Veteran ingenuity and a passion for racing has built the foundations for Peter Neal’s recent run of form.
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Peter, from Oxley Island, took out the modern classification at the recent Lassters Outback Trial in Alice Springs with Craig Whyburn.
Despite their campaign being plagued by mechanical issues, the duo stormed home on the final day to win the title for the second time.
“We didn’t damage the car from a body point-of-view which was great but we didn’t have half the trouble at the last one,” Peter laughed.
His preference of long distance racing and a chance to compete outside of the area puts the challenge high on his list of race priorities.
“I dreamed as a kid to drive around Australia so this is the closest thing to it,” Peter said.
The dusty, dry plains of outback Alice Springs provided a variation to the forest terrain driving of the North Coast.
“Driving on the coast can be hard on tyres so it was good to travel on softer surfaces,” Peter said.
Peter said the trial was approximately his seventh win of a near 50 year career.
“I’ve had lots of seconds and thirds as well,” Peter said.
Preparation for the event forced him out of the Bulahdelah and Orange rounds of this season’s Australian Motorsport Action Group (AMSAG) series.
“If something went wrong, I wouldn’t have got to Alice Springs,” Peter said.
His withdrawal from the rounds surrendered the lead.
He has since slipped down to third in his category, just six points adrift of Kevin Ashby and 13 behind leader Chris Jaques.
Top honours in the open class at Johns River and Rosewood and 24 points at Bega still has him in line for a top three finish after the final round at Oberon.
A stalwart of the series, Peter took out the outright open category in 2017, 13 points clear of Ian Plenderleith.
He also picked up a race win in Wagga Wagga earlier this year.