Voyage Racing Team

Racing the V6 Sprint car #28

Proudly sponsored by..

We are looking for a serious naming rights sponsor for the team. We might not always win, but one thing is for sure, we always get noticed! This is an excellent opportunity to spread YOUR word amongst a very parochial crowd. With major advertising space on the race car, the trailer, the event programs and the web sites, your company will be advertising to a large audience for a very reasonable cost and as a team, we will do everything possible to maximise your  exposure.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this exciting venture with a team that has an ambition to move up the racing ladder in seasons to come (and in the long term, foster young driving talent), please contact Lee on 0400 362207.

Driver

Lee Payne, managing director of LEDtronix and with Deb, owner of VRT. Previously raced dirt karts and then speedway in a class known as Limited Sportsman. While it's been some 12 years since Lee last raced, a few practice laps had him back on the pace. No such thing as too old he says! Proving to be competitive although a little rusty, the race season has so far had it's ups and downs, but overall quite solid.

Crew

Dave - Proprietor of Stevens Sheet Metal - sponsor and friend.

Deb - Proprietor of Voyage Consulting - sponsor and partner.

Kate - Deb's daughter and employee at LEDtronix.

Al - A sheet metal engineer with Stevens.

Coming Up...

Season over so stay tuned for next seasons event list....

History

We don't have any with the V6 Sprint yet but stay posted!

Dirt kart racing many years ago.. SA State Title winner in the Outlaw 250 class in 1992. Many track championships and feature race wins. Then Limited Sportsman provided a terrific entry into Speedway with great people, great racing and great tracks to race on. Mt Gambier, Bordertown, Renmark & Waikerie were the hunting grounds and they all brought many race wins, rookie of the year, club titles etc, but not quite a state title.

Achievements

A heat race win in our very first race! The Speedway City track was quite slippery from drizzling rain and starting from rear, we used the Sprintcar cushion near the top of the track to race around and pass all the cars for the win. Very happy with that.

Our first feature race win at Murray Bridge on the 15th Dec.

Results - the good, the bad and the ugly!

The Season has now ended so what are our thoughts on it overall? The first half of the season we were too damn eager to win which cost us in crashes. The second half was a good solid effort with a number of race wins and podiums and no crashes! Overall, a solid first season and we are looking forward to the next season now that we have car, track and driving knowledge.

Horsham, All States Challenge, Anzac Weekend 2008

Held over 2 nights with 5 heat races, a dash and a 30 lap final. We had a second hand motor in, direct from the wrecking yard (with thanks to new sponsor DRAFFCO AUTO CENTRE) and did not expect too much. We raced ok in the heats but did not really pass any cars and did not really loose any spots either, so it was ok. The motor was running well but just a little slow coming out of the corners so that made it tough to make places. We lined up in 9th place for the final and finished 6th so were pretty happy with that. With 28 cars from 4 states nominated we thought we did pretty damn good to finish 6th and overall, we think it was a terrific weekend.

Triple Header March 21, 22 and 23

At Mildura, we started the night off really well as we started pole in the first heat race and won it by a mile! Started rear in the next heat race and finished 3rd. Started pole in the feature and was leading comfortably when, with 4 laps to go, we blew the motor big time!

At Renmark the next night we did not race. It was kind of good to watch the V6 Sprints race instead, might of learnt a thing or two about the other drivers...

At Murray Bridge the third night we did not race but instead did pace car duties at Speedway City

Bordertown State Title Mar 9th

A night we would sooner forget! Raced OK in the first heat. Got to the lead in the second heat but the front wing was damaged and came off the car, so this caused a yellow and ROF for us. Did just ok in the third heat race. Started the final out of 9 but could not get a handle on the somewhat tricky track and spun a few times to end up lapped and last. But at least we finished!

Murray Bridge Feb 23rd

A solid nights racing. Starting from pole in the first heat we won the race, then in the second heat from rear we came up to finish third. This qualified us second highest points for the REVERSE grid feature race. So starting from near the back on what began as a VERY slippery track, we managed to race up to third place.

Murray Bridge Feb 9th

An up and down nights racing with two middle field draws in the heats that saw us make a few places in each to qualify 3rd highest points for the REVERSE grid feature race. Starting from near the back, we passed a number of cars early on, then slight contact with another car broke a steering arm which caused us to run up wide and contact the wall with enough force to bend radius rods and break shocks so did not finish that race.

