Season Wrap-up

Hi all and first let me say, sorry for the delay, have had a lot going on family and work wise over the last few months.So where do I start.

Last year taught Nige and myself a lot about chasing series and about how hard it actually is to maintain a car across a series. It was a long hard slog and unfortunately we didn't make it to the last couple events however we did get a good result for the team proving reliability and not always being the fastest is a big part of running a rally team. In saying that I am proud to announce we managed to get Nige across the line for a respectable 3rd in the Novice and Classic series. I just missed out on both by a few points.

We had a lot of positives with the pick up of all of your support sponsoring and encouragement plus a few top 3 placing at individual events. We also learnt a lot about the car, car prep, lead times into events and running a team during the events. We learnt a few don't or not what to do’s, such as leaving maintenance and upgrades to the last week before events :)
All in all, we had an awesome time both at events and also building a better team between events. We would have liked to finished the season out but life happens and we had an adventure getting through the year as it was.

We’d like to thank all those that have supported us, whether it be our generous sponsors, our understanding and fabulous families, or our loyal friends that helped out getting things ready before or at events. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, without all of you, it wouldn't have been possible.

This is why I love Canberra Rallying. People are always there to assist and how people grow in this exciting sport we love.

LCCC Safari Rally

20/04/09

Bega Valley Rally

AIS Rally

Well after a rebuild of the engine and some technical issues, we finally made it although we had to run the standard suspension for the event. I was really looking forward to the event as it would be my first back in Canberra for over 12months.

Stage one was Bluetts and I instantly felt that the engine had way more power then at Lithgow. So we knew we had the power but we also knew that the rear was a lot softer and steering proved to be ‘fun’ with the car sliding a lot more. The stage itself was a mixture of rough and soft powder combinations. Tends to happen after 40 odd cars go through a stage. Finished the stage, knew the car had lots more in it and we were coming up to my favourite stage of Greenhills.

We started the stage well, although going over the cattle grid jump I heard a scrapping noise but just thought it was a wheel scrubbing on landing with the standard shocks. About 2kms into the stage was the Spectator point and as I designed it with Ray, I knew it well so I threw the car into the first hairpin and the car made an awful noise in the rear and came to a stop. At first I thought it was a flat but after pulling over after the specie point, it had no blown tyre or missing studs. We then removed the wheel to find the center bolt sheared off allowing the whole wheel to slide along the spring.

After some discussion we decided to pull out and save the car for Bega which would be 2weeks away. What a bummer!! I was looking forward to driving over the Mineshaft.

NADA makes it to Lithgow

After a couple of stressful months, NADA Rallying has finally started their attack on the ACT Novice Series at the Rally of Lithgow. Nige and I with the help of many rally friends prepped the car in time to head up and have a crack at the event.

Being Nige's first rally, we decided against doing pacenotes, this would later prove to be a big disadvantage to the team. After sitting in with Richard Gray and Steve Hodgkins for recce just to get a view of the stages and add a few extra calls, we very busily prepped the car for the ceremonial start. The start I have to say helps boost your spirit and pump you up, more rallies should do it. It was the first time I had ever heard the Corona referred to as the predeccessor of the current ARC Champion car the Toyota Corolla. Give it time, bit more development need before its the next ARC Champ :)

The stages were a mix of fast paced or slippery road, linked by very very rough and rocky roads. These linked roads were ridiculous, rocks the size or softballs made the base of the road, hence why so many cars DNF'd. I knew the first stage was gonna be slow but being a 24km stage I thought towards the end, I'd be getting back into the swing of things but something was wrong. The car wasnt performing to its usual standard, not that it its high performance but it was definately lacking in power. After the second stage, Matty and I had a look and the oil overflow was nearly full, not a great sign. By the time we got back to the second service after stage 4, we did some more investigation and there was a lot of air coming out of the radiator too, it looked to be a blown head gasket or at least the beginnings of one.

New plan, just make it to the end and scrounge some points. Im ver suprised we didnt get a flat or break anything, but yet to do a full check on the car. Bad luck to Boss and Spy for breaking 4th gear again but congrats to Richard and Steve for driving well and for the chats at controls.

Big thanks must go to the following:

Nige for navving, you did a great job for your first go, no major mistakes and thanks for helping prep the car.

Mikey for all the help moving, prepping and letting us use your place to paint, true Champion.

