On 20 November 2008, I was contacted via email by one Mr Andrew Kelly, who introduced himself as the navigator in Car 184.; the driver being Ron Conrad. Car 184 is the Strathfield Porsche – the Porsche that won the event.
Mr Kelly told me that he had some ‘goss’ for my website. Of course we are always up for a bit of Cannonball Run associated gossip; only this gossip is fact. Read below. It is quite chilling.
At every other check point, the roads were bitumen and the checkpoints were in the middle of the road.
What was not stressed in the documents supplied was the (death point) checkpoint was not on the road, but was on a clear piece of bushland on the side of the road. Further, there was fresh gravel that was dropped on the ground to supposedly make a smoother stopping area to check in.
We were third out that morning; first the Ferrari, second Johnny Kahlbetzer and third Car 184.
I never heard why this point was ignored. Further, the distance was at least 100m out, that means shorter than the calculated distance, so as you came up over the hill and thought you had 300 metres, you realised there was only 200 metres.
We called for the race to be postponed and were nearly going to pull out, but we were told that we need to move on. After seeing those guys laying on the ground it is a scary thought of how the organiser just walks away with no liability.
I personally was a contributor in the charity to raise funds for the time keepers but that does not go far.
Neither Andrew Kelly nor Ron Conrad have ever been asked to testify, even though they were the second on the scene that day.
