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Returning to the Australian Off Road Championship for
the first time since 2005, the punishing Griffith round
saw Queenslander's, Geoff Pickering and Dylan Watson;
consolidate their position in the production 4wd
category of the series taking third in class from an
overall field of 80 cars
"You have no idea how tough it was out there today,"
said a very weary Geoff Pickering at the finish. "It's
the first time in many years that we've had a pure
endurance round of the championship and it showed today
which teams were really cut out for it, we're one of
only a handful to actually make the finish."
A delayed start due to heavy fog saw the first crews
away at 8am. Pickering and Watson in their V6 petrol
Pajero left just eight minutes later, determined to set
the pace as they headed north from Griffith chasing the
current production 4wd champion and fellow Queenslander,
Clayton Chapman, in a Mitsubishi Triton.
The fog showed absolutely no sign of lifting as the
clock passed midday, only the very top end of the course
had clear skies.
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"Several cars caught us in the heavy fog then proceeded
to try and pass but all to no avail. It's always easy to
follow the lights of the car ahead in the fog but if you
are able to get past you soon slow up as you find the
road ahead is not so easy to see when you are in front.
This year my navigator, Dylan, has implemented course
notes so he is able to advise me the direction of the
track, it really pays off when the conditions are
difficult and we soon pull away from those behind."
The Griffith round is the third event in the five round
2010 Australian Off Road Championship and the only event
in the series to be held over a course of 700km non
stop. Competitors are given three 15 minute penalty free
opportunities to refuel. All servicing is done in their
own time so the emphasis is on reliability and
endurance. Geoff Pickering is no stranger to this format
having competed in the series for well over a decade and
remembers when the Kempsey round was run under similar
rules.
"The Mitsubishi Pajero straight off the production line
is built for reliability, comfort and handling whether
it be on the highway or the bush tracks. Our race car
follows similar principals. First you need to make the
finish line and over such a long distance you need the
stamina to do so. The ride and handling of our race
Pajero is testament to this and today we have proved
once again that Mitsubishi's Pajero can go the distance
when it really counts." |
On only three occasions was the crew forced to stop on
course to carry out minor repairs, otherwise they had a
trouble free run for the entire race distance, something
many others could only dream about.
"A lot of planning goes into this event, strategy and
vehicle reliability are the most important factors, well
above outright speed", comments Bernard Grant, Team
Manager for Geoff Pickering Racing. "Since we don't have
the speed advantage of the purpose built buggies, we
need to focus on our objective on the production 4wd
category and maintain our advantage through track
position. By minimising the number of stops we need to
make for fuel we can leap frog others by at least 15
minutes and this can provide an enormous advantage in
the track conditions."
From Griffith, the series now heads to the pine forests
of South Australia for the next round in Millicent
during September.
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