Simey for the welding and help fixing the bend and broken stuff, along with towing the car.

Russ, Steve, Bede, Porbes, Papa Tams, Fro, Matt S, Daniel, Haley and Cath for their help getting the car ready for Lithgow

Matty for helping with prep, advice, support and servicing at the event, your a top mate.

All our sponsors for getting us to the rally

The very understanding and patient Chez and our two beautiful girls for allowing daddy to spend so much time in the shed or at Mikeys, next event, you'll all be there.

 

Tilds' Co-driver Arrives

12/02/09

Woohoo! Lil Cadence Jayde arrived on the 27th Dec 2008. Both Baby and Mum did very well and Daddy is settling in to the fact that the girls really do rule the roost in the Tams Home.

2008 ACT Rallying Interclub Billycart Race

20/11/08

Well it was time to bring back some old school competition between the rally clubs of ACT. This brought the return of the ACT Rallying Interclub Billycart Race between LCCC and BMSC.

Six carts were brought out to the Murrays corner Track with 14 drivers testing their engineering and driving skills against each other and the clock. After an early thought be several people inspecting the track, that there were going to be quite a few crashes, the field only managed a couple with special mention going to Ray Baker for his spectacular barrel roll after the last corner. Everyone enjoyed themselves and all are anxiously awaiting the next run.

Results are below: Under 15's - Jason Walker, Open - Mark "Bosshair" Sessions, Ladies - Kirrillee Gentlemen, Team Challenge and Novelty - Team Mitsubilly Rallifart

Unfortunately we didnt have an entries for the Experts and Young Guns classes but hopefully after seeing the fun we had, they'll certainly show up next time.

2008 Season come to an eventful end

Well another year, another result and for the NADA and DDM crews its been a great year full of woes and wins but mostly cause for celebration.

This year saw Aaron and the mighty but now slightly bent WRCorona finish 2 more driving events including Rally of Canberra. Also saw Raymond and Porbes of our sister team DDM finish ACT Gold Cup Champions for 2008. A long time in the making this victory was well celebrated by the whole team and congratulate the boys a fantastic effort. The boys are even throwing a big BBQ/Drunkfest in a couple fo weeks to show their thanks to all those that contributed towards their win over the years.

So whats on the cards for next year I hear you ask?...... Well for NADA, Aaron and the WRCorona will both be going a cleanup, being tuned and getting fit for next years ACT Novice Series. With a fuel and tyre sponsor currently being negoiated, NADA will have a good chance towards their first full season driving. There will also be the new addition to NADA with Matilda's lil co-driver due in only 5 weeks, man that went fast.

And for DDM, the years undecided at the moment but you'll be sure to see the boys assisting Aaron chase his championship in 2009. Its gonna be a good year.....

BRM Safari succeeds again

The 2008 BRM Silverstone Safari Rally has been run and won. Congrats goes to Peter Taylor and Kim Martin in their Group NP Toyota Corolla.

I wanna say thanks to everyone who helped out or participated in the event whether your a competitor or a road closure, you all make the event a success and makes all the hard work worth it.

Resultss are availabe through the below link:

2008 BRM Silverstone Safari Rally Results

2008 Season So far!

11/07/08

2008 Rally of Canberra - Well after Blue Range I was amped and looking forward to driving in the big show for the first time. I have co-driven at it several times in been course car so I knew what kind of prep I needed. Not much was needed to be done after Blue Range besides some more stickers of my new Sponsors WenJay Creations, CMD Signs and StewArt Rally Prep. My fillin Nav Matt "Spy/Stretch" Harriott and I started to also clean up the interior and wiring for new lights donated by the legend Mike Behnke.

Two days before Recce we were finished and also assisted Raymond and Mark with the EVO prep. Recce came along and as we were running pacenotes and it was our first time crewed together, we decided to take it cautios but this was to no avail as late in the arvo we were checking Paddy's and as I came around a right hander and over a crest, I got heaps of understeer with bald rally tyres and we slid towards the edge of the road but due to the recent grading, the s oft edge dropped and dragged us sideways down the gully wheree we hit a huge rock and gently rolled us once into the small creek.

Thanks to the efforts of all my rally mates and family, we got the car out and after a stressful long night in the shed, the car was back to running state again. Due to the panel damage we decided we didnt want to go to the Ceremonial Start in Civic so we went to Raymonds to follow them out but when we got there, we found the EVO's gearbox had died. Needless to say the next 5 hours of swapping gearboxes was not what the boys had planned either.

