Riders race in hot weather
Some of the hottest, roughest conditions in the Gascoyne Dash’s history were braved by riders and drivers on the weekend, with the mix of old and new winners mirroring the blend of old and new tradition at this year’s race.
The newest of these traditions was the Ivan Erceg Memorial Trophy, for the first rookie home, and with
benefits to match the prestige.
Friday’s 20km prologue was testament to the mix of old and new blood.
In moto, dark horse Brodie Black surged ahead of reigning desert racing champion Ben Grabham by six seconds, with Gavin Russell coming in third.
Another comparative newcomer team, Shane Elphinstone with navigator Curt Elphinstone, also claimed first spot for cars in prologue, ahead of Brad Cooper and Ken Styles.
For quads, Logan Trigg came in first — and eighth overall — followed by Matt Sivwright and Dale Harris.
Prologue, to some extent, foreshadowed who the major players in each category’s contest would be, though there were exceptions, particularly in quads.
The first 198km leg was raced through on a 40C plus Saturday, with a lot of breakaway country, fast station tracks and treks through red dirt and, occasionally, river sand.
The Elphinstone team surged ahead, but lost four minutes to a computer unit repair.
Two flat tyres to Brad Cooper and Ken Style’s car gave Brett and Kevin Renton their chance to come first across the line in Day One’s auto — effectively leapfrogging the Renton team from fifth on the grid to first in that category.
Brodie Black held off Ben Grabham until a fuel stop gave Grabham the leeway he needed to finish Day One first in moto, seven minutes ahead of Black and eight minutes ahead of Mathew Fish.
Logan Trigg repeated his prologue feat, finishing ahead of Richard Maxted and John Iuliano.
On day two, a 200km loop with a 50km riverbed section, saw Grabham stamp his authority.
Grabham surged home 45 seconds short of two hours, for a total time of 4 hours and four minutes — the fastest time for any racer in any category, saw Grabham take out the King Of The River award.
Fish and Russell followed suit, three and four minutes respectively behind Grabham.
The Elphinstone team, who have only been racing for two years, came out on top in auto.
David McShane and William Kirkhope, who came third on Saturday, slipped ahead of Cooper and Styles and the Renton team to take out second, with Cooper and Styles placing third for auto.
Day two boiled down to a battle between Trigg and Iuliano for quads, with Iuliano beating Trigg by only 19 seconds after Trigg was forced to make a roadside repair with cable ties and racing tape.
An extraordinary triumph was the Ivan Erceg Memorial Trophy going to Russell.
The weather took an unprecedented turn in the lead-up to Russell receiving the award.
Searing heat gave way to a small dust storm, complemented by thunder, lightning and rain, which meant even spectators had a miniature desert riding experience in navigating back to the bitumen in Gascoyne Junction.
