THE South Eastern Automobile Club kicked back into action as SEAC Park on the weekend, with a well-received motorkhana event.
After jumping all the Covid-19 hurdles that were part of the requirements for running a Motorsport Australia event in these strange times, Mother Nature added her influence to test out the stamina of club members.
Behind the scenes Kevin Raedel, Ken Trimnell, Kate Pohlner and Sarah Cutting had many obstacles to overcome to get to the start line due to the heavy coronavirus restrictions in place.
Having succeeded, Danielle Wiseman and Sarah Coates then had to contend with rain in selecting suitable locations to set up the test areas at SEAC Park, as some of the track surfaces were under water.
But it did not stop 16 competitors from fronting up on Sunday morning for the first event for 12 weeks or more.
Luck was a huge factor through the day whether the track area was fresh, just had rain or the second run and chopped up and extremely slippery.
Test area “A” had “Star and “Bowler” events set up to run and the first few drivers appreciated a dryish course for the first Star test run.
Coates, a relative newcomer to Motorkhana, put in a tidy run and was a touch quicker than Bradley Harry for 1 and 2, with Aaron Bowering some three seconds behind.
Star 2 saw Damien Wilson keep it together to head Bowering by three seconds, with Trimnell next in line.
Bowler 1 saw Bowering benefit from the 4WD of the Subaru and set fastest time, Coates next with the Nissan Tiida 4 seconds back, with Russell Fisk another 2 seconds behind in his Hyundai Excel.
Bowering was again fastest in Bowler 2 with his superior grip, three seconds clear of Damien Wilson.
Wiseman was just one second behind, with a careful run in the ever-changing track in her Tiida.
Shifting to a drier track area saw competitors tackle the forward and reverse slalom.
Normally enjoyed as a test, it presented a considerable challenge, as most cars were covered in mud and windows fogged up, making it difficult to do the reversing leg.
Our Adelaide “local”, Wayne Casey, made the trip down and struggled with the earlier muddy test.
The Mazda MX5 he has used for many years came to grips with the test and he posted fastest time by nearly one second from a hard-charging Bradley Harry in his Toyota Starlet, with a similar gap to Bowering in third.
Test run two saw Bowering with the grip to get home in front of Casey, with Harry in third.
Some surface and test changes were made to straight slalom, an event that traditionally is enjoyed by most.
Damien Wilson managed to get things to happen and slid the Silvia around all the cones for the fastest time, a half-second in front of the Subaru of Bowering and less than a second in front of Geoff Wilson, finally coming to terms with the Magna.
Damien Wilson found even more grip and set fastest time in the next test, 0.03 seconds in front of Casey, with Wiseman in third.
A move to a fresh grass layout for the fifth test saw Geoff Wilson with fastest time, just in front of Bowering’s Subaru, less than a second behind and Ken Trimnell pushing into third place with a good drive in the muddy conditions.
Deemed impassable, the second attempt was abandoned.
Returning to the test area “B” a modified slalom layout provided some entertaining runs.
Bowering used all his skills to get fastest time, some two seconds clear of Geoff Wilson, with Harry rounding out the podium.
The second attempt saw Bowering improve his time by more than a second, with Geoff Wilson in second and Damien Wilson in third.
The next event on the amended calendar – Round 2 of the Club Khanacross series – will be held at SEAC Park on June 28.
RESULTS
Outright scores: Aaron Bowering, 423.55 seconds; Damien Wilson, 469.13; Ken Trimnell, 481.24; Geoff Wilson, 482.38; Phil Wilson, 487.23; John Whitehead, 488.11; Sarah Coates, 490.78; Bradley Harry, 499.73; Kevin Raedel, 509.70;Russell Fisk, 512.43.
Handicap points: Aaron Bowering; Geoff Wilson; Damien Wilson; Phil Wilson; Sarah Coates; Ken Trimnell; Kevin Raedel; John Whitehead; Bradley Harry; Russell Fisk.
Class points awarded to: A – Wayne Casey; B – Ken Trimnell; C – Damien Wilson; D – Geoff Wilson; E – Aaron Bowering. Women – Sarah Coates. Juniors – Bradley Harry.
