|
      
Busy end of year for Chapman Racing
While most off road racers are sitting back, putting their
feet up or stripping down their racers in preparation for
the 2012 season, the team at Chapman Off Road Racing have
finished their year off with their busiest few months yet,
attended four events in five weeks and with promotional
activities planned through November and December.
 After the cancellation of the Albins Off Road Gear
Goondiwindi 400, the final round of the Australian Off Road
Championship, due to extreme wet weather, on the weekend of
the 29 and 30 November the three car family team headed
north from their Brisbane base to the Opposite Lock Mackay
Retreat 250, with the largest contingent of Southern
Queenslanders the north has seen for many years.
“The 27km track was very tight and heavily tree’d, which
made for interesting racing. Clayton and Adam won the
prologue in the Pajero, but the engine bearing gave way
three corners into the first lap” commented Rob Chapman,
team owner and driver. “Leila and Larissa broke down in the
Pajero on the first lap but they found and fixed the
electrical fault and finished the lap. I was a very proud
husband and Dad at that point. I didn’t have any major
issues all weekend. The Triton ended up taking out second in
class, but Leila had the best finish for the team, winning
Extreme 4WD class.”
The following weekend the team, renowned for their
immaculate presentation of their fire engine red
Mitsubishi’s, made their way to the Mud Bulls and Music
Festival at Land Cruiser Mountain Park, this time with the
Rob’s Triton and Leila’s Pajero in tow. Claytons Pajero back
in the workshop with engine issues from Mackay race. “It’s a
great place to display off road racing to thousands of
people that come out to the festival. We run on a short
rally cross circuit, and we really get to show the general
public what our cars can do. It’s the main reason we go out
there, it’s the best advertising you can get” added Rob
Chapman.
The team had a successful run at the Mud Bulls and Music
Festival with Leila and Rob each taking out second in their
classes in the Hill Sprits, with Leila also finishing second
outright. In the Super Rally Cross, Rob claimed first in the
standard petrol class with Clayton not far behind in second.
Their times were good enough to put them in third and fifth
places in the top ten. Clayton raced into third place in the
top ten finals, while Rob had clutch issues, giving him
slower times.
The following weekend, the family took the Triton to
Millmeran to participate in the Endeavour Ride for a Life
Time day, which gives the intellectually disabled users of
the Endeavor Foundation the chance to jump into the
navigators seat of the off road racer or rally car for a
ride they’ll never forget. “The Endeavour clients are all
ages, and to see the looks on their faces was amazing.
Clayton spent most of the time sideways around the track, so
everyone wanted to go for a ride in the red car,” added Rob.
“I had a ball. It was really rewarding, and to think that my
driving put such huge smiles on their faces was awesome and
a great experience” said Clayton.
 Next stop in the Chapman Off Road Team’s diary is a trip to
Noosa on the 24 November and the grand opening of a new
Repco store, where the three Mitsubishi Off Road machines
will be a display centerpiece. Following the Repco display,
Clayton’s Pajero and Rob’s Triton will be exhibited at the
Sunshine Coast Mitsubishi Groups Showrooms at Caloundra for
a fortnight or more.
The Mitsubishi display will signal the end of the teams 2011
season and will leave them enough time to strip down and
ready the three machines for the 2012 racing year, with
their first calendared event, round 1 of the Queensland Off
Road Championship at Harvey Bay in February.
Rd.5
AORC Goondiwindi 400, 15-16/10/11
All three Chapmans Mitsubishis are clean and straight still
due to the Goondiwindi 400 being called off from rain even
with the organizers best efforts the track was still
impassable. The team will now be heading up north for the
Opposite Lock Mackay Retreat 250 on the 29th.
Round 6
Queensland Offroad Series
1-2 October 2011
The Fraser Coast Short
course offroad event was
held at Hervey Bay. The
weather this year was a
complete contrast to
last year, with dust and
wind replacing the rain
A crowd of 600
spectators came to watch
the excitement unfold.
The event consisted of 4
heats. Each heat was 3
laps of the 5km track.
The 1st heat was held on
Saturday afternoon,
which determined the top
ten for the “Dash for
Cash”. After the first
day of racing both rob
and Clayton were leading
their class with leila
fourth in class and
tenth outright. This
ment all three were to
run the dash for cash.
Clayton finished on top
10 sec ahead of Jared
Melville, with rob
coming in a close third.
Sundays racing was going
smoothly with rob
leading the production
4WD class comfortably
until crashing into a
tree putting him out of
the event in the second
last heat.
Leila finished the
weekend in fourth in
class and first lady.
Clayton finished up
first in class and first
outright.
