Hi Race Fans

Hope you like Gent Bros Racing website - thought it was about time that we put one together for the people that have followed us.

News April 2010

Sorry Race fans I have really been slack and busy!
Well where do I start - Raced at Woodford Glen on Boxing Day in the Rememberance Champs, I had been trying different carbys to try and get some more power out of that little 355 Chev but we were unsuccessful with the engine and carby not working well together, we basically lost horsepower and I struggling out of the corners. One thing on my side was experience, taking gaps and using most of the track to carry momentum was the only thing that helped me win the A Grade Rememberance Champs!

Yes I did go to Baypark for the Saloon Nationals with Team Tarantula. 60 cars turned up and it would be the most cars I ve seen for a Saloon car title, it was amuzing!

The first night was qualifing, this was an Amercian style format where you start with lap times and from there you are put into groups on your times which in turn are A, B, C groups. If your in C group you have to work your way to the A group to qualify for the main event, a little bit long winded but when you end up with 22 cars in the final race it was some of the best racing I d seen in a long time! For Walter and Rhonda it was there first NZ Champs, so a lot too take in and learn! Respectively they did rather well with the first time at Baypark and first time on a interestingly uneven surface! The pace was very fast so to finish 28th and 43rd was a good attempt but more importantly learnt a lot.

While I was in Mt Maunganui I stayed with Brent Emerson, he has been a competitor and good friend of mine for a number of years. On the Saturday nite of the Saloon Champs he was leading the first Super Saloon race when a bit of smoke appeared and he pulled to the infeild. What I didn t realise was that his engine had let go! A rod through the sump and various other bits had caused some damage, and with Super Saloon Nationals only days away! Yes here I was thinking I was going to have a Holiday while up here for the week! Long story short we spent 3 days and nights in Brents workshop, we had a real job getting parts it was a 421 and we changed it back to a 406, luckily Brent had pistons and rods left over from his his old engine. So later on the Thursday night we fired that puppy into life! Friday morning was a mad rush to load the car, check over everything and make sure the trailer was packed before we headed for Huntly. We arrived at the track on time (not), unloaded and set about finding out what group we were in, what race, and set the car up for the first heat. We were able to have a warm up which was good as we had no idea how that little 406 was going to perform, but it was a sweat sounding note we heard! As you would have read in various magazines how we qualifed and the end result! WE WON! What an amazing feeling to be part of a team that won a national title, I tell you too stand on the bank and watch Brent pedal round the outside of Shane MacIntyre on the second to last lap I have never been more nervous in all my life! When he crossed the finish line, myself and Brents crew were yelling and cheering, it was the biggest highlight in my 24 years of racing and I wasn t even behind the wheel! The party afterwards lasted well into the small hours of the next morning!

The next meeting for me was the A Grade Canterbury Champs, went into this feeling relaxed and confident, I had a game plan to follow which went to plan, almost! I had good grids, in the 1st race I made up some places from the back - 2nd race finished 2nd but was less than happy with the engine as we were still struggling for power and overall speed. I was leading on points going into the final heat but by this stage I was unsure with the lack of power how I was going to get the front or stay ahead of Willie Woodhouse as I was only leading by 1 point. As luck would have it the lack of horsepower did affect the handling but the worst part was breaking either a rod end or shock about 3 laps in! I remember coming out of turn 2 and hitting a huge bump then the car pulled hard right into the fence, game over! This was worse part because its a part you have no control over! Oh well thats the highs and lows of racing - theres always next season!

I have now handed the 98 Corvette over to Rhonda as I had a drive of her Mustang and there was so many things not right with it including the engine that has never run properly since it was built! So have bought it back to the Gent Bros Stables. Now Rhonda has a good handling car under her she should be able put in some good laps and get on with racing. I have been able to spend more time with Rhonda, coaching her and passing on the knowledge that I had gained in the 98 Corvette.

