CQ Offroad Challenge 2008

[crazy eyes]

lack off room mate you want to try putting a cage in a 75series cruiser but it can be done and it doesnt cost the earth . the thing is it is for your own safty and the way things are going you wont do any hardish comps without atleast a 4 point cage . So just think about the piece of mind knowing that you are that much safer inside a cage I know I did when I fitted the cage in my ute.
Now on to the comp it turned to be fun for most and that includes me as an official and committe member some things didnt go to plane but allround it was a success.
so lets see wat happens next year.
cheers
crazy eyes

[tacrocky]

Hi everyone, Brad here - sorry it's taken this long to get the results up for the CQ Challenge 2008. Here they are:-

1st Loose Nuts & Bolts
2nd Two & A Bit
3rd Team Problematical
4th BRA Team
5th Diff Busters
6th The Furken Team
7th Crack A Tinny
8th Bundy Bashers
9th Get Ya Snatch Out
10th Biloela Bandits
11th R Units
12th Dodgy Bros Racing
13th Thrillbillies Racing
14th Team Outa Control
15th Team Snafu

I'd like to thank all the Sponsors, Officials and Teams. Also I'd like to thank the Committee Members for all the countless hours of putting this together, as it is a huge effort.

Again I'd like to apologise to Team Problematical for the mix up in Stage 11 scoring.

A huge thanks also to all those who helped clean up the scouts park - I think that it was cleaner when we finished than when we started.

Great Stages, Tough Tracks and some very tough Trucks - we hope everyone had a great weekend. We look forward to 2009.

Cheers
Brad

[Wilba]

Don`t sell yourself short wilsy,You guys were as close as I have seen to a "TEAM" and you guys took on each stage with style.Congrats from Crack a Tinny.Thanks to the organisers and the scouts the tucker was great.Top job to the rest of the winners and placegetters and special thanks to the guys in Crack a Tinny {We might try to Keep the cars in one piece next time,I`m working on a new theory I heard of. Apparently It`s possable to drive sensably and be less hard on your car!Personly I think it`s a load of crap myself!As for rollcages,COME ON GUYS!!!!! There wasn`t one car there that was stock and if you can afford lockers or a set of 35` tyres you can afford a roll cage.Dealing with a injury, or worse ,is hard guys and to be frank our sport dosn`t need the bad rep.There are enough fun police out there without giving them an excuse.Talk to any of us about cages we might be able to Help.Once again top weekend cq offroad!!!

[buggerluxkid]

Thanks Wilba, and well said about the roll cages, i can see some good for's and agianst arguments from both sides coming out in the lead up to next years event, but i think it gettin to risky not to have cages. especially as the trucks are gettin more power to help with the lead up to the roll. i reckon the sport needs them, but in sayin that would our challenge then loose its entry level designed tracks. but everyones entitled to there wrong opinion i spose in the end.


Cheers all Buggerlux

[Mosko111]

yeah having cages will lose a fair few people i dare say, not everyone will want to bolt one in for an event that is only run once a year, but in saying that im going to get one haha, just will have to do more comps i guess to m ake it worth while, does anyelse have any more photos that can be posted?

[tacrocky]

There's a lot of talk do we have rollcages, do we not , should we have more competitions ? Join the CQ Ofroad Club and help make these decisions and help plan and put these comps on mybe we mite be able to do more of thes comps. I personally would like to see three comps a year of that styles or mybe a two car team event or a single car. It would save a lot of travelling away to comps.

Brad

[Mosko111]

how do i go about joining? i live in gladstone do i have to come to a certain amount of meeters per year?

[tacrocky]

No you don,t have to come to meetings you can keep in touch by the web site www.cqoffroad.org.au. You can join your local club in glastone they always show interest in what we do. I think there's a link from our web to there's.

brad

[buggerluxkid]

Most of us would love to see more than one event per year, its just gettin the man power to hold it. the amount of behind the scenes work that isn't seen unless your on the committee is incredable. i'm always keen, i wouldn't mind doin a single car comp or even a female only comp again. for safety reasons i'm all for a roll cage but it wouldn't be so entry level anymore, but its the way the sport and challenge is going.

[Slick_CQ]

OK ! That's enough on Roll Cages for the moment - there's plenty of time to discuss it between now and the next event !

How about we discuss what you liked (and disliked) about the way that the CQ Off Road Challenge 2008 was run ?

