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Congratulations!
Wayne Berry as the proud owner
of this magnificent Clubsport
R8, you have been presented with
the HSV Owners
Club of ACT, Club Car of the Year,
2011.
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Wayne, how did you become
the proud owner of this wonderful piece of machinery?
Owning a HSV is something I have always
wanted to do after coming perilously close to replacing my
immaculate SLX wagon in 1985 with what, at the time, was
probably an impractical buy, a near new VH GP III. With a young
growing family and the need to provide a roof over their heads
was always first priority, making owning a HSV seem like a
fading dream. It’s been a long time between cars which has
included a HK Premier, HQ GTS Monaro, E49 Charger, Supercharged
VT and CV8 Monaro. It wasn’t until we returned to Australia in
2007 that I finally broke the ice and bought my first HSV – an
immaculate VZ Clubby. After being “stalked” one Saturday morning
by the then ACT coordinator, Brad Gordon, I was coerced into
joining the band of merry men in the Canberra HSVOC; for the
first time, experiencing the friendship of the extended HSV
family.
I have always had what I perceived to
be clean cars but participating in my first club Show & Shine was a
real eye-opener. I quickly realised that if I wanted to be a
trophy winner then I had to put in significantly more effort to
make the car stand out. With Max setting the bench mark with his
immaculate HRT, I found that getting my VZ anywhere near the
same condition was indeed a challenge. I was always looking to
see what others had done and how I could improve my grooming
techniques. Perhaps my time grooming cars in New Zealand
softened that challenge a wee bit as over the next couple of
years the results would prove that my efforts were not all in
vain.
Enter the VE. Ali and I were only
thinking of upgrading the VZ as a Xmas present to ourselves when
we spied the VE Clubsport advertised in the Daily Tele.
Wonderful – red – is there any other colour - immaculate, low
K’s, leather, fully optioned, one owner. Just what we were
looking for. A couple of phone calls later and on New Years Eve
2009 we reluctantly said goodbye to our much loved VZ Clubby and
drove home in the VE. Arriving back in Canberra we discovered to
our dismay that the car was peppered with gum sap and was in
desperate need of a wee bit of TLC – so much for Sydney
grooming!!! After many hours of washing, clay baring,
polishing, more washing and polishing the car started to show
its true colours. I think the images now speak for themselves.
How do we keep the car in this condition? Hard graft and
endless hours of grooming; but most of all, it’s the
encouragement from other club members to keep improving the car
and getting it to what it is today. Having the car selected as
the ACT Club Car of the Year is extremely satisfying and is in
some way reward for all the effort that’s required to keep the
car in this condition. While it doesn’t get raced, bagged or
shagged, it does get driven - often with a 20 foot pleasure boat
tucked in behind and never without its car bra – thanks to
CarBar Australia.
Apart from several cosmetic bits and
pieces, the car remains in its standard R8 307KW configuration.
It’s shod with KOYA Inox Royal 20 x 10 / 20 x 8 wheels and
Falken 452 rubber. Other extras include Walkinshaw engine
covers, billet caps and a Pedder’s Sports rider Strut brace.
What do I love about this car – It’s
clean, it looks good, it’s a HSV and it’s an absolute pleasure
to drive.
I’ve always wanted one – Now I’ve got one !
I think the
photos speak for themselves, an amazing piece of machinery.
Thank you
Wayne for the great write up on your red beast and we
can't wait to see it, Ali and you out again at our next
event.
Photo shoot kindly sponsored
by the White Room, Mitchell. |