I travelled to Pamlerston North to the North Island Super Saloon Champs to crew for Brent Emerson, as I stepped off the the plane it was a rather hot day. I arrived at the track, looking round the pits there was about 20 cars. All the top competitors were there, we unloaded the 1NZ Camaro and got it ready for the practice. I hadn t been here since Hamish my brother raced here at the 2004 NZ Champs. The track was hard with a tacky surface but after the practice it looked like it was going to turn slick. Heat 1 we were off grid 6, so there was only one way and that was forward, something I have picked up is that the north Island guys really push harder than us South Islanders. Two laps in there was a pile up and cars started to struggle on the drying track, never the less we hung our right rear on the cush and slowly made our way to the front winning the first heat! Heat 2 was much the same we started further back in the field but made some early passes and made our way up to 6th. Last heat we were 2 points behind Stev Flynn but we started in the middle of the pack and Stev started at the rear, so our game plan was to be careful but move as far up the grid as we could. Man this was a tense race everyone was carrying more speed but all on the pole line so passing was very hard, we moved up a couple of spots and settled in. Stev was unable to move very far and I was standing on the bank counting cars telling Brent just stay there, don t lose an spots and we ve won! Thats what we did we won! Two in a row - all we need is the G/P and it would top off a dam near perfect season!

Back at Woodford Glen I am continuing my coaching role with Rhonda and she is improving with every race. She is really good, listens to what I tell her and transfers that onto the track. This will be a long process as shes not mechanicaly minded so doesn t fully understand things but gives 100% and trusts me in what I put into the car setup. At the South Island Streetstock champs Rhonda drove Friday night and on the Saturday night they wanted 4 A Grade cars to run with the Supers so I got back in the car. Well I wish I hadn t but thats racing! I had sorted the carby out on the 98 Corvette but due to the internals it pretty standard so no matter what I put on top of it, its not going to produce anymore horsepower but anyway I had 3 good races seeing how fast I could get it to go! Until the feature race, where I was pushing pretty hard - got caught help in an coming together with Willie Woodhouse, I caused a yellow light and had to start from the rear. On the restart I was on a mission to catch back up but that turned into a big mess! I was coming up behind the 444 Super Saloon when he slowed coming out of turn 4, I run into and up over his left rear bouncing me towards the infield, I was heading along the grass after that but as I thought I was good to get back on the gas I was quickly spun the wrong way across the track, I remember looking out my window looking down the track thinking this isn t going to be good and sure enough the rims dug in flicking me up in the air rolling three time down the track ending up against the fence. There was steam and smoke coming from under the bonnet so thought best I get out of here, once out of the car I looked at the damage thinking thats no too bad! Second thought was shit Jo (my partner) won t like seeing that and next was Rhonda sorry I ve damaged your racecar!

Both myself and racecar were very lucky - with little to no damage to fix its ready to race again.

Cheers Genty.