Was the format good ? (5 morning SS + 5 afternoon SS + 2 nite SS + Sunday GPS run).
Did you feel that the rules were fair and reasonable ?
Was there enough spectator access to the tracks ?
Were you able to find your way to the SS's easily ?
Were the tracks too hard ?
Were the tracks not hard enough ?
Did you enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie of a Team event or would you prefer to run solo ?
How would you feel about a format change - 5 Sat Morning SS + 5 Sat Afternoon SS + 5 Sunday SS (no Saturday night SS) ?
Do you have any suggestions to improve the event - from a competitor or spectator's perspective ?

I know that Roll Cages are an important consideration but so are all of the issues listed above ! CQORC needs your feedback. If you're not comfortable voicing your opinion in a public forum such as this then give us a call - 0407 NISSAN (What a bloody great phone number !), track down one of the organisers (I'm sure you know who they are) or come along to the Great Western Hotel on the first Tuesday of each month for CQORC's monthly meeting - starts at 7:30.

I'm with TACRocky - Join CQORC (or your local 4WD Qld affiliated Club such as Gladstone, Mackay Landrover etc.) come along to the regular meetings and have your say ! CQORC is not just about Comps, it's also for tourers, campers and 4WD newbies. Not to mention Clean Up's and Keep Our Beaches Open type community awareness activities.

Well done Event Committee - an outstanding success again in 2008 !

Slick.

[Disco3]

Slick, on behalf of 'Two & a Bit' I would like to again thank the organisers for a great job. The preparation of the tracks and organisation of the event left some of the other 'professionally' run challenges I have attended as a spectator for dead. We liked the format on Saturday, gave us time to catch our breath at lunch and late afternnon and we liked the Saturday night stages particularyly after last year when we were the last team to hit the stages after all the rain. From my perspective the tracks were well balanced with creek runs, walls, rocks, tree obstacles and a good variety of terrain. Nearly all looked hard at first but its just a matter of working methodically through the obstacles and hopefully coming out the other end before the clock shuts down. Given the amount of carnage up in the holding area and the DNF's, I don't think it needs to be any harder, unless you are wanting it to become more of a professional event, (which would be a pity because the current format lets old blokes like us have a go one weekend a year). We definitely prefer the team format, which is also great for spectators as they are better entertained with three cars than seeing 1 truck come through sporadically and then having to wait for another competiter to start. To be honest we are not much into the GPS stage on Sunday(frightens the hell out of us with all those big trucks flying around in the dust) and would prefer this stage to be shorter, but realise that some teams revel in it so its 'horses for courses' and we'll go along with what goes.
Not sure how it went spectator wise as we did not get to see much, but our supporters from Mackay certainly enjoyed themselves. We were overwhelmed with the number of people camping this year, and the event committee must be complimented again for the way this was organised.

Back to the stages, probably the most potentially dangerous from our perspective was Stage 2. We were able to drive the bank in the creek, but heard reports of a number of vehicles that didn't, which then got sideways on precarious angles on the bank. A roll over into the creek could have potentially left a driver under water and difficult to get out. (Just a thought for planning next year). Notwithstanding this it was great to see the variation in Stage 2 with having to which the vehicles down over the bank.

As for cages, we can see from the organisers perspective that cages would provide better safety (certainly would not be good to see anyone hurt ) - by the way I was the navy in the vehicle which rolled badly in 2006 so am very conscious of safety. We have all been thinking about roll over protection, prior to this being mentioned, but because it is very difficult to do an internal cage in a Defender, I have been planning an external cage ( just didn't get around to finishing it this year) and would like some thought to be given to this as an option. If its not an option and cages are introduced, then we will just have to conform some how.

Anyway, you should all be very proud of the efforts you put in. You have all been very instrumental in getting the CQ OffRoad Challenge recognised as a premier event. If we only could get a venue like yours close to Mackay we would have a go at one to.

Thanks again for the great weekend and especially to those on the committee who fronted up again this year.

[tiler0172]

disco 3
as a competitor do you think the tracks were that hard that it warrants going cages .
cheers
crazy eyes

[Disco3]

No I personally don't think the 2008 tracks warranted cages. As mentioned I think the most potentially dangerous stage was Stage 2 and this was not a cage issue but an underwater issue. Most of the tracks gave the drivers someting to think about but were not in my opinion fraught with danger if approched with respect. (Although we did not do the GPS special hill climbs)
As indicated I will most probably be building an external cage for the Defender in any case, (only finished the rear tray the Wednesday night before the weekend) but that doesn't have anything to do with the 2008 tracks.

[Joshie_C]

I`m working on a new theory I heard of. Apparently It`s possable to drive sensably and be less hard on your car!!

