IT took a big effort on Sunday for Damien Brand to claim the outright honours in the South Eastern Automobile Club’s Twin Peaks Hill Climb.
The opening event for the club’s 2020 season saw the annual hill climb run over two scenic courses at Port MacDonnell, with a solid 40-driver field from as far away as Werribee, Ballarat and Ararat in Victoria, plus Naracoorte, Millicent and Beachport looking to claim the title from the Mount Gambier drivers.
The weather played the game, apart from some wind and variable temperatures kept competitors honest over the two days.
Times recorded were the fastest run at each of the two courses each day, collated, with the winners decided by the total.
With a few incidents occurring over the 2 days, the casualties reduced the numbers steadily and had an effect on the final results.
Saturday saw Glenn Latter in top spot by just under one second from Brand, with Steve Grinstead some five seconds further back.
Grinstead’s efforts came to a grinding halt late Saturday when his drive line failed.
Dale Tucker held down fourth spot, with Dale Cagney fifth, but with Jason Jordan only a half second behind in a quick Torana.
That left Sunday to decide the results, but some mechanical issues caused a few withdrawals, while small errors at the wheel saw more fall off the list.
Brand pushed hard on track two and in the end it was enough to claim the win, closely followed by Latter and Tucker.
