Motorkhana - 27 May 2001.
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| Bursting with excitement about the day’s upcoming festivities I woke up before the alarm and set off so as not to miss out on anything. Not knowing where I was going I had allotted an hour for the journey from Morningside to South Maclean. A quick spin down the Gateway & Tollway had me at Browns Plains before the car was even warmed up. I stopped at a Servo to fill up, Premium, I wanted all the advantages I could get. |
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At five to eight I arrived at the Schoemakers gate to find other than Arnold I was the first to arrive. Arnold commented on the fact that he could pick the people new to the club by the time that they arrived. I assisted in the set up till a few more people arrived. Those who arrived early (before 9) were treated to an early morning off road trip to Arnold’s back yard. I went as a passenger in Arnold’s Dyna (The Monster Truck), We drove through a sandy creek bed, over fallen down trees, between trees that I thought would have been a tight squeeze for a Subaru Sherpa, over hills where it felt as if we would roll over, altogether a lot of fun. I’d like to drive the track myself but I think the Forester would need a 6-inch lift kit to cope. |
| The events began at about nine thirty after there were a few more contestants. The first course was traversed forwards, swerving to miss a myriad of borrowed traffic cones. This tough circuit proved too much for one MY whose linkages got stuck in second gear – I’m not certain but I think I heard Rob say “Bugger – Typical Subaru”. I took the first corner a bit hard wasting valuable seconds & hit a cone buying me 10 penalty seconds. 1 minute 12 seconds – pretty respectable I thought only to see Shane blow that time out of the water with an amazing 51 second run. The slowest run Arnold with 3 minutes and 58 seconds – Although this was pretty good seeing as he had to 3 point turn between every set of cones |
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Next we had to travel this same circuit backwards with an added twist, the start & finish was by driving up to a ball that was sitting on top of one of the cones. This added extra was to see how good a judge of the front & rear of your car you were. It was testimony to some people having no idea where the front and back of their cars are – Particularly Rick – 3 metres – Seriously mate how do you park in shopping centres? I drove this course in 1 minute & 13 seconds, only 1 second slower than I had driven it forwards, great time but what does it say about my forward driving. Shane – You are going to have to pick up your act – You never know when you will have to go fast backwards. |
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The third event was a test of trust, travelling a slightly different course forwards blindfolded. I failed to bring a co-pilot with me so I took the then Membership officer Peter Brown. I had studied the map in great detail before the drive however my co-pilot didn’t bother looking at it at all consequently we drove the track the wrong way losing more penalty seconds. My time was a miserable 2 minutes & 38 seconds the winning time was Camo with 1 minute & 49 seconds. |
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The final event was a fundraiser for the club, a tight short track covered in aluminium cans. Every can hit was worth 10 cents to the club. I had a great run, only 45 seconds hitting 8 cans. Arnold however hit nearly every can as you would expect if your tyres were 40 inches wide. |
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After the events we cruised down to the back yard / 4x4 track again for a bit of a play, much fun was had again. Overall I scored the best time (Must have been that Premium Unleaded) landing me with both the verbal & written reports for the trip (Bugger). It seems I was the winner on the day but I think the real winners were those members fortunate enough to be able to attend. |
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To our hosts Pat & Arnold I say kudos to you - Many thanks to you both for a most memorable day that I for one will not forget for some time. I look forward to attending this event in 2002. |
Ben Longland SC494
Some more photos
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