More than one loony on Loones road

The final round of the Tasmanian Rally Series, Rally Scottsdale, was held yesterday in the forests around the delightfully named Mount Horror. The location certainly lived up to it’s name in more ways than one just ask Craig Brooks and Team Baldrick. Going into this round it was neck and neck between Brooksy and David Waldon for the title but at the end of stage one it was all over for Craig Brooks and Adrian Hodgetts in their Subaru WRX as a coolant hose let go causing their engine to overheat and they were out. So it should have been an easy walk in the park for Waldo and co-driver Ross Ferguson but they very soon found themselves driving a 2wd WRX when they broke a rear driveshaft. Fortunately there was a service break directly after this stage and their service crew were able to replace it so Waldo and Ross could finish and clinch the title. Congratulations guys !

And so we come to the adventures of Team Baldrick and Benjamin and Reubecca Sheldrick. I have to admit that if you ever want a great shot you can always rely on the Sheldricks in their 2WD Datsun to do something spectacular. I don’t know if he does it all the time or if he just goes out of way to entertain when he sees us photographers in our yellow vests. So we were very disappointed when Baldrick failed to come through to our first spot on stage 1. The field had come through and we were getting ready to follow the sweep car out of the stage when along they came with the front left badly damaged and a big chunk of the local foliage sticking out of the bonnet. So they were back in the rally and sure enough as spectacular as ever as they almost spun out in front of me.

Off to our next spot a nice tight left hand corner and here I found more than one loony on Loones road. That’s fellow photographer Nick in the picture by the way. Most of the field came round nice and tight but pretty unspectacular but Ben and Reubecca came round faster, wider and a whole lot more entertaining throwing up rocks and branches before pruning the foliage and carry on down the road.


Next up we headed into stage 6 to a crossroads where some of the cars can get a bit of air. When the zero car got all 4 wheels off the ground we knew this was going to be good. Waldo came through and I got the shot of him at the top off this page and then car after car getting some air. Special mention goes to the Stonemans and also Hooch and Whitey for excellent efforts.

As soon as I heard him coming I knew Baldrick was going faster than any body else had so he was bound to do something special. They hit the jump hard and fast and the back of the car flew up until it was almost vertical, hit the ground nose first, veered off the road and into the bush in a big cloud of steam. We rushed down to see if they were ok and all we could hear was Benjamin and Reubecca laughing themselves silly inside the car. As I said before there are a whole lot of loony’s out in the bush but none as entertaining as Ben & Bec of Team Baldrick.

"Next year this will be you"

Those of you who know me will know all about my passion for all things Ferrari and it was with a heavy heart that I came to work today with the knowledge that this is the final season for the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time Michael Schumacher. We all suspected it was coming but as soon as I saw Schumi talking to Kimi on the podium during the Italian national anthem I knew he was saying "Next year this will be you". Sure enough, an emotional Michael announced his decision during the winner's press conference just moments after romping to a commanding victory in front of the Ferrari-mad tifosi at the Italian Grand Prix. This was the 90th GP win of his stellar career. I took this shot of Schumi at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix.

So we have 3 more races to go and Fernando Alonso leads the championship by only 2 points. Can Michael make it 8 Word Championships before he retires? I for one will not be betting against him with the Ferrari – Bridgestone combination looking bullet proof whilst Fernando’s Renault is certainly showing a few chinks in it’s armour. We have all been privileged to have been able to see the greatest racing driver of his generation, if not all time, in action. If only Ayrton Senna had still been with us just think of the titanic races we would have had. Good luck Michael for the rest of this championship and also into the future.

The world can be a strange place sometimes and in a huge co- incidence, and just the thing to cheer me up, the Ferrari Owners Club of Australia today held it’s annual meeting in Launceston. To see the Civic Square a sea of red was a delight to behold. There were over 50 Ferraris on display, mainly red, a couple of yellows and a pair of Aston Martin interlopers along for the drive.

On of my favourite Ferraris is the new F-430 and there were both coupe and spider versions on display. One lucky driver who I was talking to said he owned both, the coupe for driving and the convertible as an investment in his car collection. Ah, the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Although If I owned one I must admit I would only be taking it out on very special occasions. It reminds me of a friend who was so in love with his Ducati that he kept it in his lounge room during winter. Perfectly understandable but how he got his wife to agree is beyond me.

Vale, The King Of The Mountain

Peter Brock, one of Australia's motorsport icons was tragically killed on Friday competing in a Daytona Coupe at Targa West. A 9 time winner of Bathurst he really earned the nickname "Peter Perfect". I met Peter on several occasions and he always amazed me with how much time he would spend talking to and autographing things for his fans. Once during Targa Tasmania I watched him spend his entire lunch break at Bicheno signing pictures for what seemed a never ending queue of schoolchildren and quite a few adults as well. A true gentleman who will be sorely missed. Vale, The King Of The Mountain, Peter Brock 1945 - 2006.

I took all of these shots of Peter during Targa Tasmania 2006.