OST 4 Wandin 3 Sunday June 16th

At the drivers briefing we were told that all the sections were pretty dry and there was no need for the usual welly boots. What Coxy omitted to tell us that to get to most sections we had to cross a dam wall made out of clay and slushy mud. Hmmm. The drivers briefing at one stage also turned into an all singing and dancing affair as we serenaded Peter Hill with a chorus of Happy Birthday to You.

This was our second visit to Wandon 3 and the forward pegging party had foregoed the bottom paddock which last year saw us spend much time and effort pulling out bogged cars and instead had set a series of sections along the wooded hillside close to the dam. With full credit to the peggers, there were three sections that shared the same starting pegs which were a challenge to get going from by the third time we tried but each section had it's own unique characteristics and was well thought out.

Section one and two were climbs from the slippy bottom of the hillside around a few trees for a progressively more difficult finish up the top. Most managed a high score first time up but the second attempt foiled a few people as the ground became more slippy. Geoff and Greg Cox didn't drop a point and Grant and Steve only a couple that meant the front and rear engined cars were evenly matched over the terrain.

Craig suffered another loud engine knock during the second section and parked the car for fear of further damage, however he and passenger Leonie Twyman accepted an offer to co drive Keith's special for the rest of the day to keep everyone in the competition.

The favourite section of last year, a steep clay embankment had been pegged in reverse this year. Instead of sliding down the 7-foot drop we were asked to drive up it! Most managed to pop their front wheels through the nine pegs but with little traction and room to gather momentum, this was as far as anyone got.

Come lunchtime it was clear that Geoff was on a mission with Grant only a couple of points behind. Joanne Stritch was enduring a frustrating morning, not managing to capture the form she displayed at Arthur's Creek a month earlier. Phil and Paddy Fitton were also struggling with their first time out this season, not finding the grip required to get up to the higher scoring pegs.

We shared the property with three very inquisitive Lamas, who followed us around all morning to see what all the noise and spectacle was all about. Dinnertime was no exception as they wondered round together poking heads in cars and generally showing great interest in their new paddock mates.

The afternoon was spent further down the hillside after a brief re visit to the top of the clay embankment which had been re pegged over lunch. Graham Moyle managed to miss the one peg that had leaped out at him at a prior attempt to start his afternoon off better than the morning had finished.

Further along the hillside the sections went through scrub and trees with some very tight turns to be negotiated as well as the usual under foot challenges. Greg and Steve revelled in the conditions, both ruing the low score they both achieved on section 3 which gave them 6 points to chip away at to catch up to Geoff. Grant couldn't find his morning consistency and had to settle for a trio of six point scores in a row, which effectively dropped him out of contention.

Andrew Stritch found the distraction of a flat spot midway through the rev range didn't help, especially on section nine where the car bogged in at the one peg. The Webber carbie he has grafted onto the Subaru engine was not working to expectations and will be replaced prior to the next trial.

Birthday Boy Peter Hill also enjoyed a couple of good sections, particularly when we moved back towards the top of the property and got in amongst the trees again, as did Craig, showing Keith that extra revs and wider turns can result in more points.

The last section of the day was at the other side of the dam. As with last year we used a ledge and large tree to provide the test of grip and manoeuvrability. A quick check of the points showed Geoff was sat on 97 with Steve and Greg both on 95. Andrew Strich was the only one to get to the five peg whilst all the other competitors bogged or hit the 3 and 4, which gave Geoff his first win of the year with Steve and Greg collecting the other trophies.

Many thanks to all the people involved in pre pegging each trial, to our event Director John Cox and officials Mark Taylor and Paul Greg for keeping us in line all day and to our scorer Dot Moyle who gathers all our scores and keeps the drivers up to date with their progress.

OST 5 at Murrindindi will have been run and won by the time this article gets to print, however OST 6, a new property at Gilderoy beckons us all on July 14th. Directions to Gilderoy are: Proceed along the Warburton Highway to Yarra Junction - Noojee Road and turn right at the only traffic lights. Proceed down this road for 12 kms, look for the OST Mud trial signs on your left. Melways Ref 512 T3.

Other important coming event are the OST 7 - The Dale Shaw Trial on Sunday July 28th and OST 8, The John Pryce Trial on Sunday August 11th. Details of these trials in the next edition of Lightshaft or on our website at www.austin7club.org/Trials. Until next time, See you in the Mud

Keith Mitchell