying giving the DSA team a
slap in the face. WA driver Dennis Dunlop was unfortunate to
slide around a corner and collected a piece of Tasmania and
re-arranged some of his Evo 7 Lancer in the process.
Unfortunately the DSA team then ran over some of his bits on the
road – that later lead to a puncture. The DSA team also had a
spectacular half spin on this stage and nudged the gorge with
the front of the car – only enough to bend the number plate
however and not much time was lost.
The run to Savage River and back was a bit
damp and with the tight and twisty conditions everything was
pushed to the limit again. Although the DSA team recorded a good
time, once again Molly Taylor had gained a further advantage and
was getting away from the black Subaru.
The pressure was on but things weren’t to
be for the DSA team as a flat tyre meant that the team had to
run with a brand new tyre on the car which had not been scrubbed
in. Also the brakes had failed on the left side and by the end
of the stage the entire brakes were on fire, burning out the
seals and melting the brake pads to the calliper.
“We reached speeds of around 160km/h and
the brake pedal was on the floor – this certainly gave me an
adrenalin rush as we had to make sure pace notes were spot on to
avoid running off the road and using what was left of the brakes
to slow down” said Mark.
After losing bulk time to the rest of the
field – the team decided to aim for a finish on the final stage
and with some repaired brakes were happy to see the finish line
after two days of high speed rallying.
The Heat 2 result was 9th
outright and the team were pleased to have achieved a top 10
result for the weekend and add to the points already scored in
the first round of the championship in WA earlier in the year.
With a very limited budget, the team are
very thankful of the support of all the local service crew and
everyone that assisted in getting the car to the start line.
Some outstanding performances on the
weekend from some of the other privateers included Raymond
brothers (Toyota), Brenton Kaitler (Mitsubishi) and local driver
Craig Brooks (Subaru). Each of these drivers have demonstrated
that the sport has a great future. A special congratulations to
Molly Taylor who drove her 2 wheel driver Mitsubishi hard all
weekend and will be even harder to catch when she steps into a
quicker car.
The DSA team offer a range of sponsorship
packages that include hot laps and defensive driver training and
would be happy to talk to anyone interested in supporting the
team. The team are planning an upgrade into a new car for 2009.
Interested parties should contact Mark directly via the website
www.driverskillsaustralia.com .
Getting it a
bit too sideways! Heat 2 – Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge 2008
MEDIA RELEASE – September 23, 2008
DRIVING
TEST FOR BUTCHER
Local driver Mark Butcher will be taking on Australia’s
fastest drivers in the up coming Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge,
starting at the Burnie Showgrounds on Friday 3rd of October at
6pm. Mark has recently made the move from the mainland and is
looking forward to competing in this round of the Australian
Rally Championship (ARC) after scoring points in Round 1 earlier
in the year.
“We are new here to Tassie but we have managed to get to one
rally and were pleased with our results against some of the more
experienced local crews. This event is the first tarmac rally
for myself and I think I wont be alone in saying that it will be
a steep learning curve converting from slippery gravel to the
twisty sealed roads around Burnie” said Butcher.
Driving a 2001 Subaru WRX sponsored by Driver Skills Australia,
Butcher will be leaning on all the skills learnt from the years
spent teaching advanced and defensive driver training in
Australia and overseas to get him to the finish of the two day
event. “Our aim is to finish both days safely and have a great
time. Of course if we can achieve a result that would be
fantastic – especially as there are only 2 local drivers in the
ARC component of the event”. Butcher will be joined by
experienced West Australian Co-driver Lisa White who is flying
in for the event.
The team are busy getting the car prepared and are anxiously
awaiting parts for a gear box that failed on the last stage of
the recent gravel rally. The team would like to thank some of
the local competitors and crews for their assistance in
obtaining parts at the last minute.
“With some of Australia’s fastest cars and fastest drivers
gathered to compete on the awesome Tasmanian roads, you would
have to be mad to not come and check out the action” said
Butcher.
Information on the rally can be found at
www.rallytasmania.com.au .
Anyone interested in supporting the team should contact Mark
directly on 0439 966 072 or mark@mbmotorsport.net . Information
on the team can be found at www.driverskillsaustralia.com .
Ends.
August 23, 2008
For immediate release.
