Taupo 1000

[monstr]

Hi ,Anybody got any results,Im really after how Mike and Tony did in Shermin,I know that they had cam problems on Sat and another motor was sent down on Sat night and an engine swap was done...Any info would be great...

[GQTROL]

Steve,
All 3 winch trucks finished the event. Pretty sure Darren Bell won the class and was top 10 or so overall. Didn't stay for prizegiving, so not 100% sure though.

Raana finished in Thunder truck class. 2 roll-overs, truck looking a bit 2nd hand, but they had a ball. Roger McKay / Simon Guy broke...had same problem both days. Jono did a clutch on Sat and engine on Sun.

[IcedJohnno]

Anyone know where the GT radials XR8 cough 'Falcon' ute came in? One of the Class 8 Thundertrucks & Yoda is a mate of mine.

[GQTROL]

Anyone know where the GT radials XR8 cough 'Falcon' ute came in? One of the Class 8 Thundertrucks & Yoda is a mate of mine.

Don't know about placings....but he had an opps on Sat and broke driveshaft and rear control arms. Think they got it back out there again though. Only did part of 1st or 2nd lap on Sunday.

[4xxx4]

Brian started 38Th got up to 16Th then broke stub axle.Started 28Th Sunday and then broke other stub axle.
He Is not happy as could be expected

[TeLexs]

Steve,
All 3 winch trucks finished the event. Pretty sure Darren Bell won the class and was top 10 or so overall. Didn't stay for prizegiving, so not 100% sure though.

Raana finished in Thunder truck class. 2 roll-overs, truck looking a bit 2nd hand, but they had a ball. Roger McKay / Simon Guy broke...had same problem both days. Jono did a clutch on Sat and engine on Sun.

Raana and Mike were third in there class and still going strong after testing the roll cage twice and blowing the engine mounts of the drivers side . And yes you can weld manifold to the chassis and still go fast on bumps . Klembo

[GQTROL]

Raana and Mike were third in there class and still going strong after testing the roll cage twice and blowing the engine mounts of the drivers side . And yes you can weld manifold to the chassis and still go fast on bumps . Klembo

Not bad for the truck that was only finished a day or so before the event and had no testing huh!!

[skid]

Raana and Mike were third in there class and still going strong after testing the roll cage twice and blowing the engine mounts of the drivers side . And yes you can weld manifold to the chassis and still go fast on bumps . Klembo

Not bad for the truck that was only finished a day or so before the event and had no testing huh!!

shows the strength of the nissan running gear.

those thunder trucks seemed to be breaking down all around us, and the boys just kept on going, albeit with a few running repairs and some some minor body modifications

[worthog]

Two crews from USA, Rod Millen, Ryan Millen. Kevin Necesary and his
> bro. Foxtel and discovery are producing a 1 hour doco on how a
> proffesional toyota backed team preped and raced the event (millens)
> versus amatuer team necesary. Millen won their class finished 6
> overall from memory. 1 mil USD was to get crews, production people,
> helecopters at $1000 per hour (10 hours per day in the air) crazy
> pilots. Paul Sutton(safety car) was racing down the track parallel with the rangataiki
> river (approx 80 km hr) looked out of his drivers side window stratght
> at the rotor hub of 1 flying side ways down the river filming him
> getting to necesary's accident on the lava rock face.
>
> Guy who won was a Hikurangi dairy farmer-Spike-Clim Lammers, same
> car he won the last taupo in 2 years ago. still has a morry steering
> rack. no prep low budget. 2nd was a $250,000 jimco USA desert race
> car running a V6 nascar engine(NZ midget driver Neville Basalaj).
> 10k rpm red line. 3rd was a 1600cc desert race car.(Lyndsay Pointon)

Great event, I was posted at marshal point 8, a right hand corner which cut up pretty bad early on into the race

[Clint]

Two crews from USA, Rod Millen, Ryan Millen. Kevin Necesary and his
> bro. Foxtel and discovery are producing a 1 hour doco on how a
> proffesional toyota backed team preped and raced the event (millens)
> versus amatuer team necesary.

I reckon they should compare the Millen effort to the team with the virtually unmodified Subaru 1800 paddock car Those guys were legends! Their spend on the whole race probably wouldn't have even paid for "low budget" team Necessary's bar tab.

Good to see the yanks over though, hopefully they'll be back with a few more mates next time to keep the locals honest.

Cheers
Clint

[skid]

> helecopters at $1000 per hour (10 hours per day in the air) crazy
> pilots. Paul Sutton(safety car) was racing down the track parallel with the rangataiki
> river (approx 80 km hr) looked out of his drivers side window stratght
> at the rotor hub of 1 flying side ways down the river filming him
> getting to necesary's accident on the lava rock face.
>
>

you should of seen the nutters flying behind the pits filming the short course. They would of been about 10-15 feet off the ground.
Mike said they came over a rise out in the bush and the chopper was sitting about 20 feet off the middle of the road filming them and then he turned and chased them, flying over thier truck about 5 feet off the roof. They reckon they shit themselves he was that close.
INSANE CHOPPER PILOTS

Awesome to watch

2 years can't come soon enough

[worthog]

Some reading for those who are interested

Toyota FJ Cruises to Taupo 1000 Victory

Ryan Millen and Adam Dupre drove the USA Toyota FJ Cruiser team to a victory in the Production 4x4 class in the Taupo 1000 offroad endurance race held in the forests of the Napier/Taupo road east of Taupo during the weekend.

South Auckland’s Tony McCall started the race on pole and took anyone who could stay with him on a high speed first lap of the forest. This pace reduced the race field of 75 starters to 30 runners after lap 1. McCall retired at lap four with engine problems. The Millen Team weren’t drawn into the trap of treating the opening stages of the race as a sprint and established there own pace which seemed quick but not extreme. Ryan Millen drove hard on the straights but treated the Toyota to a measured assault on rough terrain that increased in treachery as the laps unfolded.

The Class 2 victory for Toyota was very nearly an overall podium position with the FJ Cruiser staying on the same lap as the race winner, Clim Lammers, to the finish.

Second in Class 2 was Australian David Jameson in a Suzuki Swift. Third in Class 2 and 7th overall was Hamilton’s Nigel Newlands in a short wheelbase Mitsubishi Pajero.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser finished the race with only minor damage on display. A cracked windscreen the only sign that the truck had raced 1000 kilometres over pumices roads, washouts, riverbeds and forest trails.

Overall race winner Clim Lammers of Whangarei completed a back to back Taupo 1000 victory, having the won the race in 2005. Lammers raced the entire distance solo in his Class 1 (unlimited cc) race car. He was chased hard by Nelson’s Neville Basalaj in a Class 1 American Jimco. Third overall went to Aucklander, Lyndsay Pointon in a Class 3 (1600cc modified) race car. The speed of the leading three race cars became a “Tortise and the Hareâ€

[TAME]

I reckon they should compare the Millen effort to the team with the virtually unmodified Subaru 1800 paddock car Those guys were legends! Their spend on the whole race probably wouldn't have even paid for "low budget" team Necessary's bar tab.

Good to see the yanks over though, hopefully they'll be back with a few more mates next time to keep the locals honest.

Cheers
Clint[/quote]

Well if you would be interested in the details of HEIDI the paddock car's budget...

Heidi was free from a scrapyard after being dumped by a farmer that had used her for feeding out calves.

$250 fuel
$500 entry fee
$120 harness
$250 steel for roll cage
$140 14" alloys
$350 4 mud terrain tires

So $1610 all up!

And Heidi lives on. 9 laps in 2007... 13 laps in 2009... just warming up!