Some say preparation is key. Team Send It strongly disagrees. After absolutely destroying their car on the shakedown the day before, they spent the night driving, wrenching, and questioning their life choices. By sunrise, they were on the grid, held together by zip ties, caffeine, and sheer determination.
Right out of the gate, DIRT set the tone for the day by spinning off on Lap 2, probably just making sure the grass was still there. Meanwhile, Sh!t Heap Racing and Team RHonda were locked in a battle for the lead, swapping places every couple of laps like they were playing tag. The excitement was short-lived, though, because chaos was just around the corner.
Team Mazda caught fire. Not metaphorically—actual flames. Nobody was really surprised, least of all the pit crew, who responded with a mix of panic and resignation. Over in Team Send It’s pit, they had already managed to destroy a tyre. Unfazed, they hopped on Marketplace, found a set of wheels and tyres, and sent Brad, Wazza, and Azza off in a ute to grab them. Who needs a professional pit crew when you’ve got three blokes, a dodgy Facebook deal, and half a tank of fuel?
DIRT’s rear bumper mysteriously detached itself, which absolutely wasn’t the result of them hitting something. At least, that’s their story, and they’re sticking to it. Speaking of DIRT, they had a good start to the event, winning the raffle from our sponsor Protex, scoring themselves a set of fresh brakes. Maybe that was the plan all along—grab the prize and head home early. It would explain a lot.
Meanwhile, Rag Tag Bunch of Blokes forgot to put their timing transponder on. If we had a “Peanut Award” for the dumbest mistake of the day, they’d win it by a mile.
As the event went on, Sh!t Heap Racing and Team RHonda kept up their battle until disaster struck with 15 minutes left in the second hour. Team RHonda’s spark plug called it quits, sending them to the pits and breaking their momentum. Just as everyone thought things were settling down, Forester Gump went full send into a wall, tipped onto its side, and then—because why not—landed back on its wheels and drove off like nothing happened. The session ended prematurely while everyone tried to process what they’d just witnessed.
With RHonda still struggling, Sh!t Heap Racing built up a solid lead while Trutrack Racing quietly worked their way up into third place. They weren’t flashy, they weren’t breaking things—they were just… there, steadily climbing the order while everyone else focused on setting things on fire, breaking parts, or putting cars into walls. DIRT became the first team to break out, possibly on purpose, possibly because they figured, “We’ve got new brakes, might as well save them for another day.”
Team RHonda’s day somehow got even worse when their exhaust decided to yeet itself off the car. The noise was so bad that officials black-flagged them, officially putting an end to their suffering. And in the most poetic finale possible, DIRT suffered a mechanical failure with just 30 minutes left, as if the event gods themselves had decided they weren’t getting off that easy.
This event had everything—fires, mystery crashes, car parts falling off, a Subaru that briefly became an aircraft, a team shopping for tyres mid-session, and an absolute masterclass in forgetfulness. Budget endurance isn’t about winning; it’s about surviving the dumbest things imaginable and somehow still making it to the finish. And by that measure, every team here is a champion.
Well, except Rag Tag Bunch of Blokes. They’re just peanuts.
And if you think this was entertaining, just wait for the next round—for the first time ever, we’re heading to Calder Park on Sunday, April 6th! If the last event was anything to go by, expect plenty of chaos, mechanical failures, and at least one team making a questionable Marketplace purchase mid-session. Entries are open—so if you’ve got a ute, a dream, and a healthy disregard for mechanical sympathy, now’s the time to sign up!
