22/10/2026
There’s a change coming.
We’ve seen a gradual increase in the number of four wheel drive trophy trucks competing here in Australia. I think Colin Hunter’s Penhall would have been first, then probably Hayden Bentleys Racer. It’s a hard vehicle to define. Should Fabio Zarfati’s Pajero or Chapman’s Triton be included? Highly modified and amazingly capable but started out as production vehicles not chromoly tube.
According to the rules of both our sanctioning bodies, they comply with class 8, in a nutshell, “a 4wd vehicle that substantially resembles a production vehicle”. Pretty broad definition but has described the class well for the past 30 years or more.
4wd trophy trucks have not been much of an issue to existing class 8 competitors. They were scarce and unreliable and even when they finished an event, they weren’t wining outright here like in the USA.
That all changed last year with an outright win at Finke, backed up with another outright this year, then Don River and more. It’s got to the point that traditional class 8 cars are not entering, so change was inevitable. Let’s hope the decision makers consult the competitors, so we get class distinctions that keep racing fair and affordable.
