Hunter Racing has taken another class win in the Australian Offroad Racing Championship, despite some steering problems half-way through.
The Queensland-based team of Colin Hunter and Bronwyn Humphrey also finished 15th outright in the Teagle Excavations Pines Enduro in Millicent SA, a punishing event in which just 22 of the 70 starters actually finished.
Millicent is on the Limestone Coast, mid-way between Melbourne and Adelaide. The event is made up of nine laps of a 45km course taking in Teagle’s Quarry, closed public roads and the Tantanoola Forest Reserve, all 50km west of Mt Gambier.
Hunter Racing’s V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee competes in ‘Extreme 4WD’ which used to be known as Class Eight and is open to highly modified 4WD vehicles with engines not exceeding 6000c.
“We were about half-way through the event when the steering started playing up,” says Colin Hunter.
“The steering arm became separated from the steering knuckle which caused the loss of steering. The result was a bent steering arm and broken heim joint.
“Because the track is mainly sand, it breaks up quickly exposing tree roots and rocks and that puts a lot of load on the suspension and steering parts but luckily we were able to do some repairs on the run and still managed to come home ahead of the other four players in our class.
“Aside from that, the car ran faultlessly as usual, all credit to the team.”
Hunter Racing would like to thank Goodyear, Modena Engineering and Chrysler Jeep for their ongoing support.
The Millicent round was round three of the five-round AORC. Hunter and Humphrey are currently leading the points tally in their class and are hoping to maintain their lead when they head next to Mildura on the weekend of September 7-9, for round four of the national series, the PWR Sunraysia 500.
Photos: Stuart Bowes
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