Finke - Over for Wideopen in 2011!
Sunday , 12th June 2011
We didnt FINKE this was on the cards....
It's with much disappointment that we can reveal Wideopen Motorsports race at Finke has come to an end.
After what was an excellent start at 8:13am (Alice Springs time) this morning, it turned out to be nothing but a 20km sprint to devastation.
The exact cause of the race ending fault is unknown at this time, however driver Shaun Dal-Santo has confirmed the gearbox has let go, and taken out the bell housing in turn creating a fire in the air intake.
"There was a 'wicked vibration' and it seemed to get worse as it kept going.
As I rolled to a stop there was all this black smoke, next thing there's flames coming out the air intake"
A big effort Reecey from Off Road Rush helped Shaun extinguish the fire in the air intake, virtually saving the car from complete destruction as we've seen happen.
After a long haul of 2600+kms, and endless hours of preperation, the Wideopen Car will go back into the race truck for the trip home, and now the Wideopen crew will direct all efforts to Matthew Haynes bike No. 746, in SENIORS 40 TO 44 YEARS class, and help him get across the line!
It should be noted that nearly half of the car field failed to finish Day One of the race, with only 41 out of 73 making it the 226 kilometres down the track to Finke.
Wideopen Motorsport would like to thank EVERYONE who has helped them get to Finke 2011,
and they'll be back to tackle Finke in the future!