The Chapmans Offroad
racing team would like
to thank all the event
sponsors and team
sponsors for their
contributions.
Rd.3 AORC Flinders 450,
23-24/7/2011
 The
third round of the Australian Off Road Championship was held
at the Bentley property at Baroota. The Bentley family set
out an amazing event area and race track. The track was a
64km loop consisting mainly of rutted sandy corners and
horsepower sucking sandy straights, with some fast technical
sections also. This was the first national event for Rob
Chapman and navi Ross Challacombe in the Production 4WD
Mitsubishi Triton.
Saturday was prologue for the event, Rob and Ross placed 2nd
in class, with Clayton Chapman and navi Adam McGuire also
placing 2nd in Extreme 4WD in the Pajero. Section 1 held
after prologue consisted of 2 consecutive laps of the
course. Rob and Ross finished the section still 2nd in class
to Geoff Pickering in his Pajero. Clayton and Adam broke a
front axle in the Pajero during the 2nd lap of the section
and still managed to finish 2nd in class.
The team replaced the broken front axle in the Pajero and it
was ready to run.
Section 2 was held on Sunday and was
made up of 3 laps, an hour service and 2 laps to finish the
event off. The cars le ft
30sec apart.
Very soon after the start of the 2nd section Clayton and
Adam lost brakes in the Pajero, they pulled back into the pits
after the first lap and the pit crew
of Darren Orr and Lincoln Staude quickly found the split
rear brake hose and also a broken rear spring. The rear
brake line was blocked off & the the rear spring replaced.
The boys went back out on track only to stop during the 2nd lap
due to gearbox failure. Rob and Ross had a flawless 3 laps
and made it into the 1hr service brake. The team had to
replace a front spring hanger bolt and remove the bull bar
before it broke off by itself.
Rob and Ross got the Triton to the end of the event in one
piece and with the retirement of Geoff Pickering took 1st in
Production 4WD and 12th outright. The team would like to
thank their sponsors for the support they have given to
them.
It's back to the shed for the boys to prep the cars for the
next round, the Pines Enduro be held at Millicent in
September.
Rd.2 AORC Finke Desert
Race
 On
the June long weekend the 36th Tattersall's Finke Desert
Race was held in Alice Springs. The 450km race consisted of
some fast flowing sections of track and notorious whoop
sections of the sand track. Friday night was scrutineering
as big as ever with thousands of people crowding the shed to
see the 99 race cars on display. Saturday was an easy day
with only prologue to take place, the track was a 8km course
with whoops and sandy corners. Clayton Chapman and navigator
Adam McGuire placed first in Extreme 4WD class in the Pajero
and 32nd outright. Sunday was an early 6:00am start at the
start line for the teams as the first car was to leave at
7:30. The top 10 buggies left singularly then the rest of
the field took off from the line in pairs. Ahead of the
teams was the first 225km leg of this point to point race to
the community of Finke. On the 1st day, Clayton & Adam
broke a gear stick aprox. 20km from the start and had to
finish the next 200km leg using screwdrivers to change
gears. They still managed to finish in a time of 3hr 3m,
putting them 2nd in class.
The pit
crew left early Sunday morning to meet the teams at Finke,
Robert Chapman, Cameron Winter and Leila Chapman worked
tirelessly to fix the gear stick and check every nut and
bolt on the vehicle so that it was race ready for Mondays
leg. A cold -1°c morning greeted the teams at another
5:30 start on Monday. The same 225km track was ahead of the
teams this time racing it backwards from Finke to Alice. The
top ten buggies left on corrected time and the rest of the
field at 1min intervals. Clayton and Adam having a slower
timer on the first leg were leaving behind some slower
vehicles, which meant for some overtaking manoeuvres later
on. The Pajero was running flawlessly until 70km from the
finish at Alice, when the top control arm broke and steered
the Pajero off the track and into a wash out bank at 100km/h
messing up the front of the car badly and putting a stop to
this years Finke.
Clayton was running the new
Cooper ST Max tyres which proved to be reliable & endured
the harrowing desert race terrain.
The team
are now back in the shed completely overhauling the car for
the next national round the Flinders 450 at Baroota in SA in
July. As well as repairing the Pajero, the Production 4WD
Triton will be race prepped as Rob Chapman & Ross
Challacombe will be competing in the AORC Tri Series with
their 1st round the Flinders 450 event.
