Finke Desert Race AORC- June 2009
Sunday morning
The crew and I arrived later than expected to Finke to meet the M/T truck. We were first on the scene to a guy in a written off pajero about 160km south of Alice. We thoroughly checked him over before getting him out of the wreck and into the cruiser, headed for the hospital. The guy didn’t have a scratch on him, but he was hurting like hell on the inside, he was lucky to survive, no seatbelt, left front chassis was on the drivers side.
We were super impressed with the Alice Ambulance service meeting us exactly half way from when we made contact at the roadhouse. We left 2 of our crew with the trailer, they later said 'every' offroad crew stopped for assistance, compared to some of the tourist that drove right by.
'Dude, wheres my Truck'
With the early morning episode behind us, we arrived at Finke 2.5 hrs later than first planned. I was very anxious to see the M/T Truck, and when we did see it, Chris and Stuey were laughing as usual and the truck was in perfect condition. I was pumped. After a closer inspection the crew gave it a quick once over, refueled and we were set for the race home. Just to be safe we had planned fuel stop not knowing our exact consumption, for our team it was all about getting down and back in 1 piece and driving the truck on the trailer.
Monday morning
7.55 and we were off, for me it was all about ass in the seat time in the trucks second outing, and getting a feel for the famous whoops. First section felt pretty good, we passed a couple cars and were gaining on the next when Stuey pointed to the volts gauge. Sure enough, 2 minutes later the ECU cut out as the alternator had failed. We pulled right off the track, Stuey did a great job strapping in the spare the best he could, we took our time to got it right as it was all about survival from here on.
Taking it easy up until the road section I kept pointing down to the battery and kept getting the thumbs up, and then we saw some dust, that was the finish of taking it easy. Every km closer to Alice my confidence grew, and I was getting a good feel for the whoops, the faster I went, the better the truck handled.
That Jump
I remember Dad and Chris telling me to go easy where ever theres a crowd, so I did for the first couple of sand hills, and didn’t know what all the fuss was about.
We came up to the next hill, and I gave the throttle a poke right at the top, we were airborne…….. seeing blue sky, not having a clue whats on the other side, and then landind flat was just the coolest feeling ever. When the M/T Truck landed near perfect, we both laughed our heads off. Im thinking, this bloody truck is unbreakable!!! From that jump onwards my confidence exploded, in true Mickey Thompson style, I was STANDING ON THE GAS and couldn’t do a thing wrong. It was a special moment for me, having belief in myself and how the truck handled. The next 10km was the best fun I ever had racing, I was just blown away with the Trucks potential of what Chris and I have.
It’s a big mindset change from running a reno box (like driving on thin ice) to running an AGB (bolt the throttle to the floor), I think it taught me how to look after the equipment to give us a better chance of finishing. About 10km from the finish the power steering started to go off right where the track started getting tight, we lost all power assist and went into survival mode and made it home safely. On a closer inspection the spare tyre mount dropped down onto the air cleaner which then kinked the power steering hose, we think it was from the jump as we landed pretty hard, also there was an imprint of the sump plug in the ally skid pan.
Looking at our trouble free sections 1 and 4, we were very happy with our times and what the truck is capable of.
Now we have the right set up, I absolutely love the Finke Desert Race, I now understand what all the fuss and hype is about. Im confident we will have a decent engine for next years race to allow us to have a serious crack it at. Brad Gallard will be the 1 to watch next year, that truck must just laugh at those whoops!
Congrats to all competitors that finished imparticular Beau Robinson from OBR for getting a podium finish, their passion for Off Roading is awesome.
Thanks to my Navigator Stuey who did a great job, all the crew, Scotty from SS racing frames for our awesome set of rear arms, Cam Ritchie, Dad, Chris, Kait and my wife Lisa for looking after the kids.
Big thanks to Brad and Phil from our major sponsor Mickey Thompson. I sometimes have to pinch myself thinking about being connected with something so special. The Book title, 'The fast life and tragic death of a racing legend' is a must read for any racing enthusiast. I think Mickey Thompson invented the word 'Legend'
For the record, the MTZ's are frigg'n fantastic, I hit the biggest, ugliest stump (that was on the track) at Hyden flat out in 4th, I thought it was gonna rip the front wheel off, let alone get a flat tyre, I was waiting for it to go down, but nothing. I'm glad it happened, because I'll never waste another second thinking about our tyres again!
Cant wait to get a look at the next 3 AORC tracks for the first time.
'Standing on the Gas'
Matt Western - 462
Published on 10th December 2009
