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Land Rovers
performed well at the
annual Rust de Winter Gymkhana held at the Jeep club
grounds in Rust de Winter, one of the biggest off-road
events in Southern Africa. It is typically a 3 day event
with a whole host of activities including a treasure hunt,
off road trial, concourse and the main event which is the gymkhana.
In amongst the 140 competitors there were several Land
Rovers of all shapes and sizes to be seen. Most of them
performed exceptionally well considering that they were
standard vehicles with very few modifications.
Olaf in
his D110 2.8i chewed up the course handling everything with
ease, except the tight bits where his turning wide turning circle
cost him a few penalty points.
Definitely
one of the most spectacular moves of the day was Olafs tackling
of the tyre-water hole-hill obstacle, which saw the D110 with
water up to the windscreen, just before cresting the steep loose
sand hill. This pic is Olaf just before the charge through the
water.
Followed
by a few seconds later as he emerged from the water hole and hit
the hill .... that's water flying past his window and onto his
windscreen.
The
hill after the water hole proved quite tricky due to the loose
sand, the wet bottom section and it was actually pretty steep.
This V8 D110 powered up without a hitch though.
Still
going guns, the trip through the little river was timed, so more
than normal speed was required.
Not
all the Land Rovers were victorious through the difficult
waterhole obstacle. This Series 2 struggled with traction due to
the road tires slipping. The standard 2.25l engine was rearing
to go but without traction he was going nowhere and had to
surrender to a pull by the big yellow Unimog.
The
long mud track was a real crowd puller and relied on brute force
and speed. Pulling a caged co-driver around the track proved a
bit too much for the lighter 4x4's, but the heavier Landys went
around unfased by the dead weight behind them.
By
the end of the day the mud track had turned very nasty, with a
few of the mud holes becoming very rutted and sticky. This Range
Rover with a big Ford V8 only just pulled through. A combination
of gearing excellent articulation and many hose power saw the
Range Rover make it to the other side.
Checking
the damage after the mud run, it was hard to see where the
engine was in amongst all the mud.
The
exit out of the river also got a bit rutted towards the end of
the day. Here a modified Series 2 pokes it nose over the top,
just before it pops out of the river. |
