Australasian Safari Update #2 - from Josh

It's a little over three weeks away from the Safari and a few more details are ironed out. The race truck arrived in Perth over the weekend and now is on it's way to Freemantle on the western shore of the continent. The container is on schedule to arrive by the 11th and will then start the customs process. The race producer, Octagon, and Austorient have both been extremely effecient at helping us through
this process.

Our all important crew has been finalized as well. Josh Ogg (our SamCo prep guru) arrives in Perth on the 26th to start the final touches on the H2 SUT -"Tigger" as we refer to "him" in the shop.

I will arrive on the 28th with navigator Thad Stump and Jason Jacopian - our go to video pro.

Race truck owner Greg Knowles has lined up two additional Aussies to help with the cause. Daniel Villanova and Graham Jones both have extensive experience with Greg in the Australian Rally Championship and are a welcome addition to the team.

Add in the experience of Rod Hall and the talent of Emily Miller and our team is complete.

There are plenty of additional irons in the fire, so as those items become concrete, I will share that information as well.

All for now.

Australasian Safari Update #1

Here's the latest on the Australasian Safari...

The H2 SUT was shipped out Thursday, June 11th along with spare parts and BFG race tires.  So things look good and the team is continuing to prepare for the 8-day race through the Outback.  

The race begins in Perth, Australia on August 1st.  Josh and Thad Stump will be in the truck each day, with race support from Josh Ogg, Greg Knowles and three additional crew from "down under."  From what we understand, the navigation is traditional rally raid format, not a marked course with full GPS routes we normally experience in US and Baja off-road racing.  The solid history and experience as teammates that Josh and Thad have together over the past several years should pay off.

Currently, Josh is working with the rally to establish which class the H2 SUT qualifies for.  It looks like it will fall into T1.  However, as news occurs, we'll keep you posted.

Vehicle Profile - H1 Test Truck

We just wrapped up the fifth Light Truck Tire Seminar this past Friday for Michelin and BFGoodrich Tires.  Along with organizational duties and demonstration driving, I get the fun job - driving participants on a "hot lap" in one of Rod Hall's "rolling stock." The vehicle is Rod's original H1 HUMMER race truck that debuted at the 1993 Baja 1000 and won the Full Stock class. 

The truck is a GM 6.5 Liter Turbo Diesel equipped with a set of BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2s and a suspension package that Rod Hall Products developed and distributes to the military. H1s with this suspension package can be driven at the same performance level that we push the truck on the hot lap course, but with approximately 16,500 of total weight. This is critical for soldiers' safety who need to load their vehicles with armor, artillery and gear.  The truck's purpose when it isn't racing around the course for the LTTS program is to test durability and handling of new parts in severe conditions.

The "durability demonstration" - another term for "hot lap" is the best part of the job and great to see people's faces as we zig-zag across the course at speed and hit the new little table top jump.  Most comments range from how surprised they are the truck handles so well or how big the truck is and how small I am.  Some laugh, some yell, some sit quietly white knuckled, but most everyone walks away wanting more.  

Posted by Emily Miller

Update from Chad - Racing Class 10

I am running the 10 car this year with Johnny Harrah in all the BITD events.  We have completed two races - I start and Johnny finishes.  The first race was rough for us.  The car was finished just in time for Parker and we had minimal time to test and tune.  However, Primm was a different story and there were significant improvements in ride and handling.  

Running Primm was a real eye opener for me.  The car worked well so we could run it hard.  It is very different from driving a full stock.  It took a while for me to figure out that the whoops are really of no concern, and I can drive it as fast as the engine will pull through them.  You really just have to work on keeping it on the road and not hitting rocks.  I'm also much busier in the cockpit - shifting all the time and sometimes using the clutch.  The car also has huge body roll and wheel travel, which takes getting used to.  The HUMMER is very different - where we focus on not making any mistakes and saving the car to the finish.  Course condition has a much bigger impact on stock trucks.

The Speed team is coming into it's own.  Johnny is a good driver and we believe we will be the car to beat.  We will be testing all next week and Thad Stump will be coming up to join us.  I expect good things and am looking forward to moving into Class 1 next year.  But I'm also ready to get back in the H3Alpha for the Baja 1000 and go for another Stock Full win.

Terrible's @ PRIMM Results

This weekend, Chad Hall ran Terrible's @ PRIMM in Class 10 with co-pilot Thad Stump.  The course was a three-lap 250 mile course just outside of Las Vegas.  The event was divided into two races with the faster classes running second.  Class 10 ran in the second grouping that included unlimited 7 trucks, 1500, Class 8, Class 1 and Trick Trucks.

Chad ran the first two laps and started in 10th position.  The first lap went smooth and Chad was running in 2nd place.  On lap two, he bent a wheel and had a flat.  Lost the power steering near the end of the lap before handing it to Johnny.  Harrah had a trouble free lap and brought it home for 4th place in class and 38th unofficially overall.

Chad noted, "the car is really fast and we are ready to win."  The team will have the chance at the next race, the Vegas to Reno 1000 mile stage race - August 19-23rd.  Check out the "new and improved" BITD.com for more info.  

Have questions for our team?  Send them to info@rodhallracing.com and we'll answer them on our blog.