The 15 Challenge Class and 15 Trophy class competitors had a late start on Saturday with only one longish track to do each while two shorter tracks each were planned for Sunday followed by presentations and Dinner back at the Base Camp.
All six tracks were run in the same section of a rock filled gully at the famous Landcruiser Mountain Park north west of Brisbane with heavy rain during the week and some patches of light drizzle over the weekend making it "interesting" on the smooth rock slabs and rounded boulders of the competition area.
CHALLENGE CLASS:
Track One:
Track One was held in a fairly open section of the gully with large rocks and rounded boulders kept slippery by small puddles
Craig George and Scott Henry had vehicle troubles before getting to the track so 3rd in line Rick Nowlan was first to enter the track and got severely hung up on the first boulder when the spring hanger got solidly caught and they only just managed to get off on the last try.
The obstacle at the 200 point marker was almost the full width of the gully allowing for several different lines to choose from but Rick didn't make it over the large boulders of the middle on his third try ending his run.
Aaron Williams took the narrow path to the far left using his rails to pivot on the huge boulder and made it look easy.
Ben Henry also tried the boulders in the centre but his front tailshaft pulled apart stopping his run.
Only a couple of competitors tried the wide line at the 300 point mark with most keeping to the left and tilting into the rock on the right and smashing their drivers door.
Ben Taylor rolled the left front tyre off the bead just before the 400 point marker and then went harder and harder much to the appreciation of the cheering crowd, he smashed his way to the 900 marker before finally getting stuck between boulders to end a truly awesome 3 Wheel Drive run.
The tight turn and large rocks at the 700 mark caught quite a few competitors out.
Ken Bain almost tipped his MQ ute on its side at the 800 mark and had to call it so he could be helped back to a stable position.
Track Two:
Track Two was held at the top of the competition area amongst a tree lined section of the gully with a fair amount of the track between rock sections comprising loose sandy soil.
It was a tight squeeze between a sharp edged rock on the left and a wire fence on the right connected to a log with the 100 point marker cone balanced on it ... if you moved the fence too much the marker tipped over costing you a 200 point penalty.
A large puddle at the 300 point mark made the next large rock slab very slippery with most competitors forced to use lots of revs and momentum to climb out of the waterhole.
The 600 point mark involved a very tight turn around a tree surrounded by large boulders.
The 800 point mark was also a tight turn over large boulders but had the bonus of a tight squeeze between a rock wall and a large tree.
The competitors who managed to get to the 1000 point finish line found it almost impossible to get across the isolated large boulders without careful rock stacking.
Track Three:
Track Three dropped down off the far bank, across a log, through a small waterhole then at the 400 point mark dropped down over a 1 1/2 metre rock with a log propped into a crevice to help ease the vehicle down the rock into the boulder field below.
As Rick Nowlan started to climbed the large rock on the left at the 800 point mark he yelled out to his navigator that he was getting a bit worried, Mick nonchalantly yelled back "don't worry about that, it wont tip over" ... one inch further and over it went bringing a huge round of laughter from the spectators, competitors and officials!
However, only Micks pride sustained any real damage.
Most competitors pulled out at the 900 point mark as the large climb up between two large rocks to get to the 1000 point finish line was extremely difficult and losing points for no extra gain if they didn't make it seemed like a high probability.
TROPHY CLASS:
The challenge class finished their tracks before the trophy class so i had the opportunity to watch the competitors tackle their last track.
Track Three:
Track Three took a slightly different route that the Challenge Class's Track One. Starting beside the large rock ledge, the track wound from one side of the gully to the other crossing rocky sections made muddy by all the traffic over the weekend.
momentum seemed to be the key to keeping moving and the girls in Offroad Princess Racing took out a fine win on the track.
The 40 series smoked the tyres up trying to gain some traction on the first obstacle.
Not to be outdone, the GQ shorty creates a larger cloud of tyre smoke on the crossover.
RESULTS:
.Challenge Class:
Track 1 first Daniel Schloss and Ryan Scott.
Track 2 first Mathew Bassett and Chris Lenehan.
Track 3 first Daniel Schloss and Ryan Scott.
Overall first: Daniel Schloss and Ryan Scott, Sloshy racing.
Overall second: Aaron Williams and Wesley Williams, team Maybelline.
Overall third: Evan Baldock and John Baldock, team Rellow.
.Trophy Class:
Track 1 first Darryn Bradshaw and Brenden Visher.
Track 2 first Darryn Bradshaw and Brenden Visher.
Track 3 first Teresa Bradshaw and Sally Kane.
Overall first Huub Beckers and Casey Visher, Jet racing.
Overall second Darryn Bradshaw and Brenden Visher, Wet Racing.
Overall third Teresa Bradshaw and Sally Kane, Offroad Princess Racing.
.Shane Gerrish
