Bowenville district cattle producer and feedlotter, Chris Bartlett, Bowenville Park, put his faith in his trusty two-wheel-drive 1977HX Kingwood to take line honours in the recent Endeavour Rally that travelled through two states.
Chris led the 50-vehicle-strong Great Endeavour Rally, but was pipped at the post for first placing, but claimed the Super Endeavour Rally best driver and navigator trophy award.
Accompanied by navigator Lindsay Sloss, also a local, the boys left Ipswich and crossed the finishing line 17 days later at Stanthorpe, travelling an average 650km a day.
As well as taking first place, Chris and Lindsay raised $10,000 from generous sponsorship from businesses in Dalby and Oakey.
This is both Chris and Lindsay’s second attempt at the Endeavour Rally, which raises money for people with disabilities.
At their first attempt in 2013, they started out third and finished a disappointing last.
However the stock-standard Kingswood, fitted with a new 202 straight six engine, (custom-built at Bowenville) handled every stage of this trip with ease.
Chris developed a thirst for rally driving as he was looking for an off-farm hobby, and has a passion for Holden cars.
“I wanted a Holden, as you have probably guessed that I am a Holden man, and I paid $2000 for this Kingswood,” he said.
“The rain was the biggest challenge as we had everything from rocks, dust, mud, thrown at us but what stuck to us most was we had a ‘Holden’.
“Everyone who was driving four-wheel drives said we would not get through, but Holdens were built for this country, and all we suffered was a bit of metal fatigue.”
When competing in the rally, the drivers start in the position of their fund-raising efforts, which in Chris’s case was sixth position.
“It was a good spot to be in, as we only had five vehicles ahead cutting up the road,’he said.
“There was a fair bit of camaraderie among the drivers, such as playing pranks and zip clipping gates and other things that can slow you down.”
The rally travelled through local communities, winding its way through Winton, Boulia, Jervios Station, Alice Springs through some of the Finke Race Track and Ayres Rock, before heading south down to Marree, Birdsville, Windorah, Charleville, St George, and Goondiwindi, to cross the line at Stanthorpe.
“Overall we saw some terrific country and the scenery was magnificent. And the hospitality and catering by the smaller communities while we were on the road was very good too.”