The Pride of WA
The highlight of Teamw4’s annual calendar of events is a weekend where all types of Land Rovers take on a fairly rugged bush course
THE origins for what is now Western Australia’s only Land Rovers-only club were a bunch of Land Rover-owning ex-patss, who were reminiscing about competing in off-road events in their native Scotland. Talk quickly led to a family-style event where Land Rover drivers and their families could come along for a bit of a weekend camping and off-roading. The first event took place in September of 2011 and it just grew from there.
In 2013, in order to enable better management and organisation of the event, it was decided to establish a formal club. The application was lodged and approved in March 2013, and Teamw4 was born. After a year of reduced club meetings and events due to Covid in 2020, Western Australia found itself in the fortunate position to be able to hold larger-scale events towards the latter part of the year. Over a four-day long weekend, the 10th Annual Teamw4 Challenge saw more than a 120 people in attendance and 50 vehicles competing. The weekend also included a driving display by competition vehicles and a new Defender on show from the local JLR dealer, Barbagallo Land Rover. The 4th production Land Rover (860004) also put in an appearance.
The Challenge is a fun and family-focused weekend on private bush property near Bindoon, which is about 1.5 hours north of Perth. An important feature of the weekend is to gather around a large campfire to share stories of the day’s competition, which tests vehicle capability, driver skill, and precision. The event takes place just before the start of the local bushfire season when the lighting of campfires is obviously strictly prohibited.
Prior to the first morning of competition all vehicles were assembled for a group photo showcasing the variety of Land Rovers in the club. We had everything on display from Series vehicles to Defenders, Discoverys, Freelanders, Forward Controls and (unique to Australia) several Perentie ex-military Land Rovers. These are becoming very popular after being retired from the Australian Army, after nearly 30 years of service.
The entrants were divided into groups for the two and a half days of competition during which they had to complete eight challenging rocky gully courses marked by gates. Points were awarded for the number of gates successfully completed on each course with penalties for not reaching a gate, hitting the gate, reversing, excessive wheel spin and vehicle modifications such as larger tyres and diff locks. Older vehicles were encouraged, with bonus points for age. The oldest Land Rover in the competition was an unmodified 1954 Series I 86in, which finished a credible and hard-fought 17th.
Scrutineering was conducted on the first morning of the competition to determine bonus and penalty points for vehicles. Vehicle age and tyre size is easily determined
by a visual check; occasionally it takes some forensic investigation to confirm the presence of an installed traction aid that the owner might otherwise seek to conceal.
Drivers were encouraged to compete within the limits of their driving ability and vehicle capability. Fierce competition among some of the drivers saw great achievements and the occasional piece of panel or mechanical damage in the spirit of reaching for a few extra points.
The course was as challenging as ever with the normally predictable Perth fine spring weather punctuated with some scattered showers which had a very localised and transient impact to the surprise of some on the course.
Over the years almost every model in the Land Rover range has managed a place in the top three and this year’s winner was Mike Stewart in a Range Rover Sport with a Defender 90 finishing a close second, and a first-generation Discovery placing 3rd. The very first challenge which was held in 2011 was won a by Td5 Defender 90, which has competed every year since, and finished 5th in 2020.
A perpetual trophy was awarded with the winner announced at the Annual General Meeting held in November at the Barbagallo Land Rovers’ newly-opened showroom. The rankings and winners remained a closely guarded secret between the competition and the meeting. Club members are already looking forward to and preparing for the next event.