MUD, horsepower and action-packed racing was on display over the weekend with the running of the 2019 Pines Enduro.
South Australian Aaron Haby claimed the outright honours for the event, while also winning his class – unlimited – along the way.
The Haby team consisted of Aaron and his wife Liz, who finished ahead of Penola driver Greg Gartner by an impressive 13 minutes and 23 seconds.
Gartner teamed up with co-driver James Jennings and they flew around the course to take out the Class 4 honours, while also defeating outright third-place getters Talbot
Cox and Craig King by a close 57 seconds.
Mount Gambier had a significant showing of competitors over the weekend.
Murray and Jake England won Class 2 in their Suzuki Cultus 1600cc for a 16th outright finish.
They had a tight battle with fellow South Australians Simon and Lucy Tucker for much of the event, but pulled away in the longer stages.
A DNF to the Tuckers in the final stage cemented the Englands’ victory, with a total time of 5:27:18.337.
In Class 10, the Mount Gambier team of Jakob Douglass, Aaron Heemskerk and Sarah Douglass made short work of their division in a Honda K24 2400c.
They won the event by an impressive 20 minutes to finish 15th overall.
Class 7 saw Heath and Michelle Weedon fill the third step of the podium for a 27th outright placing as they raced the pines circuit in their Nissan Patrol TB48 4800cc.
They finished just under four minutes shy of second place, while Garry and Tamara Turnbull finished eighth in the unlimited class for a 35th outright result.
Also among the Mount Gambier competitors were the teams of Shaun and Brydon Klingberg, Jason Peel and Bill Young, Matthew Salt and Leon Hawke, Travis Telford and Jack Little, plus Barry and Jayden Edwards.
From Millicent Kurt Stephan and David Oakley represented the home town well in Class 1 to finish fifth for their division and 24th overall in their Nissan Q35 3500cc.
Opposed to previous dusty conditions, the 2019 Pines Enduro saw drivers tested in hail, rain and gallons of mud.
The conditions took their toll and of the 84 teams which braved the elements, only 28 greeted the chequered flag.