Where is the real william!!! What have you done to him!!!!

In my eyes, tracks were perfect this year, good mix between driving the hills and having to winch up the hills, (all winching makes for a very dull comp, for teams and crowd too) Format perfect too, love the 5+5+2 saturday, with 1 single stage on sunday, big sat but give us fat bastards time to recover... Only thing maybe seeing some common ground or better interpration of rules for teams and officials, seen a few dodgy wheel spin whistles going whilst car still going forward quite easily... Also we were told gates start and stop and rear of drivers door, yet one official refused to stop the clock until the entire car was in the gate (which was physically impossible as we had all run into the back of each other trying to fit, and first car was out under the bunting)...

Just me 2 cents worth.

Had and absolute awesome weekend, still cant wipe the smile off my face, its always a top run weekend and everyone involved (from organisers to competitors) should be very proud of themselves in what was achived for the sport of 4wding in rockhampton...

[ELF_83]

i think the tracks are hard enough for cages, just cause a track is easy doesn't mean there is no risk. I know of alot of the people talking here that have rolled in easier stuff (even flat ground). when you play hard its only a matter of time till something doesn't go your way. Also the majority of the cars in it this year are not daily drivers anymore, yes some were but most aren't if your prepared to drive this sorta stuff you gotta be prepared to destroy your car. cause it'll only be a matter of time till it happens.

One thing that i am going to bring up and i will next year if im on the commitee that i will be pushing for. is seperate bunting for spectators, they must think that 25mm pink tape has an invisible force feild around it. i have seen in comps all over the place that it is only a matter of time till a spectator is hurt or killed by one of these trucks, bot going to be the drivers fault but if steering arm breaks or something driver is only a passenger till car hits something or stops and in comp situation you'll always be on the loud pedal. Something simillar to tuff truck where you have track bunting (pink) with the usual penalties and then 5-10m behind depending on situation another bunting (blue) to keep crowd away and if car crosses blue bunting instint DNF.


Just something i been thinkin bout for a while cause i know i certainly don't wanna be responsible for killing someone.


Also don't think the night stages were very spectator friendly from a viewing point of view, great tracks from driver but average from spectator after talking to some people there.

[Slick_CQ]

Great Feedback Folks !

Thanks for taking the time to consider and respond ! From my assessment (after a few beers of course) that's only two competitors and two "Officials" to date. That means (at least) 13 more Teams and a whole lot of "Officials" and spectators who surely MUST have an opinion !!!

Keep them coming - PLEASE.

By the way Disco3 - you can absolutely count on a whole heap of support from your "southern cousins" if you can locate a suitable property around Mackay. The only issue ... Can you "old fella's" from Team [/i]Two & a Bit[/i] handle two comps a year ?


Slick

[Mosko111]

hey guys, i was in team snafu we came FIRST!!!! on the wrong end of the leader board that is haha, but thats doesnt matter, just like to say it was an awesome event with a nice variety of tracks, i think elfs point about different bunting for spectators is a good idea, my thoughts is maybe that orange council stuff thats about a metre high would be a great idea because its more of a physical barrier then just surveyors tape, and it wouldnt have to be used absoloutely everywhere but just the high speed corners or climbs and stuff like that which is where the spectators get drawn to, and i think it would be easier to police it aswell because its plain obvious if someone is on the wrong side of it, and just one thing is that once a team has finished a stage i think there should be a bit more of an effort from the teams to get the logbook filled out and cars out of the finishing box so that the next team can be started alot quicker, this way it will be alot better for spectators who will have a more constant flow of vehicles running through the stages and as everyone knows thats what they travel to see, so theres a few thoughts on what may make things a bit safer and better, (even though the comp was still run awesomely this year) and i cant wait to enter again, oh and id definately travel to mackay or the sorounding areas to enter a second comp for the year!!

[digsy]

The people in the club are going to hate this but...

I reckon the committee should get paid in some form...

I'm not saying they should make a squillion dollars but if the people involved have the skills to run a top class event they should be rewarded for their controbution...

Maybe gift vouchers from sponsers... That way club/comp money goes back into it's sponsers and it's hard working members...

Sorry I know I'm gonna get flamed for this but I feel like the people involved are worth the extra effort to show them that the event appreciates their dedication...

Just I'm sure that almost every other organiser of this calibre makes something from thier events...

