THE picturesque western area of the Port MacDonnell coastal reserve roared into life on the weekend,
as the South Eastern Automobile Club kicked off its 2023 season with the Twin Peaks Hill Climb.
The was no shortage of action as a capacity field of 70 competitors tackled two tough tracks, with wind and rain across the weekend, along with sand, all adding to the spectacle.
Competitor cars ranged from a Legends purpose built race car, through all types of sedan-based two-wheel-drives, four-wheel-drive Subaru WRX’s and Mitsubishi EVO’s to a Citroen 2CV.
Half were SEAC members, with the remainder visiting from Adelaide and Victorian clubs.
Club life member, Kevin Raedel showed how it was done in a little black Fiesta after drawing the dubious honour of car number one.
Drivers needed consistency over the two days, with times added together from both runs on both days for the outright or class honours.
Saturday produced some fast times, with only a few drivers coming to grief.
It was no surprise to see four-wheel-drives fill the first six placings, with eventual outright winner Doug Johnson, Sean Day, Guy Chet, Damien Brand, Jordan Rohrlach and Patrick Hitchcock heading the list.
Johnson drove his Subaru WRX well and pulled a 52.64-seconds on his third run and 47.20-seconds on the second run.
Day wound his way through to a best time of 53.42 and 48.82 seconds on his third attempt, while Chet did his best run on track one on the fourth attempt with a time of 54.11 seconds and 48.92 on his second attempt of track two.
Sunday morning brought the threat of more rain, with strong, gusty winds, but it cleared late in the morning to turn on a bit of heat and some very quick times then appeared.
Johnson continued his precious day’s effort to set the pace on both tracks – 52.73 seconds on track one and 48.20 on track two.
Brand used the warmer track conditions to advantage to clock a 53.34 seconds on track one, then 48.38 on track two to push for an outright placing.
Chet was also quick on track one, with a time of 54 seconds and a 49.07 on track two.
Day did it all on first first attempt – 54.12 and 49.17 his best for day two.
Once the racing was done and times added up, Johnson received the outright honours with a combined time of 3:20.77 seconds.
Day was close to five seconds behind with 3:25.53 seconds, followed by Brand 3:26.08 seconds.
Brand pipped Chet by less than a second overall, with the latter’s time of 3:26.10 seconds.
CLASS PLACINGS
Standard Vehicle 2WD up to 1800CC: Kevin Raedel – 4.29.08 seconds.
Standard Vehicle 2WD 1801-2500CC: Nathan Crettenden – 3:58.62.
Standard Vehicle 2WD 2501-4000CC: Chris Hortop – 3:55.42.
Standard Vehicle 2WD over 4000CC Alex Bohner – 4:22.07.
Improved Vehicle 2WD up to 1800CC: Peter Lock – 4:06.48.
Improved Vehicle 2WD 1801-2500CC: Damien Wilson – 3:54.96.
Improved Vehicle 2WD 2501-4000CC: Luke Day – 4:02.43.
Improved Vehicle over 4000CC: Brad Smith – 3:41.49.
Modified Vehicle 2WD up to 1800CC: Kyron Williamson – 3:44.92.
Modified Vehicle 2WD 2501-4000CC: Brendan Wegener – 3:50.31.
Modified Vehicle 2WD over 4000CC: Glenn Latter – 3:35.32.
Improved Vehicle 4WD: Sean Day – 3:25.53.
Modified Vehicle 4WD: Douglas Johnson – 3:20.77.
Ladies Class: Tania Langcake – 3:53.22.
