12 Hours of Fury Endured

The “Red Centre” is now green following recent excessive rainfall and a heavy track caused plenty of surprises for competitors at the Sporties 12 Hour Enduro held at the Mt Ooraminna circuit near Alice Springs on the weekend.

 Fourteen teams turned up to pit their skills against the elements and the clock, traveling from all corners of the country to join the strong local contingent; it was “Razorback Racing” that emerged from the dark with lights ablaze to take victory.  South Australian James Madden/ Matthew Morgan in the #81 Razorback Pro Buggy and local Andrew Mowles in his single seater #135 Razorback Prolite set a new record by completing 25 laps of the 45km circuit in 11h 58m 31s.

 “The car ran flawlessly but it was hard going; I brought 500 litres of fuel with me and used 400 by three o’ clock,” said Madden.

 “Team Sting” finished second, Peter Taylor/ Troy Annesley in their #77 Pro Buggy drove the final stint, paired up with 2008 winner Mr Bruce Muir/ Mick Betteridge in the #422 Extreme 2WD ute; all putting in a consistent performance to remain at the pointy end throughout the afternoon completing 24 laps in 11h 40m 50s.

 Interstate combination “Mudge Motorsport” came home third.  West Australian’s Bradley Mudge/ David McLaughlin in the #48 Razorback Pro Buggy united with Victorian’s Aaron James/ Brett Plant in the #128 Razorback Prolite to complete 24 laps in a total time of 11h 46m 05s.

 Last year’s winners joined forces again but it was not to be for 2010; the local team “69’ers” held an early lead until lap five when Paul Gilbert/ Jol Pritchard/ Michael Smith drove into the pits – the #69 Jimco Pro Buggy suffering broken steering. Steve Sanderson/ Guy Pepper and crew quickly fuelled their #125 Jimco Prolite and kept the flag flying allowing Gilbert precious time to fix the problem.  In a roller coaster ride the team darted from first to fifth, back up to second then down to fifth (again with steering issues) finally settling in fourth place.  Paul Gilbert clocked the fastest lap of the event completing the 45km late morning in 26m 04s.

 Also super quick was the #44 Holeshot Pro Buggy of WA’s Ken Styles with local Chris Coulthard sharing the driving; team “Quicksilver” prologued first but their lead was short lived having to pull in part way through lap two with a broken axle.  Bernard Gwynne/ Justin Steadman/ Jason Phillips then picked up the baton in the Stuart Caravan and Cabin Park #440 Extreme 2WD but also pulled in on their second lap with a broken gear box.  The team revived the #44; Ken Styles behind the wheel recorded the fastest speed down “Conrod Straight” of 199kph but retired on lap eight following a gentle roll.

 Placing fifth was “in ya’ Racing” consisting of first time Off Roader’s Billy Geddes/ Jamie Ward from Queensland pushing hard in the (ex Gwynne) #441 Extreme 2WD truck, paired with Stewart Pritchard/ Rachel Elston in their Holeshot Super 1650.

 Alice Springs Off Road Race Club President Ken Callanan rocketed his little Suzuki Extreme 4WD around the track, his best lap for the day only 6 minutes behind the fastest Pro Buggy, but the pace took it’s toll on the Zuke; breaking a transfer case and forcing an early retirement.  “We’re really happy with this year’s event, it’s great to see new competitors and so many traveling from interstate; the secret must be out. The support from sponsors has been exceptional and we’re really grateful.”

 Major sponsors and proprietors of Sporties Café and Restaurant Jason and Jane Adami placed ninth, the Sporties Truggy succumbing to electrical gremlins on lap 15 (fourth at the time) but all was not lost.  Jason stating “This weekend was all about Jane (he laughs) she’s finally had a run in the navigator’s seat and has had a great time; she’s very happy… so I’m happy.”

  Only eight teams finished from the fourteen that started but all have said they will be back again to run 7am-pm next year at Mount Ooraminna.