Townsville Amateur Radio Club provided volunteer communications support for Round 1 of the NQORA QLD Off-Road Racing series, the Gold City 450, held at the Millchester MSRC near Charters Towers over the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September. The operators were Tony VK1ZZ, VK4ZMB, Lyndall VK4ZM, Gavin VK4ZZ, Doris and Wayne VK4WSG, and Andrew VK4CHG.
Conditions were dry and occasionally dusty, depending on which way the breeze blew, around an extended 30km track combining parts of the old 25km course with some new sections. Lyndall and Gavin set up camp on Thursday afternoon and rigged for the strong breezes, finding Mafeking Road in great shape thanks to Charters Towers Regional Council, and the roadway into the complex freshly reshaped by NQMS contractors to survive the next wet season. The rest of the crew arrived through Friday, with Mal VK4MSS lined up to handle logistics on the quad, followed by a track recce and a briefing with the Clerk of Course.
Volunteers signed on at 7:15am on Saturday, checked comms on UHF CB Channel 15 (Race Comms) and the 146.550MHz ham liaison frequency, and headed out to their checkpoints. Andrew manned the Prologue turnaround and then Check 2 with the Recovery Chief, Hairy Richard took Check 1, and the rest of the crew spread around the course out to Check 5 on the side track overlooking the dry creek, shifting positions through the day to keep the sun and dust at bay.
From five entrants and four starters, one competitor completed the course. There were no accidents — just mechanical attrition on a course classified as Extreme Off-roading, with a mix of straight bits, twisty bits and suspension-stressing terrain. The organisers shortened the event to one day, and the finisher still managed the full 450km. Comms went well all day, and the break between laps let volunteers enjoy elevenses and lunch out on the checkpoints.
At Sunday morning’s presentations, the organisers, drivers and pit crews thanked the radio volunteers for their skilful work on the checkpoints. NQORA are planning four off-road racing events in 2027 and want the radio volunteers back to keep things running smoothly and safely. See the Communications Support page for more on the club’s volunteer program.