Article          Patrick Hunter Photos         Lucas Hunter Handycam   Patrick   Sometimes it is hard to find inspiration. Inspiration to work, to write, to get out of bed on a freezing cold morning. I for instance was somewhat apprehensive to leave my quarters at 5.45am for our departure to Winton Raceway, my mind at that stage not in its fully functioning state but rather of the opinion that sleep was the best option. I persisted however and soon found myself barrelling down the Hume, our rented Mercedes C200 CGI (more on that later) cleaving through the crisp morning air. Good thing it had traction control, because when we arrived at Winton two hours later, we were greeted with a bog. We assumed there was a car park there (once) but the rain had soaked it to a point where walking could only be accomplished by Jesus and us mere mortals had to make do with sloshing about in the mud. Likewise, the track could only be described as ‘sopping’ and would probably have been better suited to a jet boat race.    Nevertheless it made for some highly entertaining racing, and we had arrived just in time to see the side-cars doing their practice laps. On the theme of inspiration, it’s not hard to see what inspires these guys. In the wet these machines are very impressive and their riders even more so. They slip and slide on their skinny cross-ply tires and come sideways onto the final straight, smoke pouring out the back of their screaming engines, making  you think ‘god I wish I was riding one of those things right now!’ If you’re a regular viewer of motorsport, you’ll know what I’m talking about, that longing sensation that makes you feel like getting out there and piloting one of these machines and making it go as fast as you can. Then you smell the burning castor oil and the bikes roar out on the track and there’s that longing sensation again. I’ve never ridden a motorbike and I know very little about them, but seeing some of those old Indians hurtling around in the wet makes me wish I had one.     Click here to view Video No 1.  
      We paused for a pie in the heated haven that was the cafeteria, before we went out and watched the cars begin to take their turns on the track. Favourite of the earlier cars were the Allards and of course that gorgeous D-Type. These were followed by some of the more modern classics and I watched in awe as the Minis and Cortinas battled it out in a throwback to British touring car racing of the sixties. For a rally tragic like me I couldn’t help think, upon hearing the whine of the Mini’s gearboxes, of the way they dominated rallies like the Monte Carlo. It’s no wonder, they still look mighty quick and manage to get onto three wheels even in the wet.  Most entertaining of all though were the cars from the same era but of bigger displacement. Here were some cars I actually knew a bit about, so I feel I am qualified enough to give some awards out to them:  ·         Best sound: Shelby Mustang 350 ·         Best drift: =1st to all the various chargers that were slithering about ·         Best crash: A blue Mk1 Escort that somehow miraculously avoided hitting the barrier Best looking (and personal favourite): The best British car ever made, the Austin Healy 3000         Click here to view Video No 2.     Being an enthusiast and active participant in club rallying, I can’t help but think of the similarities between events such as Historic Winton and rallies such as The Alpine. They both cater for some of the greatest cars ever to cross our shores and allow the lucky few of us involved in such things to watch them and hear them, even to drive them. Cars that defined the 20th century live on in a spectacular fashion and will continue to do so for a long time yet. So I’ve decided that I’ll buy a Mini  and drive up to Winton next year,  I’ll need it to help me get out of bed. On The Mercedes C200 CGI: The new C-class has won a lot of awards and it’s not hard to see why. There’s the looks which improve on the previous generation Chrysler/Merc effort, all smart lines and sharp creases rather than the squat looking previous model with its peanut-shaped headlights (which I actually quite liked). Mercedes has worked hard to improve its standards of build quality too after there were numerous issues in the US with the previous model. The doors shut with a soft thud and there’s a general aura of quality as you enter the cabin, so on first impression all seems well. However I found after a short period of time that the Merc’s interior (surely one of the most important attributes for a future C-Class customer) was not what I expected. The cheap flashes of chrome-look plastic and the lightweight, flimsy feel of the switchgear did not lend themselves to a $60,000 car. The stereo was not fantastic either, however it was user friendly in conjunction with the toggle wheel on the centre console and the large screen that rises impressively out of its cubby in the dash. The auto transmission however is proven and super smooth and the C’s 4 cylinder engine pulls keenly enough, though obviously its no sports car nor is it meant to be. The seats are fantastic and as a long-range cruiser its great, I’m sure it would be fine in the city too. I wouldn’t spend $60k on it though...