The minitruckin’ lifestyle is definitely alive and kicking in Australia and there’s no better way to get amongst this lifestyle down under than by taking part in the annual pilgrimage to Bateman’s Bay in November for East Coast Cruise. The trucks started rolling into town on Friday, with laid out minitrucks quickly filling up all the hotel car parks and surrounding areas. First stop, the Bayview Pub to mash it up with maverick minitruckers over a frosty beverage. When dusk comes around, the town is soon packed to the rafters with the usual suspects and a sea full of black shirts sporting their favorite club logos in attendance. The “morning after” comes all too quickly and it’s time to pack up and roll out. The trucks head south and reacquaint their sills with Princess Highway, Moruya bound. Riverside Park was the next stop and was soon engulfed with an overflow of minitrucks from all over the country. Some joining up from as far as Tasmania and New Zealand.
Photos: Avit “Toasty” Chauhan | Words: Jamie Starling & Mike Alexander
Entrants were welcomed by the Negative Camber crew and were organized and ushered to the limbo contest as the first event, before making their way and lining up on the grassy knoll. The day was spent under blue skies and clear weather, surrounded by some of Australia’s finest. Great folks, food, and beats from Fro & Mo DJs from out under the Low Intentions club marquee. One of the largest showings of minis, classics, late models, and more all gathered in one place to enjoy each other’s company. After the day’s festivities and catching up with mates and their latest mods, it was time to pack up and cruise back to Bateman’s Bay for the notorious Awards Dinner at the local footy club. The clubhouse was filled beyond capacity with 250 hungry truckers ready to eat and partake in what the night had to offer.
The hosts of the evening, Jamie Smith and Aaron Gregory started it off right with throwing some highly sought giveaways to the crowds. Amongst the 15 trophies up for grabs, Canberra’s Low Intentions took the Club Represent participation trophy for the second year running, and Jess Power took home top honors Best of Show with her perfect in pink turbo 3RZ powered Toyotal Hilux. The highly anticipated limbo legend went to Russell Zout of Zero Altitude with his freshly completed Blacked out ‘80s hilux scraping in right at 1150mm, and Slam’d Mag’s own was honored with the Hall of Fame award, congrats Toasty! Many beers, trophies, and sponsor freebies later and the night inevitably came to an end, with everyone keen for the year of cutting up trucks ahead and looking forward to ECC 2015.
ECC is an Australian mainstay and has been around since the minitruck scene was just kicking off down under more than 13 years ago. LUCKY 13 was dedicated to the memory of Laurie Starling and his spirit and memories live on through the growth of the scene that he and his family fostered. The show has grown to keep up with the popularity and growth of the lifestyle and remains a favorite weekend for the hardcore Aussie minitruckers year after year. The camaraderie is unmatched and these are some of the very best “car guys” on the planet, keep it up mates, we’ll see you soon! ECC would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s event possible, including: Down Under Truckin’, Kaos Design, Shannon’s Insurance, Melomotive, EZ Customs, I Love Playing Minitrucks, Kultured, Oxytech, Rollow, SoLo Customs, Kounty Kustoms, Smirkin’ Pinstriping, Goods Car Care, Toast Graphics, Slam’d Mag, Grinder TV, Basic Photography, Fresh As Photography, Negative Camber (Host), Severed Ties, Low Intentions, No Regrets, Sunset, Freaks of Nature, Forbidden Fantasy, Ground Level, Zero Altitude, No Clearance Minitrucks, Far South Minitrucks, Aftermath, Sinister, Fresh Stylz, South East Minitrucks, Fro & Mo, and everyone else who lent a hand.