Race day and after the Recce incident, I drove just to finish and was very hesitant to push the car at all. We finished Leg 1 dead last but were still in it. Leg 2 we decided to push harder and learn the limits of the car with some nice fresh tyres. Every stage we continued to get faster and actually started pulling some time on the cars around us. All in all we had a great time and finished 2nd in Class. Was a big learning curve all round.

2008 Solartec Ecosystem Blue Range Rally - We begin this tale with a young Nav named Aaron or Tamsey to his friends in a land known as Canberra. One day Aaron decided he'd like to swap sides of the rally car and learn to steer it with his hands rather then his mind and words. Thats when he be-friended the WRCorona. A mighty beast know to many as the turd of the ACT Rallying Kingdom. That is until, Aaron decided his much loved beast deserved a new life and set forth on recreating the mechanical marvel. His plan......to rebuild its body and put a new heart into the car, after all, we have the ability to make it better, faster, shiny. So work began with the help of a few of Aarons squires to scrape off the WRCorona's mouldy old scales and prepare it for rejuevenation.

After several weeks scaling and straightening the machine with fellow knight Sir Karl de Brenner, the first of the two champions came to take her away to get ready for battle. Sir Matt James of Bomaderry transported her over the mountains and towards the sea and onwards to her rest stop at the township of Nowra where our second champion Sir Carl of Stewart took the beast under his protection and into the Cave of Garage'. Weeks passed and the nervous Aaron awaited his precious WRCorona's transformation and for Sir Carl to send word that the miracle that was rona would be ready for the start of her new life.

Then it happened, one evening whilst Aaron was dreaming of vast fields scored with gravel tracks and pines as high as the eye could see, a ringing bell sounded and the tool that the good sourcerer Moto Rola, had given Aaron, informed him that WRCorona was ready to come home. So Aaron, his fair Maiden Cherrian and the true guardian of WRCorona, Princess Matilda ventured to the Township of Nowra and to the Cave of Garage' where a proud Sir Carl of Stewart bewildered us with his sourcery in the way the beast had been changed. For the beast that had come to be known as WRCorona had indeed transformed into a thing of wonder and even though she had not finished her journey, she was truely on her way to battle the evil forces of the clan known as Dat Sun lead by the Japanese warlord Mitsu Subaru.

The return journey from the township of Nowra was usually a peaceful one but the Dark Lord, known as King Prado had other plans. The king tried everything in his power to block the path of the adventurers and WRCorona from returning home. Through his power of temp and water evaporation, the King on several occasions made Aaron and his band of rallyins' stop in their tracks as his temper raised but through sheer skill and determination and a slow and steady pace, the adventurers made it back to the land of Canberra.

Once WRCorona and Aaron returned, they prepared the beasts armour of Vinyl and Chrome. And with the help of Maiden Cathy of Donohue produced a beast that could withstand the harshest of critics. It was then time to rebuild her heart, failing joints and claws for war with the blacksmith Simon of Leigh using his metal powers to strengthen and protect the beasts heart from those that would pierce it. The Squire duo of Behnke and Thompson then helped Aaron and Sir Karl train and ready the beast for action often training late into the wee hours of the morning before retiring for the night. So then the wait til the next half moon was on and the time where WRCorona would stand her ground in the ACT Rallying Kingdom and defend the honour of all that is Toyota.

The days seemed to flow very fast and it wasnt long until the battle began to brew. On a cold and anxious morning Aaron, WRCorona, Sir Karl and squire Wade made their way to the Battlefield of Blue Range high in the mountains where once beautiful forests of pines grew until the troublesome Dragon called 'Ohthreefire cursed the land and stripped the trees with a furious anger. As Aaron and his followers arrived on the battlefield, they noticed many others had already taken their place at the proving grounds. After scouring the land for vantage points and escape routes, Aaron, Sir Karl and WRCorona stepped into the battle lines and waited for their turn to attack. Wave after wave of beasts and wonders clashed as the group grew anxious to see what WRCorona would provide in their fight against the evil. Then with a count down from a light regiment leader, WRCorona and her crew took to flight with a shudder and roar. The WRCorona raced towards their end goal of fighting the good fight and returning home victors in their own right. On numerous occasions the Dat Sun clan tried to take our adventurers down, including the black knight Chris O'Hellesey and his half dragon, half cheetah beast pulling out in front of WRCorona and triing to block her path, along with the persistant and much aged Mark de'Humpback trying to block the path of WRCorona to spread the chronicles of Bluebird and delaying the crew from their task at hand. After several pushes towards the evil clans, WRCorona, nervous at first and tentative to set herself free of the old shackles, clawed at the landscape and enemy before managing to defeat several of them on the battlefield. It was a glorious time to rejoice and celebrate a moral victory.