[Wilba]

Just be carefull digsy I`m no expert mate but by making money or a profit you could leave yourself open in the case of a claim.I`m sure that gifts as such woudn`t raise any issues though.Mabey there could be a bigger prize for the best offical for the weekend that might sort out any decrepensy on whistle blowing too at the same time!Also while on this note because of the smoothness of the event mabey there could be a comittie stage for the organisers with trucks.Bunted out by a group of competitors for thair good efforts.I know I woudn`t mind giving up a couple of stages for a bit more fun.Then everyone can fix thair cars before the next event. yay!

[Mosko111]

yeah that would be a good idea, and i dont know if this is any good of an idea, but you know how speedway and old mudracing events used to have raffles where you could win a ride in a vehicle, and then they would give a local newspaper or radio worker a co-pilots run in one of the vehicles, it wouldnt have to be anything to hard, and the likes of crazy eyes or the hulk or any of the other comp rigs could take them for the spin, it would make a little more money through the raffles or could be a lucky gate prize to entice more poeople to come have a look with a chance to go for a ride in a wild fourby, just a suggestion, im not sure if it would work with the insurance and everything these days, and you could just have them strapped in when they get to a winch point and then just get a marshall to hook the winch on because as you guys would know being in a car the first time you winch up something that looks a little to steep for a vehicle is an awesome feeling,

[ELF_83]

the club used to have raffles, but it all got canned cause only a couple of people were doing it all, alot of us work outta town or are just too lazy to help, and for the hours put in it wasn't very much reward financialy for the club, so it was decided for the club that it would just be the comp to raise money, even then it was hard to get help for 1 weekend.

As for taking people for rides it great fun for us, but i have a hard enough time getting anyone to sit beside me, most times i don't have a navi till the day before a comp, still chasing a perminant navi for next year. I don't know what it is Rd. 2 was first time i every rolled a car and never crashed a car, have owned big HP cars all my life.

[digsy]

True wilba... I was more so thinking of a discount at sponsors stores or something along those lines... something that might entice everyone not competing to get involved... You could keep your marshall tag for the year and use it for a 10% discount at all sponsers stores...

even if it was an esky with the comp details on the side... like the stubby cooler but bigger...

And maybe a bigger present for the event committee so that they get a little more encouragement for their efforts...


Overall it truely is an awesome event and one that every 4b head in rocky hopes going for a long long time...
It is a local competition on pa with all national comps...
Well run, great tracks, great teams

My opinion on the roll cages is that it needs to be looked at very carefully... as in if you have a ute and the tray has a cross braced 4 point roll cage with straight legs and the line between the top of the cage and the highest solid bullbar mount is above your head whilst in the cab shouldn't that be ok? As in BMA style ROPS?

It is still a club event and not everyone wants to cut into their A/C vents to fit a roll cage. I can understand that, So you need to really think about how to maximise safety whilst still being realistic about your target audience... right or wrong alot of those cars are still getting driven to work! Team Problematic didn't have one car that isn't driven everyday... So I think you need to be mindful of this... Cages, yes, options, yes...

[tacrocky]

I think you will find that most of the committee or all, do it for the sport. We want to see the sport grow in this area but we need to mindfull of the new ones to the sport and as digsy says most of the cars are everyday drivers. Three years ago there weren't many cars with big tyres , double lock . The sport in this erea is growing fast and we need to make sure every one is involved experienced and inexperienced. Thanks for all the good words on the event it is much apreciated by the committee.

[Kramer]

This is coming from a spectator point of view.

Was the format good ? (5 morning SS + 5 afternoon SS + 2 nite SS + Sunday GPS run). I did like the break in between gave us some time to restock the esky and grab some lunch, I didn't bother to watch sunday though.

Did you feel that the rules were fair and reasonable ?

Was there enough spectator access to the tracks ? The tracks were an easy walk from camp.

Were you able to find your way to the SS's easily ? The little map worked well.

Were the tracks too hard ?

Were the tracks not hard enough ?

Did you enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie of a Team event or would you prefer to run solo ? As a spectator I liked the teams event you could see how they worked and didn't work together.

How would you feel about a format change - 5 Sat Morning SS + 5 Sat Afternoon SS + 5 Sunday SS (no Saturday night SS) ? I would like to see some Sunday morning stages I didn't watch too much of the night stages do to poor viewing.

Do you have any suggestions to improve the event - from a competitor or spectator's perspective ? I did enjoy the event and will be back, I only have the Xtreme winch challenges to compare it against though. Could you guys have a PA or something up so spectators can be informed on what motor is in the cars a little background on the teams etc they have it at the Xtreme challenge and I listen to it all the time cause I often don't have a clue who is running etc unless its written on the cars.

