Defender Challenge: Where metal meets mud
[MUSIC]
The Defender Challenge is evolving really well.
It's the first hill rally.
Hill rally is specific to four-wheel drive vehicles.
It's much rougher.
Much tougher.
Wide variety of terrain and the endurance event as well.
So you're racing at least twice as far on a hill rally as a stage rally.
If any change it's all about learning their disciplines at rallying going forward.
So some of these guys.
He had fought through the year, and progress and do amazing things like the Dachau rally and big international rally raves.
Some of them are just here to have fun.
There's an enormous sense of camaraderie through, throughout all the times, and it makes the spirit of adventure [UNKNOWN].
The atmosphere on the defender challenge is very unique ,. I've been involved with operating all my life.
Some of these guys, girls have, this is their first year, first season in racing.
We're all supportive.
Even though we're competing, we, we wanna compete in the, the real way.
Well the other drivers in the series it's, it's been great to see some of them develop and, and learn about others.
You know?
A few, I know some of the Bowler Crew that have been helping a lot of the driving and navving on different events.
It's been a great rival between.
We all discuss how the car is and the stages are.
Most of them not nervous because I know that I'm prepared to do it.
But you know you get excited.
You get a bit of adrenaline kick for it and that's what I like most about it.
Well the hill right here is a horrendously rough, steep climb.
Water over the bonnet.
Catching cars every single stage.
So you got to keep be mindful of the stones.
You never know what's going to happen with the weather.
The attrition rate is amazing.
And yet again, the Defender is doing everything I'm asking it and more
[MUSIC]
Huh!
It's proving to be exactly what we wanted it to be.
Very friendly, manageable, low-cost, entry into racing, where we can give people as much support as they want, and, but at the same time, they're really developing and growing as drivers and, and copilots.
[MUSIC]
Well, the Defender.
We're all used to them going down the farm track, but we're now putting them down the race track which is fantastic.
The Kumho tires, the [UNKNOWN] suspension, the dampening speeds.
Everything about the suspension just feels right.
The integrated roll cage.
The bar obviously fits in there.
The tune they put on the engine.
The stock car.
You've only got to see the big V8s that we've overtook on paths and they can't catch us anymore which is a testament to the defender's brand name and everything about the bowler.
Two great brands come together.
The defenders have been fabulous in the fact that the durability and reliability has been great.
I can genuinely say apart from crash damage we've had to replace nothing.
And the performance is just incredible.
We've opened a lot of people eyes as to what essentially a standard car can do when it's modified in the correct way.
[MUSIC]
The very first, actually, the first time check, we have to do a river crossing.
And, you know, at that point, everything changes, you know?
I simply couldn't, couldn't do that in anything other than something like, like the defender.
So, yeah.
It's, it's, [INAUDIBLE].
So, I mean, I'm staggered, some of the abuse that it's taken.
You sort of.
[UNKNOWN] You sort of, I think we're taking more of a pummeling inside it than the fender is outside.
It's a greatly compliant car.
It's got some great attitude.
The spectators out there absolutely love it.
It's all about that, it's showing the world wide how good a defender, how capable it is in everything.
Well 2015 will be year two, Defender Challenge.
We're running a number of the same races, a number of new races.
We're going overseas, we'll be racing in Spain and Morocco, and we've got another three competitors already signed up so we're running a minimum of 12, potentially 15 competitors next year, so it'd be very busy.
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