Team ‘XXXX’ Proved Five Star Temperatures plummeted over the weekend as a cold front moved across the Red Centre and southern parts of Australia but team ‘XXXX’ was undeterred by the chill and put in a stellar drive on the weekend to take victory in the 2014 Sporties 12HR Enduro; and a cool $5000 for their efforts. The winning combination of cars #123 Greg ‘Hooker’ Hicks/Bruce ‘Beefa’ Thomas and #223 Craig ‘Buckets’ Prettejohn/Richie ‘Rock Star’ Hayes strung together 18 rock-solid laps of the 58km circuit at Mt Ooraminna to finish just one lap ahead of their nearest rivals. They completed a total distance of 1044km with an average speed of 89.83km/ph and managed to clock the fastest lap of the race on their first lap in a time of 33minutes 52 seconds. It was pretty much a faultless run apart from a clutch issue with Buckets’ car having to be pushed off the line for the final lap and well, there was that three minute penalty for speeding in the pits when he came in a little hot on a phantom driver change late morning. Twelve two-car teams made up the field this year and by the tenth hour of the race, 10 were still in the game but eventually four teams did not finish. The unexpected started early, on the start line as a matter of fact, then another three cars came to a halt within the first 38km affecting a scramble by their respective teammates to strap in and head out on track to pick up the baton and race on. By the half way mark at 3pm the race leaders were on their tenth lap whereas the tail of the field had completed only three; testament to the never-say-die attitude as teams worked feverishly in the pits. Second place with 17 laps was team ‘Shake n’ Bake’ - the #70 Sporties Porter Pro Class buggy of Jason, Jane and Jesse Adami and the #284 of Wayne and Cameron Foley. They started from fifth and a two to three-lap strategy worked well until their 14th lap when Foley’s car broke down shortly before 7pm. Jason drove the final three laps and it was very atmospheric to hear the deep note of the Chevy thundering through the dark. The mover of the race was team ‘Dusty Nuts’ who started last and clawed their way to a third place finish with 16 laps. Andrew Mowles was unable to prologue in the #101 due to mechanical issues – remnants from Finke – so Scott and Rebekah Raven/Carl Sagebiel did the honours in the #225 Super 1650. Both cars ran well until lap six when Raven’s car developed electrical issues and stopped on-track. Mowles and Matt Morgan hurtled into the #101, and again on lap 10 as Raven’s gremlins continued but all was resolved to see Raven drive the final two laps. Fourth place was team ‘Scissor Sisters’ comprising #450 Dylan Blake/Sandy Ferguson/Mick Hoey and newcomers to the sport Lincoln and Mark Sheedy in the #587 ex-Alan Dobbs machine. Their three-lap strategy worked a trick until lap 11 when Blake had troubles with front suspension but they persisted throughout the day to get it right. The Sheedy truck had part of the exhaust trailing and a flat tyre but aside from this the team put in a solid 15 laps. The ‘Bull Chasers’ finished in fifth place, also with 15 laps but 22mins 49 seconds behind fourth. Ken Callanan/Phil Kerr/Nev Chamers piloted the #860 KC Auto Electrics Suzuki while Peter Costello/Dave Cox/Paul Collard circulated in the #446 Nissan. The Suzuki had troubles straight up when it did a uni on the first lap, so, as Costello picked up the baton, the #860 crew rushed into town for parts. They made it back out on track but the car ran a bit hot; after a few adjustments the Suzuki ran strong into the night to make the final lap. Sixth position was team ‘Chevy Chase’ made up of Clayton and Zac Bestmann in their #435 Toyota Tundra and #523 Steven Nicol/Chris Fitzimmons in the ex-Ross Bohlin Performance 2WD. Both cars ran well, were consistent all day and one of only two teams to have no major issues. Their best lap was on lap nine so they improved throughout the race to eventually reach 15 laps just 26 minutes behind fifth place. Being awarded ‘Best presented team’ made the trip from Darwin for Nicols even sweeter. The ‘Loose Screws’ had a mixed bag of mechanical problems and finished seventh. There were issues leading into the event for the #50 Rick Schembri/Steve Russell Alice Springs Corrections Centre backed Pro Class buggy. Around 1pm, teammates Mark Bleuel/Carl Saranda broke a diff linkage on the #532 Commodore Ute so there was a scramble to get the ‘Fugly’ buggy back out on lap eight. The Ute came good to finish the final three laps for the team - 14 all up. ‘Shift n’ Spanners’ came home in eighth, the final team to effectively finish. The black and green #420 Rodeo of Stephen Jentsch/Brendan Foley turned a wheel first but blew a gearbox on lap one at the 38km point. Axel and Cory Greening shot out for the next three laps in their #268 Southern Cross MkII until Jenksy’s car got going again early afternoon; starting the fifth lap for the team just after 2pm. Axel’s car had some problems mid race but they got those sorted with a bit of fine tuning and finished strong with 14 laps and an average speed 70.151km/ph. ‘Loose Cannon Motorsport’ was the third team to retire, unable to finish their 12th lap. Troubles started from the get-go as the #227 Hornet of Dave Gillies/Baden Ocass broke down on the start line so Brett Taylor and Peter Tries bolted to their #31 Aceco buggy and made their allotted second place start time with only seconds to spare. Throttle body issues eventually took out Gillies’ car. In the meantime, the Aceco consumed a total of three alternators but survived the last four laps for the team before blowing a gearbox. Between the two of them, it took a record three hours to complete lap nine! The ‘Angry Birds’ was the final team to surrender in the eleventh hour after an epic battle. Christopher Leech tried all day to overcome fuel management issues as his single seater #421 Hyundai Excel continued to overheat. Teammates James and Monique Cook/Will Willis/Peter Graves had a hole in the exhaust of the #321 Madbro Pitbull buggy at the start. They also did a chain and a clutch but ultimately ran out of fuel on their tenth lap; almost getting in three on-the-trot. Deservedly so, they received the ‘Hard Luck Award.’ Team ‘Let’s Go Racing’ went out in fine form, the first team to call it a day. They started out of third and held second position from 11am onward until they retired on their fifth lap around 1pm. Locky and Paddy Weir tried to fix a throttle body issue with their #155 Jimco having retrieved the baton from Gus McKay/Mick Newman on lap four; their #282 buggy blew a motor and it was all over for them early on. The second team to declare out was ‘Mac Foley’ after battling on well into the afternoon. They started from tenth but the #211 of Haden Foley broke down 12km into the first lap. Teammate #418 Adam McDonald headed out to pick up the baton but broke down with an expired engine just 2km along the track. They resurrected the #211 and kept swapping the driving duties getting five laps in before the gearbox let go. It’s the first time the format has run 9am-9pm and although the weather turned chilly, the change was well received. The track started to roughen up towards the end but all enjoyed their Sporties 12HR; it’s a race like no other. It was also the first year that ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions were applied which levelled out the field and made for great competition. A huge thanks from the Alice Springs Off Road Racing Club committee to all of the sponsors and volunteers who helped out to make it all possible. Mark the Northern Territory August long weekend on your calendar for next year and join us around the campfire. Check asorrc.au for details and Facebook for updates. See you next year! Story: Real Ball Promotions Images: Phil Williams Media and Marketing
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 00:50:07 +0000
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