Rd.2 AORC Finke Desert
Race Pre Race
 After the boys debut in
the Pajero at Hyden WA which was a huge success with a 1st
in class and 9th outright it was back to the shed to sort
out the problems with the new slave cylinder system. With
the clutch sorted and a full strip down of the diffs and
shocks etc, it was off to Sexton a local event hosted by the
Gympie Auto Sports club to test in preparation for the trip
to Alice Springs. Clayton and Adam had experienced the Finke
Desert Race in the Production 4WD Triton for the past 2 yrs,
so they are keen to see if the Pajero is less painful on
their backs, with the experience of their first year (Broken
engine valves) and Robs last year with a broken control arm
it was back to the shed and
a full check over and tighten of everything, fit up of 6 new
Copper Tires
ST MAXX, a clean and polish and load it on the truck. The
boys hope to arrive in Alice Springs on Monday with plenty
of time to settle in and do some shock testing with Murray
Coote to get the best out of the Pajero.
Knowing the Pajero was
never meant for Finke whoops, Clayton and Adam plan on
driving to finish which is an achievement in its self at
Finke.
Chapmans Offroad Racing First in
class and 9th outright Hyden WA
AORC Round 1
22-24 April 2011
The
first round of the Australian Offroad Racing Championship
held over the Easter weekend in Hyden WA, is done and
dusted. Saturdays prologue saw Clayton Chapman and Adam
McGuire in Robs Extreme 4WD Pajero finished first in class
by 30sec and 23rd outright of a 68 strong field.
Sunday the main race was to be
run in two sections of two laps of 110km, on a track mainly
consisting of wheat field but plenty of tight rocky and
rough sections as well. After the first section Clayton and
Adam were first in class and 13th outright. They then left
in 10th outright position for the second section. At the
beginning of the second section the Extreme 4WD Pajero had
clutch issues and left the boys to
finish the laps with no
clutch. Not long after loosing the clutch
a front CV broke and with only rear wheel drive Clayton and
Adam finished the grueling 450 km first in class and 9th
outright. Clayton and Adam also received the award for
fastest lap time by a Tin Top.
The boys will be back in the
shed preparing the cars for the next local event and the
next AORC round the Finke Desert Race.
Video and Photos from the event
can be found HERE
Chapmans
Offroad Racing Team is “Ready to Race” at the 2011 Pinjarra
Engineering Hyden 450
The
Chapmans offroad racing crew are pumped and ready to roll
for the first AORC round in Hyden WA, on the Easter weekend.
Clayton Chapman & navigator Adam McGuire, 2009 & 2010
Production 4WD Class Champions are competing in Rob
Chapmans’ Extreme 4WD Pajero in 2011. They are happy with
the preparation of the vehicle, & have sorted the few
electrical gremlins that appeared at the Texas 250 race
earlier this year.
Clayton
said that he is really looking forward to competing at Hyden
again - although this time in a faster vehicle, and a
different class. He is also looking forward to the change in
the event format. After prologuing 3rd outright
at Texas, Clayton is keen to see what he can do in the
Extreme 4WD Pajero, as it has much better suspension & goes
a tad better than the Triton! There is a large field of
Extreme 4WD vehicles, so it should be a great weekend.
Rob who is
just competing in the AORC Tri series this year in the
production 4WD Triton, said that he is happy to pit crew for
Clayton, but only time will tell if he enjoys the race,
watching & waiting in the pits or if he is itching to get
behind the wheel.
With only
having to transport one vehicle across to the west, Rob
offered to tow the super 1650 Razorback Buggy of Jared
Melville to Hyden. Not only is Rob towing his buggy, but he
has also loaned his navigator, Ross Challacombe to Jared for
the race. It will be a totally new experience but he’s sure
to have a blast (lets hope it doesn’t rain!). We’re tipping
Ross will probably notice the difference in suspension when
he gets back into the Triton!
(Go tin
tops!!)
Chapmans
Offroad Racing are preparing for the 2011 Offroad Championship
Since
Clayton Chapman & navi Adam McGuire have driven the Triton
in Production 4WD Class to its full potential for the past 2
years, Rob has decided to swap with Clayton for the 2011
Year. This means that Clayton & Adam will be competing in
all of the AORC rounds in Extreme 4WD Class in the
Mitsubishi Pajero. There have been a few further
modifications done to the vehicle since 2010. This includes
a new 3.8L V6 engine – still naturally aspirated, a further
gain in rear wheel travel of 7 in & some further reduction
in body weight. They are very keen to see what they can do &
also eager to experience racing with better suspension than
what the leaf springs of the Triton had to offer. Clayton &
Adam also intend to compete in the Queensland Offroad
Series. There are a few sketchy plans for an Extreme 4WD
Triton in the wind for the 2012 year.