News December 2009

Well where do I start - 1st race meeting was at opening meeting at Woodford Glen in The Team Taranula 98 Corvette, we decided to run off the back as I had updated the brakes and wanted to bed them in.
It was a good night with the highest placing we got was a 3rd but with some cars not finishing we finished 2nd overall in the Moller & Young Trophy challenage.
We talked about going to Dunedin on the Sunday as the 98 Corvette had no damage from the night before - Dad and myself headed to Island Park. We turned up to a field of 8 cars and thinking nothing more than lets have a trouble free day, Dad set up the 98 Corvette and way we went. We achieved 3 out 3 wins and won the Don Maclean Memorial!
Did you know that over the nine years I race at Beachlands/ Island Park I tried to win that trophy, the closest I ever got was 2nd! The day I turn up just for a skid and I win it!
Fireworks night was the next meeting and as aways a huge crowd had turned out. We had another good nite with a win, 2nd and a 4th. We have got the car dialed in and we can get consistent 18.40 lap times but that’s in a bit of space and the poor wee Corvette is taped out!
Champion of Champions - we raced both nights, we even had some visiting drivers which made for some interesting moments but it was another good two nights of results. I was even able to have a few laps side by side race with Willie Woodhouse until I got a puncture, bit of a shame - look forward to the next opportunity!
After that meeting I was involved with the DHL Saloon Series crewing for Walter and Rhonda, (my fellow team mates).
It started in Cromwell on Tuesday night, then on to Invercargill, Dunedin, Ruapuna, Greymouth and Blenhiem. This was one of the best series I ve been part of, well run and organised - a great bunch of people and drivers. The racing was exciting and close, Walter and Rhonda learnt a lot from these race nights and found that they were more than competitive with the seasoned North Island drivers.
The last outing I ve had was a run at Island Park, a Friday night meeting as part of the Super Saloon Elf Cup. We only got two races but managed a win and a 3rd place and a hole in the radiator so that meant that racing at Woodford Glen the next night was out.The Super Saloon racing was great.
Just about made me want to go home and work on my 25 Corvette, well almost if it wasn t for the expense of the adjustments we want to put into the car as well as an engine! My engine has done me proud but is getting to the end of its life so we are looking into updating parts of the 385.
I would have to say racing this season in Saloons/ A Grade has been interesting, if not for my years of experience I think that I would be fixing the 98 Corvette more offen. There is a lot of talented drivers and a lot of guys that have no or little understanding of basic setups and knowledge of lines to take when steering there cars. You can advise them but it’s the old saying - you can lead a horse to water but you can t make it drink!
Our next meeting is Boxing Day at Woodford Glen, so see you there!
After that I m off to Baypark to crew for Walter and Rhonda (Team Taranula) at the New Zealand Saloon Champs and watch the Super Saloons at Huntly.
Genty

News September 2009

Well whats new? In my last report I had that you should look out for me this season.
Yes that’s right Im racing in Saloons/A grade this season for the Team Tarantula Racing!
Thanks to Walter and Rhonda for welcoming me into there team. In my last report I said that I had been racing at Ashburton in my old car and at that time I was racing against Team Tarantula. Rhonda and myself got talking about racing lines and race car setups - one thing lead to another. Long story short I had several meetings with them about what I could bring to their team,( as I wasn't racing this season in my Super Saloon). Rhonda and Walter talked over how they wanted to run their team and what came out to my surprise was to be offered Walters Corvette from last season to race if I was prepared to do some work on it. Thinking this was a good deal I firstly had to get permission from the Woodford Glen club and drivers that I was allowed to compete in Saloons/A grade. After getting a clearance I then asked Rhonda and Walter to draw up a contract to lease the Corvette, part of this lease is some sponsorship to cover some costs. I have included some photos of a very smart looking Corvette called " Fred" ( this came about when we discovered how old the car is), all three cars have been painted in the same colours - nice and bright just the way the team wanted to be seen this season!
Went to the first practice day, (as you may have seen on the Woodford Glen website) Rhonda has given us some race names and mine is Stunt Driver! Because on different race meetings I will be testing their cars to help with set ups and feed back - helping them achieve some goals this season.
It was the first time I had driven Fred ( this is how the Corvette will be talked about this season) and thought he went rather well. We had some spark problems which we fixed and by the end of the day he was flying, so overall looking forward to the start of the season.
Walter is running the ex Mark Carey Corvette which has been converted to Saloon rules, this means that these cars can compete in a National grade, race through out New Zealand and including the DHL that is running in the South Island this year. I am amazed at the amount of Saloon cars running this season in the South Island.
Rhondas Miztang is just about ready to go, the engine has had a bit of a tickle up to comply with the Saloon rules and all going well she will be ready for the last practice day.
Well got to go Freds calling from the garage, will keep you up to date as the season runs.
Genty!