Renmark/Mildura 2 night race meeting - Jan 25 & 26

A mixed bag over the two nights. Renmark was not so good, although we raced well in the feature and made a lot of places. Mildura was a very solid nights racing. A Heat win from the front and a 4th place in a heat from the rear, passing some 8 cars to get there resulted in qualifying 2nd for the feature alongside Brad. We raced in second place for a while, then Brad blew the engine which left us leading the race until a mistake out of turn 4 let Mark through, then later another mistake let Nick through. Still, 3rd in the feature was a good result.

Speedway City Jan 5th 2008

We did not race as the car repair was not completed but the V6 Sprints put on excellent racing for the Des James Memorial, won by Nick Hall, 2nd was Brad Keller and 3rd went to Sam Chapman in what was possibly his best drive so far.

Speedway City Dec 29th 2007

The night started off quite well when from position 4 we raced into 2nd on the first lap chasing Nick Hall. Several laps later, the engine went off song again and we struggled around slowly to finish the race, but at the rear. The second race we started position 6 and were running 3rd for several laps then WHAMMO, into the wall and an end to end rollover - AGAIN! This put paid to our nights racing.

Murray Bridge Dec 15th 2007

A much better night out for Voyage Racing Team. Although not all perfect with a battery lead breaking in the first heat. With the car running well, we were fast and in second place from starting position 6 and so we were still happy with the improvement. The second heat race resulted in 3rd placing from 3rd grid position. The feature race was started in reverse points order so we were off position 5. On a tricky track, we jumped to the lead on the first corner by running down the inside by the kerb and kept it tight all the way to pull out a handy lead even after several early restarts. A feature win was a great result after the frustrations of the previous few meetings. Thanks to all the crew and sponsors for your faith in us!

Bordertown Dec 1st 2007

The Bruce Carter Memorial for V6 Sprints was the feature event at Bordertown on December the 1st, but we did not have a great night! After the engine problems from the last meeting came up again, we struggled with performance. After every race we tried everything we could to get it running right but never found the answer. That's racing they say! It's off to the dyno this week to see if we can re-create the problem in a controlled environment to find the problem and have it running sweet for our next outing at the next Murray Bridge Speedway on Dec 15th.

Murray Bridge Nov 25th 2007

The V6 Sprint Track Championship was held with Brad Keller taking out the title. We had an up and down night with a forced spin to avoid another spun car in heat 1, dropping us to the rear of the field, then coming back for a 7th place finish. Heat 2 was a great race, started out of position 2 alongside Nick Hall and finished in second after having a great race with Brad Keller for the position. Heat 3 saw another forced spin in an attempt to miss another car, but we still contacted which resulted in a flat front tyre and a DNF. The championship feature race saw us start out of 7 and we passed a couple of cars early in the race before our engine went off song and we retired on the infield!

Murray Bridge Nov 10th 2007

Back to earth with THUD! After a great debut at Speedway City a fortnight prior, the last meeting at Murray Bridge couldn't have been more opposite. First race, 6 laps into it and whammo, in the fence and an end for end rollover. We wrote off the top wing and tore the front out of the car, so put it back on the trailer after some rough repairs to get it back on it's wheels.

Speedway City Oct 27th 2007

What a great start to the V6 racing program... Our very first race, starting from Rear Of Field because we are 'rookies' in this class, on a rain dampened slippery track, we ran around the outside up on the cushion and passed everyone to finish 1st. In the second heat race, starting ROF again, we finished third on a track that was racy but a bit rough. The feature event was washed out but overall, we are very happy with the first race meeting.

Tracks

We will be racing at Speedway City, Murray Bridge, Bordertown, Renmark and a couple of interstate ventures to Horsham and Mildura.

Track Links: Speedway City: Murray Bridge: Bordertown: Renmark: Mildura: Horsham:

Calendar

V6 Sprint Info

Based on a Speedcar Chassis and running a Mitsubishi V6 engine, basically in stock form with just the addition of extractors and dual single throat Stromberg carburettors on methanol. A quite inexpensive type of race car with a fair turn of pace. The only cars always faster then a V6 are Sprintcars with Speedcars, Formula 500's and V8 Dirt Modifieds faster on some tracks, but we can match or better the lap times on other tracks. All of these classes cost considerably more than a V6 Sprint costs to own and run.

Currently, discussions are underway leading to an amalgamation of several similar classes such as Litre Sprints, Mini Sprints and Compact Speedcars from other parts of the country along with the SA based V6 Sprints to form a national class called Lightning Sprints. This is a very positive move as it will bring more cars to any given track and allow us to race almost anywhere in the country.

Links

Links to speedway related sights...

Adrian Cottrell - Junior Sedans

American Racer & Tires - Sydney - get your gear from Kim at Cottrell Racing

Speedway Net - great racer info web sight

NASR - governing body of speedway racing in Australia

V6 Sprints - the SA based winged open wheel cars we race

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