Kelly Linigen's sprintcar roll at Parramatta

I managed to catch this so thought I would share it with everyone. It is a news snippet showing Kelly Linigen's roll at Parramatta speedway last Saturday night, where she flipped her sprintcar right over the catch fence. Luckily no-one was hurt.

30th March 2008 - This looks like the end

Well last night I ran 2 heats (lead popped off the coil in one and finished 3rd in the other), but my back started hurting so I decided not to risk damaging it any further and parked the car up for the night.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about my racing lately and I think it’s time for me to quit while I’m ahead (sort of). I just keep getting injured which tells me it’s not meant to be. After 18 months of working hard to get my neck healed enough to race, now my back is playing up and I can’t go through the disappointment and frustration of being injured again.

So I have decided to retire from racing. I’m in my 40’s so it’s probably about time I started acting my age. Maybe I’ll take up knitting! ;-p

Anyway, I’d like to thank everyone who’s helped and supported me over the years. It’s been fun (mostly) and I’ve made lots of friends. I hope my friendships can continue from the sidelines - I’ll be the one cheering the loudest!

See you at the track. :-)

Robyn

Robyn to miss the Queensland Title tonight

Unfortunately for the team, Robyn has had to pull out of the Queensland Title at Toowoomba tonight. She hurt her back at work on Tuesday, and the physio said racing tonight is "out of the question" and that it would take a couple of weeks for it to settle down.

Of course, we are all bitterly disappointed, especially with how well Robyn's been going lately, but these things happen. Donations can be made out to Rockin Robyn's Racing Fund ... (kidding!). :-)

Good luck to everyone at the Title.

23rd February 2008: Podium finish at BIS

It's good to be home.

Our first meeting back after our long trip down south ended well, even though I felt too tired to really be racing.

I equal top qualified 6th through the heats with a 3rd in the first heat and a 5th in the second. Started 6th in the Top 6 Dash and was running 4th when I popped a right rear tyre (I think the rim got damaged when I came together with another car at the start).

Started the feature out of 5 and finished 3rd behind winner Mick Sauer (Q96) and Russell Bonsey (Q24) (yay!). In the commentator's words, I was "all over Bonsey like a rash". But I couldn't quite get him. Doh! Russell has very wide elbows! ;-)

Looking forward now to the Queensland Title in two weeks. Watch out! :-)

16th February 2008 - Vic Title at Ballarat

I think we went the best we have gone so far this season. The track was shocking - like driving through a paddock - but it was still fast and demanding.

We won the 1st heat from position 2 (ahead of eventual Vic title winner, Adam King VIC35), but the engine was super hot and blowing smoke. It turned out the electric fan had come off the radiator and we also popped a breather hose off the engine. I didn't think we'd be able to fix the fan, but thanks to Bob and Brendan Kenna (NT39) they pulled the radiator out and fixed the fan in time for heat 2. Awesome job guys!

I then started out of 9 in the 2nd heat and finished 5th.

The final round of heats was determined by points with the highest going rear (not really fair but what can you do?). I must have been in the top 7 (out of 43 cars so I'm stoked) because I started out of position 9 in the 4th heat. I got a good start and moved into 6th, but half way through the race the 2 cars in front of me spun and I threw it sideways to avoid them but slammed my right rear into them. We broke the axle, brake disc, rim, etc so we were out for the night.

I was disappointed I wasn't able to avoid the collision, but excited to be a contender up to that point. My speed has definitely improved so hopefully I can continue this at my home tracks now.

Congrats to Adam King for another title win.

Our next meeting is this Saturday at Brisbane. Looking forward to it!

9 February 2008 Murray Bridge SA

What a great little track Murray Bridge is! It was small and fast.

We qualified 5th into the feature after the 3 heats. Took me a little while to get the hang of the track. My best heat I finished 2nd ahead of eventual feature winner Mick Brougham, which was cool.

At the start of the feature I got held up on the inside line and lost a few places, but managed to get back to 6th by the end of the race. I was a little disappointed with this result, but we were on the pace and the track was super fast. Apparently Mick Brougham took over 6 seconds off the 15 lap race record so we were all honking.

Great facilities too. Every site had power and water, and there were showers and great amenities. Some of our "bigger" tracks should be ashamed.

Anyway, we're off to Redline at Ballarat for the VIC title next weekend. I hear there are over 45 cars nominated so hopefully there won't be as much carnage as the Aus title.

