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At around 40 seconds per lap, the layout is challenging, and enjoyable. A great combination of small and large jumps, stutter bumps, off-camper turns, and a couple of magic high-speed sweepers, this is a track to challenge even the best. The results today would be down to which driver learned the track the fastest, and got to grips with what, for most, is the first 'full-sized' off-road track they've run on.

This then, is how the day unfolded:

1/8th IC Monster Truck Unlimited

Three heats, three different winners, and no form guide to go on for the finals! Peter Buck, Matthew Hodgetts and Jiye Small all picked up heat wins, and in comparable times. The final would likely come down to those three, but in the big-bangers class, anything can happen.

When Bucky got the best of an ugly first lap filled with crashes, and emerged with a 10 second lead, the shape of the race was set. Peter raced away at the front while Hodgetts and Small fought through the field to give chase. Matt flamed out on lap 4 in what would be a race-long battle to keep the fire alive. Small had by this stage settled into second place to do what he could about Buck's lead, but with the leader setting fast lap times, the chase seemed in vain. That was until an exploded clutch bell ended Bucks race with a little over 2 minutes to run. Small swept past the stricken machine and on to be the first Open Monster Truck winner at the new raceway. Buck was far enough in front to retain second, while Hodgett's determination in the face of repeated engine issues brought him to the podium in a spread out field.

1/8th IC Monster Truck

3rd M. Hodgetts, 2nd P. Buck, 1st J. Small

Hybrid / Miscellaneous Class

The Open class as usual contained a fascinating mix of EP buggies and truggies, nitro monster trucks, and a couple of smaller machines. The mix of newcomer and more experienced steerers made this a very action packed class. Paddy Hume's EP RC8T proved the class of the field in qualifying - picking up two wins and the two fastest times. Chris Brickwood, Quentin Duniam and Shaun Johnson were pretty close by as well. This class also saw a couple of appearances from the Team Associated SC8 - a stunning looking short-course truck that slid its way around the new Latrobe raceway.

Truggies loved the new track. The big machines are stable, jump well, and went through the stutter-bump sections of the track like nothing else. As we've become accustomed to, the battle up front was on between Matt Hodgetts and Sam Wells. Sam was the fastest, and took two wins during qualifying, with the other win going to visiting Brisbane pilot Dave Guyatt. Hodgetts was close by, with a very tight mid-field battle between Hellinga, Evans, Fleming and Guyatt looming for the final.

Daniel Hellinga put his Mugen in the lead early in what was a scrappy opening lap. The lead became a poisoned chalice, with Hellinga, Scott Wilkes, Guyatt and Kelvin Marshall all taking a turn, or being close by over the first couple of minutes. Sam Wells eventually got to the front in his Mugen at around the two minute mark, and put the pedal to the metal, running away from a very determined Hellinga. Daniel's challenge faded at about the 5 minute mark, with Hodgetts finally getting into a leading position to set about trying to reduce Well's gap at the front. It was not to be, Wells barely putting a foot wrong until the result was beyond doubt - and eventually driving away to win by almost a lap in the 20 minute final. Hodgetts pushed his RC8T hard to almost match Well's best lap time, but not quite as consistent in the long run. Behind these two, Scotty Wilkes was demonstrating the fruits of growing experience, and held third for a long time - only a disastrous 89 second lap on his penultimate tour robbing the Launceston pilot of the podium spot as Jamie Evans swept by to take the position - a reward for a fast and racy 20 minute run. The truggy drivers had put on an excellent and enthralling race, with battles throughout the field and positions changing regularly in the mid-field. There is plenty to look forward to in this class as we head into the winter season.

With Tim Parsons and Simon Kernan by far the most experienced guys in the field when it comes to 'full sized' nitro off-road tracks, it was no surprise to see these two, plus the well-travelled Scott Guyatt at the head of the buggy field. The track definitely provides a real challenge to the buggy field, but by day’s end, plenty of guys were starting to find the fast way around. Kernan took one win, Parsons two and the fastest times in the "A" group, with Guyatt close by and Jason Heard and Mark Rayner displaying plenty of pace. Meanwhile in the B group, Hyper pilot Justin Strickland was the fast man, scooping the wins, with any number of others close to the leading pace in that group.

With a couple of early withdrawals, 15 buggies lined up for the frantic 20 minute A Final, and battle for first blood at the new Raceway. Heard, Parsons, Kernan and Guyatt fought out the opening minutes, before Parsons took the lead and began to draw away. Tim had the Mugen MBX6 working sweetly and gradually eked out a lead while Kernan popped up in 2nd with the Hotbodies D8 and Guyatt's LRP gave chase. Kernan flamed at lap 19 to drop down the order and leave Guyatt to pursue Parsons. Strickland (J), Madziara and Heard were all close together at this stage, and Kernan re-emerged in the thick of this mid-field battle. Simon's pace drew him clear and back into third, as Guyatt faded at the front with a broken universal joint, and Parsons went from strength to strength. These three traded fast lap times, with Kernan setting the best of the race and the day on lap 20. Parsons took a well deserved first-up win with Guyatt and Kernan joining him on the podium.