13th Falcon GT Nationals 2009 – Adelaide

The 2009 Falcon GT Nationals rapidly approached us again and I was excited about this event. Most of the gang missed out on the last one in Perth so I knew that the boys were also psyched. So most of them prepared for the event in various ways. Some went down to Detroit’s and spoke to Nick and Adam for paint and detailing, others sourced genuine bits and pieces to take their car up to an even better standard and others like Adam just went with the flow and wanted to be part of the atmosphere and a chance to thrash the cob webs out of his car.

Nick Zoggy organised a car carried that was able to transport 6 cars to and from Adelaide and plane tickets for all the boys. At midday on the Thursday the boys met the car carrier and loaded their vehicles. Once this was done they grabbed a taxi to the domestic airport where I met up with them.

Nick and Adam from Detroit, Peter (Mr Red Pepper), Jim, Zoggy and Billy “The Big Unit” arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. The Unit was hungry so he waltzed down to Macca’s for a feed. We jumped on the Virgin flight and after a short plane ride we arrived at our destination.

At 6.30pm Zoggy got on to the car carrier dude who advised him that he had just left Sydney. Nick, Adam and I checked into our hotel room where I noticed at some point the front door had been kicked in and the crack around the door handle had been patched up with sticky tape. Nonetheless we met the other lads who were staying at the hotel across the road and headed down to Glenelg for a feed.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and we headed over to the bar at the Stamford Grand. The Big Unit and I started to poor down the scotch and cokes to loosen up. Peter decided to play the slots and was lucky to pull out a couple of hundred. At approx midnight we strolled back to our hotel room.

At this point I started to inspect the hotel facilities and quickly came to conclusion of what a gem this place really was. We happened to be next to the air condition service rooms and every 30 minutes the generators would kick in. The toilet was leaking constantly and with Adam snoring like a man possessed I was lucky to get 15 minutes sleep.

We woke up in the morning and I walked in the bathroom. I closed the door and noticed a puff of dust and the left over pubic hair behind the door. I managed to compose myself and get ready in record time.

We met up with the other boys and head over to Glenelg for breakfast. Zoggy called to car carrier dude who said that he pulled an all nighter and estimated to arrive at 10am. This meant that the entire trip down took 14 hours. Not a bad effort we thought.

We met the car carrier and the boys unloaded their cars. We drove straight down to scrutineering and then parked the cars back in the hotel room. An array of characters were waiting outside the hotel room drinking piss and starting to get into the spirit of things.

We decided to go down to Glenelg and smash down a few kababs. Then off to the Stanford Grand for a few quite drinks. We arrived back to the hotel at midnight where the outside of the hotel was like a new years eve party. I was on no sleep and was eager to make up. Once we got in the hotel the shenanigans started. Toilet leaking, Adam snoring, air condition motors spinning up and down and the hooligans screaming and cheering meant that I was lucky to get a couple of hours of rest.

We woke up on Saturday morning and got the cars ready. The sun was shining with what turned out to be a perfect autumn day. We headed down to Elder park for the show and shine. The cars on display were waxed and polished to perfection with an abundant selection ready for inspection. I personally noticed that the standards compared to the last nationals that I attended had definitely been lifted. Nick and I inspected all the cars on display and it was hard to choose a favourite. I ran into Tom who said he had a very interesting night. Apparently he and his room mate were accused of partying a little too hard and were subsequently kicked out of their hotel.

At approx 4pm the cars stated to leave so we jumped in Nick’s XA and headed back to the hotel. We moved through the eager crowed out the front who were gesturing for some tyre frying action, however as responsible adults we declined. We met up the boys for a feed and then headed to the bar at the Stamford Grand.

Since I knew that I was going find it hard to sleep once again I decide that I was going to drink plenty and hope that I would collapse in bed to a point where nothing was going to keep me up. The Big Unit and I started slamming down the scotch and cokes and Tom shouted a few rounds of various shots to mix things up a little. At around 3am I felt a little worse of wear and I decided to pack it up. From Glenelg I stumbled to my hotel and Adam and Nick were nowhere to be seen. I jumped in bed and slept. At least till 5 or so am when Adam got back and his snoring woke me up. I woke up and headed off to get some breakfast. Here i bumped into Garrett and his family who were having a ball at this event.

The race activities proceed on the Sunday where the Ford hit the raceway for a few laps. In the afternoon the boys loaded their cars in the car carrier and we headed over to Peter Red Peppers hotel. The boys had a few drinks and spun some stories of the good ol days. Adam decide to catch an earlier flight so I was going to get some quality kip. At around 1am we decided to call it a night and went to sleep.

At 7am we woke up, jumped in a taxi and headed to the airport. We boarded our flight for the trip home. All in all this was a fantastic event and the boys had a blast.

Enjoy the pics… They come complements of “Billy The Big Unit…”

Paul S