A big day out, Toyo's Club Day leaves guests impressed.
Last Friday over 20 Adelaide 4x4 drivers fired up and joy and headed to Loveday 4x4 Adventure Park in South Australia for a day of off road action.
On hand at Loveday was the cream of competition off roaders. Brad Gallard, Greg Gartner, Matthew Kittle and Andy Murdock lined the pit area in their respective dirt-slaying weaponry.
Agitated exhausts popped and burbled as the cars warmed up, filling the assembled crowd with nervous excitement.
Despite persistent rumours of a race the following day, the boys threw down. Not a single pony was spared as the Toyo-shod machines muscled their way around a track engineered by the racers to excite fans.
They thundered headlong into seemingly insurmountable lumps of red dirt then soared metres above them, bounced over whoops and reaching speeds of over 200km/h, were totally on the wood through straight sections, and got the big trucks crossed up into dusty corners.
"On the first corner I was thinking is he going to stop? Is he going to stop? The acceleration and stopping power of those trucks was unbelievable," said off road enthusiast and Club Day attendee Donald Ward after a run with Brad Gallard.
As punters awkwardly climbed from the windows of the race machines they reassured anxious onlookers with beaming smiles as they struggled to lower their heart rates, before jumping back in line for another go around the circuit with the AORC's fastest.
Meanwhile, keen 4x4 owners followed Greg Goding and the Adelaide Driver Training Unit crew out to Loveday's dual private lakes.
Several deeply rutted, rocky tracks ran from the lake shore to the flat ground on top of the surrounding hills.
The first hill was easy game. Totally stock 4x4s tipped over the final rocky ledge with little prodding required. Hills two and three, however, presented a bit more of a challenge.
A heady mix of cars, experience levels and aesthetic choices, the lifted, locked and ready-to-rock among the club day participants dumped PSI from their tyres. Coasting to the lake's shore, they threw their cars up against the tougher hills, under the tuition of the DTU's finest.
None who attempted the steepest hills failed to come safely through the challenge: testament to the construction of their vehicles and the modifications selected in pursuit of leaving no rise unconquered.
Back to the tavern to watch Team Toyo pound out the last hot laps, club day participants scoffed fresh wood-fired pizza as the race teams headed for AORC scrutineering. Meanwhile, the full club day crew saddled up to get some serious 4x4-ing done on Loveday's more technical tracks.
Users crowded around to receive DTU tips and take turns at custom-built obstacles like 'Roller Coaster', 'The Washaways' and the formidable 'Deep Hole'. The Toyo rubber showed its grit as the muddies and all-terrains pulled everything from baby seat-toting family tourers and stock cruisers to dedicated hi-po rock crawlers through the deep gravel pits and sharp rocks.
A day of off-roading achieved. Toyo fans regrouped at Loveday and headed in convoy to the next destination, adjacent to the Riverland Enduro track in Toyo's camping area for a fireside dinner.
After a cold night in a warm swag, participants awoke to the now familiar rumble of unrestricted engines and smell of burning race fuel. Bleary eyed, they grabbed coffee and breakfast and parked themselves in Toyo's catered, heated, couched and comfortable VIP area for a little glamping.
The four-wheeled contest that followed is now history, and Club Day participants enjoyed the action with chilled drinks and gourmet grub, metres from some of the wildest racing Waikerie has ever seen.
"It was a great day out with great weather, and the Friday was really good. It was great to have the opportunity to do the hot laps with Brad and Greg and Matthew," attendee Tom Doody said.
"It was very good. I have been the director for rally events in the past and have taken rides with the likes of Neal Bates and Possum Bourne, but it was nothing like this. The suspension travel in the trucks makes a huge difference and the skill of these guys was unbelievable."
Suzanne Hunter said: "It was excellent; a fantastic weekend. Everyone was so courteous and polite. I ended up going out on the track with Brad and Matthew Kittle. I wasn't anxious about it until we were heading into the first jump, and then holy sh*t!" she laughed.
"We had a great time though. The guys were so friendly and well organised and we were always getting updated throughout the day," she said.
