When water and rally cars don’t mix

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There are times where a water crossing means disaster.

It was the case for Gerard McConkey and Erik Johnnson when their new-for-Wowan Subaru Imprezza ingested water after a stop point on the Pedders Suspension Rockhampton Wowan Rally.

The problem came when a cooling vent was placed too low in the car and a small amount of water was fed directly into the engine of the Subaru. You could tell the high quality of the mechanics as the water found its way very easily to the engine.

What happened next was quite predictable.

The car ground to a halt in the middle of the water splash. Engine protesting.

Out jumps Johnsson to push. Driver yelling at me to help, navigator yelling at me to take the photos.

So as a good photographer, I take the photos.

Mind you it also took an awful lot of swearing, burns to the hand and frustrations. The forest certainly wasn’t quiet on that day.

There was help soon at hand to push the car out of the way. The position was quite dangerous and was blocking the only pass through the water.

Soon there was a frantic effort to fix the engine. McConkey in a MacGyver-esqe fashion managed to remove what he needed and drain the engine of water.

Fortunately there was little damage to the engine and after a while, it sputtered into life.

Mind you it also took an awful lot of swearing, burns to the hand and frustrations. The forest certainly wasn’t quiet on that day.

Needless to say the cooling duct will be shifted to a higher location for the next round of the MRF Tyres Queensland Rally Championship.

 

The RacerViews info

Photos by Sam Tickell, September 2017

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