This swap
means that Rob Chapman & navi Ross Challacombe will be
competing in the Production 4WD Class in the Mitsubishi
Triton. They intend to enter the AORC Tri Series & also the
Queensland Offroad Series this year. Clayton said he’d wash
the Triton for Rob & it should be good to go!
 Leila
Chapman will again compete in the twin turbo V6 Pajero in
Extreme 4WD Class in the Queensland Offroad Series. Rob &
Leila’s daughter Larissa has obtained her junior navigator
licence & is keen to navi with Leila. However she needs to
have another birthday before she is old enough to compete in
the Championship events of the Queensland Series.
Rob,
Clayton & Adam recently went out to Texas to help the
SEQORRA club members mark the new long course track. The
boys also used this opportunity to set up the suspension on
the Pajero. They said the Texas track is awesome, and very
much a drivers track with not too many horsepower straights
but enough to keep it interesting. There are also a lot of
good spectator points, which will make it a great event to
bring family and friends along to - just to show them what
offroad racing is all about.
Another
Successful Year for Chapmans Offroad Racing
 The
2010 offroad racing season was another successful one for
the Chapmans Offroad Racing team. Rob Chapman & Clayton
Chapman competed in all rounds of the Australian Offroad
Championship. Rob, Clayton & Leila competed in all rounds of
the Queensland Offroad Series & in all rounds of the Coopers
Rally Series held at Landcruiser Mountain Park in Jimna Qld.
Clayton
Chapman & navigator Adam McGuire started the year well,
defending their Australian Offroad Production 4WD title from
2009, with a victory at the first round in Hyden WA. After
tackling the whoops of Finke in Round 2, they narrowly
missed out on a win, coming in second in class. The
endurance challenge of Round 3 at Griffith saw them not only
with a class win but a 17th outright finish ahead of all the
tin tops. The wet weather at Round 4 at Millicent resulted
in engine failure and a DNF. This was the last round for the
year as the Goondiwindi round was cancelled due to wet
weather. When the points were tallied, Clayton & Adam
retained their title of Australian Production 4WD Champions.
Rob Chapman & navigator Ross Challacombe also started the
year with a win at Hyden beating multi times Extreme 4WD
champion Colin Hunter. Even though they only completed one
section of the gruelling Finke Desert Race they still
managed to be placed first in AORC Extreme 4WD points. They
were leading the pack at Griffith until the last lap saw a
mechanical failure which they repaired track side and still
managed a close second. Millicent also resulted in a DNF for
Rob and Ross with engine issues. At the end of the
championship Rob tied equal first in points with Colin
Hunter in his Jeep which was an exciting achievement.
The three
Chapmans offroad cars competed in every round of the
Queensland Offroad Series. Clayton & Adam driving the
Production 4WD Triton completed the year with a great end
result. They placed 1st outright in the series &
1st in Production 4WD Class. Rob & Ross also had a great
result driving the Extreme 4WD Pajero placing a very close 2nd
outright and also 1st in Extreme 4WD class. Leila Chapman &
navigator Melissa Huxstep (long course) driving the twin
turbo charged Pajero, came second in Extreme 4WD class.
The four
rounds of the Cooper Rally Series were held at Landcruiser
Mountain Park through the year. Clayton, Rob and Leila won
their respective classes- of production, extreme and ladies.
The team
would like to thank the help of their sponsors, Garry Crick
Mitsubishi, Coopers Tires, Chapman’s Performance Dynotuning
of Cooroy & Penrite Oils. They would like to also thank all
the pit crew that travelled around Australia with them -
Brett Huxstep, Craig Houston, Geoff Monk, Darren Orr &
Cameron Winter and their families.
Rob,
Clayton & Leila would also like to thank Murray & Julie
Rogers for their efforts with the offroad racing website.
The website is an excellent avenue to be able to promote
offroad racing & also to keep competitors up to date with
happenings around the traps.
Rob,
Clayton & Leila are back to the drawing board-working out
their plans for next year.
Hirstglen
Short Course
Qld Series Final Round
13 & 14
November 2010
 The
final round of the Qld Offroad
Series was held at Hirstglen
on a 7 km track, with each heat being 3 laps. It was a
great mix of fast straights & technical sections through the
trees and some very spectacular jumps. It was a good buggy/tin top equaliser.
After
3 heats over the weekend, Rob finished 2nd outright & 1st in
Extreme 4wd Class. Clayton
driving his Production
 4wd Class Triton finished
1st
outright & 1st in class. Leila driving the twin turbo Pajero finished
4th
in Extreme 4wd class. Thanks to all the organizers and
officials of the event as it was a great way to finish the
year of
racing.
Photos and Video from the event are
Here in Gallery
|
