Bathurst provides a unique challenge to all who choose to try and tame it’s famous 6.2km stretch of sacred road. Some 2 hours south of Orange and way out west of Sydney, Bathurst’s sleepy little town is rumbled several times a year by both cars and transporters alike, as the air is split by a cochophany of synchronised condensed petrol-and-air explosions.

If the easter bunny was around, he was scared away by the sound of everything from Lambourghini V10s to high-revving Zetecs, as the Bathurst Motor Festival gave Easter Sunday an even holier-than-thou tinge to the Easter holidays. It seemed apt to be blessed with running across one of the world’s most famous motorsporting mountains on such a religiously distinct weekend.

And didn’t we know it.

The #94 DHR machine was in for a treat – however, it promptly added ‘re’ before ‘treat’, as the car hit the track for the first of the weekends practice sessions.

“The excitement is palpable – there’s a huge buzz in the air,” car owner and driver John Prefontaine expressed as the weekend started.

“It’s Bathurst – and I can’t wait to get laps under the belt here. The Lotus will be quick, and we’re looking competitive.”

However, the little Elise had plans of its own, and come the end of Qualifying a recurring Throttle Position Sensor problem had seen clean laps total to just about nil. Hence, the yellow Rover-powered mountain menace ended a lowly 40th on the time sheets – yet within shouting distance of the top Class E runners.

“Despite the dramas the car felt great to drive, and it just rockets down the hill,” co-driver Ash Miller said.

“I can’t wait to really see what this thing has got – coming down the Esses the car was just magic, it eats everything up. We’ll just have to see how the weekend pans out. Starting from 40th means we have some ground to make up, but it also means we have alot of fun ahead tomorrow (Saturday).”

Saturday dawned with a revalation with the wiring – the source of the TPS problems had been located, and with the wiring taped to roughly the thickness of King Kong’s pinky, confidence was boosted.

The first drivers race saw Prefontaine tackle his first racing laps on the mountain, and was performing well, until with 4 laps left to go, a recurring gearbox problem saw the Birkdale native end his race against the Turn 1 barrier. The damage to the right rear of the car meant that his race was over.

“I just got it wrong trying to let a faster Porsche through,” Prefontaine said.

“I went into the corner just slightly offline and the end result meant that the car clipped the wall. It was a disappointing end but I’ve learned alot with every lap.”

The team frantically worked on the car to get it ready in time for the co-drivers race; the toe-link rod had been bent at an odd angle, yet thankfully that was all the damage done, and after some inventive fabrication and some careful re-bending, the part was back in the car just in time to get ready for the next race.

Although Miller lined up on the grid quite confortably, it was minus the alternator – the impact of the clash with the wall had seen the mounting bracket broken, and efforts to fix it in time had lead to a rather comical stop gap measure. For Race 2, the Lotus was powered by a Toyota Land Cruiser battery.

The car was on song for the opening half of the race, as Miller carved his way through the field on the opening lap to pass no less than 9 people on his way up the order, and was challenging for the Class lead until, with half the race still to run, the TPS decided it was tiem to give up the ghost, and Miller coasted to a stop in the pit garage.

“It was a disappointing way to finish – the car was feeling great. But we just want to finish the One Hour,” Miller said.

A long night turned into a long morning, and the DHR boys, along with an assortment of fellow team’s gracious helpers, have the Elise a stern working over, battling to tackle the gremlins that plagued the car for the weekend. With the altenator bracket finally fixed in time for the One Hour feature race, the mood was positive.

The start of the One Hour saw Miller take the reigns; however, while battling for the class lead once again, the TPS decided to get up to no good, and despite a safety car being called on lap 2, the DHR machine limped back to the pits for repairs.

“The car was flying on lap one, but by lap 2 the problem had come back again, and there was no option but to pit.”

After pitting in, however, Miller was embroiled in a spirited battle with Cameron Hein, and despite being a lep down, the pair enjoyed a mighty tussle before the compulsory driver change stops got underway.

Prefontaine leapt in the car at the halfway mark, and although the stop was less than smooth, the car got back out in good time.

From there, the attrition rate rose with alarming effect, as many of the front running cars dropped out towards the closing stages of the race. The #94 did its best to join them, discarding both 3rd and 5th gear and insisting that the TPS gremlin remain a fixture of the car for the remainder of the race. As the laps counted down, the Elise wound past the start finish line with increasingly more smoke billowing from its engine bay, as an alternator belt did its best to burn away. Yet the laps ran out successfully, and as the chequered flag fell, Prefontaine crossed the line to bring the car home, 5th place in Class E and with a nice haul of valuable points towards the championship.

“We’re just so glad to make it!” Prefontaine said afterwards.

“It’s been a tough weekend but all we wanted was to finish.”

Miller was similarly happy with the result.

“After so many problems over the weekend it was really a victory in itself to get the car home. The pace is there, but we’ll have to work hard to make sure the car is really in a position to challenge for the next round. To finish first, you first have to finish!”

The next round of the Championship will bring the Elise to Eastern Creek, scene of DHR’s maiden One Hour win last year. Will the team repeat the feat?

“The car has enough pace to really challenge the front runners – if not the outright class win. It’ll need a bit of work before then, but I’m confident that with the car sorted, it will be formiddable.”

Many thanks to Ron Prefontaine, Graham Miller, Michael Keene, Wayne Davidson, Corey Stevens, Geoff Marsh, Marcel Stawitzcny, Hugh Millear and all at Spader Clothing and Reel Fit for the amazing support.

Don’t forget to check out the brand that wraps driver Ash Miller – www.spaderclothing.com – and get your new season street threads now.

— All photos courtesy of Hugh Millear – (c) Hugh Millear 2011 —

VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND HERE

With Team Dark Horse Racing claiming the 2F title at the recent CUE Production Sports Car One Hour Enduro held at Morgan Park Raceway, I was given the opportunity to follow the team around and was given access to shoot behind the scenes and capture the emotions and action of the team with particular attention given to Ash Miller and Geoff Marsh.

I hope you enjoy the images and stay tuned for more during the year.

Marcel Stawiczny
MARSTA Photography
www.marsta.com