Although the crew knew they had helped win the battle, the war was not over and our fearless team waited with baited breath as they knew it would not be the last they saw of Mitsu Subaru. Many ales were had in the evening that followed by the adventurers and their fellow revellers. Our heroes then trudged home to heal their wounds and train before the time came again to join the ranks of good and bring peace to the ACT Rallying Kingdom.

Lil' Matilda Turns 1!

15/03/08

In what seems like only a couple of months, our baby girl Matilda Kaitlyn has turned one.

Matilda had a quiet actual birthday just with Mummy and Daddy along with seeing Nanna and Papa but on the weekend, all her family and friends came to see her for her birthday and christening. As Riley was born on the same day we decided to have a joint birthday party at Gordon Adventure Playground with everyone. Both bubba's seem to enjoy themselves amongst the wrapping paper and yummy food. We got all the kids to dress up to win a prize and they all looked great.

I still cant believe our little girls already one. How time really does fly and the old saying, be with them as much as you can cause they grow up so fast, is so true.

2007 HRA Alpine Rally

02/12/07

Just a quick write up about Alpine this year. We had an adve4nerous few weeks with building the engines and running Natcap.

Basically, as expected we had a great time down with the Mexcians and a good battle with Fro/Paulie, Swill/Tort and GT/Winton. Badluck to GT and Winton going out on the 5th stage and also to fellow LCCC boys Ricard Leitis and Rob Mules, blowing a gearbox on the 4th stage.

Day one was a great tester of the car running on some great fast stage. We thought we were out early twice with a run in with a tree on the second stage and also the water temp sky rocketing later to be discovered as a leaking bung.

Got to mention the night tar stage. Although the car wasnt pulling out of corners as well as it does with the turbo, we had a ball. Fro managed to beat us and Swill by 2mins. Must have been his usual cut king self :)

Day 2 and although we had lost a bit of time with the engine and tree incidents, we were still in the Top 30. First stage and the rain had set in, providing some slippery roads and interesting moments and corners.

By the last stage of the day, we were 2mins ahead of Fro and Paulie but a couple of mins behind Swill and Tort. As I had been doing for most of the rally, due to big gaps between calls, I looked ahead to help Matty see what was coming. That was until about halfway thru the stage, we came upon a left hander which I called a bit too fast and we didnt see the corner tightening up and as Matty pushed thru it, the back end slide off the edge of the road right on the outside of a steep drop.

Ok, I have to point out, I have never heard Matty so angry and swear so much before. He surely showed his Queanbeyan roots here. Anyway, after some furious digging and wheel spinning, it was looking hopeless but I didnt want us to end there so I told Matt to get in and when I said, floor it. I then proceeded to lift the back end of the HMAS Skyline and as Matty revved her, we managed to get back on the road. I wont carry on with the rest of the stage but later that night and after a few ales, some ventolin and some time cool off, Matt and I were good as new and ended up still coming a respectable 25th.

A huge thanks must go out to not only Matty for the ride and support but to the support of the entire Thompson clan along with our ACT Rallying bretheren. As usual, a special and very thankful word must go to Chez and MAtilda for not only being supportive of the long hours to get ready but for coming down and enjoying the weekend too.

Next time we hope the flies and mozzies arent quite as bad.

2007 Natcap Rally and Series Wrap-up

21/11/07

Despite the pressure, heat and also rain on the day, Matty and I had a great run. Basically after Matt's DNF and my lack of rallies this year, we needed to win Clubman for Matty to clentch the Clubman title for the year and the win would also put me in for third Clubman Nav.

