More than 20 vehicles have taken part in the Alice Springs Off Road Racing Club’s popular Sporties 12 Hour around the picturesque Mt Ooraminna.
With each team entry consisting of one big car and one small one in an attempt to complete as many laps of the 58-kilometre course in a 12 hour period, there was also going to be a lot of pressure on the 12 teams.
Taking out the victory after completing an impressive 18 laps was the team ‘Steak N Chips’ made up of Buggy driver Peter Costello and SXS pilot Harry Weckert.
The two started the event in second but found themselves in the lead by their sixth and seventh laps, before dropping to second for the next couple. By the time they completed their 10th lap, they were back in top spot – a position they never let go for the rest of the race.
Interestingly, Costello wasn’t even set to take part in the event due to work commitments, but some hard work and good fortune allowed him to compete, a feat he was thrilled to achieve.
“It felt rally good, especially since the fact that I wasn’t even going to do it and to put in the hard yards in the lead up and get in and win was just fantastic,” Costello said.
“It didn’t look like it was going to happen because of my work schedule. I didn’t think I was going to have time to do it and then I was able to get in late on Friday night so I am rapt that I was able to.
“The ‘Hoonigans’ were definitely one of the quickest so we just focused on trying to set a consistent pace that wouldn’t let us lose a podium. We kept chipping away at the pace and we eventually won which was nice.
Finishing just 22 minutes behind the winning team and completing the same amount of laps were ‘Let’s Go Racing’. Led by Pro Lite driver Lockie Weir and his son Tim in a Super 1650 buggy, the pair had a disappointing start after dropping from first to third within the first lap.
Eventually they got back into second place on their 10th lap and held on for the rest of the 12 hour race.
Despite both crews putting on quite a spectacle throughout the event, the best performance of the event came in the form of the third placed ‘Si Si Bi’ with David Bird in a Extreme 2WD and Ben Oliver in a Performance 2WD.
The duo started the race in seventh place after a mediocre Prologue Session but persisted throughout the enduro and slowly worked their way into third on after occupying fifth for four of their 17 laps.
Team ‘Hoonigans’ were the best starters for the event, jumping from third to first in just their first lap, before a solid opening five laps were marred by a disappointing middle section where they dropped to fifth on their ninth lap.
They recovered only slightly to gain one place at the expense of ‘The Kids Inheritance’, who like ‘Si Si Bi’ had a late charge up the standings to finish fifth after starting the race in 10th.