Exedy XI-RFC Australia-22/29 Sept.Landcruiser Mountain Park

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Points are now up after Day 5.

You can find these at http://www.xtreme4x4sport.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Story coming later from our roving reporter Ashley Lucas from NZ4WD Magazine.

More later.

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Exedy XI-RFC Australia.
Day Five summary.

A fine but cloudy day at Landcruiser Mountain Park for day 5 of the XI-RFC. It was then off to Diaper Creek for the first stage of the day. A really short but interesting stage that had at least one winch or two if you stuffed things up dropping into the soft creek bed. First up were Christian Trusz and Terry Kane who did stop in the creek bed and winched through to the opposite bank. Looping back around and back across there was a short vertical bank to get up and again the winch was required.

Next up was Aaron Ward and Steve O’Donnell who had a very good day yesterday at the GPS stages. They successfully drove the creek crossing and only winched once to finish in a very quick time.

Dave Burrows and Howard (Jumbo) Crossley were next and by picking the right line with just the right momentum and acceleration also drove the creek and therefore only had the one winch. Col Warneken and Cam Gale did the same but it wasn’t to be for Shane Harris and Alex Driscoll.

Shane bogged the GU Nissan down and Alex set up the long winch. As he started to winch Shane stalled the V8 but didn’t stop winch quickly enough while he attempted to restart the engine. This put a huge strain on the winch rope and it broke at the vehicle flying through the air towards Alex. The rope was tied to the winch drum and they winched out only to have misfortune again at the bank out of the creek. The rope kept breaking or slipping at the knots that Alex was using to tie it back to the hook.

It seems their misfortunes would continue with the engine loosing the drive belt and Shane not having power steering. All the other competitors showed good team spirit encouraging these new comers and helping with techniques and talking them through. The waffle boards they were carrying were put in use and they were soon up.

On the drive back to the finish over some rocks Shane hit his arm/elbow on the door of the vehicle and required medical attention from event paramedic Darren. How much bad luck can one team have?

Due to his sore arm Shane Harris did not start the remaining stages for the day which were at the head of the Brisbane River and would prove to be entertaining and very different stages planned by Mr Metcalfe. This stage will long be remembered by competitors and spectators alike and saw 50% of the remaining 4 competitors DNF the stage. It was compulsory ground anchor stage for all winching. And the first winch up the hill required a change of direction by use of a pulley block off a tree, but the ground anchor was still the anchor point. With hard paddock ground it wasn’t too difficult for most of them to set the anchor and in all cases the driver was out assisting his winch man.

The dramas began near the finish when the drove into a water hole with a sandy bank out and the vehicles couldn’t drive it. Too much wheel spin and the vehicle would dig it self down. There was only sand and gravel close by for the ground anchor and teams tried every trick they could think of to get the anchors to hold. Aaron Ward and Steve O’Donnell managed a very good time but Col Warneken called a DNF on this stage as he was concerned about the water inside his foot well affecting the electronic ‘fly by wire’ accelerator pedal he has for the big V8.

Dave Burrows and Howard Crossley (Jumbo) managed to get out and finish the stage but it was all to go wrong for front leader Christian Trusz and Terry Kane. They couldn’t get the anchor to hold and even resorted to digging the sand in front of the vehicle by hand. Eventually they too called a DNF.

The third stage of the day was a non winch gymkhana fun type stage on the sands of the Brisbane River. Vehicles had to drive around a central peg into various garages and this stage provided lot of water splash photo opportunities.

The fourth stage was a run along the river bed and across the river between two fallen logs and up a winch hill. The competitors were allowed to walk the stage first and Christian Trusz confidently stated he would drive the hill and when his turn came, that is precisely what he did.

Dave Burrows tried a different approach to the river crossing that cost him dearly with a penalty and time.

The last stage of the day was another ‘entertainment’ stage where they had to hand winch a Suzuki out of the way using only a Hi-Lift Jack.

Wednesday night also saw the mid week prizes presentations for stage wins at the central Marquee. Christian Trusz and Terry Kane are still leading overall but have had their lead cut back to just 82 points and only 182 points separates the top 4. There are 18 more stages to go over the next 3 days with a maximum of 1800 points on offer so anything can happen.



Quote of the day;
He may not always be right, but he is always the boss.

Thanks to Ashley for this. And I am quite sure the above comment was directed at me.

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Good morning, we are into our last 5SS of the Exedy XI - RFC Australia. Points are below. Story & photos, will follow.

5 Christian Trusz / Terry Kane-Patrol QLD 3453
7 Col Warneken / Cam Gale-Patrol NSW 3320
6 Aaron Ward / Steve O'Donnell-Patrol QLD 3212
3 Dave Burrows / Pat Burrows-Landcruiser NSW 3173
4 Shane Harris / Alex Driscoll-Patrol QLD 1054
1 Rod Rathbone / Russell Rathbone-Landcruiser NSW 855