From Page 1. Central Queensland Motor Sporting Club’s CQ Crane Hire Gold Rush Hill Sprint, cancelled in 2020, seemed to return with a vengeance over the 10 -11 July weekend in absolutely perfect conditions, it's growth spurt undeterred by the interruption. The sprint course up the mountain, already the longest in the country, was extended even further to 3 kms with the start line moved back down to Poison Creek bridge, and the addition of two chicanes before the first hairpin at the foot of the edifice. Climbing 200 metres to the finish line through the now 26 turns, this year 170 competitors from all over the country lined up to experience this unique event and were all effusive in their praise of the track, as surpassing anything they'd ever encountered. From a drivers point of view, generally there's only one disappointment associated with hill sprinting, it's all over too quickly. - Not so here! Spectators this year were contained to a newly cleared viewing area adjacent to the start line accessed through the open pit area, but it was a very well supported position. New additions included a huge screen fed by numerous cameras positioned throughout the course, keeping everyone up to date on all the action and competitors times through each block of competition, an extremely welcome innovation. There was a second large screen set up in another new addition, a bar area, though this agreeable temptation wasn't greatly indulged, with most people unfortunately restrained by their need to drive home later. The corporate viewing stand was moved down to the midway lookout area at turn 12 providing an astonishing view for miles on such a beautiful weekend, all repeated on the screens below, and both positions were supported with food and drink stalls manned by some of the the countless volunteers who virtually lived on the mountain for days. Bus services from the parking
area at Bouldercombe were incessant throughout the weekend though I had a feeling numbers were down on 2019's comparison. Commentator for the event, Don Mcglauchlan, did his usual entertaining and extremely professional job throughout the weekend, expounding his detailed knowledge of the variety of entries from extremely rare vintage racers from the 1930's, through road registered, and modified types, to the ultimate speed machines presenting at the start line. There was even a Robinson R22 chopper providing joy flights over the course for those seeking the ultimate in an objective point of view! - Cars, released from the line at 30 second intervals for four timed runs across the two days competed for trophies in seven categories, dividing road registered and pure race cars, and 2 and 4 wheel drive types, but mostly arranged around engine displacement, with 70% per litre added for turbo and supercharged units to compensate for their increased power output. For example; two litre turbo engines would be classed as 3.4 litres and compete in an 'up to 3.5 litre' category. The bulk of entries, Subaru WRX turbos and Mitsubishi Evo turbos, actually fall into these categories, so popular for their very high performance on a budget, opening opportunities for many talented drivers to test their skills in the otherwise cost prohibitive world of competitive motor sport.
Above: The R22 chopper. A great idea
Above: Shane Hill’s V8 powered Silvia S13 featured on screen. Sadly it misfired all weekend, but when he gets it sorted he'll have a rocket in his hands with huge potential here.
Day one arose presenting an unforeseen complication with the big screens. It seems some kind of animal chewed its way through a cable overnight, and sourcing and repairing the damage delayed the start for about an hour, time that had to be made up by starting day two an hour earlier. There's just no accounting for some critters dietary preferences! - But the meeting was soon under way providing all the sound, spectacle, and excitement we've come to enjoy. One early competitor blew a power steering line at the start and didn't get far past the first chicane before needing the tilt truck to return to the pits. Continued on Page 3
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MOUNT MORGAN ARGUS
21 July - 4 August 2021