See yas! :-)

2nd February 2008 Avalon AMCA 50-lapper

I haven't got long before my time runs out on my (rented) internet access, so here's a brief rundown on what happened last weekend.

There were 37 cars. In heat 1 I was off the rear (position 12) and finished around 8th. In heat 2 I was off pole and finished 3rd (some of these guys down here are REALLY fast). When 2 cars passed me I decided to follow them to see how they got around, and learned a few good lines.

So I had to qualify into the feature through the B-main, and won that.

Started the feature off 17 and got up to about 6th, but I got the lapping flag and "held my line" on the bottom like the officials told us to, and two cars I'd already passed got by me. GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR! I hate that!

So I finished 8th. Felt excited that the car was on the pace by the end of the night.

Just been told to get off, so talk to you soon.

Cheers, Robyn

26th & 27th January 2008 Australian AMCA Title

Well the 2008 Australian AMCA title has been run and won at Mildura, but not by us.
We had a weekend we would rather forget. :-(

There were a total of 84 cars, so we knew it would be tough just to qualify into the 24 car feature. I started out of 4th in the first heat and got up to 2nd but then half spun and most of the field got past me. Finished about 7th or 8th.

In the second heat I started out of 7th and was running in 5th trying to get past the 2 cars in front when someone T-boned me and wiped out my left rear wheel. Everyone who saw it said it looked like the guy just lined me up and didn't lift the foot even after he hit me! He got sent rear but I was left on the infield - GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR.

By the third heat I was feeling really deflated. I started out of position two and thankfully won it.

So by the end of the first night I was 49th in points and I knew my last heat (which was my worst draw) would have to be my best. I started out of 9th and and got up to 4th after the first turn, but they threw on the yellows and did a complete restart. On the second start the car on the outside of me decided he wanted the low line and cut me off big time, pushing me on the infield.

So I was running near the back when another car hit the back wall and spun. I went under him but he speared down track and nailed me in the right rear, spinning me on the infield. So I got going again knowing that that was probably the end of my weekend. I finished 7th or 8th.

It looked like we were going to start near the back of the c-main, so Bob decided it wasn't worth risking any more damage to the car (since we have another 3 race meetings to do before we head home), so we parked the car for the night. I was really disappointed.

Congrats though to Adam Wallis for winning the title (again), and to Shane McKinnell (Q7) for finishing 3rd (on one of our wheels mind you). And bad luck to Russell Bonsey (Q24) who was leading the feature right up until 4 laps to go when he ran out of fuel - BUMMER!!!

Now we're staying in Warrnambool to visit Bob's rellies, and then we're off to Avalon on 2nd Feb for the AMCA 50-lapper. BRING IT ON!

12 Jan 08 - We were on the pace but it wasn’t to be ...

Well Saturday night by some miracle the rain stopped in time over Archerfield for us to have some mad fun tearing around a race track and getting all muddy. But wasn't it fun!!

Somehow the track was smooth and fast and a pleasure to drive on - compared to the unforgiving handful it usually is.

We equal qualified third through the heats out of 21 cars (which I was quite happy about), with a 4th and a 3rd in the heats. Started out of 3 in the feature and was having a good battle with one of the top dogs, Russell Bonsey, when the lights came on. I didn't know whether I was to restart in 3 or 4, so Russell and I jostled for the position waiting for some direction from the officials, but we were left to work it out for ourselves. We were side by side right up until we came up to the cone for the green flag, but he was on the outside so I had to let him go (I don't know why the officials couldn't tell us who was supposed to start where - how hard can it be to look at the lap sheets?).

Anyway, so I dropped back to 4th and was looking for a way around Russell when my right rear tyre popped off the bead. Oh well. I still had excellent fun mixing it with the others, and the car was fast and a pleasure to drive.

Thanks again to Bob for all his hard work!

Now we're off to Mildura for the Australian Title in 2 weeks - so that should be fun! Over 80 cars nominated from all over the country. Can't wait!

Robyn now on MySpace!

Robyn now has her own page on MySpace. Check it out at www.myspace.com/RockinRobynQ39 and please sign up as a friend.

:-)

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 6

This is the final episode of our series. The new race car is finished and Robyn returns to the speedway track after 2 1/2 years. Check out how she goes:

Maryborough cancelled

Maryborough has been called off tonight due to the "low" off the Queensland coast causing lots of wind and rain.

