The Slattery Auctions Condo 750 cross country rally was held in near perfect conditions, with the heavy rain that had threatened the event in the preceding days clearing on Friday afternoon. Leaving in its wake a glowing outback sunset for scrutiny in the main street of Condobolin and an almost dust free track for the strong field of 28 auto and 57 moto entrants to compete on over the two days.
After 6 competitive stage and 700+km of competition it was the new kids on the block, Tom Dixon and Nick Peters who took the auto category win at the Slattery Auctions Condo 750 in their V8 powered GU Patrol. In their first drive at the race, Dixon and Peters had been hot on the heels of the overnight race leader, Jason Pearce in his Isuzu Vehicross and stepped into the lead when Pearce retired on Sundays second competitive stage with a blown transfer case. From there they didn’t look back, holding off a charge by Warren Denham in the Transvent Triton to take the outright win in a time of 9hr 27min 01sec
Condo 750 regulars, Michael Denham and Ross Arico were consistently quick across the weekends racing. Driving their Transvent Evo Pajero from their seeded starting position of 8th to 3rd on the road by Saturday night, and charging into second outright by the races conclusion.
A beaming Terry Pinson and Richard den Brinker were third outright in their V8 powered Falcon RTV 2WD ute. Condo has proved to be a tough hunting ground for the team in previous years, but in slippery conditions that were tipped to suit the 4WD’s, Pinson and Den Brinker who shared the driving both shined. Piloting the Ford through Saturdays slippery paddocks and muddy station tracks, before opening the throttle on Sunday as the track dried out.
Offroad racing converts, Jeff Thomas and Peter Calvert swapped red arrows for a road book at Condo, navigating their turbo Pro Class RV-2 Buggy through a myriad of gates into a solid 7th outright over the two days of racing.
17 of the 28 auto starters completed the entire race distance.
Ian Wilson and John Fraser in the Grunt Global Pajero were a notable exclusion from the finishers list after hitting a caution too hard and rolling end for end on Sundays second competitive stage. Both Wilson and Fraser walked away from the scene, highlighting the importance safety gear plays in offroad motorsport.
In the hotly contested moto category Todd Smith took the Slattery Auctions Condo 750 win from his brother and GHR Honda team mate, Jake Smith. While South Australia’s John Maragozidis cleaned up in the Quad division.
