Before we start, let me introduce myself. My name’s Daniel, but everyone calls me Sharpy. I’ve been around the car scene for many years now and have recently taken over as President of Club High Rollers. When Matyas approached me and mentioned he wanted to do an Australian version of Cars & Coffee (which is HUGE in the States) I jumped at the chance. We wanted to do something with a little harder driving than is permissible on the street and the idea of “Circuit & Coffee” was born. The idea behind the event was to have a track that cars could utilise, an area where people could socialise, as well as throw in a mad feed to start the day. At 6:30 am the cars were rolling in, and by 6:45 we had over 100 cars parked, ready to hit the track.
Will Holzheimer bought out his Porsche Cup Car to join in the fun:
There was a huge range of cars at the event, which was awesome to see. What Club High Rollers (CHR) and Downshift are trying to do in the community is generate an appreciation of cars of all types. Cars on the day ranged from Civics and Silvias to exotics and Aussie cars.
My absolute favourite Australian car is FAT R8. Perfect height, perfect wheel selection, the colour of both body and wheels just sets it off. One word: “TOUGH”.
Zs, old and new.
And of course, the car that can never lose… The GT-R. Ex-CHR car, and Downshift feature car, Gus’s WPN26.
An immaculate R34 GT-R:
And the legend returns… FAT GTR (more on this later):
Fresh off his recent photoshoot for Performance Imports, SKYLRK made an appearance. Probably the last time you will see the car like this, as the 2.9L/T04Z engine combination comes out and is being inserted into a track car:
However before a tyre turned, QR laid down the ground rules. Pretty simple stuff. Don’t run off the end of the track, no silly antics, race your mates down the straights, have a good time. The drivers’ briefing before track time begins:
So here we are, time to hit the track. We had one hour of open track time at Queensland Raceway on the National Circuit. For those playing at home, that’s the circuit the V8 Supercars race on. People were a little dubious at first when the event was put forward. Questions like “Really? Only an hour?” “That doesn’t sound like much for $60”. But at Circuit & Coffee there were no lines, there was no waiting. You can come and go as you please, on and off the track, take your mates (I took my dad out!), come in, refuel, (FAT GTR used 40L of E85 in 30 minutes), cool down, have a watch, head back out, all as you please for one hour.
So to the track the cars went. Beautiful Bayside 34 GT-R with Z-tune guards:
Everyone was keen to have a thrash:
51RAZ in his clean 32GTR:
Ryan’s RB25 400+hp S13:
Zs, Zs everywhere! But awesome to see that this isn’t just a guys’ event. Tina bought out her 350Z, 02JAP:
Midnight purple makes everything OK, and this S15 is no exception:
A friend of ours Nik even brought out his amazing Porsche 997 turbo. This thing packs a BIG punch with 500hp!
Now for some ON TRACK fun! Like I said, a wide range of cars out, including this VERY cool Lotus:
Everyone’s welcome. The girls at it again:
Very fast R8 racing Gus in his GTR:
Even P Platers came out, and didn’t even crash!
Matty’s beautiful FD. Big engine plans for this one, with large, single turbo plans in mind, still has a cool 300hp on the stock twins at the moment:
Rory in his Stage 2.7 Golf wondering if he’s going to need binoculars for what’s about to happen:
Some old school Porsche love:
FAT R8 putting it down:
Rossi showing who’s boss in his turbo 350Z, now under build with a T51R:
Downshift’s fearless leader Matyas kicking in VTEC:
Some beautiful Evos came out to play, such as Kesley’s one we featured a little while back. This is currently for sale on the forum!
Batchelor’s new car:
Clean E30:
Mick from CHR bought out his T88 powered 32GTR. Currently at 500hp on 19psi. It goes in for more very soon. Look out for this at around 700hp in the near future:
GDZ34:
Civics were abundant, including Paul’s mint 40RGD supercharged Civic. There were some very clean examples such as this one:
Now Remember FAT GTR who we talked about at the start? FAT GTR is an oldschool member of Club High Rollers, and before going off the road 2.5 years ago, was making 750hp at the wheels.
Before you go ahead and scream “OMG, THAT BONNET! WHAT’S GOING ON?!” let me explain that the engine and turbo combo in there, simply DOES NOT FIT under a normal bonnet. They have tossed the RB26 bottom end in the bin, and has the WORLD’S FIRST RD28 bottom end (that’s a diesel Patrol block for those playing at home) stroked to 3.5L. It runs a GT55 Turbo, drinking a tonne of E85. The car was finished only 3 weeks ago, and after run in, has had a ‘LOW BOOST’ tune of 37psi, pulling 1140hp AT THE WHEELS! It’s not a dyno queen either, with 600hp at just 5000rpm, and then 900hp by 6000rpm. This 8700rpm revving monster has a very fat power curve. This is what fits under the bonnet:
FAT GTR Vs my 330hp stripped 180sx:
We put my Dad (Who a lot of people thought looked like James May from TOP GEAR fame haha) in this monster of a car as well:
There was not a car on the day that could get close, with just 2nd gear pulls enough to pull 3-4 car lengths on most cars.
After all was said and done, the “Coffee” part of the event kicked in. Included in the entry for drivers was a hearty hot breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast, sausages, baked beans. An awesome way to relax and refuel after an hour on the track.
Not wasting any time afterwards, a small group of cars decided to head on a cruise over to Wivenhoe Dam, for a bbq in a very nice scenic, family friendly area. Josh got some great shots of the cars that went down:
450hp 2JZ powered sleeper S15:
YLD 15:
The girls packing a punch with Simone’s MOAN 270kw Evo 8 MR:
And not the best car on the day, but my personal favourite, due to it being my car. My 330hp 180sx, SRJ37:
It was certainly an AMAZING day. Great people, everyone extremely well behaved, some BEAUTIFUL and extremely impressive cars from mild to incredibly wild. Myself and Club High Rollers are absolutely honoured to have been able to work with Matyas and the Downshift boys for this event, and cannot wait to collaborate again (and that my friends, is already in the works! :D)
Hope you enjoyed this thorough coverage of the first Downshift/CHR Circuit & Coffee. See you at the next event! – Sharpy.