I agree with the comments on spectator bunting, it was a joke with me and some mates that the pink ribbon will stop anything that comes into contact with it And don't get me started with parents who let their kids who don't even come up to the bottom of a bull bar letting their kids walk in front and behind cars trying to stage.

I found some stages a little slow or long? sometimes it would be 15 mins or more until another car came through I know its hard to judge how well people with go through the stages. I suppose it gave me time to grab more beer from camp

I know its a lot of work to organise and run an event and you can't please everyone but that was just my point of view.

[Mosko111]

i rekon you're pretty much spot on there kramer, someone talking over the loud speaker would be great, giving a bit of back ground info and as you say what engines they are running and maybe tyre sizes and types for those spectators who have just come out for a look and like what they see, and heres a question for the comitee members i realize at the start there was only meant to be 12 teams but ended up having 15 run but is that the most you guys think could be run over the weekend? i know of a few teams who missed out because they got in to late and was just running, i realize its a bit of a hastle having to look after so many people at once but thought id ask anyhows, and just a question with the cages, if that rule comes in will it mean the vehicles will no longer have to be road registered? or do the type of cages that are required past roadworthy regulations?

[Wilba]

Internal cages can be road regoed in queensland you just have to find out the rules.I think anyone who offroads needs to think whats the wost thing that can go wrong any time when they fourby.When you have a look at some off the impressive rigs that were at this particular comp you have to ask yourself why not a cage?Externals work and if made right could be removable after all if cq challange is the only type of comp your car will be in because of the relative tighness of the tracks the only thing you have to worry about is a broken winch cable or such .All mod`s should be thaught through and if you plan to use the car as a daily driver and if they stay on the car they should be blue plated besides a well made cage can save your beloved daily driver from the wrecking yard!!!I think alot of people are worried about this modifacation and i bet if you asked anyone who has a cage how they rate it in thair list of mods its in the top three.It doesn`t matter how hard or how safe each competitor rates any track IF THE WORST HAPPENS and someone gets hurt or worse I can hear it on the news now "The vehicle involved did not even have a rollcage".I just think the message is that you can make you car as caperble as you like and you don`t need to put in ROPS in your car for this comp!The organisers have put this out there and I cannot see how an event could be run without compulsery cages of a high standard!Sorry for going on a bit but i`ts somthing I feel strongly about.

[buggerluxkid]

As for taking people for rides it great fun for us, but i have a hard enough time getting anyone to sit beside me, most times i don't have a navi till the day before a comp, still chasing a perminant navi for next year. I don't know what it is Rd. 2 was first time i every rolled a car and never crashed a car, have owned big HP cars all my life.

i'd give it a crack, i can handle mark no worries, and the hulk, aint been with crazy eyes yet, or tacrocky. i aint scared bout rollin, done before sorta (hense me why me lux got so many problems now). THanks for that feed back Kramer i'm sure my self and the rest of the committee next year will take it on board. i plan on puttin an internal cage in me lux she's me everyday driver, but the way i drive when i go playin, sorta makes me warrant a cage for more protection, i've got mates who don't like bein in the car when i got fourbyin. i tend to use trees to my advantage and get on some gnarly angles. the way the sports headin and what used to be an entry level comp in the early days to what it is now, the next possible step is for roll cages either internal or exo to be added to the rules, its just evolution.

cheers all

[WelchyGQ]

is the CQ club looking at running any other comps soon?

Such as top truck challenge etc? or a two car event?

Cheers,

Welchy

[Joshie_C]

Hey if you boys dung anywhere near as hard as the talk on here i'm looking forward to the next play sunday at seeone park (he he, i crack myself up)

It is a really interesting debate this one about roll cages, and the hard part is there is no right or wrong answer really... Do you leave it as an entry style event and maybe back the tracks down and make it no cages, leave the tracks the same and no cages like this year, enforce cages and run with the tracks again... And all of them i think have their pro's and con's. would be good to see as many people as possible turn out to the next club meeting (on tuesday and the western) and let the committe know your thoughts and any ideas you may have... Or maybe a sunday talk session or something over a few beers (something really informal just bunch of people together just taking some ideas)

[XTREME MMM]

Sorry to butt in but:-


Cages are for your safety, regardless of course design.

You can still roll over on an easy course.

This has been proven time & time again.



My main suggestion to the CQ club, apart from cages is:-

Everyone has to be a member of a 4WD Club which is Incorperated with the Qld 4WD Assoc. to compete.


Cheers
David