Rain dances have been banned from the next Novawinch Manukau Winch Challenge. Ashley Lucas explains why in his report on the recent 2018 event.
I’m not sure who actually put the request in for a bit of rain to make the stages more interesting, but someone forgot to turn the ‘tap’ off and the November 24 & 25 2018 event proved very wet indeed.
The spring rains and thunder storms seemed to have departed in the few days leading up to the event but come Friday night the rain started and continued all weekend, sometimes heavy.
Entries
21 entries were received prior to the event but come scrutineering Friday only 19 started, including a contingent of Jeeps from the South Island. However past winner of the event, Robin Scaife would be hard to beat again, having won the event consistently for the last three years. Also a past winner Tim Fensom was back after an absence of a few years, this time in a newly-built Suzuki Vitara with V6 engine and auto gearbox.
While it was on the same property as in recent years, it was on a completely new part of the farm, which also was the on-site camp for competitors.
This year it was a two-day format with night stages Saturday night. Saturday started with competitors having to complete initially nine stages after one was pulled due to the conditions. Just getting to some of the stages was entertaining with Nathan Hammond rolling his Jeep on the access track and others having to take a couple of attempts to get up.
Cancelled
During the day stage 6 was deemed unsafe and also cancelled with varying comments from competitors. Those that had already done the stage wanted it to stay while others who were still to do it were quietly relieved. Of the other stages most were running smoothly with no major problems with vehicles breaking or not completing the stage in the DNF time (35 minutes).
An early casualty and only withdrawal was Rohan Hooker with mechanical issues after only completing two stages. Breakages and repairs were minimal for the day, as competitors realised that it was a two-day event and needed to finish if they wanted to finish on the podium. The wet and soft ground conditions may have helped as well.
It was close at the front end with several competitors running very close and consistent times with Robin Scaife probably having the edge over Dean Currie, Tim Fensom, Michael Duncan and Nigel Reid. This was until stage 10 when Robin got a stage disqualification and 10 penalty points for going off the stage. However during the night stages Robin’s fate was sealed when he corkscrewed a drive shaft and DNF’ed stage 12.
Stage 10 was not a good stage for quite a few competitors with the stage marshal handing out penalties to at least 50% of the competitors as well as the aforementioned disqualification
17-year-old Michael Duncan was competing in his own self-built Suzuki based vehicle powered by a Commodore V6 engine. He was putting in some very good times, even top scoring 1st equal on two stages and a second on another. But once again the night stages took him out of the top placings when he was first up on stage 11 and in the dark missed a peg and was given a stage disqualification for being outside the course.
Because of the rain and conditions, there was some element of luck on some of the stages depending on if you were first or last through the stage.
You had to feel sorry for Jamin and Joel De Jong who were first time competitors in their GQ Patrol. They battled through right to the end. They might have had slower stage times but they worked to finish all but two stages within the DNF time. They were last on Sunday’s stage 17 with a greasy downhill into a muddy creek bed. There was a slight bend around a tree and just about every competitor hit the tree on the way through to the point it was badly broken at the base. Unfortunately for Jamin when he also touched the tree it fell down beside the vehicle blocking the track. Both Jamin and Joel worked to winch the tree out of the way and then the vehicle, before continuing the stage, only for the last hill climb out they broke the winch rope and ended on a DNF.
Winners = grinners
When the results were announced Nigel Reid and Steve Franklin managed to take the challenge class win by just five points over the South Island’s Rowan Coutts and Chris Baind in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Fellow Mainlanders Tom Green and Zinny Clarke took third.
In the modified class Tim Fensom and Glen Bellingham took the win with Nathan Hammond and Daniel Swift second. Scotty Newport and James Keys rounded out the top placings 97 point behind. Nathan would comment that it was the first time all year that he had managed to beat Scotty and James.
The real heroes of the weekend though would have to be the marshals and the co-drivers who endured the wind, rain, mud and more rain. Without the marshals events like these would never happen, although I think secretly some of them have a sadistic streak watching the co-drivers struggle through the mud and up slippery hills carrying winch ropes, strops and sometimes heavy ground anchors.
Typically the ‘tap’ was eventually turned off once the stages were all completed and everyone was back at the base camp tucking into a fabulous catered meal while awaiting the results.
RESULTS
Challenge
Place Driver/Co-driver Score
1 Nigel Reid/Steve Franklin 1350
2 Rowan Coutts/Chris Baird 1345
3 Tom Green/ Zinny Clarke 1241
4 Jamin De Jong/Joel De Jong 950
5 Corey Haywood/Matt Holley 796
Modified
Place Driver/Co-driver Score
1 Tim Fensom/Glen Bellingham 1258
2 Nathan Hammond/Daniel Swift 1231
3 Scotty Newport/James Keys 1161
4 Stan Goodman/Chris Golding 1112
5 Roger Urwin/Sean Urwin 1107
6 Robin Scaife/Paul Kelly 1085
7 Nathen Phillips/Campbell Phillips 1069
8 Michael Duncan/Ben Harvey 1062
9 Dean Currie/Ashley Goddard 1021
10 Scott Withers/Jessica Gunton 941
11 Luke Vitasovich/Nathan Murray 883
12 Tim Randall/Carol LeGallais 867
13 Mike Inns/Andrew Dwyer 736
14 Rohan Hooker/Roi Huka 146
To read the full story in the February 2019 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (January 21) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
