Outback Challenge

Submitted: Saturday, May 21, 2005 at 15:56
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I finally got clear of the bosses, the one who pays me and the one who spends it, and had a great day out yesterday.

I went down to a property east of Menindee to catch some of the action in the Outback Challenge. (Round trip of about 400km). Lots of sand flying and lots of cars flying too. they are sooooo fast. I reckon most of us could get the family wagon around 90% of the course but the speed these guys are travelling at is amazing.

The local paper this morning says 50 of the original 57 vehicles are still going. Pretty good reliability when you consider what they are doing. But some of the cars and crews we saw are getting very tired.

It will all be decided today with the final three stages finishing about now. Personally I think they are all winners. There are some pretty daunting stages in this event and anyone who gets to the end can be proud of the achievement.

One question though. How come none of them knows how to use a snatch strap? Yesterday one guy got bogged in the sand and another competitor tried to snatch him out. It did not look that difficult to me but the approach was all wrong and failed. I thought you were supposed to hook up the strap leave a bit of slack, 2m or 3m, and drive away so that the stretch in the strap gently accelerated the bogged vehicle clear. This guy just slowly took up the slack and then gunned it, nearly bogging both vehicles. The same happened at the prologue where the recovery using a snatch strap was again very tentative and nearly failed again, certainly on soft ground it would have.

Anyway that is it for another year. Already looking forward to the next one when hopefully I will get more time off to have a better look and spend more time in the bush.

Oh! I did not see anymore of Bonz but am willing to bet he is having/has had a ball. If anyone is talking to him tell him to call at the Fire Station in Broken Hill if he has time tomorrow. I'll boil the billy

Duncs.
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