The event last Sunday was great. The track was greatly improved and in excellent condition. The newly surfaced east road over the bridge was smooth as a pool table and very wide - plenty of room for RWD antics with well-prepared run-off areas. The racing was very close, I was beaten in the final by Geoff Ullyett on my choice of tyres. I expected the surface to be looser than it was and suffered time loss due to using treaded road tyres rather than my usual cut slicks. As usual at Vaucluse, the layout of the pits area allows competitors to comfortably watch most of the action which was cat-and-dog for the entire day. The social after was memorable, the pit bar seems to hold a crowd very well and a wide cross-section of motorsport drivers, sponsors, service crew, marshals and fans partied 'till late in the night. All-in-all we couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season. The Carib/Valvoline Ford Escort 2000RS ran faultlessly after my brake problem in the BRC rally which required the replacement of both brake master cylinders. The recent customs shenanigans held up receipt of the parts until Saturday so some last-minute spannering had me busy. Several competitors found themselves in the same boat but with more serious problems to sort out and therefore didn't make it. I expect they'll be even more anxious by may 4th.

Greg Cozier