The start order for Day 6 for COT18 crews is now available and can be found on the Documents and Forms Page
Kerr hits trouble, Travis’ extend their lead
The Travis’ duo pass an outback windmill. on Day 2. Photo: Phil Williams.
Phil Kerr and Jenny Cole hit trouble on day two of the Lasseters Classic Outback Trial, while Andrew and David Travis extended their advantage at the top of the leaderboard, winning three out of the day’s five stages.
Game on!
Reddiex/Mitchell are placed in a strong third position after Day 1. Photo: Phil Williams
Day one of the Lasseters Classic Outback Trial felt a bit like history repeating itself, with the 2016 winners Andrew and David Travis taking the honours in their Nissan Gazelle.
Picking up where they left off
Andrew and David Travis on their way to winning the prologue stage. Photo: Ian Smith
Three-time winners and defending Classic Class champions Andrew and David Travis have kicked off their 2018 Classic Outback Trial by going fastest on the 13km prologue stage in their V6 powered Nissan Gazelle. Continue reading
X marks the spot!
The X board is not a management committee… it’s a rally sign that the Classic Outback Trial uses in conjunction with caution boards to show crews the exact position of a hazard. The X board was an innovation in COT 2014, introduced to help crews see the location of disguised or hard to see hazards.
The X board marks the location of a hazard
CAMS Safety Cage Structures
CAMS recently released a news article entitled “FAQs: CAMS Safety Cage Structures” that will be of interest to COT18 competitors.
See https://www.cams.com.au/media/news/latest-news/faq-cams-safety-cage-structures
Back to back wins for Andrew and David Travis
Bathurst son and father combination, Andrew and David Travis were the cream of the crop at the end of the 2016 Classic Outback Trial (COT), as they took back to back wins and their third in four attempts, this time in a Nissan Gazelle.
The Travis team near the end of the first stage of day 6. Pic by Craig O’Brien.
Outback rally stalls with a third of the field bogged
The 4th day of the 6 day Classic Outback Trial in the Northern Territory was thrown in to turmoil on Wednesday morning when 15 cars became bogged in a sandy section of road south east of Rainbow Valley, about 100 km from Alice Springs.
Bogged rally crews on the Classic Outback Trial. Pic by Glenn Evans
Roller coaster ride for rally crews at the COT on day 3
Wednesday provided our crews with a visit a genuine working cattle station for service and lunch but not before the field had rode the roller coaster 65 km Winneke Goldfield stage. It proved to be a most exhilarating drive for most with crest after crest after crest, requiring a serious amount of commitment to be fast. But for some it was a ride they’d want to get off.
CLASSIC COMPETITION
The first stage of the day, SS13 Ironwood Creek of 29 km gave the Callinan’s in their Historic Motorsport build Ford Escort RS1800 their first stage win. 5 seconds down the road though was the other RS1800 of Companc / Volta. Overnight leader Cuthbert / Evans retained the overall lead despite being 1:27 off the pace. Even further off the pace was Travis / Travis 1:41 behind but still retaining 2nd place. Crane / Anderson (Peugeot 504) began their charge up the leader board from 12th with a fine 3rd place on stage. Continue reading
Roller-coaster COT ride
As the sun rose against the MacDonnell Ranges on a chilly Tuesday morning, all but the Sawyer brothers who retired on day two, disembarked from Lasseters for a challenging days’ rallying.
Before formalities got under-way, event co-ordinator Steuart Snooks, presented Argentine pair Jorge Perez Companc and Jose Volta with the COT gnomes, which are awarded to the most deserving crew each day. Day three of competition would see competitors cover six stages, totalling 159 competitive kilometres, north east of Alice Springs with two service breaks at the sensational Hale River Homestead. Continue reading
Classic Outback Trial 