AN OUTLAW PERSPECTIVE

YOU MISSED AN AWESOME WEEKEND if you weren’t at this years’ Superior All Terrain Challenge Finals!

Held at Landcruiser Mountain Park in conjunction with the Mud, Bulls and Music weekend, there was plenty of action to be found in every inch of the arena.

2004 saw Australia’s inaugural “Rock Racing” platform launched, with this years’ Superior All Terrain finals being the 3^rd year the Outlaw buggies have had the opportunity to race against the clock. 

This year was said to be the most extreme courses ever for the “Outlaw” class, with bigger drop-offs & off-camber sections on offer, thrilling the crowds with gravity defying displays from more than one vehicle.

Incorporating technical crawling & faster intermediate sections linking the various obstacles & climbs, Round 3 let the outlaws open the throttle & show what their machines were capable of.

 Tiny’s balancing act in the big red Hilux during qualifying heats on Friday was possibly the most entertaining, as he reached to adjust the Toyota’s inclinometer to check whether he really was on a 90 degree angle before deciding to throttle out!   

  Mick Garners’ U.S built Chevy buggy & the Yuri 4x4 turbo-charged Subaru machine launching up the hill climb sections on full noise was met with wild cheers from the spectators, who enjoyed the chance to see high powered Rock-crawlers up close & personal.

Shane & Bec Homan flexed their Rover V8 buggy through the boulder sections & over the vertical drop-offs with more finesse than some of the four wheel steer buggies.

Tina from Yuri 4x4 & Rhett – (Half Cut Racing), both shot up the exit line on stage 3 Friday with front wheels clawing the air most of the way to the top!

Aaron & Lynda piloted their green V6 Suzi buggy around the course in good time, putting them in the Top 5 finals shootout.

Rodger Edols in his blue V6 crawler managed to manoeuvre his ride into the No 1 position during the qualifying heats, with only 4 of 6 cylinders firing properly, but careful positioning by his recently crowned “OzRock- Best Spotter” “Nottie” proved to make them a formidable driving team.

Once again Rick Nolan showed natural driving talent, sharing the U.S.chevy buggy to land a fourth position during qualifying with only a couple of test drives previous to this weekend.

 Every year, the technology & build quality of the machines have improved  & with it, the event has grown to keep up with vehicle developments, continually upping the ante’ & building the tracks using the competitors’ inputs & suggestions, making each round more exciting for the spectators & competitors alike.