DANGEROUS DRIVERS OR UN-TRAINED DRIVERS?
Every day that we open the newspaper, watch or listen to the
news we are exposed to another car accident. Firstly these are
not ‘accidents’ but rather crashes. An accident is our way of
accepting these shocking incidents and blaming everything and
anything. Unsafe roads and bad weather are not the problem.
Maybe Speeding drivers, drunk drivers and drivers that choose to
not wear a seatbelt are unaware that they are gambling with
their life, that of their passengers and other road users – or
do they just have a bad attitude towards safety and if so should
they have been issued a licence in the first place?
As the director of Driver Skills Australia it is horrifying
to witness drivers acting dangerously without any idea of the
risks they are exposed too. These drivers are playing with a
machine that can kill and it doesn’t seem to matter
if they are young, old, male or female.
How can a driver understand how braking in an emergency on a
wet road is going to take a lot longer or may cause the vehicle
to leave the road if the first time they do it is in a real
emergency?
My experience in driver training indicates that “the thing we
fear most we have already experienced”. This recognised learning
pattern can be related to our child hood when you are often told
not to do something but still do it to find out for yourself.
Once you have been burnt once you tend to be a lot more
cautious.
Isn’t it time that the Government and Road Safety Authorities
realised that if we keep sending drivers out on the road with
only basic skills and some experience gained along the way with
mum and dad that we wont see any significant reduction in the
rate of crashes and fatalities? How much can we spend on
advertising and improving the roads before someone has the balls
to realise it’s poor training that is the common denominator in
the majority of motor vehicle crashes.
To draw a simple parallel, a student pilot can be trained to
take off and land in only a few hours – but they must understand
the theory behind the aircraft, rules and regulations and
practice emergency techniques before they are allowed to fly
solo. They are also assessed by a competent instructor for the
duration of the training . Often this can be achieved in about
20 hours of practice and a few weeks of part time study. How can
we expect to “test” our learner drivers in 45mins driving around
the block?
Drivers need to be provided with an opportunity to experience
first hand the effect of speed, reaction time and road surface
before they drive on the road. And this needs to be done in a
safe controlled environment to enable drivers to experience how
easy it is get into a difficult situation – even at speeds of
less then 50km/h. No simulators or skid cars – the real thing is
the only way drivers will learn.
Driver Skills Australia are one of a few companies that
tackle this training short fall with a range of courses
delivered Australia wide. Strangely, large companies and
government departments make up 99% of the participants as
industry is realising the high risks associated with driving
during work time. Many companies will not even authorise drivers
to drive company vehicles or during company time until they have
completed our course. A drivers licence is only the first step
towards becoming a safe driver and it is no real indication of
the drivers attitude or skill level.
With courses now available Australia wide, there is no excuse
for drivers to continue to drive unaware of the risks. Attending
a one day course will not improve your skills drastically – but
it may just have an impact on your attitude the next time you
want to speed or drive tired.
In addition to road safety based training, Driver Skills
Australia are keen to encourage young drivers with a passion for
speed to get off the road and are running advanced driving
sessions on closed tracks where drivers can safely enjoy their
vehicle while learning about handling and driving technique
along the way. Cheaper then even a basic speeding ticket,
drivers have no excuse to speed on public roads.
Driver Skills Australia believes there are several ways this
problem can be handled but a recent suggestion made by a
politician would be welcomed. The suggestion was to apply a
credit towards young drivers who attend recognised
defensive driver training. For example a learner driver who
attends may achieve a credit towards the hours required for a
licence – or a P Plate licence holder may have their
probationary period shortened by several months. The other
option may be to give drivers a year extension on their drivers
licence or registration for attending. It is these positive
incentives that I believe could turn our roads into a much safer
place to be.
I am all for enjoying your vehicle – but I don’t want to see
even one more life lost on our roads – so lets get the ball
rolling and see some positive steps by our Government. In the
mean time it is your personal responsibility to educate yourself
and your family and I invite anyone to contact me directly with
any questions or comments.
Mark Butcher, Driver Skills Australia, 1300 880 956 or
mark@driverskillsaustralia.com .
Ends.
MEDIA
AND INTERVIEW ENQUIRIES
Please direct all requests to –
Mark Butcher
Director
Driver Skills Australia Pty. Ltd.
0439 966 072
1300 880 956