Disappointing! :-(

Oh well. Now we have to wait until 11th January at Archerfield again for some more laps.
Can't wait!

Robyn wins the feature at Archerfield!

Back at our home track for the first time in the new AMCA (and the first time in 2 1/2 years for Robyn), she top qualified through the heats to start the feature off pole, and led home Russell Bonsey and Jim Knight to win the feature.

After finding out last week we had only been running on 7 cylinders, the car was a lot quicker and handled the initial slippery conditions really well.

Results:
Heat 1 - 1st (from position 4)
Heat 2 - 3rd (from position 5)
Feature - 1st

Next meeting - Saturday 29th December at Maryborough

HELP!!! Do know anyone who happened to catch Robyn's feature win on video?
(Our camera decided to pack it in yesterday afternoon.)
If so, please send us a comment or email - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
We will pay good money for it!

Cheers.
:-)

Interesting news for the team

We had a reasonably good weekend at Gympie on Saturday night.

Heat 1: DNS (Couldn't get the car to start in time)
Heat 2: Near the back (after being half spun by somebody - probably due to the wet track)
Heat 3: 1st
Feature: 5th

BUT we found out yesterday the engine has only been running on 7 cylinders for the last two meetings! (We thought it was sounding a bit dead.) :-p

So we've been down on power by about 20 or more horsepower!

Now we can't wait for the next meeting ... Brisbane (Archerfield) on 26 December (Boxing Night).
Bring it on! :-)

Robyn has her first heat win in the new car

Robyn is starting to get back up to speed, with the following results in the new AMCA at Blackwater last Saturday night:

Heat 1: DNF (She was running 2nd when a wire popped off the fuel switch)
Heat 2: 1st
Heat 3: 2nd
Feature: 5th

Next meeting: 15th December Gympie (Mothar Mountain)

We finally hit the track!

Last night we finally had our first race in the new Redline AMCA at Toowoomba speedway. Although it took a while for Robyn to get used to racing a sedan again (her last race was in May 2005, and that was in a Sprintcar), by the end of the feature she was very much on the pace and passed quite a few cars on the last couple of laps. We are very excited about the potential of the new car.

We will post a video up soon ... stay tuned!

Next race meeting will be this coming Saturday night (8th December) at Blackwater, followed by Gympie (Mothar Mountain) on Saturday 15th December. Come and say hi!

:-)

First race meeting next weekend!

Cross fingers, our first race meeting in the new AMCA will be this Saturday (1st December) at Toowoomba! Yay! :-)

I'm looking forward to finally getting on the race track again - it's been WAY too long.

Will put up our full race calendar soon.

Come and say hi at the track!

Robyn

New AMCA ready to race!

Finally! Our new Redline Legend Mach-1 AMCA National is now ready to race.

Check out our new photo slideshow on the right for lots more photos!

We missed the last race meeting because we spent all Saturday with the car on the dyno and found a couple of problems (whining diff, faulty power steering box, etc).

Special thanks to the team at Jarrett Performance & Dyno Tune for looking after us. It was well worth the time and money to sort out our problems before getting to the track. Thanks guys!

AMCA almost ready ... but not quite

Well, we've been trying to get our new Redline Legend Mach-1 AMCA National ready for the big AMCA 5000 40-lap race tomorrow night at Brisbane International Speedway, but unfortunately it doesn't look like we are going to make it on time. We'll keep working on it tomorrow though and see how we go.

(Robyn is frustrated!)

New Video - Sprintcar Highlights BIS 14th April 2007

Here are some highlights from the Sprintcar racing at Brisbane International Speedway for Round 9 of the Comp Cams Series. According to one commentator, "someone has left the red cordial out and these Sprintcar drivers are a little hyperactive!". It shows most of the crashes from the night's racing, and some exciting passing moves and wheel-stands. If I get time over the next few months I'll put it to music. Enjoy ... :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAUwFUcbu1o

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 5

Robyn goes for a practice but ends up racing instead! (She just can't help herself!) Find out what happens ...

Go to youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_qvNeG3QMw

or click (twice) on the play button below:

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 4

Robyn finally gets back on the speedway track for a practice (after 15 long months!), while work on the AMCA chassis continues.

Check it out here at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ydEe6oLaKs

or click on the Play button below (twice) ...

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 3

The team gets frustrated at trying to organise a practice. In the meantime, Robyn works on getting stronger, and then finally gets to have a drive (after 15 long months)!

