Waiuku Motorkhana, By Cameron
Walbran
Matthew
and I arrived at Waiuku only about half an hour late. Luckily for us, the
organiser was not running to schedule either. The first motorkhana test was
only just being set, so plenty of time to change the wheels and tyres, and pump
them up to the appropriate 40-odd pounds.
Foretelling
is a wonderful thing. If I could read the future, I would have changed my
wheels at home, with a reliable trolley jack, rather than a rotten scissor jack
that needed greasing. As it was, changing the wheels turned out to be a
nightmare, having to crank the handle around who-knows how many times. However
by the end of the day, I sure was glad that nightmare had actually occurred,
with all the rubber that had “somehow” managed to come off the tyres and create
a thin black film on the asphalt.
The
venue was not the largest we have practiced in, and it was one of the few that
had three lampposts smack bang in the middle of it. So a bit of adjusting
needed to be done to the various tests that had been planned. The first test
was a short, bent slingshot, convenient for Midgets and Metros, but not so much
for the slightly larger B’s.
The
second test was a relatively fast run around one of the afore mentioned
lampposts, with a 360o turn and into the finish. This test was
favoured by the more powerful Joseph B, Grant Kern’s BGT race car and Murray
Ralls’ Unnameable (MX-5) and provided a neat quick start with a continuous
drift (for those who could get it right) around the far end of the course which
set up nicely for the 360, and into the finish.
Test
three, a branched slalom provided a bit of excitement (and squealing from
Anita) when the handbrake on Scott’s Midget seem to fail at the top of the
slalom; this was placed conveniently near one of the lampposts, so when Scott
went much wider than he had expected to go, he almost had a bent Escargot!
Needless to say, that happened twice. Also needless to say, Karma came back to
haunt when I almost hit the kerb coming out of the branch.
The
fourth and last test was a relative of the Ellerslie test (again due to the
post). It was actually more like a second cousin to Ellerslie, rather than a
brother. A short sprint to a 270o then a right angle to the right
through a gate; into a garage, hit reverse to execute a reverse flick into the
finish. An exhilarating test, and a cracker to finish the day on.
All
in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day; thanks to organiser Andrew Walbran and
venue