We returned to Ashburton on the 7th June for the A Grade Top Gun Shoot Out. Seven cars turned up including Team Taranula with there two cars. The track was very wet for our first race. Started off the rear, slowly made my way through the pack - (missing flying bonnets and slow cars) to second place behind Walter(Wheels) in the no5 Corvette.
Heat 2 started off the front on grid two and thought that this time I'm putting the pedal to the metal and see how fast I can get this old Corvette to go! What a great old car handled like a dream, streaked away to lead by over half a lap to take the win!
The last heat was run as lowest points started the shoot out and the winner moved up to take on the next highest points getter on, so on till they got to me as I had the highest points. This ended up being a battle against Walter(Wheels). We came round to the start line with Walter trying to play some mind games but I was focused on one thing, that was winning and I knew I could win from any place on the track.
The flag dropped and the wee 360 got a shoe full of the loud juice, we got a flyer off a start to lead into the first corner, we managed to hold Walter off for the 2 laps to win the A Grade Top Gun Shoot out. Man it feels good to win something for a change admittedly I had years of experience on my side but a wins a win. Would like to thank Ashburton Speedway for putting on a great event and all the A Grade guys for turning up.
So far as the off season goes I've been saving money. My 25 Corvette Super Saloon is all set for another season other than a huge cash injection to help us run it for another season to keep us at the sharp end of the field. Without that I'm sad to say its going to be sitting in the shed for a wee while. But as luck would have it a new sponsor has come on board! The catch is that they have a Saloon (Limited) that they have had for a while and want me to race it for this seaon. Help set it up, learn about the car - basic set ups, car craft etc and with some Coaching (Mentoring) they will be able to race it by the end of the season themselves. So watch this space will put fingers to key board and keep you updated. Better yet come to the first meeting at Woodford Glen and have a look through the pits, see if you can find me! Oh before I sign off see if you can spot some of my paint design work have a few cars to do. Cheers Genty!

News May 2009

Sorry for the delay in updates. After the last meeting in Dunedin the Corvette is now cleaned up and up on blocks. I would like to thank the following for there surport over this season (sorry it wasn't a better one):
The Front Store, for all your Engineering Supplies in Timaru,
Resene Automotive Paints - Timaru for all those outstanding colours on the Corvette.
Design Windows and Doors - Cromwell, for all your quotes for your building projects phone John Hancock,
Wanaka Firbreglass- for your race panels and repairs talk to Bevan in Wanaka,
Timaru Signs and Graphix - if you want to stand out like us give them a call.
Greg Hiddleston Race Engines for all the time and work he put into preping our 385 engine.
We also hope we have helped rise awareness for the Heart Children New Zealand.
Well I have been busy in the off season racing in Ashburton in our old Corvette now owned by Allan Walsh from Oamaru. While in Oamaru for work I called in on Allan's business and we got talking about the old car and one thing lead to another and ended up taking it home. It needed a bit of tweaking, a few parts replaced and we went racing. Had no idea what to expect out of the old car as it was a long time since I had raced it. Seven A Grade cars turned up on the second day of the Production NZ Champs. Went out for the first race on grid 3 . Flag dropped and we were off, until turn 3-4 where I had passed a slower car going into the corner but he decided to race me in to the corner, we touched and he spin me into the in field ( welcome to A Grade!)
I ended up going a lap down with the old girl not wanting to fire up straight away and by this time I was p----d off! Got back on the track with my foot hard on the floor, set out to get my lap back and surprising enough the old girl handled just like the last time I raced it. Now powered by a sweet little 360 and man is it sweet built to the new saloon rules it hummed round that track so well that not only did I get my lap back I passed Willy Woodhouse on the outside and pulled away. The day ended with us 2nd equal on points and a Trophy to take home. Genty

