WILLOWGLEN 4X4 CHALLENGE
3RD, 4TH & 5TH October 2008
Comp Teams:
Car #200 Nick Wright & Chris Gale - GQ Ute
Car #201 Brendan Craddock & Nick O’Kane - GQ Wagon
Car #202 Max Serra & Anthony Haber - GQ Wagon
Car #203 Charles Bottemanne & Steve Grima - GU Ute
Reserves Mark Lenstra & Richard Harrowell - Hilux
Club Members Attending:
Kathy Grima, Jenny Bottemanne, Steve Cramp, Brett McCurley, Kevin Roberts & family, Glenn, Sarah, Brad & Jordan Russell, Rose, Shanice, Steph & Aiden Serra, Shannon Wright (and anyone else I’ve forgotten).
Friday 3rd
A sweltering 35 degree day saw AT4 club members and comp teams meet up at the TLCC land, Willowglen. 4wd’s towing car trailers and box trailers had also made the journey down, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than most others!
It was the Russell family who were assigned the job of getting there early enough to secure a good camp site away from the wind and dust. Fortunately Nick W had beaten them to it and marked off a suitable area for us all to camp.
After unpacking and setting up camp, it was off with our comp trucks to scrutineering for door stickers, number plate covers and paperwork and class confirmation.
Back at camp Charles is approached by a couple who were looking for material to make additional flares for their truck as the TLCC scrutineers would not let them enter otherwise. Charles immediately whips out his spare half roll of Bunning’s garden edging and says for $20 you can take the lot! After a swift transaction of $’s everyone is happy and Charles has made himself a tidy profit before the weekend has even started!
With the sweat, flies and insects, making the evening quite unpleasant, it was no sooner than someone had mentioned rain that the roar of wind coming up through the valley followed by a very heavy downpour had us all scrambling for tarps, raincoats and jumpers. This was the just the start of what was to be a wet weekend.
Saturday 4th
An early start for Saturday had the club up by 7am and eager to get the day under way. Light rain was still falling but the temperature was much more bearable.
Nick & Chris were the first of our club to start on Stage 3, The Spider. The wet and slippery conditions made it a little difficult in parts but they managed to score healthy 48 points.
Max & Ant were also starting on Stage 3 but unfortunately the wet conditions are playing havoc with the track and the contrasting damp top soil gives way to soft, dry and dusty dirt underneath, catching the guys out as they become stuck at the first point scoring obstacle.
Brendan & Nick were up next on Stage 1, Carnage Canyon. With the start of this event already modified due to the steep, muddy hill causing some trucks to nearly roll, the competitors were now taking a slightly wider turn to the bottom of the hill before attempting the canyon section. The boys scored a very respectable 63 which takes into account points off for touching bunting – which is near impossible not to do!
With the rain still persisting we now all start playing the waiting game as the events are starting to slow with vehicle recoveries becoming more and more frequent.
Charles & Scuba’s first event is also Carnage Canyon. Slow and careful negotiation of the first half of the track is somewhat is contrast to Charles’ right foot antics on the final hill as we all watch Scuba stumble and fall out of the way as Charles aims his truck straight at him. Later on Charles is overheard saying “You told me to drive there so I do as my navi says!”
The delays continue throughout the day. Most of our team slowly progress through the 4 stages and finish the day with mixed results. Both Charles and Max end up having to take an average on a stage each as the darkness and rain beat the organisers and competitors in completing all 4 stages. Max took and average on Stage 4 and Charles on Stage 3.
Sunday 5th
Yay, no rain! Just a nice overcast sky with cool temperatures. Once again we get ourselves ready in anticipation of the final day of events. With the 4 Stages for Sunday in close proximity to both our camp site and each other, it made for an easy walk.
Everyone has a much better drive today. Nick & Chris tackle Stage 6, All Shook Up, with much eagerness. A score of 90 on this event brings a smile to everyone’s face, despite Nick embedding his passenger door into a tree stump!
Charles & Scuba are not quite as fortunate scoring only 28. They are however in a separate Class and the wet and slippery logs don’t make the track easy to complete.
Max & Ant came away very happy with a perfect score of 100 on Stage 5, Rockin & Rollin. Maybe it was the fact we were all back at camp packing up so there was no pressure from us watching, or maybe it was the good luck kiss from Rose that made him drive the track unhindered. Whichever it was, it worked!
Unfortunately for Brendan & Nick, Rose didn’t offer a good luck kiss to them so, with their rear locker not working and the front having issues, they inevitably became stuck on the first section on track for an unlucky 0 points.
As the day progressed and the delays from yesterday continued, ice creams, coffee and bacon and egg rolls kept our energy levels and enthusiasm up. As the competition drew to a close we still had a couple of vehicle lined up and ready to complete in their respective stages.
After watching Brendan & Nick gain a fantastic 74 points on Stage 7, Gullied Out, we awaited Charles & Scuba’s attempt on the same Stage At this point, Nick & Chris are lining up for Stage 8, The Mud Hole. They have chosen to be the only members of our comp team who are keen (stupid!) enough to do it.
After a long and painful recovery of the vehicle in front of Charles & Scuba on their final stage, it’s looking like they will be on the track the same time Nick & Chris attempt The Mud Hole. That’s not good as us club members are very eager to watch both trucks and teams compete.
As Charles & Scuba pass the 100 point marker on Stage 7, they end up with a final score of 90 which is taking into account penalties for touching the bunting. This is an awesome effort by them both, and we all jump up and down and cheer with support!
Suddenly Nick’s voice comes over the radio, “I’m starting the mud now!” For a second or two we all give each other a sideways glance of panic! The mud hole is a 2 minute sprint from where we are, up over the steep hill in front of us, past the coffee van and catering marquee and through the slippery dirt and mud! Away we go!
I wish I had footage of this as the whole AT4 club ran, jumped, climbed and scampered our way over to the mud hole just in time to see Nick & Chris select a gear, give the engine a big rev and plow headlong into the muddy, boggy hole. And that’s where they stopped for 0 points! A very poor result we all thought, considering the huge effort the entire club went to by sprinting across the entire Willowglen event so we could all enthusiastically watch them compete in the mud! (nah, just kidding!!)
As this was the final event of the weekend, it was now to time slowly make our way home for a long awaited hot shower and a good nights sleep.
We all had a fantastic weekend, despite the weather, and our comp teams all put in a really awesome effort! A big thank you to Rose for taking on the role as Team Manager and to everyone who attended and helped to both set up and put down the camp site and to enthusiastically cheer on our club!
Bring on Willowglen 2009!
Brett