The biggest concern we had was the damage from Corsa and the Alpine Rally being a week after Natcap. After many nights and sometimes days, repairing the car and preparing a new engine for Alpine, we decided the car being in one piece for the next weekend was more important to us. Natcap was going to be close in Clubman anyway due to Ian J, Ian W, Kagan and us all being very similar speeds and close in the points run, along with Andy Crane doing his officiating points on the day. Anyway, about halfway through the 3rd stage we saw that Kagan and the Jefferies were out due to mechanical issues. Damn, two opponent crews out already, makes the day a bit less stressed. Got to the next stage and it wasnt until the end of the stage that we noticed Ian "Stifler" Wilson wasnt anywhere to be seen. Even at the service we didnt see him come in. After about 15mins of trying to figure what happened, we see the Celica tear into service looking untouched. i went and spoke to Stifler and Erin where they explain they got a flat and had ignition problems loosing them 8mins in stage.

So basically that took all the pressure off us except from the Schmitz's but we already had a good lead on them. We had a chat and decided to have fun, get to the end of the rally we should be ok. So a great result all round, wins to both of us and the car pretty much ready for Alpine. Bring it on.

2007 Corsa di Mille Pini

19/11/07

Corsa, what can I say. Seemed to take forty years to organise but in the end every competitor I spoke to, whether went well or DNF'd, said they loved the event. Of course there were a few little niggly issues that need to be sorted for 2009 but by all accounts, we did the club proud. My aim as always is to give the competitors and officials a great and safe and not to mention fun event.

A huge thanks to all the officials that helped before, during and after the rally. A special thanks goes out to:

• Raymond for writing a very decent roadbook on his first attempt and for his help doing anything I asked
• Kate for being the awesome Event Secretary she always is
• Dad for being checker and helping get the roadbook sorted after our terratrip issues
• Bosshair and Jas for help check the road book and to Jas, Marty and Simey for lending cars to check the stages
• All the competitors that entered and had fun
• And finally to Chez and 'lil Matilda for being so patient and understanding throughout the year of me running numerous events. Love you both so much.

2007 BRM Silverstone Safari Rally

09/09/07

Well after 8months of planning and preparing for this years BRM Silverstone Safari, we had to postpone it til the 11th of August due to a break of the drought.

The event again ran well and everyone enjoyed the rally which is what I always aim for with my events. Unfortunately I didnt make it out there on the day as I came down with the bad Flu that literally knocks you out for a week. A huge thanks go out to Kate, Raymond and Dad for stepping up to the plate and running it on the day after only a single days notice.

RoC 2007

09/09/07

Well after some mechanical issues, Fro and I had to withdraw our entry for this years Rally of Canberra. But the day after I was asked to find a driver to be Sweep B for the event. After a ring around I managed to secure Jason McInerney and the mighty blue Datsun 180B.

It turned out to be an eventful week with Raymond, Kate and I doing a lot of running around the week before organising vehicles for officials, stickers and recce/shakedown. Jason and I even got to run the 'B' through Shakedown a couple of times and got a chance to watch the ARC and APRC boys and girls motor through.

Friday arvo and both Sweeps (Raymond/Porbes & us) finished their extra roles at lunch and went to get sorted for Friday nights start and first stage. After a meeting and some final checks, we went down to the cars to give them a quick clean and were about to head off when we noticed the B's highbeams werent working. After the 4 of us running around madly checking all fuses and relays, we finally got it sorted and once again were about to head off to the start when Sweep A, the Subaru RX Turbo wouldnt start. A quick jump start later and the 2 Sweeps were off to Civic.

Just before we got to Civic we noticed a noise from the engine bay which Jason said was the stupid extractors gaining a hole or crack, so it was gonna get noisey. About an hour before we were due to start, Porbes and myself noticed the radio in Sweep A wasnt working so they were sent back to Sutton Rd Service to get it fixed. Unfortunately they were told to stay there and finish the paperwork when the competitors got back to service/parc ferme, so they didnt get to run Bluetts on friday.

After getting introduced and reminded of the Mineshaft incident a few years ago, we headed to Bluetts but it was gonna be an interesting start to the night. As we were leaving Civic, we noticed that the "noise" was getting worse in the engine bay and as we entered Parks Way a rattle and backfire started to appear. We checked and couldnt see anything so continued but as we got onto Uriarra Rd, we lost a lot of power and the noise was getting bad. A quick call to Matty T who was at the spectator point and we asked him to meet us at the start of stage.

After furiously searching for the issue, it was determinde to be a valve or gasket issue so we were in a bit of trouble with no car available for Sweep. Matt the legend offered to lend the Rodeo for the short night stage so we at least had a sweep clearing the stage. Hence Sweep B Mark II.

