OST 2 - Panton Hill - Sunday 19th May

It's always a pleasure to be back at Panton Hill, we have probably been there for over 25 years now but for a new chum like myself the place has everything - good views, good parking, a valley, dams and creek. Overnight rain had put the icing on the cake and made for a really good day's trial.

The morning was spent at the top end of the property with much dodging in an out of trees. The first section saw everyone achieve a 10 point score with the second section providing most with a similar result. Section 3 was pegged a bit tighter and amongst the myriad of trees and pegs Steve Mason lost the plot and the map somewhere between 1 and 2 to give away a valuable 9 points.

Moving onto the well worn top gully we had a couple of casualties - Peter Hill's clutch crying enough and Greg Cox's drive shaft popping out in sympathy. Greg managed repairs during the lunchtime break, however Peter had to pack up earlier than planned.

Lunchtime repairs over, we headed back to the top gully again for a reverse run of section 4 which proved technically more difficult than the first time. Geoff Taylor clipped the 5-peg whist Allan Peterson and Graham Moyle couldn't persuade their rear-engined cars to avoid scraping the mud off the 6 peg as they passed. Spare a thought for Lori Filsell who was on passenger duties for Graham Craig and Geoff that day, she certainly knew every bump of the property once the trial was over. There are always opportunities for passengers at the trials so if you fancy being taken for a Sunday drive in lovely surroundings in an open top vehicle, apply within!

The afternoon was spent moving down the valley, dipping in the creek and then up the other side again doing the more familiar sections we have grown to love or hate depending on how you score. Craig Hansen's Toyota powerplant developed an expensive sounding rumble at section 7 which turned out to be a spun bearing and we all tried our hardest at section 8 - Callum's dam to get over the cunningly pegged hump. Grant and Steve going the closest with a hard fought 9 points, much to the delight of the assembled crowd. Andrew Stritch had been quietly working away at a respectable score but gave the 4 peg a nudge, which lost him a few valuable points.

Moving up the hill again and into familiar old territory we eventually found ourselves at the ubiquitous dam. With the spectators anticipating a good old drenching we lined up for the final time with Steve on 103 points, Grant on 101 and Andrew a solid third on 92. Instead of our usual in/out the section peggers had taken a different approach and sent us through the dam, over the wall, down the back, up the wall and through the dam again to the finish. (Good variation on the usual theme).

The rear of the dam wall proved too slippy for most, however Steve managed to coax his car up to the nine peg and put himself in an unbeatable position. At this point a loud bang from the gearbox signalled an end to all further efforts and that a trip to the local wreckers for a replacement was in order.

All in all a very enjoyable trial, despite forecasted bad weather conditions the rain didn't materialise until we had packed up for the day. We also picked up another Panton Hill property courtesy of an interested spectator who in his own words, liked what he saw and how we conducted ourselves.