Just got back tonight from a fun 2 days at Clubkhana.
7 events over 2 days plus optional hill climb and night mud run. I'll describe the events in the order I did them.
First up was Rolly Polly. This was a short tight track through the trees. You drove in about 50 metres then had to get out and roll a tyre around an obstacle course whilst wearing welding gloves. Points off if you didn't keep at least one hand on the tyre at all times or the tyres bounced off the ground. Then a short drive around a hairpin (I incurred one back and fill penalty) and then stop for another tyre rolling obstacle and then back to the finish.
I was happy with my first event and my time was competive with the 3 or so other that had gone before me....and nothing fell off the Mahindra.
Ready to roll(ypolly)
Next was Flag Flying. This was a slalom course where you weaved up the course putting a small flag on a stick on top of each salom post which matched a flag already on that post. Odd posts on the first weave them zoom back down for an opposite weave to do the even posts, then zoom down collecting all the flags back out again and into the garage. Lots of similar looking flags! Watching those before me, nearly everyone was incurring a back and fill to get around almost every post - not long wheel base friendly. My turn (by myself as I had no navi) I managed to weave up and back and up and back with no back and fill but picked up one penalty - I think for touching the base of a marker cone. Almost chucked a flag straight out the other side of the Jeep too!
One of my best events, I picked up 1st place for stock class and also the marshalls award for that track.
Better not throw the flag out the other door!
Next was the wheel change. Basically, stop on a steep slope and get chained to a tree. Put all your jack, brace, jacking plate in a tub and draw a card which nominates which tyre you need to change. Timers starts with both hands on the bonnet, then remove a wheel, roll it down the hill aorund a tree back up past the Jeep around another tree and put it back on. Then all the gear back in the tub and hands on bonnet to stop the clock. Points off for not having your own jack, base board etc.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Flying the (dusty) club colours in the wheel change.
Next was the winching. You had to hand winch a marshalls' car over a log - both axles. Fastest time with penalties for not following safe winching procedure (bag over cable, calling winching, standing over cable etc). I got a couple of penalties - one for not checking the rigging of the winch to tree strap that was already done for you, the other I don't know.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Check out my biceps... ok its not me at all.
Last event for Saturday was Easy Come Easy Go. 4 coloured balls in a bucket in the centre of a padock. 4 posts with matching coloured buckets spread around the outside. Drive to black bucket, get ball and then drive to coloured bucket and deposit. Repeat for the rest and then drive around and collect them all and put them back in the black bucket and then exit. No back and fill but you can choose to drive in reverse between 2 buckets. Much much much dust.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Why do all the balls look brown?
Saturday night was a mud run fundraiser for the bush fire brigade and was planned to be run as a head to head with two tracks side by side. It got off to a slow start with both "big" 4wds getting bogged about 10 metres in. The recovery of one truck took ages whith 2 snatch straps and one drag chain sacrificed before a double line winch pull got him free. After that they decided to run everyone on the least boggy side which became a real drag strip after some of the mud was taken away on various undercarriages.
Not keen to play in mud with no doors nor to get bogged - I sat this one out (it was optional and didn't count in the overall comp). Kudo's to those who kept us entertained.
Loons!
Sunday, first event was the 4wd course. This was the most 4wdrivey of all the tracks with a rocky track crossing back on itself a few times within a small gully with steep sides. Idea was to get a finish time closest to the mystery time... somewhere between 2 min and 3 min 45 sec. As usual no back and fill and there was a really tight corner at the top of one of the climbs. First 4wd went through in 1st? low at amost idle and DNF'd at over 4.30. A couple of cars later, I was up and zipped around, did the tight corner in one go, and despite some of crowd telling me to slow down, I couldn't manage to get over 2 mins ... result DNF with 1m.49s.
I did pickup the marshall's award for this track for the fastest zooming around with a clean run.
Looking down on someone's run
Last competive event for me was the BasketBall. Sort of a half pipe for 4wds. 4 alternating forward then reverse garages on opposite sides of a long gully with a pretty tight U turn at the end. In each garage you had to try and shoot a basket ball through a tyre or similar. Let me say that is almost impossible and I only saw 1 person get 1 through. So assume automatic 4 penalties. There were a couple of tight turns between garages that troubled the longwheel bases more so. Only a couple of people managed to U turn without a back and fill by some good handbrake / donut work I didn't think I would be competitive without a navi to pass me the basket balls so I borrowed the Barney the navi from the yellow school bus who had a helmet with him.
I ended up with 1st in stock class. Thanks Barney.
View down the halfpipe
Locked and unlocked hill climbs for cash were next with some impressive climbs. Did not enter.
Those poor Springfield kids
So despite my DNF, my 2 1sts and 3 2nds got me overall 1st place for Clubkhana 2006 for stock class! Go the Mahindra.
Watch out David Attenburough!
Got a nice bushranger jacket, bushranger aircompressor, certificate for blown up photos of me competing from the photographers, oil, pocket knife things, hats, and more. Gave the goodies for the Basketball event (a DVD and some oil I think) to Barney the nav as I wouldn't have got the fastest time without him plus I was a little embaressed at how much stuff I was getting.
Hats off to Bushranger and all the sponsors (ARB gave away 3 handwinches and a Magnum winch to the 1st place winners of the winch comp classes). The Offroad 4x4 Club ran a great event - very smooth when you consider there were 80 drivers.
What a great weekend! Where was everybody else??????