When we finished the stage, I got a lift back to service, collected the paperwork and headed to BRuce to drop it off at HQ. I then got a lift back to Jasons where we found, Tort, Matty, Jas, Marla and Dan all working on pulling the engine apart to fix the issue. Heimo turned up around midnight and managed to put it all together and it was running at around 4am.

Sunday began with a phone call from HQ to see how the car was at 6:30am and then we arranged to drive out and pick paperwork up from Raymond at the Mineshaft Stage Start. We then continued into the stage and the car ran like a dream. After picking up Sweep A's paperwork, we headed to Bruce but not far from the stage, the "noise" re-appeared. So back to jasons it was and with no option left, we decided to finish the weekend in Jamar's old 2WD Hilux, to the huge dissapointment of Jas but as I said, we were still out there at least.

So with Mark III, we finished the rally although we tore both the Hilux air vents off in stage and did some interesting jumps in Kowen. I had a great time even with the dramas and hopefully Jas did too.

Oh I forgot to mention I was able to hand over the Mineshaft Crown to Tristan kent who with driver Pete Jerie did one of the biggest jumps off there and slammed into the concrete at the bottom. Both were fine, car not so much.

2007 Oberon Rally

17/04/07

I finally got the chance to have another run with Matty Thompson again in the HMAS Skyline up at this year Oberon Rally. This rally is probably the one I like least, stage wise but camping and having fun in the dirt can never really be that bad. I have also never finished an Oberon/Bathurst area rally so Matty was under the pressure or was that me to not become the Curse again.

I travelled up with Wade on the saturday so I could spend the friday with my girls and not be away so much. Let me tell you, the trip up there was an interesting one. Wade is a big fan of Bigfoot and noted that Black Springs/Oberon were big areas for sightings. He then proceded to explain his knowledge and experiences on the subject. Too bad we didnt go on that hunt though buddy.

Matty in his usual fashion turned up just before scrutineering and doco finished with Tort (Marc Kelly) and got the formalities out of the way. Another thing I should have mentioned is that the week leading up to the event Porbes, Raymond and myself had discussed doing our usual stupid gag for the weekend and settled on Bogan Mullet Wigs. We looked perty!

The stages them selves were varied. The first being a quick short 5KM stage to warm you up and then on to the harder stuff. The second stage I hated and so did Matt. It was rouch, guttered, goat tracks that I wouldnt even include in a rally. And Im the one that usually complains that if its too rough go Tar Racing. It didnt help that we had no brakes for 5 of the 8 stages and had bled them 4 times during the day.

The third and forth stages were pretty good actually especially the 3rd. Very open and fast with lots of Yowie, I mean Spectator points for people to watch. The 4 stages were then repeated in the evening/night and thats when it turns to crud. If you love dust and non visibility, then this is the rally for you. Every year its the same, as soon as it turns to night, there is absolutely no wind, not a whisp.

Matty drove his bum off even with no brakes and so much dust. Really love riding with him, he listens to you and its "full hectic drifto action". We ended up 7th OR and various top 3 placings within ACT Series. See you all at Rally of Canberra where I'll be navving for Fro again. And for all those Yowies reading this, Wooooop Wooooop Wooooop!

Putting the Band Back Together

17/04/07

It looks as if the 2005 Rally of Canberra Orange Roughy team is getting back into it with the crews of Horobin/Tams and Dyne/Kelly. Talks are in place for the 2 car team to have another crack at it. This time though, we're all doing it on a limited budget in the privateer section.

We're hoping for as much fun as last time and I'll be making sure I have elastic strap tied to my notes for those unexpected cabin pressure changes..... Bloody drivers : )

RoC start on Friday the 1st of June and finishes on Sunday the 3rd in the forests in and around Canberra.

Matilda Kaitlyn Tams Has Arrived!!!

28/03/07

On the 11th of March 2007 at the Canberra Hospital at the wee hour of 4:51am our beautiful baby girl was born.

Weighing only 3.055kgs but being 49cm long, shes a cute lil skinny thing that looks as though she will be as tall as her dad. Lets hope she keeps Cherrian's looks.