News April 2009

Sorry for the delay in reports but we have declared this to be a development season with nothing going to plan. With buying second hand parts even off your brother you have to expect things to wear out, like the mag (distributor) decided to pack up! That problem wasted two trips to Christchurch, 1 to Greg Huddleston and the other to Woodford Glen only to do a coupleof warm up laps and find we had no power under load, very frustrating! Thanks to Greg we borrowed a mag out of one of his sprintcars to get us running.( We also bought an MSD ignition for next season.) turned up for the Battle of the Stocks on Friday night and run with the A Graders. Got to get a rough idea of how the 25 Corvette was going to run but had some heating problems so decided to change some things for Saturday night back with the Supers. We decided to run off the back of the Supers to make sure the Corvette was all go. First two races were pretty good managing to pass cars, finding with the injection the power was very smooth compared to a carburetor it made the car so much faster off the corners and you carried more speed down the straights. The last race was 25 laps and the way we had been going, the track was smooth all the way to the wall and dry( just the way I like it), started off the back and soon as the flag dropped we were off had to get going early on so I wasn t left behind.
Man I love my car when you get a good run, passed Dennis Bolt, Bruce Boulton, Mike Vendoner, next was Trevor Elliot which I did on the outside the Corvette was like it was on rails thanks to a demon setup my Brother(Hamish) had been working on for a while! Ritchie Taylor was next which took a couple of laps to work out which side I was going to pass on, luckily he went wide and I moved up the inside. Knowing the laps were running out Josh Boulton was next so made a move to the inside hoping he would see me and he did which was what I wanted so I could pass him on the outside. Wow this was the best race I'd had in a long time, up to third and Martin Harcourt was my next goal and I went straight for an outside pass which I was half way through when thinking hows my water temp I looked down to find it was a wee bit warm! Maybe I could make it to the end? No had to pull in couldn t cook my chicken the motors too expensive to replace.
Oh well we know what we can achive when we get our 25 Corvette sorted!! Well got to go will keep you updated on the off season goings on. Genty

News January 2009

Hello Race Fans. Sorry for the delay but since our debut on boxing day we have been very busy trying to sort the Front Store Corvette. The change to methonal hasn t gone with out its problems. Leading up to Christmas work has been extremely busy, and only getting the engine the week before meant long nights in the garage . We decided to take the injection off because of the time it would take to plumb up. (Big thanks to Ben Abernethy for the use of his methanol carb). We were happy with our run on boxing day, the work Greg Hiddleston put into the engine was worth the wait as it has more horsepower now! Just had a small miss at the low end of the rev range, worked hard on finding the problem, went to Cromwell on New Years day but the miss was worse. Towed it home rolled it back it to the Garage set to finding and trying to fix it before the Nationals.

Arrived in Cromwell for the practice, car seemed to be better but couldn t get any heat into the engine so changed the jets to a smaller size. Turned up on Friday for quailfing feeling that we were going to be on the pace, pulled number 1 out of the hat for my first heat and thinking the day was ours! (how wrong could I be) Our miss was still there but not only that we had flames and unburnt fuel pouring out my exaust burning up the side panel and tyre. For 3 heats we tried fixing this but nothing seemed to work! This doing my head in all those hours and still nothing worked, I was about to pull the pin. Getting very little sleep on Friday night Jo my partner said come on don t let it beat you! So we set about going through the whole fuel system, top to bottom finding the fuel pressure and float level was most of the problem. Once we restarted the engine it sounded better straight away.

Was on grid 3 for the repercharge so still had a chance. Track was better than Friday night not so rough and was quite drivey, got a good start but spending all our time tuning and nothing on handling the car was too tight and too tall geared finished third. So not qualifying topped off the weekend. Raced the nonquailfers races, but before that we changed the gears, shocks, roll centre and tyres. Started 11th within 4 laps I was up to 6th place and thinking we ve finally got the Front Store Corvette flying. Managed to move all the way up to 3rd. Won the next heat and ended up with top points for the final race. Leading the race our run came unstuck with a spin 4 laps in. The car was just too tight with the track coming back, struggled to finish and on the last lap blew a water hose so I took that as a hint from the car to put the injection on because it still had small miss and I didn t want to hurt the engine.

The injection is on and have a lot of filters, taps and fittings to make it run ( that was why we didn t run in the Hoopla!). Plan to be back on track on the 14th february and race the season out, not to sure about running at the South Island Champs in Dunedin as we have very little track time. But we'll see.

Well see ya at the track, come and say hi the support is always good.
Cheers Genty