THE 450km drive from Swan Hill to Portland was the perfect shitstorm.
Competitors drove through pouring rain while cursing the barbaric
triumvirate of Mother Nature, Scott Taylor and his route map, and any
manufacturer of aftermarket door rubbers. Some copped it worse
than others, but nobody escaped with their socks completely dry.
Thank heavens for South Coast Raceway’s clubhouse. If this
monsoon had hit us at any of the other tracks, we would have all
risked being drowned. At least here there was enough shelter for
everyone to convene, as well as some fine steak sangas, and even a
fireplace! Racing? Forget about it. That dream evaporated overnight.
As the Portland eighth-mile was being pelted sideways, competitors
were snuggled either inside the clubhouse or under the awning
exchanging war stories from the previous night – topics included
hairdryers as makeshift demisters, squeegees as a substitute for
windscreen wipers, and the best way to wring out a sopping towel
while still mobile.
Scotty nearly lost his umbrella in the wind when trying to deliver
the drivers’ briefing – that was good for a laugh. All competitors
were keen to check in, get their route maps, and get on the road
north to Adelaide.
Despite the fact that there was no racing, there was still movement
at the top of the leader board. The terrible driving conditions meant
Jarrod Wood and his team decided against a risky blat to Portland
in the tonner, which put him out of the contest and gifted third spotDAY
4 S
OUTH^ COAST^ RACEWAYPORTLA
ND, V
ICT
ORI
A01: Clive Polidano’s HZ rocked an old-
school mechanical package, though
he wants to keep improving on its
11sec timeslips, hopefully getting
down into the eights eventually
02: Keen to race, Quentin Feast and
Shane Dale pull up on the entry to
Portland’s eighth-mile. It’s as close
as anyone got, with a rain day called,
giving everyone a head-start to Day
Five back in Adelaide
03: With racing called off due to rain,
the entrants engulfed Portland’s
main boulevard for brekkie, with
Rohan Hutson’s 383ci SBC-powered
black ’55 Chev scoring a prime park.
“I did a 10.9sec last year and I’m
hoping for the same,” he said on
Day One. “It’s more about finishing
and catching up with everyone; the
entrants are all great people”04: DC ’17 race-day fashion was all
about buckets on air cleaners for
the no-scoop crew. Tim Ackland’s
ZC Fairlane wore it well, making it to
Day Five to finish sixth in Pacemaker
Radial Aspirated and 35th overallCOMPETITORS DROVE THROUGH POURING RAIN WHILE CURSING
MOTHER NATURE, SCOTT TAYLOR AND HIS ROUTE MAP, AND ANY
MANUFACTURER OF AFTERMARKET DOOR RUBBERS
THE 450km drive from Swan Hill to Portland was the perfect shitstorm.
Competitors drove through pouring rain while cursing the barbaric
triumvirate of Mother Nature, Scott Taylor and his route map, and any
manufacturer of aftermarket door rubbers. Some copped it worse
than others, but nobody escaped with their socks completely dry.
Thank heavens for South Coast Raceway’s clubhouse. If this
monsoon had hit us at any of the other tracks, we would have all
risked being drowned. At least here there was enough shelter for
everyone to convene, as well as some fine steak sangas, and even a
fireplace! Racing? Forget about it. That dream evaporated overnight.
As the Portland eighth-mile was being pelted sideways, competitors
were snuggled either inside the clubhouse or under the awning
exchanging war stories from the previous night – topics included
hairdryers as makeshift demisters, squeegees as a substitute for
windscreen wipers, and the best way to wring out a sopping towel
while still mobile.
Scotty nearly lost his umbrella in the wind when trying to deliver
the drivers’ briefing – that was good for a laugh. All competitors
were keen to check in, get their route maps, and get on the road
north toAdelaide.
Despite the fact that there was no racing, there was still movement
at the top of the leader board. The terrible driving conditions meant
Jarrod Wood and his team decided against a risky blat to Portland
in the tonner, which put him out of the contest and gifted third spotDAY
SSOUTHCOAST RACEWAY
PORTLA
ND, V
ICT
ORI
A01: Clive Polidano’s HZ rocked an old-
school mechanical package, though
he wants to keep improving on its
11sec timeslips, hopefully getting
down into the eights eventually
0 2: Keen to race, Quentin Feast and
Shane Dale pull up on the entry to
Portland’s eighth-mile. It’s as close
as anyone got, with a rain day called,
giving everyone a head-start to Day
Five back in Adelaide
03: With racing called off due to rain,
the entrants engulfed Portland’s
main boulevard for brekkie, with
Rohan Hutson’s 383ci SBC-powered
black ’55 Chev scoring a prime park.
“I did a 10.9sec last year and I’m
hoping for the same,” he said on
Day One. “It’s more about finishing
and catching up with everyone; the
entrants are all great people”04 : DC ’17 race-day fashion was all
about buckets on air cleaners for
the no-scoop crew. Tim Ackland’s
ZC Fairlane wore it well, making it to
Day Five to finish sixth in Pacemaker
Radial Aspirated and 35th overallCOMPETITORS DROVE THROUGH POURING RAIN WHILE CURSING
MOTHER NATURE, SCOTT TAYLOR AND HIS ROUTE MAP, AND ANY
MANUFACTURER OF AFTERMARKET DOOR RUBBERS