7 events over 2 days plus optional hill climb and night mud run. I'll describe the events in the order I did them.
First up was Rolly Polly. This was a short tight track through the trees. You drove in about 50 metres then had to get out and roll a tyre around an obstacle course whilst wearing welding gloves. Points off if you didn't keep at least one hand on the tyre at all times or the tyres bounced off the ground. Then a short drive around a hairpin (I incurred one back and fill penalty) and then stop for another tyre rolling obstacle and then back to the finish.
I was happy with my first event and my time was competive with the 3 or so other that had gone before me....and nothing fell off the Mahindra.
Ready to roll(ypolly)
Next was Flag Flying. This was a slalom course where you weaved up the course putting a small flag on a stick on top of each salom post which matched a flag already on that post. Odd posts on the first weave them zoom back down for an opposite weave to do the even posts, then zoom down collecting all the flags back out again and into the garage. Lots of similar looking flags! Watching those before me, nearly everyone was incurring a back and fill to get around almost every post - not long wheel base friendly. My turn (by myself as I had no navi) I managed to weave up and back and up and back with no back and fill but picked up one penalty - I think for touching the base of a marker cone. Almost chucked a flag straight out the other side of the Jeep too!
One of my best events, I picked up 1st place for stock class and also the marshalls award for that track.
Better not throw the flag out the other door!
Next was the wheel change. Basically, stop on a steep slope and get chained to a tree. Put all your jack, brace, jacking plate in a tub and draw a card which nominates which tyre you need to change. Timers starts with both hands on the bonnet, then remove a wheel, roll it down the hill aorund a tree back up past the Jeep around another tree and put it back on. Then all the gear back in the tub and hands on bonnet to stop the clock. Points off for not having your own jack, base board etc.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Flying the (dusty) club colours in the wheel change.
Next was the winching. You had to hand winch a marshalls' car over a log - both axles. Fastest time with penalties for not following safe winching procedure (bag over cable, calling winching, standing over cable etc). I got a couple of penalties - one for not checking the rigging of the winch to tree strap that was already done for you, the other I don't know.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Check out my biceps... ok its not me at all.
Last event for Saturday was Easy Come Easy Go. 4 coloured balls in a bucket in the centre of a padock. 4 posts with matching coloured buckets spread around the outside. Drive to black bucket, get ball and then drive to coloured bucket and deposit. Repeat for the rest and then drive around and collect them all and put them back in the black bucket and then exit. No back and fill but you can choose to drive in reverse between 2 buckets. Much much much dust.
I picked up second place for stock class.
Why do all the balls look brown?
Saturday night was a mud run fundraiser for the bush fire brigade and was planned to be run as a head to head with two tracks side by side. It got off to a slow start with both "big" 4wds getting bogged about 10 metres in. The recovery of one truck took ages whith 2 snatch straps and one drag chain sacrificed before a double line winch pull got him free. After that they decided to run everyone on the least boggy side which became a real drag strip after some of the mud was taken away on various undercarriages.
Not keen to play in mud with no doors nor to get bogged - I sat this one out (it was optional and didn't count in the overall comp). Kudo's to those who kept us entertained.
Loons!
Sunday, first event was the 4wd course. This was the most 4wdrivey of all the tracks with a rocky track crossing back on itself a few times within a small gully with steep sides. Idea was to get a finish time closest to the mystery time... somewhere between 2 min and 3 min 45 sec. As usual no back and fill and there was a really tight corner at the top of one of the climbs. First 4wd went through in 1st? low at amost idle and DNF'd at over 4.30. A couple of cars later, I was up and zipped around, did the tight corner in one go, and despite some of crowd telling me to slow down, I couldn't manage to get over 2 mins ... result DNF with 1m.49s.
I did pickup the marshall's award for this track for the fastest zooming around with a clean run.
Looking down on someone's run
Last competive event for me was the BasketBall. Sort of a half pipe for 4wds. 4 alternating forward then reverse garages on opposite sides of a long gully with a pretty tight U turn at the end. In each garage you had to try and shoot a basket ball through a tyre or similar. Let me say that is almost impossible and I only saw 1 person get 1 through. So assume automatic 4 penalties. There were a couple of tight turns between garages that troubled the longwheel bases more so. Only a couple of people managed to U turn without a back and fill by some good handbrake / donut work
I didn't think I would be competitive without a navi to pass me the basket balls so I borrowed the Barney the navi from the yellow school bus who had a helmet with him. I ended up with 1st in stock class. Thanks Barney.
View down the halfpipe
Locked and unlocked hill climbs for cash were next with some impressive climbs. Did not enter.
Those poor Springfield kids
So despite my DNF, my 2 1sts and 3 2nds got me overall 1st place for Clubkhana 2006 for stock class! Go the Mahindra.
Watch out David Attenburough!
Got a nice bushranger jacket, bushranger aircompressor, certificate for blown up photos of me competing from the photographers, oil, pocket knife things, hats, and more. Gave the goodies for the Basketball event (a DVD and some oil I think) to Barney the nav as I wouldn't have got the fastest time without him plus I was a little embaressed at how much stuff I was getting.
Hats off to Bushranger and all the sponsors (ARB gave away 3 handwinches and a Magnum winch to the 1st place winners of the winch comp classes). The Offroad 4x4 Club ran a great event - very smooth when you consider there were 80 drivers.
What a great weekend! Where was everybody else??????
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