Glenn Brinkman has confirmed he will contest next month’s Loveday 400 despite a huge crash at the Tatts Finke Desert Race.
The Queenslander severely damaged his Can Am 90 kilometres from the finish line on Race Day 2 when he hit a shrub on the road and the car was sent rolling eight times.
Both Brinkman and navigator Dale Moscatt walked away from the accident with no significant injuries, although Moscatt still has some lingering eye trouble from the crash.
The car on the other hand was in poor condition, leaving the Accent Benchtops driver with a big call to make if he wanted to make it in time for July’s Loveday 400.
“The car was pretty wrecked to be honest and needed quite a bit of work – especially as it needed a new roll cage,” Brinkman said.
“Because of all the issues, the price of the repair was going to be quite significant, so I had to decide last week about what we would do.
“I had quite a few offers from fellow competitors to use their buggies for Loveday which was very generous, and there were also a couple of buggies on sale too, so I wasn’t in doubt about going to Loveday.
“In the end, we decided to stick with our current car and spend the same amount of money fixing it – we had put in the new FIA approved fuel tank late last year, which was a lot of work and I think that was a key factor in sticking with it.
“There are still a couple of things that need to be fixed, but Greg Campbell has looked after me and has been doing everything he can to get us back on track.”
Following the work that has gone into the car, Brinkman will now head to Sydney early next month to do a seat fitting and finalise the car.
With the car confirmed to be ready for Loveday, Brinkman was excited to finish off the season and fight for the SXS Pro title.
“I am glad I kept the same car despite having new parts and can’t thank Greg enough for his work,” Brinkman said.
“I did a rallysprint the week after Finke and the was important because it helped me shake off any issues from the crash, so now we are full steam ahead for Loveday.
“I am not nervous about the event either – it’s a nice track and it’s not as taxing as Finke so I am looking forward to it – it’s a good event and I had a ball there.
“I am happy to know we are doing Loveday and Kalgoorlie and I am committed to the rest of the championship.
“I think the fact that most of the other front runners for the SXS Pro class have had a bad round, I am still in contention so it will be an exciting end to the season, and I am looking forward to it.”
Entries for the Loveday 400 open this week with the event to take place at Loveday 4×4 Adventure Park on 28-30 July.
