Townsville Amateur Radio Club provided volunteer communications support for the NQORA Pato’s 7 Hour Enduro Off Road Race at the Millchester Motorsports Complex near Charters Towers on Saturday 27th June.
The crew rolled in Thursday to set up the radio trailer and campsite, confirming solid comms back to Townsville via the VK4RAT repeater — and even squeezed in an assessment session that minted a brand new ham for Charters Towers. Friday saw the camp fill out nicely with POTA HF rigs, tents and vans as more of the team arrived, including a bonus flying visit from one operator en route to his Mum’s “five star accommodation” in town.
Saturday morning, three checkpoints went live — Check 1 at the Crossroads, Check 2 out at the Turnaround, and Check 3 tucked into a nice elevated clearing — all running comms checks with Race Control on UHF CB CH15 and between checkpoints on 146.550MHz. Eight cars fronted for the Prologue Lap, but only five made the Enduro start line as the mechanical attrition began early. Seven hours of racing later — with one car recovering from a “temporary loss of talent” off the Check 3 turnaround to fight back to 2nd — Car 1063, Sollitt Racing, took the overall win.
On the Radios
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Check 1 — The Crossroads
VK4ZMB, Charlie & VK4BOB -
Check 2 — The Turnaround
VK4ZM & VK4ZZ, Doris & VK4WSG -
Check 3 — The Clearing
VK4YT, VK1ZZ, VK4CHG & VK4XC
Thanks to everyone who helped out. Camp wound down with dinner, radio, and yarns under a clear sky — see the Communications Support page for more on the club’s volunteer program.