Archived News (2008)
25th Nov 2008 - Robinsons Conquer Baja
In only their first attempt at the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the OuterBounds Racing team have managed to produce a stunning result by not only finishing, but pulling out a fifth in class. Known for its uncompromising attack on competitor and car alike, the Baja traverses rock, sand, river beds and mountain passes on its torturous 631 mile journey around the Mexican peninsula. The Robinson crew (Brian, Beau and Travis) made the round trip in a little over 18hrs of non-stop racing, well within the 31hr time limit; from a field of 29 starters (Class 1) of which only 10 finished. For more info, have a look here.
30th Oct 2008 - AGM
Some of you might still be unaware that the WDR AGM is going to be held on Tuesday 11th Nov; in little over a week (see flier). As usual, all roles in the club will be up for grabs; so it's up to everyone to pitch in and put their hand up for a job. Support the club so the club can support you. Our self-appointed Chairman (Ed. I didn't see that job up for grabs... :) has listed all the positions, so have a look and put up your hand at the appropriate time; it's that simple.
24th Oct 2008 - Harvey Update
As you may or may not be aware Western Desert Racers, together with the Jeep Club of WA and the South West Touring Car Club (SWTCC), have formed an incorporated body “the Harvey Motorsport Association”. The HMSA has been negotiating a lease with the Harvey Shire for the Short Course track at Harvey. As some of you may know the wheels of local government do not always turn as fast as we would like and this has involved a lengthy delay in determining the future of the Harvey site. This year we had a February and November short course scheduled. We had to cancel the February event and unfortunately we are now cancelling the November event. It is difficult for the shire to approve use of the site whilst the lease proposal is in the system and we do not want to jeopardize our long term goal. We will forward a request for the use of the site for next year as well as continuing the lease proposal.
The SWTCC have chosen to opt out of the HMSA, as they now have their site up and running adjacent to the Bunbury speedway. Western Desert Racers are committed to the future of the [Harvey] site and the HMSA. The issues that we are confronting at the Harvey Site are relevant to all sites that we race at throughout WA and the rest of Australia. We have commissioned detailed acoustic studies and developed a detailed management plan for the site. We hope that the ground work that we put in will benefit all off roaders in the future. One thing that becomes increasingly clear is that any landholder that is willing to put their hand up to have us race should be treated like gold. The likes of the Smiths in Hyden and Williams in Brookton (and so many others) that allow us there year after year are the absolute lifeline of the sport.
Jeremy Beck
24th Oct 2008 - Hyden Humps Wrapup
Over for another year; the Humps has run it's course. Being a man of many words, Frenchy has blessed us with another rambling epistle on the subject from his literary pulpit. For your enjoyment, the complete dissertation is contained herein. A somewhat briefer (and altogether more boring) summary of the official results is also provided for your perusal and edification.
Note: AGM - 11th Nov 2008 (at the Hyde Park Hotel from 6:30pm)
25th Sep 2008 - 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps
This weekend (27-28th Sep 2008). Racing starts at 6:30pm on Saturday night (yes, that's not a typo), so there's plenty of time to drive out there on Saturday morning and still catch all the action. As usual, the event will be wrapped up on Sunday with a few daytime laps of the course. For the rest of the event details, have a look here. Selected merchandise will also be available at the venue.
1st Sep 2008 - 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps
Supp. regs. are out for the 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps to be held at the end of this month. In addition to the usual gumpf there's also something called a TRA kicking about. In this increasingly litigious world, this document is pretty much a way for the event organisers to demonstrate that they've thought about a few ways of stopping people getting run over. It's included for information purposes only. The rest of the info (that competitors do have to fill out) is here.
7th Aug 2008 - Desert Racers Dominate WAORC
With three rounds down and two to go, Western Desert Racers members are dominating the 2008 West Australian Off Road Championship.
With the forced cancellation of Nissan Car Club’s Rod Hatter Memorial at Yealering, the Off Road Panel have determined that this will constitute everyone’s dropped round – so all the points at all the events will count.
WDR members are holding down the first 5 Outright positions and 1st , 2nd , 4th , and 5th in Pro, 2nd , 3rd and 4th in Super 1650, 1st Sportsman, 3rd Extreme 2wd, 1st and 2nd in Performance 2wd, and 1st and 2nd in Extreme 4wd.
Currently leading the way in the WAORC is defending champion Brad Cooper on 620 points, followed by Eric Phillips on 610 points. In equal third place, both on 460 points we have the youngest Robinson – Travis and new member Grant Adamson. The tin top honour is being upheld by the mighty 5¾ Datto of Dave and Tim Rohrlach in 5th place on 380 points.
Brad Cooper also tops the table in Pro, ahead of Eric Phillips in 2nd, Trav Robinson 4th, and Grant Adamson 5th. The only fly in the WDR ointment here is Brett Renton who is just holding down 3rd by 10 points from Travis.
Our very own Fez – Jeremy Lia, is within striking distance of multiple Super 1650 champion Darren Agrela in this class. A good result at Mogumber could well set the scene for a hard fought battle at the final round this year – the 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps. Currently 3rd in this class are Adam Greg and Naomi Goddard in their ex Luke Erceg Southern Cross. After finally getting to the bottom of the intermittent EFI problem in this car, Adam and Naomi set the fastest single lap time at the King of the Hill and should be able to carry this speed into Mogumber, and perhaps climb the ladder a little further. Not bad considering the first time Adam drove this car was the Thursday before Easter. Grant Payne after a good round at the Hyden 400, had a shocking King of the Hill, but remains in touch with the others in this class.
