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!