Click on the play button below to view, or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbUqs-HrMrU to watch in YouTube.

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 2

Robyn's Rocky Return: Episode 2 - Building the new racecar
(goes to YouTube or click on play button below)

The team get to work building the new chassis while Robyn works on her strength and fitness.

Robyn's Rocky Return - Episode 1

We have decided to create a video-log of Robyn's attempt to get back Sprintcar racing after injuring her neck 12 months ago. Please enjoy ...

Robyn's Rocky Return:
Episode 1 - Introduction (goes to YouTube or click on play button below)

Robyn's neck injury starting to heal!

After more than 12 months of physios, chiropractors and other specialists, Robyn's neck is finally starting to improve, and at a rapid rate. She is now back in training to see if her neck will hold up to the rigours of speedway racing. Stay tuned for more details in the next couple of weeks!

Both Sprintcar videos available again

With the popularity of youtube taking off, we have decided to take advantage and put our 2 Sprintcar videos there for easy access. Here they are:

Highlights of Robyn's debut Sprintcar season



Various Sprintcar crashes from around Australia



Enjoy!!!
:-)

Music Video of Robyn's Sprintcar Highlights

We have made it easier to view Robyn's music video of the highlights from her first season in the Sprintcar. You can now click here or from the links down the right hand side of this page.

Hope you enjoy it.

Robyn's recovery taking longer than expected

It looks like Robyn will not be able to compete this coming season, if at all. The specialists have determined that the strength of her muscles and ligaments (especially in her neck) have deteriorated due to her having Crohn's disease. She was diagnosed with this bowel condition a few years ago but she refused to let it affect her racing. However, it appears that it has been slowly taking it's toll. We haven't given up though, and will see how she is next year.We here at Redline would like to thank all our sponsors and supporters over the years.

We will still be frequenting the race tracks around Australia, only we'll have to be content to watch from the stands for now. See you at the track!

Robyn’s comments: Well, what can you do? Obviously I'm VERY disappointed with not being able to race this season, especially after Bob and our engine builder during our break discovered lots of possible ways to improve the car's handling and power. Never mind - I think I'll put my feet up for a while ... read a good book ... find another hobby maybe? But I'm looking forward to watching some great racing this season from the comfort of the stands! Bring it on! :-)

PS. Feel free to please leave your comments. I would love to hear from you.

April, 2006: Robyn’s racing career in doubt

Since early December last year, Robyn has been recovering from a neck injury sustained whilst dirt go-kart racing (see picture).

She damaged three discs and various muscles and ligaments in her neck, and is only just starting to feel some pain relief and to regain some side movement after trying various treatments.

It is expected she will be looking at another 2 months before recovering full movement of her neck, with a possible further 3 months before she is strong enough to race again. We are confident if all goes well that she will ready to race for the start of next season. However, there is a chance that her neck may not be able to withstand any further injuries, in which case she may have to retire from racing. We are crossing our fingers that this will not be the case.

Robyn’s comments: It’s been a frustrating 4 ½ months, but I have faith that things happen for a reason. If I do get to race again, I’m confident I’ll be back stronger than ever.

October, 2005: Robyn's racing on hold

We are still not sure how long before we will be on the track. Our engine builder is a little hesitant to rebuild our engine when there is talk about allowing the larger 410 engines around May next year. It would hardly be worth a rebuild now if we are going to have to totally rebuild again in 6 months time. We’ll have to wait and see what eventuates. In the meantime, we have purchased a dirt go-kart so that Robyn can keep her skills honed.

New video clips

To occupy my time a little until we are racing again (and to help improve my confidence), we have put together a couple of music videos of last season's racing.

One is to the great Rob Thomas song "This is how a heart breaks" and the other Spiderbait's version of "Black Betty". If you would like a copy of these on CD or DVD (please specify which), let me know.

PS. These are now available on Youtube (see later posts). :-)

Welcome to my new diary

Hi everyone!

This is my new race diary for the 2005/2006 race season.

In case you don't know who I am, my name is Robyn Dennis and I race a V8 Sprintcar. We are based in Ipswich in Queensland, Australia, so our home track is the Brisbane International Speedway at Archerfield.

Our race season here started on September 24, but unfortunately our car won't be ready for a month or so yet (my husband and I have been flat out keeping up with our business, Redline Racecars and Rollcages). Check out our web page - www.redlineracecars.com.au (you can also view my official fan page there, including race diaries from previous years).

More news to come soon...