Bencubbin 300 2011 Race Report

The 2011 Bencubbin 300 would not be the best weekend for Flat Out Off Road Racing Team. Coming into the event running 2 cars for the first time in over a year, we were confident of good results. With the hilux running a new motor after issues at Hyden and the 80 series in its first race since gearbox issues at the Gascoyne Dash we were eager to see what each car could do.

On Friday afternoon the truck headed off to Bencubbin with 80 series inside and hilux in tow. Both cars were scrutineered Friday night and readied for Saturdays race. Saturday morning came and we took off for recon of the prologue and full 50km track. Recent rains had left some boggy sections and puddles on track. I was first car off the line in the hilux and took off to tackle the course to try and gain a good starting position. We had a good clean run taking care with all the mudholes and had a great run right up until the final corner where I braked hard, locked the brakes and started understeering towards a drain. I turned in hard and accelerated, but in doing so put the car right up on 2 wheels and came back to earth with a thud. Luckily no damage and the prologue time was good enough for first in class. Dad had a reasonably good run in the 80 series and mid field in the extreme 4wd was a good effort.

Section 1 would be started at 20 second gaps, which was awesome as you could see the cars around you and gave more incentive with the chase or to not be caught. In the hilux I was running well, being right on the bumper of a prolite at the end of the railway line and not being passed right up until drama struck 3kms from the finish of the 2nd lap. Coming back up the railway line the car lent over hard to the left and dropped as if we had a flat tyre, I jumped out quickly to get ready to change the spare, however finding that there was no wheel at all and no wheelstuds was a little more concerning. After a long walk to try and find my wheel a couple of the sweep quads came by to see how we were doing and pointed out that we had enough time left before we would be timed out to do some bush mechanic like repairs and limp to the finish line to still claim points and be in the race. After losing an hour we managed to limp home on wheelstuds and be the 2nd last finisher, but more importantly we still received all important state title points. Whilst not the ideal result, the pace we had shown on lap 1 was the encouraging and I knew that if I had a good run on day 2 we could still salvage points. In the 80 series dad was suffering being held up in dust, but still had a good run with no issues.

Overnight repairs were made to the hilux allowing us to start day 2 we knew we were in for a tough day. With dust patches starting to appear being second last car on the road with 30 second gaps we could only hope that we could move ourselves as far up the field as possible. Dad didn’t have the best run in section 2, with thermo fan issues on the line causing the 80 series to get warm, however he took off directly behind me in the hilux, ensuring a lot of fun as I would try and keep away from him. At certain sections around the track he was getting really close and we were almost at the point of needing to let him go, however we were catching and passing cars at a steady rate, which gave us some breathing space. Late on lap 2 down the railway line dad disappeared from my mirrors, I didn’t know it at the time, but a drag link failure meant that he had no steering, causing the 80 series to roll ending the race.

Fortunately dad and navigator Gavin were both ok and the FJG Engineering roll cage held up perfectly. I finished the section leading the Production 4wd times, but was nowhere near making up the time needed to erase the 1 hour defecit from the day before. After prepping the hilux for the final section, the 80 series was recovered.
Section 3 I went out to have some fun and make sure that there was no more damage to the hilux. We set a good pace and again won the section in class, which meant more valuable points, but were left wondering what could have been after the wheel studs breaking on day 1.

I would like to thank mum and dad for the huge effort in getting the car to the event and all the prep work leading up to it. I only arrived at the track 5 minutes before recon after attending the AIS driver development camp in Canberra the week prior and if it wasn’t for their dedication there was no way I would be racing. Thanks must also go to Monster Rides, Ian Diffen Tyre Factory Joondalup, Gatorz Eyewear, Jason Galea Multimedia and 4130 Clothing

Cheers, Jason Galea