The Penfold Motors Trial was held on March 22.
VRC Round 1 – 1975 RCCV Penfold Motors Trial
The first round of the 1975 VRC was the Renault Car Club Penfold Motors Trial directed by John “Chick” Pfeifer and ably assisted by Ian Pearson. The event was run out of a central control in the north-west corner of the Colquhoun Forest. Straightforward navigation required plotting on a purpose drawn official map, but driving conditions were challenging with hanging dust and somewhat rutted sandy roads.
The entire first division was run in the Colquhoun with clever looping back to several common controls. Drama struck, however, when a freshly fallen tree blocked the route and several competitors backtracked, including Bonhomme and Suffern who lost at least 15 minutes. But soon enough a few crews found that they could bush bash around the side of the tree without much difficulty and so the section was considered fair game. By the halfway mark, Hodge and Brasier were in the lead equal with the Pearce brothers, but the latter damaged the front end of their Datsun 1600 in the second division spoiling a good run. Next were Ken Stone and Mike Rebbechi in a Cortina, one point off the lead, but a failed alternator would subsequently end their event. Next were Bond/ Richards and Bird/Smith, both 2 minutes off the lead.
The second division looped northwards into traditional Akademos country. It was the first run for David Bond in the new Lancer which was still running the standard 1400 cc engine and power was limited in the more mountainous terrain. But they maintained a consistent pace through the second division, despite hitting a gate, to finish 3 points adrift of Hodge and Brasier.
The entire first division was run in the Colquhoun with clever looping back to several common controls. Drama struck, however, when a freshly fallen tree blocked the route and several competitors backtracked, including Bonhomme and Suffern who lost at least 15 minutes. But soon enough a few crews found that they could bush bash around the side of the tree without much difficulty and so the section was considered fair game. By the halfway mark, Hodge and Brasier were in the lead equal with the Pearce brothers, but the latter damaged the front end of their Datsun 1600 in the second division spoiling a good run. Next were Ken Stone and Mike Rebbechi in a Cortina, one point off the lead, but a failed alternator would subsequently end their event. Next were Bond/ Richards and Bird/Smith, both 2 minutes off the lead.
The second division looped northwards into traditional Akademos country. It was the first run for David Bond in the new Lancer which was still running the standard 1400 cc engine and power was limited in the more mountainous terrain. But they maintained a consistent pace through the second division, despite hitting a gate, to finish 3 points adrift of Hodge and Brasier.
