Waikerie is a country town of South Australia situated along the Murray River and is only a bit over 100km from the Victorian border. Australia’s best buggies and trophy trucks converged there last weekend as the small town played host for round 3 of the Australian Off-road Racing Championships.
The cars got underway at about midday on the Saturday and I was surprised to see this thing take off from the start line. The Datsun 1200 had nowhere near as much ground clearance as any of the other cars, but that didn't stop it from roaring away from the start line with the same amount of enthusiasm as the bigger and burlier buggies.
Things didn't last long though. When it reached its first bump, something obviously went wrong and it launched into one fairly spectacular roll. After rolling one and three quarter times it finally came to a rest on its side and the driver managed to haul himself out soon after. Ambulances and men riding quad bikes hurried over to the scene to check that the driver was okay before towing the car to a safe place inside the track where it stayed for the remainder of the day.
A total of 91 cars took off from the start line for the prologue race to complete one lap of the short course, before returning to the pit area. Immediately after, the cars that recorded the ten best times then went into a 'Top Ten Shootout'.
There were a total of nine different classes competing, each being separated by engine sizes, whether or not they were normally aspirated and also depending on whether they were AWD or 2WD. The Pro Buggy class had the most competitors of 31 and consisted of buggies with engines over 1650cc and not exceeding 6000cc.
After the lunch break, something called the 'Dash for Cash' got underway which consisted of the next ten fastest cars from the prologue race. It was a head-to head style event where two cars were competing on track at the same time, but they started at different parts of the track and their progress could be monitored by which car passed the other starting position first. The race lasted multiple laps, with the drivers trying their hardest to stay ahead of each other with the overall winner taking away a handy cash prize.
One of the two starting positions was right in front of the main spectator area and it was awesome to see them take off. This buggy carried the same Chevy 6L engine as the Trophy Truck above. Hearing the engine roar and seeing the tyres furiously spin on the dirt track as the rear got loaded up and the buggy eagerly took off leaving a wake of dust in its tracks is a very cool spectacle indeed.
As the cars passed this same point during the race, they charged over two small, yet very satisfying jumps. It was a great spot - and also somewhat addicting - to watch the wheels of the buggy free hanging when they got launched into the air, and then the suspension compressing on the landing.
I usually only watch tarmac circuit racing and this was my first time spectating such an event. I'd never seen buggies and trophy trucks racing off-road before - not that I can remember, anyway - but watching these cars has greatly increased my interest in this type of motorsport. It is one thing to drive a car quickly on smooth surfaces, but it is another thing entirely to do that on a surface that is covered in undulations. The fact that the little Datsun 1200 rolled over probably proves this point. It constantly tests the suspension in its ability to keep all four wheels in contact with the ground. And because the limit and the grip are much lower, this means they are much easier to breach which in turn makes for some super exciting racing.
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