NZ4WD

The Shepherd’s shemozzle

Central zone club truck challenge 2024 series round one, Taihape

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Heading for Taihape, I passed through Huntervill­e and it was going off, the main road was closed and cars were jammed in every possible place. It was the day of the Shemozzle and central zone hosts Grace and Hailey Hintz were competing in it.

A running race of five km including a good bit of vertical all while wearing a wet sack, crawling over hazards like a pipe or a fence, eating a lamb’s tongue and finding your sheep dog afterwards – a shame I missed it (not really).

Our new season began with a few new competitor­s keen to see what offroad trials are about. I started the new year with a rorty new exhaust from Bubba’s Speed Shop of which my Suzuki-pedalling mate

Barry said, “Whenever I hear the Jeep, I just hear dollar signs.”

The day was hot enough for sunburn but hidden under the lush grass was just swamp. In a lot of cases only the first competitor made any decent progress and the followers just sank in the churned-up mess. Kev’s brand-new tyres proved to be worth every cent although he knocked the bead off one in the third hazard. That third hazard was a Mitsubishi nightmare with three Pajeros suffering mechanical problems.

Speed sections at the Hintzs’ are a highlight, with many memorable long hard blasts through the countrysid­e that hark back to Dave’s previous life as a gravel rally driver. Who can forget threading through the bales in the hay paddock or the massive jump we used another time?

A speed section is judged purely on elapsed time over a longer course, the fastest driver winning it. It is generally started and finished inside a fixed box and if you miss a gate you are sent back to complete the course with the clock still running. Today’s course had multiple lines like the “Joker” line they use in World Rallycross, you had the choice of a shortcut crossing a bog or taking a longer run to use a culvert and avoid the mud. The first few runners didn’t risk the bog but Dave Smithson was stuck in RWD and with little to lose, hit the bog at warp speed and showed it was a decent option to save time. Chris Mason in the Suzuki Jimny set the fastest time, one second quicker than Brent Ward in the Nissan with Kevin Galbraith bringing the Jeep in third.

?? ??
?? ?? Dudley Harris brings his Jeep Wrangler JL to the Club Truck and revels in its high technology.
Dudley Harris brings his Jeep Wrangler JL to the Club Truck and revels in its high technology.
?? ?? Brendan Watchorn’s class 2 Pajero somehow keeps going over a sizable hole without the benefit of diff lockers.
Brendan Watchorn’s class 2 Pajero somehow keeps going over a sizable hole without the benefit of diff lockers.
?? ?? Dave and Grace Hintz push hard into the hazard in their class 4 Nissan.
Dave and Grace Hintz push hard into the hazard in their class 4 Nissan.
?? ?? Brent Ward flexes his forced induction to move mud and try to carry some momentum into a hillclimb.
Brent Ward flexes his forced induction to move mud and try to carry some momentum into a hillclimb.
?? ?? Kevin Galbraith had the foresight to fit new tyres for this round and had the rub of the green to get early runs on the toughest hazards.
Kevin Galbraith had the foresight to fit new tyres for this round and had the rub of the green to get early runs on the toughest hazards.
?? ?? Dave Smithson’s class 2 Pajero searches in vain for a strong CV that will handle extreme tyres and terrain.
Dave Smithson’s class 2 Pajero searches in vain for a strong CV that will handle extreme tyres and terrain.

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