Mick French and Marty Liprini are the runaway leaders in Sportsman, but have had very little competition. This however is no excuse for not contesting more than one event in a year. Look forward to seeing / hearing the screaming Suzuki at at least one more event this year.
Ian French needs to leave the driving to Jonny, so that there is some chance that the big black banger can bring those two Navaras down a peg or two in Extreme 2wd. There is of course the chance that Jeremy and Steve could bring the Rodeo out for a blast, but have left their run a little late to make any impression on the championship.
In Performance 2wd Dave Rohrlach leads the irrepressible Dominator (Stuart Graham) who is on an unprecedented (for him) finishing streak. Rumour has it that Dave will be forgoing Mogumber for the arrival of our newest Desert Racer as Martine is due to give birth at any time. This gives Dominator his best chance yet of not only closing the gap, but jumping into the lead in this class. Heaven help us all.
Justin Yaksich – nephew of Ray, in his first year of competition as a driver, is picking up where his uncle left off – comfortably leading Extreme 4wd from fellow Desert Racer Gary Povah.
With only Mogumber and the 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps left to run in this year’s WAORC, it’s looking like a good year on the track for the Western Desert Racers.
(The Prez)
15th Jun 2008 - General Meeting
A general meeting has been scheduled for the 24th June 2008 (Tuesday night) at the Hyde Park Hotel. Items on the agenda include a Hyden 400 wrapup, the upcoming Hyden Humps and some info on Harvey. Have a look at the document below for rest of the info.
25th Mar 2008 - Hyden 400 Photos
No official results yet, but the ARB - Pinjarra Engineering Hyden 400 has been won provisionally by Shannon and Ian Rentsch in their Nissan powered Chenowth, followed by Brad Prout in his Chev Jimco, with third being wrapped up by Hayden Bentley and Ben Chivell also in a Chev powered Jimco. OffroadRacing.com has a good wrapup of the event, whilst FlatOutOffroadRacing has quite a few pictures posted, and there's a few on the main page of this website. Official results will be posted when they come to hand.
17th Mar 2008 - Hyden 400 Scrutineering Photos
These normally wouldn't be posted here, but Kim (OffroadOz) seems to have found a blackhole somewhere in India; so quite a few pictures taken at the Hyden 400 WA scrutineering (held on Sunday) have been posted on the main page. Also up are the prologue seeding times.
11th Mar 2008 - Hyden 400 Entries
Entries have now closed for Round 1 of the 2008 AORC. With a total of 131 competitors spread amongst 64 cars, it'll be flat out racing all weekend. Here's the final entry list.
4th Mar 2008 - Hyden 400 Fuel Orders
BP Ultimate 98 (only) will be available onsite to those teams who have pre-ordered their fuel. The fuel will be delivered to the track about 4 days before the race, and with the new tank filter, it should be pretty clean and fresh when teams get it. Fill out this form and email it to or post it to the given address. Deposits can be paid either by cheque or via EFT (details here). Note that the deposit is $300 per 200l, and refunds will be provided (try not to break down in the first lap).
29th Feb 2008 - Hyden 400 Update
Frenchy's at his usual best and done a brain-dump on all-and-any info he thinks you people might want to know if you're planning on heading to the Hyden 400 next month. His monologue includes more event details, a bunch of generous sponsor's names, an accomodation update and somehow a picture of his race car (could he fit a bigger sticker for the sponsor???). For all the up-to-date info, go here.
22nd Feb 2008 - Hyden 400 Current Entry List
55 entries and counting. That's the current size of the field competing to take out honours in the first round of AORC for 2008, the ARB - Pinjarra Engineering Hyden 400 2008. This includes a classy field of about 20 Pro Buggies, so the racing should be intense for competitors and spectators alike. Entries close on the 8th of March, so there's still heaps of time to get one in if you haven't already. The current entry list is here.
18th Feb 2008 - Hyden 400 Early Entry Competition
With early entry closing only days away (February 21st), there’s HUGE news from Western Desert Racers. Competitors who enter at National level for Round 1 of the Australian Off Road Championship will receive a $100 discount off their entry for the 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps in September 2008. Offer valid till close of entries, Sunday 8th March 2008.
With entries coming in thick and fast, accommodation’s becoming a premium. The resort is fully booked, rooms at the Hyden Hotel are limited and the caravan park is filling fast. But remember that there are exciting new camping areas Onsite.
Be sure to get your entries in soon to secure your discount for the 20th Anniversary Hyden Humps.
13th Feb 2008 - WDR Memberships
As everyone should be well aware, all WDR memberships expired on the 31st Dec 2007. If you haven't applied for a new membership card this year then now's the time to do it. You'll need to fill out this form and post or email it to ; or bring it along to the Membership Renewal Night down at the Hyde Park Hotel on Tues 26th Feb (see below for more details). On another note, the AGM minutes have also been posted.
30th Jan 2008 - Hyden 400 Sup. Regs.
Supplementary regulations (and a heap of other stuff) for the first round of the AORC comp. for 2008, the ARB - Pinjarra Engineering Hyden 400 2008, have been released. This event also constitutes the first round of the WAORC competition for 2008.
16th Jan 2008 - Calendar Update
The 2008 calendar has been updated due to the first Harvey round (scheduled for early February) being cancelled. Unfortunately the event location is unavailable due to ongoing lease negotiations; which will hopefully be sorted before the shortcourse slated for November. The organisers released this statement.
8th Jan 2008 - Miscellaneous Stuff
Posted a few more pictures of club members cars; just refresh the main page and they'll all come up eventually. Also put in a few links to the photos/videos taken by some of the people down at Harvey in November last year, and updated bits and pieces around the place.
