Day 0 - Scrutineering, First Aid and Driver Briefing

Day 0 - Scrutineering.

The boys woke up to find a very wet and lonely Booger Mobile parked outside their unit. It was going to be a wet old day it would seem!!


After a quick instant coffee (not quite the same as Damian's brewed coffee at home!!), the boys headed off in Booger Mobile to the scrutineering point - located under a kilometre from their motel.

First stop - check in. The boys were issued their esCarpade "bible", the book that tells them everything that's happening, along with important phone numbers and vehicle call signs, and of course - the course pace notes!!


The scrutineering point was an old workshop type shed that had been spray painted by kids from one of the local schools with Camp Quality logos etc. It looked pretty good!!

Being one of the first to arrive, the boys only had to wait for a car or two to go onto the hoist before it was their turn.

Booger Mobile sat and waited patiently to go up on the hoist.

First stop - inside the shed. There were some interested bystanders from other teams, so the boys gave them a run down of the features.

Damian grabbed out the chamois to get the water off the car, much to the feigned ridicule of others present...

Naturally, Booger Mobile won't be cleaned every day, but Damian said that he felt it should be clean at least once on the esCarpade, so this might as well be it!!

Shortly after, it was Booger Mobile's turn on the hoist.

Up, up up!!

And a shot of Booger Mobile from underneath - an angle that's not seen often!! Naturally, if you see this view of Booger Mobile on the esCarpade proper, please send help!!

There was some intense discussion amongst the scrutineers, resulting in the boys needing to attempt to locate a idler arm bush in downtown Tamworth...

But first, it was time to follow a sample set of pace notes for about 12.9km to the driver training area at Oakburn Park Raceway.

After a couple of laps around the track each, it was time to head back towards town to locate the idler arm bush. On the way back, the boys came across an esCarpade car stopped on the side of the road.

As per esCarpade rules, the boys stopped to see if they required assistance. Noting that they had simply run out of petrol and had already located some, Scottie quickly snapped a photo for the blog (good work Scottie!!) and the boys headed off in search of the mystical idler arm bush!

Having stopped at three different places and been unable to locate a replacement bush, Scottie decided to have a look to see if it could be rectified by simply tightening the nut a little further.

Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall, and more esCarpade cars arrived.

Tony and the crew from team 808 arrived and went up on the hoist. They too were sent in search of a bush - albeit a different one to the boys!

Damian attended the First Aid briefing with Sue from the First Aid Vehicle - apparently they do everything!! Bandaids, panadol and cuddles!!

Scottie discovered that the nut holding the idler arm bush was badly stripped. This is possibly why the idler arm bush seemed so loose.

Damian noted that one of the side trims had come loose. It was the trim that was stuck on using the original trim clips (as an experiment) rather than being bolted on with the custom clips like the others - this would require fixing now, and bolting on properly prior to next year!!!

After running around trying to locate a replacement nut to no avail, Scottie put in a call to RedXM to see if he had one to spare. Turns out, he did!! After attaching it and finding that the idler arm bush issue still wasn't resolved, RedXM offered the boys a spare idler arm with new bush that he just happened to have lying around in his shed.

What a CHAMPION!! Thanks again RedXM!!!!!!!

The photo below shows the difference between the stuffed bush, and the good one... Note how the one to the top/left of the picture is nice and round, and the one below is more an oval shape...

Scottie put the new idler arm on, then the boys made a new temporary bracket for the trim and installed it.

More esCarpade cars went through scrutineering, and the boys were filmed for the local channel 7 news. Damian was also interviewed and photographed for the local paper - hopefully he will get a copy of it!!

Update: Apparently Damian and Booger Mobile (along with a bunch of other cars/entrants) were on the channel 7 news in the "feel good" section after the weather.

After fueling up, the boys parked Booger Mobile where it would have maximum exposure!! Also, Damian had to get something from the boot, and it was parked in a huge puddle, so he moved it to avoid having to walk in the water!!

Damian loaned his sticker "card" for wet-sticking vehicle stickers to Julian - one of the esCarpade volunteers. Apparently the best way to stick a sticker across the top of a windscreen is by kneeling on the bonnet!!

Scottie took the time to read through the bible - he was getting excited about some of the roads that will be travelled!!

With a bit of time to kill before the compulsory "new driver" briefing, the boys walked down to town to grab a coffee. On the way back, Damian noticed yet another plane on a stick... seems to be the done thing!!

Upon returning, they found Booger Mobile surrounded by other vehicles... It was time for the new driver briefing.

Ben (the course director) gave the briefing. Some of the interesting points were that there are 66 entrant vehicles and 15 support vehicles, with over 210 people in total. Over the next week, the cars would pass over 450 grids and 400 causeways, driving a over 3000 kilometres.

After the briefing, it was time to head back to the motel to get ready for the night's welcome dinner. Damian took the opportunity to stick the 2010 esCarpade sticker onto the rear window of Booger Mobile.

After getting ready, it was time for some photos of the awesome Team Booger Mobile shirts, with embroidery thanks to a friend of Scottie and Katie.

The boys decided to ditch the silver ties, and take a sensible photo.

Shortly after, it was back to the fun photos!!

Scottie did his best Bugs Bunny or ferret impersonation...

Damian had a crack at it, but with his teeth all attached to his head, it wasn't quite the same!!

The boys headed to the dinner venue - the Wests Leagues Club - and again, a big thanks to Mike and Heather for giving the boys a lift down. Old style service in a clean, modern motel. The boys simply can't rate it highly enough!!

Upon arriving at Wests, Damian noticed that Tania Kernaghan was waiting at the bar for him!!

Tony and the crew from car 808 saved the boys some seats, and in return, Scottie photo-bombed their photo!! Love your work Scottie!!

Damian and Tony decided a self portrait was in order... Note how quickly Damian's hair is fading!!

Lots of people in the room - the esCarpade entrants basically took over the Wests Leagues Club!!

There were some speeches, a skype hookup, a camp family spoke, Josh spoke about esCarpade, as did Ben, and this bloke played guitar and sang!

Damian showed some of the esCarpade staff how the best timer photos are done - circular style!!

The boys thought it was nice that the Wests Leagues Club got into the Booger Mobile spirit with the use of green table napkins... nice touch!!

Scottie and Damian had some dinner and a few drinks... Scottie was helpfully wanting to share his beer with Damian...

The boys headed back to the motel to get a good night's sleep, as the driving phase would begin in the morning!! After flipping a coin (Scottie called heads, and the coin landed on tails), Damian decided to drive the morning shift, with the changeover at lunch time.

After twenty months, the moment of truth has finally arrived... the commencement of the 2010 Camp Quality esCarpade!!

BRING IT ON!!