Minidulla 2007

23/02/07

Well this year my Minidulla role changed like 3-4 times before I even got there. At first I was planning to return to my learning ground and have another run in the WRCorona but lack of time and funds put that to rest so then I got offered by the wife to Nav for Marla Mc but after the partner championship was announced for the event, Jason and Marla decided to run together, that put me into their service crew which I was fine with. That was until the Thursday before hand and I got a msg from my lovely SKDAC friends who told me Darren Gillis needed a new nav in his new Impreza RS. So I called him up and he was more then keen for me to sit beside him.

Friday arvo, I finished work and headed to Conder to pick young Tristan Kent up who lost his ride a week before. The lil eccy’d up gerbil was as anxious to get down to the camp ground and begin the fun as much as I was. Driving behind 3 cop cars and a horse float down the Clyde later, we got to Shallow Crossing and quickly lost the shackles of work clothes and become the Spac resembling shoeless bums that we are. And then off to catch up with Darren and Zoey, Spathan and Spanna, Matt A, Pete and Jas and Marla before heading straight to the crossing and cool off.

The Nav school started late at about 8:45 so it was getting dark already. Lizzy and myself ran the school under limited light from the WD40 fire and head lamps and had about 10 navs and a couple of drivers turn up to either learn or freshen up on a few things. The school didn’t finish til 11pm and I noticed Rowds, Davee, Sam, Jules and Phil had arrived with the Stanza. Went and caught up and then headed to bed early at about 1230.

Saturday morning, woke up, grabbed the guys and girls and went for a swim before coming back to do doco, halda check and then back down the river we went. Got out about 1:30pm’ish and went up to drivers briefing still in swimmers and towel. Thought I better get changed after that as Darren and I were car 5 and I only had 15mins before we would start.

Basically Darren drove the car for the first time on dirt when we did the halda check so he wasn’t out to blitz people especially after rolling his Stanza at Natcap. Overall he drove the car very well and started to pick up the change from RWD to 4WD. Those RS’s actually go alright, which surprised me. Darren increased his performance throughout the day and I don’t think it will be too long til he’s driving the arse off it. Just needs to learn its setup and some more practice and off he’ll go.

We only had 2 moments throughout the day. One was going a bit too fast into a RGR and the arse end of the car pointing backwards but he regained it very well and then on the last stage we did a similar thing but the car did a 180 and was heading backwards down the road heading for a big pile of logs which we fortunately stopped short of. We lost a bit of time and probably a placing but we were both there for fun and as a learning experience for Darren.

I enjoyed the little games SKDAC put on at service and the controls to keep in the fun theme of the day and the fact that it was no more then 5mins after finishing that Darren, Zoey and myself had beers and were meeting up with Porbes, Wade, Raymond and a swag of service crews at the river where the rope swing was. Well actually Zoey may not have a had a beer but I reckon 90% of the people in the river and there were about 30 odd people in there had some sort of beverage. It was hell funny, no one knew each others names so when it was your turn to get up on the rope swing, they made a name up. Hi, Im Bob. Standing up in the tree looking down at these 20-30 arms poking up out of the water keeping there bottles out was hilarious.

I think we stayed in there for about 3hrs before we all got a feed, rode some mini bikes, played some playstation (well attempted to) and went to the presso. Well done to JAMAR for winning the partners championship and Davee and Sam for winning Grand Champions for the day.

Well the rest of the night was, drinking, riding, drinking, swimming, drinking, yelling, drinking, swimming, drinking, passing out. I totally love this event not only cause of its no hassle nature but for the atmosphere, fun times, swimming, everything. I only wish we had water up here so I could organise one for Canberra, Maybe a Tidbinbilla one might work and camp at cotter somewhere.

Well thanks to everyone involved in organising it and for everyone I had a good time with down there. Big cheers to Darren for the ride and I hope I helped you out. Thanks to JAMAR for the cool camp site and letting me dodge my service duties to Nav. Thanks to Chez for letting me go down and I hope Jelly didn’t kick you too much. Thanks to Tristan, Raymond, Wade, and Porbes for being at the specie points and start to cheer me on even if they had no shirts on and for putting two cases of empty bourbon cans in my tent when I was asleep.

I’ll definitely be back next year driving and with Chez and my bub.

Thanks everyone. Aaron

Baby Tams

13/02/07

Yes thats right a little Tams bub is due very soon adding to the NADA Rallying team. Mum is surely feeling it and thinks lil jelly bean will be here within the next week of two. Family is very excited.