Only one week remains until the Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro begins as two legends of the sport go head-to-head for this year’s BFGoodrich CAMS Australian Off Road Championship title.
Nine-time champion Shannon Rentsch holds a 36-point advantage over seven-time champion Mark Burrows with only Rainbow remaining on the calendar.
Interestingly, both Pro Buggy drivers finished on the podium last year, with Rentsch leading the way for the whole race, despite Burrows crossing the line first.
Rentsch begun his charge for the ninth title in Prologue when he posted his time four seconds faster than young gun Josh Howells and 2017 winner Greg Gartner.
Burrows was the next fastest across the line, coming in three seconds behind after Gartner, while Beau Robinson comfortably rounded out the top five behind Burrows, with Justin Anderson a further nine seconds behind.
The biggest story to come out of Prologue was Toby Whateley finishing outside the 10 as the SXS Turbo pilot had been vying for the championship after a string of good results throughout the year.
Once the action got underway, Rentsch continued his dominance over the competition and finished where he started – in first place, while Gartner and Howells switched places as the 2017 champion finished a minute slower than the leader.
Burrows had a section to forget as he dropped behind Robinson in fourth and eventually Anderson, ending the day a full six minutes behind Rentsch in sixth.
Whateley’s charge for title was effectively all but over as he crossed the line in 12th, 16 and half minutes behind Rentsch.
On the final day, Burrows changed his tactics and decided to forgo the compulsory 30-minute pit stop in order to attempt at taking out the title.
With 30 minutes added to Burrows’ outright time, the event and eventual championship title went to Rentsch, while Robinson ended the event in second place ahead of Burrows.
Surprise packet Michael Magher’s third place in the second section saw him leapfrog Howells to finish in fifth behind Gartner and Alan Dixon’s sixth place saw him secure the Pro-Lite title over Ally Howells.
The Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro takes place on 9-11 August in Rainbow.