16th BIRTHDAY BASH at JINKS WINERY – Sunday 22nd June.

The tarmac is narrow, bumpy,?littered with uneven repairs and?broken edges. Drivers are on the brakes down the long, steep hill leading out town, struggling to remain inside the speed limit until reaching the derestriction sign where coincidently the road tightens into a series of bends that lead down to the bridge over the Tarago River. ?The long wet grassy verge by the bridge offers a reasonable photographic vantage point to capture the cars as they flow down through a long right hand sweeper and onto the bridge. You then hear them accelerate out of the little valley through the left hander up the hill towards a right kink before turning into a tightening left hander. Unsighted at my photo point, I rely on sound to inform me of the approaching cars. The distinctive V8 burble of several classic Mustangs and Holden?s heavy hitters break the peace and quiet giving plenty of time to ready the camera before their appearance. They sweep across the bridge with a wave, and head up the hill out of site. MGBs have a distinctive exhaust note that?s unlike any other car, unless of course your MGB has 8 cylinders and a pair of side exhausts ? whatever the configuration, all the Bs clearly telegraphed their approach. The Fowler Sprite was another with a distinctive sound, it?s BMC A-Series engine sounding crisp and bright as it pulled through the rev range chasing the smooth, torquey sounding TR6 of the Denovans.

I didn?t pick the slightly off-beat waffle of the Subaru boxer engines in the Eureka or the WRX, but the distinctive-sounding flat 6 Porsche engine heralded the swift passage of the Campbell?s 911.

Unfortunately, due to ever stricter design rules, it?s almost impossible, by sound alone, to pick most of the modern sporting cars in our club from a garden variety Toyota Camry or Hyundai Excel. Thankfully it is easier to pick the enthusiast drivers, they?re the ones who, with a blip of the throttle, knock it back a gear after the bridge and accelerate smartly up the hill into the kink and left hander.? The sloppy, slurring of an auto transmission just isn?t in the same league.

Before heading home, your editor continued on to Jindivick and then down to Drouin West where several club members were seen heading off in different directions, obviously confused by the instructions or intent on finding a particular clue.

I?m hoping that one or more of today?s participants can fill us in on the outcome of the touring event, and the happenings in regard to Birthday Celebrations at Jinks Winery. Please add your comments to the Comment Box below the picture gallery, or email editor@sportingregister.org.au

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The following gallery of photos was taken at Jinks Winery by Phil Barnard.

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