Raw Motorsport

As we departed on the Friday afternoon, I am reminded of a saying that goes “The worst day of golf beats the best day in the office”. This applies to me with camping and 4wding more than golf (not saying I don’t like golf).

We headed out with the CB fitted and headed for Heyfield. Great place heyfield and more importantly the Heyfield pub. We have been on our annual trek to this pub for more than 8 years. This year we decided to bed at the local motel heading into town, but we still eat, drank, played pool and darts at the pub with the local publican, an irishman called Jeremya. As usual the locals were very friendly to these city slickers, and we partied on into the wee ones.

Next morning and after getting the info that the Black Soil track was probably still open, off we set past Lake Glenmaggie and off to Licola. We had ventured to the west off the Licola road on a previous trip and had decided to explorer this area once more. With more technology curtosey of my mate Mark, we explored this area and discovered the tracks we had hope to intercept. Once again back to the main road and into Licola. The 2006/2007 fires and subsequent floods that occured had played havoc with the bridges, roads and rivers in the area. Travelling down the “Black Soil” Track and arriving at the Macalister  River was once again an enlightening experience. I had low expectation in achieving this route, but as always, set the expectation low and you always get pleasantly surprised.

Following consultation with a local dear hunter, we decided to set camp early in the afternoon and camped just prior to the 4th river crossing. The 5th crossing is a doosie and was better left till the morning.

I have hung up the racing helmet and driving suit and have packed the thermals and balaclava so we can weather the annual trek to the Victorian high country before the gates are shut for the winter.

To my dismay Parks and Wildlife have closed a number of the tracks that we were going to use due to the 2006/2007 bush fires in the region. Looks like we need a plan B.

I have also included my infamous check list for the average 4 wheel driver to use when travelling for a up to a week. I am sure there are more comprehensive lists, but this has served my friends and I well for a number of years, and it always catches something that you could easily forget to bring.

Anyway enjoy. All I ask is you leave my copyright on it, if you distribute it. It costs nothing so just send it the way it is. Any suggestions let me know and I will improve the list for everyone to use.

Well we are back in Melbourne. Did we do well, yes, but not as well as was reported. We managed a 12th outright in the classic competition which was better than around 30th last year, but we had a mix up on Sunday and through no direct fault of our own lost our class win to a competitor by 11 seconds.
Not to worry, it was boring winning class and category trophies every year (Right!!!!).

The car and crew returned with no dents, bumps or scratches.

As most people following us would know we have run the Michellin TB15 tyres the last 3 years waiting for rain. This year we pushed on with 4 Dunlop D02’s and 2 TB15’s as backups for the rain. No rain, so the Dunlop’s lasted the trip and to very good effect.

With the freshened engine, tyres and a great team we had a very good result.

Thanks go to Paul Girt (my navigator) for keeping things cool during the stress times, Porsche Centre Melbourne for the car preparation and on going roadside and night assistance during the event, and also to the car’s sponser, Dial Before You Dig, who this year ran 4 cars finishing, 1st, 3rd, 7th and 12th outright in Classic, and 2nd in handicap event.

I think this was a great result, and the TV advertising that correlated with the event seamed to help the message. We were approached a number of times with people asking if we were on the Tele.

I would like to thank John from wireless.ozcom.net who assisted us during the event with a wireless internet connection in Launceston, and even though we had some problems has been very responsive in rectifying the problem.